Used Car of the Day: 2001 Nissan XTerra

by Tim Healey

Published: June 14th, 2023

If you want a cheap, manual-transmission off-roader, give this 2001 Nissan XTerra a check.

The seller claims the rig has been well-maintained and that many significant parts have been replaced, but the XTerra still has minor issues.

A more major issue is that while the listing says "Vermont" this XTerra is apparently Canadian, so there could be some importing issues.

The price is $3,250 -- we assume that's USD, not CAD, but we'd ask the seller for clarification anyway.

Check it out here.

[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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3 of 31 comments

2ACL on Jun 14, 2023

Good price for a vehicle I respect, but tin worm always scares me. Unless it's a southwest US vehicle, I assume that if it's manifesting on lower exterior panels, it's also happening underneath. The importation question seals the deal as a decline for me. Too many of these are still available in the wild to go through the trouble IMO. Most will lack this one's servicing, but they'll also have lived easier lives and thus not need it right away, if at all.

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Goatshadow on Jun 15, 2023

I test drove one of these 11 years ago and all the exterior screws and bolt heads were rusty. The engine bay was also full of corrosion. And this was in the Southeast. I can't imagine how bad a Canadian one would be, but there are signs in the photos. The interior was incredibly cramped (based on that old, small Frontier). I remember it well because that dealership tried to hold my car keys hostage, trying to make me talk numbers on the XTerra that I clearly told them I did not like or want.

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- Jeff S on Jun 15, 2023
  
  If one wanted a vehicle like this it would be better to find one in the Southwest that had spent most of its life there. Might be more expensive to buy but in the long run it would be less expensive without the rust. As for daily driving I would not daily drive any vehicle that is 20 plus years including a diesel Mercedes. The seals and hoses unless they have been recently replaced are old and there are other things that can happen on a used vehicle especially one that you have not owned since new or do not have the complete history of. This would make a fun vehicle for offroading but it would be better to pay a little more and get one in better shape. There is a guy where I now live who rescued a late 80s Ford Ranger from a farmer's field and although the paint is worn the body has no rust. He reupholstered the seats himself and he uses it to carry his bicycle and to run errands. He could afford a new more expensive truck he has at least a 100k Winnebago like vehicle and his wife has a late model crossover. Since they live half the year in Arizona he didn't want to waste money on a newer truck and that old Ranger is very reliable. His Ranger has a V-6, AC, and an automatic and everything works.
  
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