Thinking about selling the xterra for a HB... any advise?

[Alex Topousis]

well after hanging out with ben the past couple days and watching ryans HB develop I am thinking about selling the the xterra for a hardbody. Its not set in stone but any advise on how to sell it for the most value would be appreciated. I am goin got take tylers advice and put out a feeler on CO4x4. heres what I am scoping out right now... it already has the bed removed and the gas tank is moved perpendicular between the frame behind the cab.
http://i3.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/83/1c/3799_1.JPG
http://i22.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/83/1c/74bd_1.JPG

[JeffW]

W-O-W

That is a drastic move! Selling your street legal, late-model rig for an older trailer queen? My first advice is don't.

........

Back on topic:

I recommend putting your Xterra on Autotrader, eBay and cars.com. Then I recommend trying to find a visible spot to park it with a "For Sale" sign with a phone number on it. Some store owners will allow you to use their parking lot and permission is essential as you don't want it towed.

[Alpine Spirit]

It is very hard to get your $$$ back on a built up Xterra. Not many people are thinking about those for a wheeler. Hence it makes it harder to sell. I have watched a few on ebay and other sites and thier prices keep getting reduced until they sell for a fairly cheap price.

[JayRyan]

Sell me parts if you do :)

[CurleyMan]

Alex I have seen that hardbody on e-bay for a long time possibly a year or so. you would have to buy it site unseen but i may be able to pick it up for you. I'm guessing his reserve is set too high. Ryan tends to find them pretty cheap at police auctions...

[Scott Allan]

Alex, it depends on what you want to do with your rig. I really like having the Xterra because I like to be able to take up to 4 people along, and it is my daily driver. Heading out to Moab and Ouray in the Xterra is pretty pleasant.

I agree with Kevin that selling a "built" Xterra is harder. That is one of the reasons mine is still relatively stock. When I go to sell it I will probably "unbuild" it to some extent so that the entire Xterra used market is available to me.

You need to stop hanging out with all those SAS rigs :)

[ChefTyler]

My best advice, which I didn't communicate very well last night, is to keep the X, and buy a Hardbody or older Pathy for $1k or less and build up that. As you need $$$ for the build, sell off your mods from the X (3"SL comes to mind as you'll still have the clearance for tires and a PML + Tires will get you a long way), and that way you can still wheel while you're building up the new "toy" then retire the X to DD duties when you're done with the new truck.

[Packman5280]

here ya go, find a trans and you got a builder
http://denver.craigslist.org/car/275078610.html

[Lance T]

I just sold the Fronty and am now thinking about selling the X. Iwant to replace the Fronty with a HB and the X with a four door 1st. gen Pathy.

I have been taking parts of the X so that it will sell a little easier.

[Alex Topousis]

I would only sell the xterra if i got enough money for it, so that probably wont happen. I really dont want to sell the xterra but keep in mind that if I were to do this that I am in college and having two offroading rigs probably wouldnt be possible given the money. I would probably use whatever HB (given it runs good) I found as a dd until summer hits and I have a garage/ one of my parents cars to drive around

[JeffW]

I'm still really confused.

Since the X and HB are very machanically similar (except the X is much newer and probably has much lower mileage), what is the advantage of getting rid of it for an HB?

I've got a friend with an old Yota that is "built to the hilt". That thing is a monster offroad, but quite uncomfortable to drive around town. It has a crappy interior and uncomfortable seats. I certainly don'y baby my X but I am thankful for the few creature comforts I have because I'm driving a newer vehicle. Rhetorical question: If someone has a choice between an old vehicle and a newer one, why would they choose an old one without a clear advantage for that year of vehicle (I.E. 1985 Toyota PU)?

[CurleyMan]

One advantage and reason why we use older vehicles. Body damage!!!! Onece you start wheelin hard it is bound to happen. I think I have dented and broken some part of every panel of my truck now. To some extent it is much more painfull to destroy a newer vehicle. When I put a scratch on my car i cringe and try to wax it out. However i can go out right now and rail the HB against a tree and well bragg about it. I think this is one major advantage and for sure a reason why alot of us will constantly choose the later model nissans. I am going to sas a fronty this summer but my girlfriend will drive it and she doesn't wheel that hard.

[CurleyMan]

However if you are carefull enough or just don't care damaging a x or fronty may work very well. I am not bashing anyone's choices here! I'm just pointing out reasons why i went the route i did.

[ChefTyler]

Where Alex stands now, it doesn't make a WHOLE lot of sense, because he's already modded the X. But, if he had an Xterra stock and wanted a wheelin' rig it would make tons more sense to buy a beat up HB with a strong motor and mod the crap out that...simple economics, less initial cost makes the total cost of the build much less than buying a late model truck and modding that.

[JeffW]

^That^ sounds like great advice!

[Alex Topousis]

thanks for all the advise, I think that I will probably keep the xterra as you all advised. Jeff, the other reason that I am thinking about getting an older HB besides what ben(curlyman) said is that it seems to make more sense from the area of improvement standpoint. I think that a HB would have way more potential down the road. It would be hard to ever make an xterra do the same things that ben's rig, for example, can do now. I know that you dont need a big trail only type rig to offroad but I would like to get more into the rock crawling type of offroading that trucks like bens or ryan's new HB can do. Although I may not be experienced enough to do that type of wheeling yet I feel that down the road I will be, especialy after wheeling with all of you guys :D. I think that perhaps the best option, If I decide to pursue a HB is to work on it as a project when I have freetime. Dont get me wrong, I love the xterra. I did all the work on it so its especially special to me. I will probably end up keeping it and adding a much needed rear locker:D and then stop modding it past that. If I were to theoretically buy a HB and mod it, it would probably take a couple years to finish, unlike ryan's :thebirdman: do to school and such. Once again thanks for the advise, its appreciated

[Alpine Spirit]

Where Alex stands now, it doesn't make a WHOLE lot of sense, because he's already modded the X. But, if he had an Xterra stock and wanted a wheelin' rig it would make tons more sense to buy a beat up HB with a strong motor and mod the crap out that...simple economics, less initial cost makes the total cost of the build much less than buying a late model truck and modding that.

Hey Alex also keep in mind you can just buy a DD eventually and continue to wheel and build up the X. As soon as I find a good DD it will be time to start hacking up the truck some.

The X is really similar to the older Pathys and HBs. Even the frames, engines, Tcase and Transmissions. So most anyrhing that has been done to the other Nissans can be done to the X. It is just a matter of time and figuring it all out.

[Mike Maxwell]

I sold my heavily modded (everything but T Case gears and SAS), pristine (65K) X, and got only 10K. That was advertising it every way possible and not in a hurry. The target buyer is in a very small % of the market (kids and people who can appreciate modded Nissans). I could have stripped it back to stock and prolly got 10K for it.

[Alex Topousis]

the HB in the pic that I posted is only $1000 so I am thinking about buying it, anything that I should look for?

[Ryan Gee]

The frame... looks like it is painted. Some the older Nissan really rusted out bad. My 87 is almost perfect, then I have seen 94's with no frame left. The problem seems to be really hit and miss.

What are you planning for the rig? If sas is in the future the steering shouldn't be an issue.

Other than that, newly painted rigs tend to alarm me. What the heck got covered up... so to speak!

[CurleyMan]

That is a good point ryan has... An accident for example could have twisted or cracked that frame. All someone would need to do is weld or straighten it then paint it to hide the fix it job.

[Packman5280]

i am about to paint the frame on my pathy, and there's nothing wrong with it

[ChefTyler]

i am about to paint the frame on my pathy, and it's all rust :D

Fixed that for ya :D