[SugarRushMurano]

I know people on this forum love the murano in particular and a crossover type of suv in general.

Regardless, I need some inputs.
My Dad is planning to buy an suv that can handle some construction project rough roads (mostly soft dirts and sometimes light muds after raining). He is looking to buy either a used jeep (grand cherokee/liberty) or a used nissan pathfinder/exterra.
Something around $10 - 15K is perfect.

Any opinion on jeeps?
I heard that they are not so reliable.

Obviously, a murano is not something i want to drive through those muddy/dirty/slightly rough terrain, hence i dont recomend him to get one.

Thanks ppl...

 

[mgthe3]

I have been in some insane places in Jeep Cherokees and they did just fine.
I also know of xtera clubs that go 4 wheelin, I have a friend that is prez of one--but his is modified to the extreme.

One of the faults of Nissans has been their use of aluminum in the diff carrier, tends to not be as strong as cast iron diffs most others use.

But, for very light SUV nastiness (road conditions), anything with good tires will do. Look for low mileage and lack of mud underneath to be the highest priorities when choosing a used 4wd.

If I had to choose a great used 4wd SUV for reliability, it would have to be a 4runner. This is assuming he needs 4 doors of course.

 

[senza]

A 6 cyl Jeep GC with selectrac and a good set of "off road tires" would be a good choice...reliability is good...occassional failure of crankshaft sensor and "hard on brakes" common...import SUV probably more economic....Jeep more "off road" capable...

 

[GMTURBO43]

I've heard a few complaints with the reliability of the newer Jeeps. My uncle had a '96'ish GC and rebuilt the t-case 4 times to the tune of about 2K each time. A co-worker has a Cherokee Classic and hasn't had anything major go wrong - but the crap he has had fixed is expensive because he doesn't do any of it himself.

I think he'll get into an Xterra for a bit less money. I've seen some pretty built trail rigs and I think they are very capable machines.

A 4-Runner you'll never touch for that price - at least a new model with a few miles. I've seen older 4-Runners with loads of miles sell for over 10K. Good for resale though.

 

[MO Dale]

See if you can find any Isuzu Troopers in the area. More recent models may still have factory powertrain in effect.

A friend of mine has had '96 and currently has an '01. They've both been great vehicles for her. Lots of room for people and stuff. She's an avid birder, camper and loves float trips. The Trooper has never let her down. Many times she has told me about a group trip where she had the only 4x4 that made it through the tough stuff on its own. I've been with her on more than a few scary roads (If that's what they really were!) during some float trips.

 

[mgthe3]

hey GM.....yep, u've seen lots of toys with a lot of miles on them....that was my point.

 

[GMTURBO43]

mgthe3,

I'm certainly not going to dispute the quality of the 4-Runner. They still demand a very high price tag with no real thought put in to how many miles are on them. They are a nice looking vehicle (I don't care for the current body style though), high quality, dependable.

I'm sure many of them don't see any real offroad experience as is the same case for any other 4x4 on the market today. I just wonder how easy it'd be to find one for $10-12K.

 

[Ohio Murano]

We traded in our 01 4runner with 37000 miles and still got $19k for it. They aren't cheap. Reliability is good, Ride is rough though. Jeep's are Junk IMO. I'd rather have an Explorer. The xterra probably would be a good choice for the Money. Just my 2cents.