Looking to buy a used R50; what should I look out for?

[chug]

Hey folks,

 

I'm looking to buy a used R50 Pathfinder. I'm currently driving a Subaru Forester but want to move to something more capable off-road and with a bit more space.

 

For context, I'm based in south-central Europe and we have a pretty expensive car market here, especially for the SUVs, so there's not a lot of solid US-spec offroaders here.

 

That being said, I am looking at a used 2003 R50 automatic with the 3.5 engine. It was in the US (NY based on the info I got from the owner) until 2015 when the owner imported it here in Europe. Has only 70k miles, interior is in decent condition, was driven by an elderly person so probably never went off the pavement, and shouldn't have more than a surface rust either.

 

I'm generally just looking for info on what to look out for when I go to see it? I've done some reading about the infamous oil burning problem that these engines have, given the low mileage on this one should I be worried about that? And is there anything else specific I should watch for?

 

It's priced at 7300 EUR, so a bit more than I'd be willing to pay, but if it turns out to be mechanically sound I could splurge

 

If purchased I'd also do the LPG conversion to reduce the fuel costs so if anyone had experience with LPG on these engines any info is much appreciated

 

I'll try to post some pictures below.

 

[chug]

Can't upload any pics here so I'll provide the links:

 

https://pasteboard.co/NCYHUkaWV4Dd.png

 

https://pasteboard.co/wpqITwHCJKxY.png

 

https://pasteboard.co/youmO21e9EHV.png

 

 

[Matari]

Jeez, cars are expensive where you live -- €7,300 could get you four R50s where I live, LOL.
Anyway, the car looks like it’s been taken care of. I’m not too sure about rust issues since it doesn’t snow or rain much where I live, so maybe someone else can give better insight on that.

What I would look out for is whether it still has the original engine. A known problem with the R50 is the butterfly valve screws on the power valves they can come loose, fall into the engine, and completely destroy it (happened to me… RIP). You can read more about that issue here:
https://forums.nicoclub.com/threadlocker-on-power-valve-screws-pics-t304263.html

Also, check for:

• White smoke from the exhaust

• Whether the transmission shifts through all 4 gears

• Functionality of the 4x4 system

• General wear and tear: CV boots, bushings, bearings, etc.

• Any power steering leaks - listen for pump noise when turning the wheel, and check if there’s any ATF fluid under or on the car

• Check how the car idles and if it holds temp 

Hope that helps

[chug]

Yep, it's very expensive, even when importing from somewhere else I'd still pay 3-4k€ due to the EU emission taxes...

 

Thanks for the tips, I'll pay attention to the stuff common for other cars as well, was mostly interested in something R50 or Nissan specific since I never owned one myself, so the valve screw thing will be very helpful. Looking at the topic it doesn't seem like something I could quickly check myself while inspecting the car, but I can only hope it's the original engine and that the odometer wasn't rolled back.

Edited July 24 by chug

[R50JR]

On 7/24/2025 at 6:50 PM, chug said:

Yep, it's very expensive, even when importing from somewhere else I'd still pay 3-4k€ due to the EU emission taxes...

 

Thanks for the tips, I'll pay attention to the stuff common for other cars as well, was mostly interested in something R50 or Nissan specific since I never owned one myself, so the valve screw thing will be very helpful. Looking at the topic it doesn't seem like something I could quickly check myself while inspecting the car, but I can only hope it's the original engine and that the odometer wasn't rolled back.

 

There is absolutely rust on that r50. That is 12 years of salty winters. I would say pass on it.

[hawairish]

Several years in NY means it will likely have rust.  Key points to look for rust are around the strut towers, and the pinch welds towards the front-bottom of the front doors where water from the cowl is channeled behind the fenders...debris build-up causes issues.

 

The power valve issue was limited to 00-02 model years, but that's not to say it's not possible on 03-04.  It does require pulling off the intake plenums to address, but again, 03 models were not in the affected range.  Unfortunately, the VIN tag on the engine is buried on the top-backside of the block and not easy to see to confirm if it had been swapped, but it's unlikely it has.  Still, if the engine has been swapped and runs fine, then any prior issue doesn't matter much.

 

The truck appears to be an SE trim given the wheels and 4wd shifter.  Since the truck has the part-time 4wd system (as indicated by having a shifter lever instead of a dial switch under the radio), I don't expect any issues with 4wd, but you should always check that.

 

Truck otherwise looks good to me.  €7300 is $8575 in the US, and that's pretty steep for the truck if it were still in the US.  But 70K and good interior can go a long way.  If you can confirm the amount of rust, and the price is negotiable, it might be a reasonable purchase.  You may also want to consider parts availability.  I'm not sure what engines were in European-spec R50s (Terranos), but there were turbo-diesel options out there.  I believe the VQ was widely used, though, but just note that its VQ does not share a lot of parts with other Nissan VQs.  Drivetrain and suspension parts were the same across all markets, though, so should be easy to find those.

[chug]

I'm hoping that there's not a lot of rust but will definitely check that in detail next week when I inspect the car in person.

 

As far as parts,  terranos sold here were mostly 2.7 or 3.0 diesels, but the 350Z with vq35de engine was sold in Europe, are parts for that compatible with r50?

And is there something other than the wear and tear parts that usually needs changing on this engine?

 

I'd also need to check how to get oem nissan parts in europe, for subaru and honda it was fairly easy to do so without ordering from Japan.

Edited July 27 by chug

[Slartibartfast]

Looks like the rear bumper is hanging down in the second picture. Take a look at that and see what's broken. I'm guessing someone backed into something. Might just pop back on, might have broken clips? I don't know how those attach.

 

New York is worrying. My '95 spent the first part of its life in New York. The body looked alright, but the frame was rotted through, and every bolt under it was a fight. Hopefully this one was looked after while it was in the US, and the owner didn't go to all that trouble to ship a rustbucket across the pond. Definitely check underneath, especially the strut towers, like Hawairish said. This PDF shows where they like to rot, and also the band-aid that Nissan slapped on that bullet wound. If I looked under and found evidence of that band-aid, I would treat it the same as a giant rust hole, and back away slowly.

 

I've bought from Amayama and Partsouq. I assume they'd ship to Europe, don't know that for sure though.

[R50JR]

4 hours ago, chug said:

I'm hoping that there's not a lot of rust but will definitely check that in detail next week when I inspect the car in person.

 

As far as parts,  terranos sold here were mostly 2.7 or 3.0 diesels, but the 350Z with vq35de engine was sold in Europe, are parts for that compatible with r50?

And is there something other than the wear and tear parts that usually needs changing on this engine?

 

I'd also need to check how to get oem nissan parts in europe, for subaru and honda it was fairly easy to do so without ordering from Japan.

 

I sent you a private message.

[hawairish]

This generation of Pathfinder (96-04) I've highly regarded as being Nissan's bastard stepchild.  It's "similar" to all other Nissans of the era, but almost never the exact same.  The VQ engine is no exception.  Some internal parts interchange, but beyond that, they only have some commonality in terms of dimensions and specifications.  The same is true for the drivetrain and suspension, which is largely similar to other Nissan trucks and SUVs, but also completely dissimilar in enough ways.  In the end, there's very limited aftermarket support.

 

I also get a lot of parts from international sources like Amayama.com (Japan, UAE) and Partsouq.com (UAE).  VQ35 parts might be your toughest parts to find, but across all R50s, the only real differences where the engines used.  Everything else on the chassis, including transmission, drivetrain, and suspension will pretty much be identical.

[chug]

6 hours ago, Slartibartfast said:

Looks like the rear bumper is hanging down in the second picture. Take a look at that and see what's broken. I'm guessing someone backed into something. Might just pop back on, might have broken clips? I don't know how those attach.

 

New York is worrying. My '95 spent the first part of its life in New York. The body looked alright, but the frame was rotted through, and every bolt under it was a fight. Hopefully this one was looked after while it was in the US, and the owner didn't go to all that trouble to ship a rustbucket across the pond. Definitely check underneath, especially the strut towers, like Hawairish said. This PDF shows where they like to rot, and also the band-aid that Nissan slapped on that bullet wound. If I looked under and found evidence of that band-aid, I would treat it the same as a giant rust hole, and back away slowly.

 

I've bought from Amayama and Partsouq. I assume they'd ship to Europe, don't know that for sure though.

I did notice the bumper sag, it's likely from parking, owner said it wasn't involved in a collision but I'll still double check for any bodywork damage in person.

 

As I see my main concern will be about the rust. I have the vin code so if the rust recall repair has been done is that something that will be visible when doing a vin check?

[chug]

Well, https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls says that neither of the 2 recalls (rust and airbags) have been completed, not sure if that's a good or a bad thing

[hawairish]

The rust repair depends. Owners could have it done by a dealership, or bought the panels themselves. It’d be marked if done by the dealership. In a lot of those cases, the rust would’ve been severe enough to scrap the vehicle. 
 

The air bag thing…I’d forgotten about that one. So that’s a likely a big deal. If you’re not familiar with it, it was a global recall across multiple car brands and models identified as having potentially dangerous Takata air bags. There was a risk of shrapnel being expelled during deployment. Any Nissan dealership can inspect and/or replace them, but given that a few years have passed, I’m not sure what the inventory looks like. Mine was also recalled and I had that work done (and because of all the lawsuits at the time, even got paid a few hundred to do it).  Every now and then there are still articles about the defective airbags being fatal. Might be a bargaining chip, provided you are wanting to see if the recall work can still be performed. 

[chug]

ouch, I wasn't aware about the airbag thing, but after researching it does seem like a pretty big deal. I got in touch with the local dealerships, one of them said that nothing can be done as they can't "see the vehicle" in their systems when searching by VIN code, another told me that they will check if parts can be sourced from US or somewhere else so I'll have to wait for more info on that.

 

In any case thank you all for the info here, I will see the car in person on Thursday and post an update here after that.

Edited July 29 by chug