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Do We drive pathfinders because we are poor or want to?


LittleFR
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I personally drive a Pathy because I came across a sweet deal on a low mileage R50. I'm married with a baby so I'm broke.

 

Just curious if there are true dedicated Japanese fans or if we are all literally just poor.

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Well, mine is my first car. I actually kind of didn't like it at first (what's this thing, Japanese? IFS? Ew!) (I wanted a Jeep or Ford truck really bad) but now that I have it, I love it! It has completely gotten me into Japanese automobiles, and am even interested in JDM cars and stuff now, something I had always frowned upon. In my opinion, many of us got into it on accident, and now we have a sickness; but a good one. :laugh:

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I drive a pathfinder for the love of jdm. But to be honest with you being poor(ish) help make the bond with your personal pathfinder stronger. I've own mine for the last 10 years and I'd never give it up

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited by I_love_my_95_pathy
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They are just fun to drive, sure they don't accelerate as fast as other vehicles but it's not all about speed to me. It's about owning a TRUE SUV. Sports Utility Vehicle. I always laugh to myself at these new so called SUVs. They are a SV if anything. I'd love to see one hill climb without getting stuck at anything higher than 25 degree angle. They also have hardly any room in the boot compared to our Wd21 body. These new so called SUVs are shopping trolleys at best you'll be getting only one golf bag in the back. Mine I once got a whole coffee making bench in the back. It can easily carry four golf bags no problem.

The other thing that is cool is the fact that people do look at my truck because they are getting rare. It's not the type of vehicle you see a lot of. So as the age increases now, I'm thinking the price IS going to increase for these old iron beasts as long as you keep em clean, maintained and as rust free as possible. Low mileage will also play a factor but I guess as long as the truck is relatively dent free and straight then mileage could be overlooked by a potential buyer. Like you could have a truck that is trash with 100,000 on it but another might have 400,000 and be pristine and clean, garaged and well maintained.

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+1 Terranovation

 

I REALLY don't like most newer cars on the roads these days, I just sold my 94 SE V6 and a 01 Altima to update our family vehicle / wife's daily driver which ended up being a 2002 4Runner SR5 2WD which we are both totally inlove with. If it hadn't been that truck, then it would most likely have been a 1st Gen Xterra, which we did test drive a couple of them. I like the body on frame design from both companies, and I liked the basic anvil like rugged, simple construction, they are akin to a good ole mutt dog, just honest, loyal, hard working, you can get it dirty and it's okay with it. Unlike a $3,000 designer dog which needs to be carried everywhere and doesn't know the meaning of a mud bath.

 

If I were to today go and buy a rugged new car without spending a fortune in gold (Tacoma) it would probably be a Subie Crosstrek, or for a pickup truck probably a Desert runner / Pro 4x Frontier. Even though I own a Toyota and a Honda now, I'll always have Nissan brand loyalty in my heart. From my 81 diesel maxima / 810 to the 85 Maxima to my 91 D21 to my 80 280zx to my 94 Pathy to my wife's former daily driver (and driver learning car / 1st car) the 01 Altima, Nissans have always taken good care of me.

Edited by gv280z
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I got my first one because of sentimental value (family had one). But then I got into wheeling thanks to some people on here. I don't drive it daily anymore because I am trying to "preserve it" as much as I can.

 

I would not consider myself poor at all. I drive whatever I want. I currently own 4 vehicles, three of them being Nissan. 2 pathfinders and 1 Xterra. 4 vehicles, all plated and insured, and no car payments...

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I came into mine as a practical replacement for the (fun, yet impractical) Wrangler I had before it. Started having kids, and well...car seats don't fit too well in a 2-door Jeep. Price was right, it had all the features I had built the Jeep up to, I was already versed in Nissans, and 4Runners were (still are) ridiculously overpriced. But, money/cost wasn't the primary factor here; this checked all my needs.

 

The price spread on used Pathfinders seems rather wide, but I feel it's way more bang-for-buck, even when it needs some work. I've only been in it for a couple years, but I knew early on I'd be in it for the long haul.

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I own one for nostalgia reasons. When I bought my first car, I got a Sentra instead of a Pathfinder - although I could have afforded either one. That was way back in '87. Once I decided it was time to get the one that got away, it took a year to find what I wanted. It had to be a 2-door with the triangle windows, because that's what "looks right" to me.

 

So I definitely own and drive my WD21 because I want to. It's already 26 years old, and will only get more rare (like Terranovation said). And I plan to keep it until it rusts ways or falls apart / something breaks that I can't get parts for. But if someone makes me an offer that I can't refuse (like 5-figures), I'd consider selling it. :D

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Both? I love my rig, and while in school and working part time, I'm also very very poor.

 

If I had the means I'd probably be in a newer truck, with the wd-21 being the designated mountain rig. That day is still a few years out though.

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My first Pathy was a compromise... I wanted a Fronty, but was told I needed to adult and buy a family car. In came the Pathy, which at the time, wasn't cheap.... Then I wheeled the hell out of my family car for ten years. Lol.

 

When excessive rust and a recall took my first Pathy away I could have had my husband's Xterra... And while I loved that truck too, the Pathy has a place in my heart, it's more my style. We found the unicorn R50 with no rust, and paid a pretty penny for her... I chose to drive a Pathfinder. I dread the day I have to choose another.

 

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

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This has had a crazy amount of response. Glad to hear from everyone.

 

Recently I was at a wedding party, I let my brother (a dedicated pickup man) drive the R50 home (my wife and I stayed late and we brought him) he went on and on about how he loved the ride and couldn't get over the pickup and handling. He wants one now (not for the farm but for his daily teips)

 

My truck got t boned when it was new. Lightly in the rear. The dealership did a poor job fixing it. I just got it out of the body shop. The painter a (Mitsubishi) driver cracked me and said my truck wasn't worth fixing. When he delivered the R50 he went on and on about the handling and the ride. He said he absolutely loved driving it.

 

Kind of makes me wander.. I guess the bank would loan me whatever I wanted but in the cash price range I honestly think my Pathfinder was the absolute best vehicle I could have gotten.

 

2001.5 Pathfinder. Loaded with leather. 4,000 with 110k

 

If I had more money and could do it again I'd still rock my R50.

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Mine is my off road weekend pleasure vehicle. Purchased it because I highly enjoyed the one I had years ago, plus the huge praise for it's 4x4 capability. Same as the above post, 03' 4x4 SE loaded with leather, heated seats, DVD player, etc. 140k miles for 4K cash. Has nothing to do with income IMO. Mine is my 4th vehicle and oldest vehicle I own.

 

Plus, as others hinted to above, they just look better. Other than the new 4runners, my favored body style(r50) looks rugged and like a truck, not like a really tall station wagon. Love my R50!

Edited by 03TroutFinder
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Newer vehicles, higher insurance, registration, repair costs. I'm not a fan of newer vehicles.

 

I don't like having what everyone else has. The pathfinder is a great vehicle. It's not a speed demon, that's what my car is for. Unfortunately there is little aftermarket support. I'm not a hard core wheeler so that doesn't bother me. It's easy to work on. Doesn't look like everything else on the road. A lot of room in the boot.

 

I only paid $1300 when I bought mine. The fact that they aren't popular is what I like. You can get them at a cheaper price leaving some money to do work on it.

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Honestly I was looking for either a Jeep Cherokee (#1) or a 4runner but everything I found was either not 4x4 or automatic when up came my pathy. I couldn't pass up an 800$ deal so I bought it. It is crazy how much these trucks grow on you and if nothing else you gotta love that VG30E

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Honestly I was looking for either a Jeep Cherokee (#1) or a 4runner but everything I found was either not 4x4 or automatic when up came my pathy. I couldn't pass up an 800$ deal so I bought it. It is crazy how much these trucks grow on you and if nothing else you gotta love that VG30E

Be thankful you didn't get the 4runner. Not sure what years you were looking at. Their 6 cylinder is probably their worst engine. Not my words. Words from a Toyota mechanic.

 

I was looking at the 4 runners also. I went with the pathfinder because of the engine. The whole thing has really grown on me.

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Be thankful you didn't get the 4runner. Not sure what years you were looking at. Their 6 cylinder is probably their worst engine. Not my words. Words from a Toyota

Yeah I heard about that after awhile of coming up without any Cherokee lol I can't deny that they look good though and have an awesome selection for mods. Where we scrape for what we can get

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Because I'm poor and poor because. Just wanted something cheap and capable of exploring the backcountry and then fell in love. Think i would sink every paycheck into keeping it running if i had too. Yeah it might be the slowest of the slow with the old non injected z24 but with no ecu and next to no electronics there's enough room under the bonnet for a noob like myself to maneuver about freely. I lived in her for 4 months comfortably and if some tw@ wrote it off i would be fuming until i found another. Luckily they are still pretty common here and i'm always stoked to find out that a friend also has a w/d21 so we can go get muddy. I also recently went on a trip with bust free hubs and still dicked all over my friends fancy 93' hilux with the exception of few boggy areas but i'm pretty much running slicks on the rear so gimme a break. one day i will retire it to a field somewhere and make it into a memorial for everything that was great about 80s vehicle design. if i won the lottery this weekend I'd buy a fleet of them for friends and family.

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I like this car. Years ago (more than twenty years), back in France then, I noticed this front that i think is the most attractive in the design; We probably not imported this model in France where these vehicle would sell only in diesel, but Swiss and Belgian imported the 3 litres gas version, so, i saw a few of them and wanted it. Ten years ago in trinidad, I was behind one in the traffic and it was for sale... i drive it for ten years now.

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I always like the R50, they are not cheap in here... Spare parts are easy to find and expensive, accesories are hard to find and expensive, insurance is expensive, gas is expensive... hahahahahaha

Anyway... I like the design... The ride... And it is a very capable truck... Under rated... But very capable...

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