Buying a 2004 Titan - glad I found this forum

Blues4u2go · 08-09-2006, 09:23 AM

I'll be joining the ranks of Titan owners. I signed a purchase & sales agreement at Inskip Nissan in RI and put a deposit on a 2004 Titan SE 4X4 Crew Cab with 10,500 miles on it. Waiting on the dealer to receive the title from Nissan USA. The truck was purchased at the same dealer in May 2004 by an older fellow who is now trading it in for something smaller.

It is in pristine condition and I am buying it as a Certified Pre-Owned (100,000 powertrain warranty) for $22,880 less my beater of a trade. Off road package, tow package, split bench in front, sprayed in bed liner with tie down tracks, Rockford audio sound (no dvd though).

I'm a big guy, 6'5", about 290lbs. I was looking at '06 Frontiers until the sales guy pointed me towards this Titan. When I slid behind the wheel I thought, 'wow, this vehicle actually fits me.' I was amazed by the power when I drove it. Very unlike the previous pick ups that I have owned.

Not wanting to get sucked into a deal on the spot, I went home and did my research, read the magazine reviews, and the owner reviews on Edmunds and MSN, and I found this forum. I'm a little concerned about the price of gas, but at least I live out in the country in Massachusetts (yes, there is still country in MA, there's a dairy farm across the street.) so I won't see any city miles to speak of. My commute to work is aout 20 miles all highway. I ran a CarFax VIN check that came back clean, and I'm checking with the dealer to see if the A/T column shift and rear seat belt recall work had been done on this truck, and whether any 'brake judder' work had been done. I will be covered by the 36 month bumper to bumber til next May, and the Certified preowned covers the PowerTrain for 100,000 miles.

My last car was a 2000 Pontiac. It is embarrassing how poorly made this car was. It failed emissions last week (probably what pushed me over the edge), the muffler is about to fall off. The A/C died when the car was only 3 years old. The rear driver side door is stuck shut. The heat/defrost fan stopped working two weeks ago. The driver's door will not lock, so you can not lock the car. These are the type of little knick knack quality issues that are steering me away from domestic cars/trucks for good. I've had it. These things should not have all failed on a 5-6 year old car. The Titan is made in the US, but hopefully it is designed to a higher quality standard. Opinions seem to indicate that this is the case.

Can't wait to pick up my baby!

Enjoy,
Mike

**Helinut1970** · 08-09-2006, 09:26 AM

Welcome to TT hope you stay and learn everything about your truck here. These are a bunch of very knowledgeable guys....well excluding me lol. Stick around and use the search button and if you cant find what you are looking for just ask.

CVTITAN · 08-09-2006, 09:30 AM

Welcome to TITAN TALK. I owned 4 Nissans and have been very happy with the product. I wish you the same luck but there was a couple bad apples from nissan in 04. Still its a great truck.

FtWTitan · 08-09-2006, 09:53 AM

Congratz on the buy and welcome aboard. I've mooched tons of info from these guys since I bought mine in February (yeah even you Heli), so you've come to the right place!

gf2020 · 08-09-2006, 07:15 PM

Sounds like a good deal, that sure is low mileage for an '04. I have 22,000 miles on my 2004 SE Crew Cab which I purchased as a new leftover in May 2005.

You'll most likely need the brake fix at some point, I had mine done at 17,000 miles. No point in having it done early. Make sure Inskip confirms the original in service date with you so you know when your warranty runs to.

As for gas mileage, I'm averaging 14.5 with the switch to E10 gas. I was getting 15.5 previously with the MTBE gas and had gotten as high as 17 on a long highway trip last November. You'll feel it at the pump commuting 200 miles per week, for sure.

Good luck and welcome aboard.

rtapia · 08-09-2006, 08:23 PM

Definitely get them to do the brake fix. Also see if they will give/cut you a good deal on a new rear diff cover.

**Carbeaux** · 08-09-2006, 08:45 PM

Welcome to the boards Blues! This place is without a doubt the best place to get info about your Titan. Someone here knows the answer, and usually from personal experience. Have fun and enjoy the TITAN.

phillipyang · 08-10-2006, 12:19 AM

prepare to lose about 1 month of your life in here. A lot of info so make sure you search or one of us gramps (1000+ posts) will yell at you. jk

miketan · 08-10-2006, 05:13 AM

One way to determine if the brake "judder" TSB was performed is to get a flashlight and look inside the front wheels where the rotor attaches to the rim. The updated rotors will have a depression or channel where the rotor disc meets the hub. The old style rotors did not have this feature and were flat all the way to the hub hat.

It's shocking that you had that many problems with a newer Pontiac. Then again, if it was problem free you probably wouldn't have purchased a Titan so soon.lol! I know some GM products can be problematic, but those issues with a 5-6 yr old Pontiac do seem quite excessive. Was it a high mileage car? Was it a ex-demo or ex-rental car?

I'm not sure if the Titan is significantly better than the other PU's. If Nissan built the Titan back in Japan, it would be. One thing is for certain, the Titan offers the best bang for the buck in a fullsized 1/2 ton PU. You get alot of truck for your money. The Infinity derived DOHC 5.6L V8 and 5sp auto transmission is the best feature of the Titan. Unfortunately, Ford and GM are still stuck in the stone ages with their 4sp autos. Even on the new upcoming '07 models. Ugh!

I think the quality difference between domestics and imports are more or less equal these days. Visit any import or domestic PU message board and you'll find similar horror stories from people regarding their new trucks. I guess these days it really depends on whether the truck you bought was made on a Monday or on a Friday at the assembly plant.lol!

**goathead** · 08-10-2006, 06:32 AM

welcome to TT....i too have an 04 SE CC 4x4....still love it after 2.5 years and 22k....this is THE place for TITAN info....

**konigfritz** · 08-10-2006, 08:27 AM

Welcome aboard!! TT is the best Titan forum on the net. feel free to ask questions, lots of good info here!

PGARTHW8 · 08-10-2006, 09:13 AM

Welcome to the boards! I'm sorry to hear you had such trouble with your Pontiac! What model was it? I'm just curious because I've owned numerous Pontiacs (2 Grand Prixies, Grand Am, & Firebird - my fav) and I never had one iota of an issue. Sounds like you got a bad apple.

I looked at every full size truck out there before deciding on a Titan. AS said above it is definately the best bang for the buck. I was fortunate enough to get the exact truck I wanted except for the color. My 1st choice was Red Alert 2nd was Smoke. I would have had to order one in red I didn't want to wait 8 weeks for one so I went w/Smoke.

Good luck w/yours hopefully it'll be in your driveway soon.

Briank · 08-10-2006, 05:41 PM

Welcome to the forum man! Sounds like you got a good price for a truck with low miles.

You will love the Titan....especially when you hop in your truck without the salesman in there, and floor it!

Unfortunately I didn't give my salesman that much courtesy, the poor ol' guy bout had a heart attack when I jammed on it with him in the passenger seat.
Congrats on the new purchase!

**Kenny Blankenship** · 08-10-2006, 05:51 PM

Welcome, again it has already been said but, welcome to the best titan forum.

mtofell · 08-10-2006, 07:13 PM

Welcome aboard.... I too am a tall Titan owner (6'4") and have to say the visibility in the Titan isn't great but that is the only thing even close to something unfavorable that I have to say about this truck... The drivetrain and 5spd auto is amazing.

Have fun.....