Hello. I am new to the forum and a real person living in South Western PA near Pittsburgh. I need a new vehicle and I found a 1996 Pathfinder SE. She runs great, looks pretty good, isn't all rusted to hell and back, with only 2 small holes in the rocker under the rear doors. Timing belt/chain was just replaced along with a water pump. Front tires are new, rears are 70% with no abnormal wear. Some very minor oil leaks around the valve covers, and around the engine in general, but nothing forming into drops, just seepage.

The worst thing that I found was what appeared to be brake fluid coming out of a cover that contains 4 lines. Is this a common problem?

There is a minor exhaust leak somewhere.

That really is the worst of it. All in all a solid vehicle. The owner is asking a very firm $2500 and he said he won't budge.

Is $2500 too much for a 1996 Pathfinder? I fully expect to have to some minor repairs on ANY used vehicle that I am about to buy, but I don't think I will be able to beat the Nissan reliability.

Your thoughts please.

I (personally) would need more info before I gave an opinion on if it's a good deal. Stuff like mileage? transmission? 4x4? sunroof? model? options? etc.. Pull up NADA and KBB and plug in the vehicle's info...somewhere in the middle of those two would be the approximate value. OH, and that Nissan reliability has pretty much faded away at this stage of the game. Plain and simply, it's an old vehicle. Old vehicles need more stuff regardless of what brand they are.

It's a 1996 SE. Auto 4x4. Loaded with all sorts of goodies. Power just about everything.

Thanks for your honest opinion!

The "cover" where the brake fluid is leaking may be the ABS actuator assy. Common oil leaks are the valve covers, rear main seal and oil pan rear lip seal. Problem areas are rusting front strut towers (there is a recall), rear suspension link bushings (cause the vehicle to "wobble" while driving), right side exhaust manifold cracking (most have been replaced by now), post muffler rotting out, air bag control units failing (causing the airbag light to flash), throttle position sensors failing or improperly adjusted.

I went ahead and bought it based on a gut feeling. Its used and 18 years old. Im gonna love it and squeeze it and call it georgeann.

Looking forward to seeing just how good she will be for me.