I've owned my 06 Crew Cab SE since new in 06. My relationship with it has come full circle- as when new I loved it- in mid years I swore I'd not buy another, and now and even last 2 - 3 yrs, I love it warts and all...comfortable like an old pair of jeans.
I really want a 6 foot bed for safer transport of kayaks, better fit of bikes, plus the ability to haul my garden tractor. Unfortunately- I also want the 4 full doors for those time I've gotta have adults in back seat. My wife has an Xterra which is tougher to get in and out of back seat, and my other vehicle is a 2 door Accord.
My truck has had some "challenges" of late. My radiator support is all rusted out and front end squeaking and sounding loose and horrible like marbles. The front end has "fluttered" over expansion joints for a number of years- even though I've changed out struts and lower ball joints.
The last couple of days much of the noise from front end has subsided, and I also thought about a truck I'd seen at a local dealer- a 2016 used Colorado Z71. Of course its my favorite color, and its loaded, has 20K miles(yikes). Unfortunately it also only the extended cab!!! They wanted $30G for the Colorado. While I could not sit in the back- if I liked the truck enough- we would just need to deal with the fact carrying others would be tough.
They were very fair in ACV of my truck, as I have a number of scratches and dings, but also only 107K and they in essence would put $8K into my truck and then I make my best deal from there- regardless of what I look at.
My first impressions that were good- It was quiet, it has a decent ride, and had that truck feel of sitting high. I tried to discount the differences in switch, feel, location or control between the two vehicles- as these would be obvious differences, and would get used to.
My unfavorable impression- as a trait of the truck- was it did not have throttle response or the pulling power that our VQ 4.0's have, unless I mashed it- and it made a lot of noise. The truck also had a fair amount of scratches in it- you could only see up close, and the tires were more than half worn... I would want them changed before Winter. They were Goodyear Wrangler with Kevlar.
I would still consider the vehicle, but in the end I walked without even trying to make a deal. I still wanted to find a Crew Cab 6 foot Frontier with VTP. However- tonight as I was driving the Fronty, it dawned on me that it felt I had more room to stretch out while driving, and it felt like a bigger vehicle. Warts and all- it gave me that comfortable jeans feeling...none of my previous vehicles ever gave me that impression.
I now need to re-think what is really important to me in a new truck. Yes- I want the 6 foot bed, but is the Crew Cab REALLY a necessity for me. Can I get by with an extended Cab Fronty which are much easier to find than a CCLB. Heck- I could even opt for a PRO-4X now if the extended cab would work for me.
Of course- maybe I should just put some $$$ in my truck and give me some time to think this one through. I can't wait too long though...the 2018 Fronty's look pretty FUGLY- at least from the pics we've seen here.
Chris
I really want a 6 foot bed for safer transport of kayaks, better fit of bikes, plus the ability to haul my garden tractor. Unfortunately- I also want the 4 full doors for those time I've gotta have adults in back seat. My wife has an Xterra which is tougher to get in and out of back seat, and my other vehicle is a 2 door Accord.
My truck has had some "challenges" of late. My radiator support is all rusted out and front end squeaking and sounding loose and horrible like marbles. The front end has "fluttered" over expansion joints for a number of years- even though I've changed out struts and lower ball joints.
The last couple of days much of the noise from front end has subsided, and I also thought about a truck I'd seen at a local dealer- a 2016 used Colorado Z71. Of course its my favorite color, and its loaded, has 20K miles(yikes). Unfortunately it also only the extended cab!!! They wanted $30G for the Colorado. While I could not sit in the back- if I liked the truck enough- we would just need to deal with the fact carrying others would be tough.
They were very fair in ACV of my truck, as I have a number of scratches and dings, but also only 107K and they in essence would put $8K into my truck and then I make my best deal from there- regardless of what I look at.
My first impressions that were good- It was quiet, it has a decent ride, and had that truck feel of sitting high. I tried to discount the differences in switch, feel, location or control between the two vehicles- as these would be obvious differences, and would get used to.
My unfavorable impression- as a trait of the truck- was it did not have throttle response or the pulling power that our VQ 4.0's have, unless I mashed it- and it made a lot of noise. The truck also had a fair amount of scratches in it- you could only see up close, and the tires were more than half worn... I would want them changed before Winter. They were Goodyear Wrangler with Kevlar.
I would still consider the vehicle, but in the end I walked without even trying to make a deal. I still wanted to find a Crew Cab 6 foot Frontier with VTP. However- tonight as I was driving the Fronty, it dawned on me that it felt I had more room to stretch out while driving, and it felt like a bigger vehicle. Warts and all- it gave me that comfortable jeans feeling...none of my previous vehicles ever gave me that impression.
I now need to re-think what is really important to me in a new truck. Yes- I want the 6 foot bed, but is the Crew Cab REALLY a necessity for me. Can I get by with an extended Cab Fronty which are much easier to find than a CCLB. Heck- I could even opt for a PRO-4X now if the extended cab would work for me.
Of course- maybe I should just put some $$$ in my truck and give me some time to think this one through. I can't wait too long though...the 2018 Fronty's look pretty FUGLY- at least from the pics we've seen here.
Chris