Leaderboard

Hello @Sreenath G American specs are ok if you can be sure of the accident history and the car is in decent condition. The Americans don't dune bash like us. Most of them would overland which doesn't damage the car as much. Do note that US Xterras also come in 2WD models as well, so you need to get a "Pro 4X" model which is the Offroad version we have here. If not, just jump in and look for the 4H, 4L knob. A 2WD X is good only for pulling donuts. American Xterra's electronics are the same as the GCC ones. Anyway, you will install a kill switch for traction and ABS before entering the desert. Check the radiator and the cooling system thoroughly. American specs have a history of SMOD. Google it. If you see any traces of SMOD, walk away, not worth the headache. Regarding the budget to get it desert ready - You will have to change all fluids(engine, trans, transfer case, diff) and then drive the car to see other issues. The X has a tendency to hide issues and expose them one at a time in regular intervals 2008 X for 12K seems too shady. And if has been abused, not worth the risk and 8K might not fix it. Again, it depends on the condition of the car. Don't worry too much about the interior, thats inexpensive to fix, the mechanical part is what you need to focus on. Thank you!

10 going and 7 on waitlist. One of the most popular drives in recent times.

Hello @Sreenath G If the car was affected by SMOD, it would have been fixed before putting up for sale. Anyhoo, First, check if the radiator is OEM Nissan and matches the age of the car or at least looks used. If it looks like it was recently replaced that may be a sign it was affected by SMOD. Remove the radiator cap and the coolant tank cap and ensure the coolant is clear with no froth. If you see strawberry/chocolate milkshake, walk away. Check underneath the cap as well. Check for general transmission issues post 50 kmph, like slipping, shifting lag etc. Trans check is very important. I would suggest you to drive a couple of xterras before checking the US spec one so that you understand the shifts. In case the car was affected by SMOD, if the radiator was replaced and trans was flushed immediately, there would be no issues. If the car were to run with SMOD, the transmission had to be replaced. One good thing here is that SMOD was identified only till 2008 models. Yours being a 2010 shouldn't have this issue. The Nissan recall was for 2005-2008 models as long as I know.

Space on the fewbie drive for another Gladiator @Mark B

Hi Ale looks like a full convoy, not sure if you need but, if you need a sweep etc, happy to Join 😊

Warning 💀 ( Please read before you join ) This Drive is not intended by all means for the faint heart or for ones who fears heights . Strongly reccomended not to bring distractors like passengers especially who fears heights and most likely to develop motion sickness I personally strongly advise not to join if you are not sure about your vehicle readiness especially the recovery points (check its integrity from now if they are solid and not rusty ) Children ( newborn , infants or toddlers ) are not allowed in this drive ( i will check and return without hesitation noncompliant drivers ). Plan : From start till end we will be looping around big red area and its surroundings in different style back and forth ascend and descend continuously and as a convoy and not as one by one turn climb. this means that we and our cars will be pushed to our limit hence a tremendous skill and focus is vital to enjoy this drive safely. Stay tuned ! MUST READ AND COMPLY Environmental Policy Offroad Flag Guideline Two Way Radio Guideline Off road Driving Etiquette's Emergency details for all off-roaders Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities Drive Details Level: Fewbie Plus and above Meeting time: 5 AM Saturday 26th Aug 2023 Meeting Point https://goo.gl/maps/nLJrRsKwokeeyqf6A Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), smiles, face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 9 AM Saturday 26th Aug 2023 P.S. Only join if you have a compressor to inflate your tires after the drive. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 10 cars maximum. RSVP will close the night befor the event. If the RSVP is full and you wish to join, please add your self on the wait list option and the system will pull in after one drive retriction will be released if there are available slots and drive not closed yet. Latecomers will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Members without RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Members that do not confirm the terms of the COVID requirements will be removed from the RSVP list. Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others. Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month. PLEASE RSVP ON THE CALENDAR

This one will be my first fewbie drive after 6 newbie drives. Waiting for something more exciting.

Great, thank you indeed. I will check them out. @Krishna R

Sounds good @Gary F looking forward to it mate

Excited to be back. Am in!

Hi @CasperPLfor that budget you would find the following: 1. 2008-2010 Nissan Xterra 2. 2006 Jeep Wrangler TJ 3. 2008 Jeep Wrangler JK with the 3.8 Engine I have put the Nissan Xterra on top because it's a great on-road and off-road vehicle with plenty of boot space, and performs better than the Jeeps of this era and budget. The 4.0 engine is very powerful. The Jeep TJ is very powerful as well, but i would not recommend to use this as on-road vehicle. The Jeep JK with the 3.8 engine is not bad as well, but you will have a hard time finding a clean one, and the performance is not on par with an Xterra (and not as reliable). You will find Xterra for around 18-20kAED for the 2008 model, but to get it ready for the desert you will need to consider the following checkups: * Plugs and coils * Air filter and cabin filter * Throttle body clean * PCV valve * Clean the MAF sensor * Brake Fluids * Check exhaust system for leaks / cracks * Verify if catalytic converters are still installed. * Drive shaft u-joints * Boots on cv joints and grease * front body mounts * Engine mounts * transmission mounts * steering links and sway bars * front diff bushings * LCA UCA ball joints and leaf bushings * radiator and coolant hoses condition * Replace all fluids (engine, transmission, transfer case, differentials, coolant) I recently purchased a 2008 Xterra which had a good engine and tranmission, but spent a lot of money getting it to the condition that i wanted, which included replacing almost all hoses, bushings, all shocks, engine and transmission mounts, etc... After that add a front skid plate, replaced the weak OEM tow points with reinforced ones, installed a flag holder and you are good to go ! If you are still reading at this point and did not run away, you probably have seen by now that with your budget of 25k it will be a bit tight to get the car 100% offroad ready. I ended up spending a lot more unfortunately, but you can be lucky to find one for 25k that was well maintained. Sourcing spare parts in the used market in Sharjah is also an option but i personally preferred all new OEM parts. (cry once...) PS The offroad version would be great to have as it has rear locking differentials. But i've heard from many Xterra owners that the rear differentials cannot be found in the market secondhand (very rare) so if you need to replace the rear diff in the future that might be a big issue. There are plenty of Xterra owners here and will happily pitch in to help further ! Dubizzle and other online car sites will probably be the best source. I would avoid buying an Xterra that has been modified too much. There are still stock models for sale that haven’t seen a lot of off-road abuse. That’s the one you need.