# Is an used X-Trail worth buying?



## not_this_punk (Mar 25, 2008)

Hello all!

I would love a true off-roader, but as funds are limited I must buy an SUV, and a used one. OK, I won't make my decision based solely on a car's off-road performance (it will be my everyday car so fuel consumption is a factor).

The X-Trail seemed to fit the bill pretty well but lurking on this forum I'm starting to change my mind:

1. A lot of noise problems.
2. Troubles with the car itself (rust, broken parts, strange behavior in freezing temperatures)

I currently have a small city car and I don't know what to look for in a used X-Trail and I never drove one. In fact I never drove a 4x4 but all my life I wanted one. So what should I look for? Any specific noises, any specific behavior of the car?

I want to know what to expect when I'll test drive it, what should I look for and what are the most important factors in picking the right car.

Really, my opinion slightly changed...I want a reliable car. If I'll go hiking through the forest I don't want the engine to break in the middle of nowhere. I saw many people saying that this was the last Nissan they'll ever buy.

So, is it a reliable car? Is it worth it? 
Would I be better off with a RAV4, CR-V or even a Santa Fe?
I'm looking into the 2.2 DCi Sport at about 12-13000 Euro, with probably more than 70000 km on board. Is the price OK?

OK so in the end: 
1. Is the X-Trail a reliable car, one in which I could put my trust in?
2. Is the X-trail better than the Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Santa Fe, Honda CR-V?
3. Is the XT 2.2 DCi Sport 70000+ km ok at about 13K Euro?
4. What should I look for when picking up an used X-Trail?
5. Is the 2.2 diesel an unreliable engine?
6. Are you happy with your XT's? Would you buy it again?

Very sorry for my long post and really, any help is greatly appreciated! And sorry if this subject was already covered. I couldn't find it...


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## The Mad Hat Man (Oct 3, 2006)

its like any used car - yu get good ones and bad ones.

and yu tend to hear of the bad ones on a forum. 
If you really want to hear a bad story - look up freelander forums, the X-T is brilliant in comparison.
I bought mine second hand two years ago - apart from fuel, I have only needed to replace the rear disks and pads all round.

look at lots , dont buy the first one and you will find the car you want.


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## MARKTHEEVILDUDE (Nov 23, 2006)

i will be plugging this company for the second time in 2 days! But whatcar.com, it tells you all you need to know, prices, best models, problems and you will see it has the xtrail as the best used small 4x4. Also check out internet survey sites, will give you advice from users that don't spend all their times talking about xtrail faults. But to be honest, more people are gonna right about problems they have had, that the good parts. I got my second hand from a dealership a couple of years ago and they did sort out all the problems i had under warranty(eventually). But my main tip would be to go out and try the various cars, see how they drive and see which one you like best. If your an attentive driver you can usually tell if there are any problems. Make sure you get a used car history check to see if what your buying has outstanding finance or been in major bangs and get an impartial mechanic or your breakdown service provider to do a complete check of the car. Will cost money, but will cost more if you get screwed. Whatever you chose, happy driving!


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## not_this_punk (Mar 25, 2008)

OK but is the XT a reliable car? I heard many people complain about the quality of the X-Trail. And I'm wondering, if people that bought new XT's complain about it, what should I expect from an used one? 

Squeaks, rattles, hisses, noises and the stuff. Would they be normal? I mean I have a Daewoo Matiz (about 6000 EURO new) with 106000 KM and it doesn't have that many noises as some people say their XT's have after less than 50000 KM.

I just want a car that won't break down for no reason when I need it the most...


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## Rockford (Jan 28, 2005)

At 2.5 years and 54,000km of ownership and counting I've no regrets. No significant squeaks or rattles. The frozen door/lock thing is the only real failing I've experienced so far and it was fixed under warranty. Also, I just did the rear brakes and will never accept that that's normal this early in the game.
Overall I'm happy. All vehicles have problems of one kind or another. That said I believe Toyota and Honda have a slight edge over Nissan in terms of quality - generally speaking. Then again, their vehicles tend to cost a bit more too, right?


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## MARKTHEEVILDUDE (Nov 23, 2006)

I have had a few warranty issues, and as i have said they eventually got fixed, i feel i have a reasonale relationship with my dealership now and they have admitted that when i kept pushing to get issues fixed, they thought i was being over the top, because as a general rule, xtrails don't break(thats a quote!) I live in the south of England, so not an incredibly harsh climate, and only once has my xtrail failed to start first time, i go few periods of very limited use and have no problem, but have also taken it away for a trip of several thousands of miles within a few months, on all sorts of roads and still fine. I would recommend it to anyone, and before i got one i called sveral owners, who recommended it to me. 
Any used(or new) car will have squeaks and rattles, the torneau cover and sunroof are 2 comman ones, but nothing out of the ordinary, the xtrail is a lot larger than a mattiz, so its gonna be noisier. But if you look after it, it will look after you. I have had my xtail for 2 years and at the moment i consider it a car for life(even if rising car costs mean emmigrating!). Get it checked, get it warrantied, look after it and come on here for the odd bit of advice and i don't think you can go wrong. hope that helps!


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## The Mad Hat Man (Oct 3, 2006)

the X-T is not a true off-roader.
In the UK yu cannot get guards for the underneath. Lift kits, rock/tree sliders or snorkels. I looked into this a year or so ago and it would entail importing from Austrailia, Israel, South Africa etc. Not an easy job, but as a "soft roader" they are fine. 
As I said previously, I have had little or no problems with mine (kiss of death) if you want a cheap true family off-roader, look into a Land Rover Discovery - always going wrong, but cheap to fix.


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## Xtrailguy (Mar 9, 2006)

Well, I said this on here before, but I will recap my XT ownership so far other than regular oil and filter changes:

0-60,000km (warranty period): 
back to the dealer 0 times (i.e. not a single problem)

60,000-100,000km: 
brake pad replacement
drivers side rear wheel bearing (bearing ~$120)

100,000-150,000km: 
brake pads/rotors (pads were still decent but I replaced anyways)
passenger side rear wheel bearing (bearing ~$120).
two front sway bar bushings ($9 each).

That is a pretty good record if you ask me.
I would buy another in a heartbeat.


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## not_this_punk (Mar 25, 2008)

Hey Xtrailguy, thanks for your ownership recap! Seems it's actually a pretty reliable car!

The Mad Hat Man, is the X-Trail a BAD off-roader? I read in some reviews that it's not THAT far behind its bigger brother, the Navarra. Well, I know it's not a true off-roader, but I thought that it's better than most SUV's. 

I haven't looked into the Land Rover Discovery. Is it better suited for off-road than the X-Trail? It doesn't really look like it might. I found this on an used car website:
Car Ad: Detailed Item View
Guess it's a hoax, right? I don't know much about the Discovery TD6 but I suspect it's far more expensive than the XT.

Oh and what are "Lift kits, rock/tree sliders or snorkels"? I know I'm a newbie and I should just use search or google But all this is very exciting and I can't help it And I guess guards for the underneath are metal plates that protect stuff beneath the car? Doesn't that come standard? Some normal saloon cars have this.


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## The Mad Hat Man (Oct 3, 2006)

most of the reviews I have seen say that the X-T is "_Surprisingly _good" - make of that what you will - but most soft roaders are not designed to do anything serious. Most Land Rovers (except the Freelander) _are _designed for the serious stuff. I was quite pleased when I took my X-T off road with some LR Defenders on some green lanes - it coped well. but if you want to do anything other than potter along some leafy lanes, particularly in the UK, you will find that most of the lanes are overgrown and will reduce your paintwork to something like a "Brillo pad" within a couple of trips. That is why I dont off road my X-T now - I have bought a cheap Discovery (you can pick them up for about £1000) to use off road. I dont care then what happens to it.
A lift kit is extra long springs, shocks etc to raise the body up from the suspension to give greater clearance when driving through water.
Bigger (diameter) tyres give you increased ground clearance to help stop smashing the underside on rocks (one through a fuel tank aint fun).
Rock/Tree sliders are strong box sections along the sill line to allow the car to scrape along rocks or the side of trees without damaging your motor (too much).
A snorkel is a raised air intake to allow you to travel through deep(er) water without breathing it into your engine (they dont like water much).
Diff guards are exactly what they say - thick steel guards to protect your diffs from being holed by rocks.

Dont buy a good car and go off roading in it - its the quickest way to destroy its value.


by the way - you dont say - are you in the UK?


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## not_this_punk (Mar 25, 2008)

Thanks for your reply The Mad Hat Man!

Actually I'm from Romania and the car I'll buy (I'll buy it from Germany probably-they're much cheaper) will have to be my everyday car (so I got to take fuel economy into account...). That's why I can't really buy an older Land Rover or the sort, but maybe in the future I'll do what you did: buy a cheap old off-roader.

I don't have any previous off-road experience and I thought that the XT could give me some sort of a starting point.

Anyway, as long as it's a solid and reliable car, I think I'll live with it Won't be worse than my Matiz anyway


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