2008 Armada, What think you hive mind?

Going to look at a 1st gen armada soon.  looks like a solid car  $7k asking 157k miles.  not rusty according to the photos I have seen.   I'm thinking if it's solid, I'm a buyer around $6k ish..  

Whats the hive consensus on this?

I had a 2010 for several years and it was a great truck.  I liked it so much I bought a 2018 for my wife and sold the 2010 to my sister.

I think that 2008 is a change over year for the 1st gens.  The early ones have issues with the transmission cooler line breaking inside of the radiator causing coolant to get in the transmission.

We liked the 2010 Armada much better than the 2007 Yukon Denali that we had before.  Its gas mileage sucked but it was reliable and rode nicely.

In reply to tremm :

Yeah. I got you. I'm working from home for most of the winter so this is needed mostly to bring my kids to school and putz around town.  

Those era Nissans always seemed to nickel and dime you to death with electrical gremlins. 

Fueled by Caffeine said:

In reply to tremm :

Yeah. I got you. I'm working from home for most of the winter so this is needed mostly to bring my kids to school and putz around town.  

So my philosophy is, unless you need to tow and haul your kids around, a full-size SUV is a terrible vehicle. A pickup hauls more junk and a van hauls more people and luggage. Both probably get better MPG!

Pickups are generally much more expensive than the comparable SUV.

Van's do often make more sense, but some folks like my wife would not be caught dead in one.  I am willing to pay for the extra gas to keep her happy!

I already own a van. That's the wife's car. 
 

a pickup would be nice.  But they seem to be more money for a similar vehicle. I'd love a bed for homeowner hauling and camping duties.  A truck for the same price as this armada has lots of body rust. Yay Minnesota. 

Not a big fan of how they rode but that's subjective. Prefer GMT800 based Tahoe/Sclade for the money and have always dreamed of an escursion.

In reply to Olemiss540 :

The Tahoe's are on the list. Drove one tonight. Not bad but kissing the third row. And therefore useless for three kids.  

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

Well so Armada it is then. I am not sure when, but Nissans became total POS at some point in the 2000s. I owned a 2013 and regretted it.

Suburbans would fit the bill but they will have a big premium over the Armada, as will Sequoias. I like the Expedition XL, have you looked at those?

Harrop has a supercharger for them that'll bring the power figures up to 465 hp / 460 fl-lbs on stock internals.

That's all I've got, but I'm interested as well.

Very roomy for road trips. Took a family trip in one around 04-05ish when they first came out. Probably guzzled gas like a drunken sailor.

They are big trucks why are we talking MPG. Always makes me laugh when I see that comment. News flash big vehicles with big engines use a lot of fuel. Unless you are long hall trucking or people moving 8 hours a day the difference between 8mpg and 10 mpg is not worth mentioning. The OPs use case sounds just like my wife's use case. She could drive a Duce and a half for all I care. The Vehical sees less than 2k miles a year.  (For the record my wife drives a H2). She has had it 6 years (maybe more). and have put less than 11k on it. 
 

The point I am making is in this use case I would not care one bit about MPG and look much closer at reliability and if you like how it drives and if it provides the amenitys you need. 

I can't remember if these had the trans coolers go bad and ruin the transmission.  

Anyone?

Sometimes you can find these cheap when the front drive shaft has a u-joint let go and it cracks the transfer case.

In reply to Dave M (Forum Supporter) :

To counter your statement, I've got a '13 and love it. 130k miles now and its been a solid rig. Hasn't been flawless, but it doesnt have any electrical problems. 

Being a platinum reserve, the interior is great and showed essentially zero wear. 

I'm a brand spanking new member to the forum specifically for this reply.  I own a 2004 Nissan Titan pickup.  The titan and 1st generation armada 's share platform and engines so I might be able to help you a little.  

- check the exhaust manifolds for cracks.  They will usually crack North of 80k miles between the last 2 cylinders on either side on the bottom of the flange.  The best fix for this is the cajunbpipes.com header/b-pipe replacement with tuning. They sell the b pipes catted or not, but you will need aftermarket tuning to avoid a lean running condition.  Cost is comparable to new manifolds.  

If 4x4, check the rear transmission support. They just wear out with time.

An 08 should have the flex fuel engine which isn't that different from the 04, but I'm not as familiar with. 

08 also have the larger front brakes which is something 04 -07 owners upgrade. 

Overall, I love my truck.  Bought it in 2015 with 34k miles and it has run fantastic for me and now have 104k on it.  

In reply to noddaz :

I forgot about transmission issues in my comment.   The trans cooler lines route thru the radiator and have been known to fail and mix coolant to the transmission and kill them.  A popular modification is an external transmission cooler and bypassing the radiator.

I have my FIL's 04 Titan with 210k for repairs. Up until my BIL borrowed it and let a cracked coolant reservoir turn into blown headgaskets (at least.. haven't torn down) it was extremely reliable, just getting shocks/struts, oil pressure sender, oil cooler o-rings, and power window issues, all common on those trucks. Really excellent trucks imo. 

a full-size SUV is a terrible vehicle. A pickup hauls more junk and a van hauls more people and luggage.

Which reminds me that im surprised there isnt more enthusiasm for the 5.6L NV vans. Honestly, turning a Titan into a huge van sounds kind of amazing to me..