Used Car of the Day: 2002 Nissan XTerra

by Tim Healey

Published: February 8th, 2023

While we wait for Nissan to come to its senses and bring back the XTerra as a Ford Bronco -- or maybe, more likely Bronco Sport -- fighter with true off-road chops, we can gaze upon this 2002 Nissan XTerra and daydream.

The mileage is high -- 208K and counting -- but the seller says it runs and drives well. The title is rebuilt, apparently from "minor damage" and there is a CarFax available.

The control arms, knock sensor, transmission cooler lines, rear shocks, and drive belts have been recently replaced. The seller will provide a new water pump and timing belt.

The seller also wired up a kill switch and prepped the car for subwoofers. Snow chains come with the vehicle.

The headliner does sag, though.

If you're looking for a cheap, old SUV with some off-road potential, you can snag this one for three grand.

[Images: Seller]

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Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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2 of 12 comments

Fahrvergnugen on Feb 10, 2023

didn't know these came in anything but yellow.

1 Reply
Dustin on Feb 13, 2023

I had a 2006 (2nd gen) and even went through the SMOD repair (very well know issue, easy to prevent) and it was truly a great SUV. Only drawbacks were, as mentioned, a thirsty engine, relatively low payload (due to suspension design would bottom out), and fairly tight entry/egress in the back seats because of the rear door design (similar to the earlier LR Disco door shape).
From a drivability and road/off-road comfort standpoint, they were excellent, and the Pro-4x was really a great setup.
A new gen of Xterra with some modern design pulled from the latest Frontier would make this a great, rugged, alternative to the pathfinder (soft-roader) - if they can bear to make something that isn't a rogue for a while (we have a rogue and it's a great CUV).

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