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914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
12/8/18 8:46 a.m.

Just looking, anything in my price range has a bazillion miles on it.  My friend has one that he sent to Quigley for a 4X4 conversion, too rich for my blood.

They're V-6 automatics, huge inside.  Anything else?  One on fleabay.

John Welsh
John Welsh Mod Squad
12/8/18 9:05 a.m.

V6?  They can be 5.6L V8 too.

Research shows me:

Model NV1500 is 4.0L V6

Model NV2500 and NV3500 is 5.6L V8

Is nearly $8k for 200+k miles a good deal?  I don't know.  

1988RedT2
1988RedT2 UltimaDork
12/8/18 9:22 a.m.

They're hideous, even relative to other vans.  But you already knew that. 

https://www.caranddriver.com/nissan/nv1500-2500-3500

You might go broke putting gas in it.

On the plus side?  It's big, but not relative to the competition. 

Meh.

dculberson
dculberson UltimaDork
12/8/18 9:28 a.m.

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

I’m sorry but they’re not anywhere near the ugliest van on the market! Yes they’re ugly but they all are. Top honors goes to:

ram promaster. Ugh. 

californiamilleghia
californiamilleghia Reader
12/8/18 9:39 a.m.

I just think they waste 24 inches or more on the nose that could be used for more interior space like all the other Vans around,  

 

1988RedT2
1988RedT2 UltimaDork
12/8/18 10:19 a.m.

In reply to dculberson :

I think your sense of aesthetics is broken. smiley

The Ram is no beauty, but it looks like one next to the Nissan. 

Run_Away
Run_Away GRM+ Memberand Dork
12/8/18 10:20 a.m.

I don't know anything about pricing, but from a dealer tech perspective they're very solid vehicles. Only common thing I've seen is check engine lights from dust getting into the evap system. There's a TSB.

 

Same drivetrain as a frontier or Titan, just with way more cooling capacity. I *think* the axles and brakes and frame are the same from the 1500 all the way to the 3500.

T.J.
T.J. MegaDork
12/8/18 12:13 p.m.

I can't stand the Nissan vans just because the front is a pick up truck. I think they have decent tow ratings though. 

bigdaddylee82
bigdaddylee82 UltraDork
12/8/18 12:36 p.m.

Back when the NV was kind of new, and I was a Nissan service writer, I convinced the powers that be to let me borrow a 12 passenger for a few days.

SWMBO was graduating with her PhD, and we had family and friends flying in, so we needed a bus.  We affectionately called the thing "The Graduation Bus."  Placing 10 orders at Tim Hortons' drive through was fun.

We only had the thing for 3 days, but it was perfect for what we needed it for.   It's basically a Titan with a big camper shell on it, it was easy to maneuver for its size, I don't recall the fuel economy, but I remember figuring it when I filled it back up before returning it, and thinking to myself, considering how many folks we were toting around, it really wasn't that bad.

I'm far from a Nissan fanboy, wasn't before I worked for them, for sure wasn't afterward, but I don't recall any NV specific issues that weren't recalled, I know Nissan replaced all the barn door hinges on the early ones, but otherwise, they're a Titan.

mad_machine
mad_machine GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
12/8/18 7:58 p.m.

I know many think the NV is ugly, but that snout does two important things. It makes maintaining it easier than using a small hood on the outside and a doghouse on the inside. It also makes it safer in a collision. I think those two pluses outweigh any minuses on the looks

Wally
Wally GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
12/8/18 8:27 p.m.

It’s not a van, it’s a panel wagon.

JamesMcD
JamesMcD SuperDork
12/8/18 9:54 p.m.

They are popular in the home schooling community (the ones with windows, I mean).

SlimShady218
SlimShady218 New Reader
12/10/18 9:10 a.m.

We have a bunch in our fleet at the University in 15 passenger configurations, all with V-8.  We have had no issues with them at all, regular maintenance and gas, that's about it.  

mtn
mtn MegaDork
12/10/18 10:09 a.m.
JamesMcD said:

They are popular in the home schooling community (the ones with windows, I mean).

Huh. I just realized that every person I knew who was homeschooled had a conversion van in their family. Didn't matter if it was 2 kids or 7 in the family, the family had a conversion van. 

Klayfish
Klayfish PowerDork
12/10/18 11:20 a.m.

I opened this thread expecting this....

 

Imagine my disappointment...

mr2s2000elise
mr2s2000elise Reader
12/10/18 11:31 a.m.
SlimShady218 said:

We have a bunch in our fleet at the University in 15 passenger configurations, all with V-8.  We have had no issues with them at all, regular maintenance and gas, that's about it.  

How high of a mileage are the ones you guys have?

SlimShady218
SlimShady218 New Reader
12/17/18 8:48 a.m.

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

I just counted and it looks like we have 6 in our motor pool.  They get checked out by some of the sports teams, driven to the airport to pick up and drop off folks and for tooling around campus (our campus is 13,000 acres with a lot of gravel/dirt roads) so mileage would vary, I would guess they are 20k on the low end to 60k on the upper end.

fanfoy
fanfoy Dork
12/17/18 1:23 p.m.
mad_machine said:

I know many think the NV is ugly, but that snout does two important things. It makes maintaining it easier than using a small hood on the outside and a doghouse on the inside. It also makes it safer in a collision. I think those two pluses outweigh any minuses on the looks

This ^^^^^^

They came out when Ford and GM were still selling their old vans (Econolines and Savanas) and they are superior in everyway to those old monstrosities. The back is actually great for a working van because the sides are straight and they have a lot of anchorage points.

Compared to the new breed of vans (Ford Transit and Ram Promaster) they are a little old fashioned. No diesel, less interior room, older transmissions. They are very reliable in service. But Nissan wants a little too much money for them new IMO. 

noddaz
noddaz GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
11/30/20 6:32 a.m.

I am by no means a Nissan fan, but sometimes function does out weigh form.   If you want pretty, buy a mini van.  But good luck getting all your work junk, or 12 passengers in it.

californiamilleghia
californiamilleghia SuperDork
11/30/20 9:52 a.m.

Where are they built ?

If japan  do they get the 25% Chicken tax ?

mr2s2000elise
mr2s2000elise UltraDork
11/30/20 10:11 a.m.

In reply to californiamilleghia :

Built in Mississippi and Mexico 

RX Reven'
RX Reven' GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
11/30/20 11:11 a.m.
dculberson said:

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

I’m sorry but they’re not anywhere near the ugliest van on the market! Yes they’re ugly but they all are. Top honors goes to:

ram promaster. Ugh. 

Turn it around and it looks even worse with that way too low slung, way too flimsy looking cross-member that boisterously advertises "we don't even have RWD"...pretty sure the brake lines are fastened to the cross-member with zip ties but I'd be too afraid to get under one to confirm what with having young daughters and all.

I don't want to offend anybody that has one - maybe they're really good - but I carpool with another engineer and the first time we say one, we burnt a good 10 miles just ripping on how E36 M3'y the rear suspention "looked".  Again, maybe they're fine but the "apparent quility" is non-existent.

californiamilleghia
californiamilleghia SuperDork
11/30/20 11:45 a.m.

Did any Rent a car places have them ?

You do not see many around here....

mr2s2000elise
mr2s2000elise UltraDork
11/30/20 12:06 p.m.

In reply to californiamilleghia :

You see them all over Utah, the passenger vans. 
 

la has rental of the cargo versions. 

My friend has a 4x4 in Newport Beach.  Not a quigley or advanced conversion but an oem conversion. He uses it to tow + family. He combined odyssey + tundra into one vehicle. 
 

Dealers do a Titan xd 4x4 transfer case with oem 4x4 switch. 
 

yes nissans are junk. But the 3500 NV with the reliable 5.6 v8 is fantastic . 
 

on trip to Montana he got about 15-16 mpg. No different than our 200 series LX. His had way more versatility and space. Quality isn't there on the interior, but at the price , you can't beat them. Way better than junk chevy express vans I recall riding in ... 

Karacticus
Karacticus GRM+ Memberand Dork
11/30/20 12:33 p.m.
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