new round here

[cottonwood]

hey all.
i'm in the market for a new(ish) car. i've narrowed down to what i want. xterra or less likely a frontier.
i'm a heavy camper, but i don't really go 4 wheeling...mainly cuz i've got a 2wd old truck. one reason i'm looking for new (old truck runs great still) is 2wd is limiting and the last camping trip i went on i got stuck for 6 hours in the middle of nowhere...when 4x4 would been a 30 second mess...
i want something newer and i've been looking at 2000-2002 xterras. 4x4 is a must as well as v6. ya, gas sucks but to me its worth it (any way to improve gas mileage is a plus though...), the xterras from what i can tell get about 15 and 20 and that's bout the same as my truck now (17 and 19).
just wondering, any tips in my search for a new car? is there any common problems with xterras? anything i should be aware of?
this will be get most miles driving to and from college and work with the common camp thrown in.
ive ran accross this one today:
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...222&cardist=18
im going to go look at it when i get free time. carfax is good. is it a decent suv (from looking at info....)?
i've been looking at some high miles (lower priced ones. ie for 5600 a beaten one w/150k) but realized if i spent 3 grand more i can get half the miles....and more life...
ive read some reviews on xterras, and they all rate them well. they all say the xterras are very reliable. is this true? and how many miles do you all have on yours?
i'm an idiot when it comes to cars, i can change oil and oil filter. thats it....so...ya
anyways, sorry my thoughts are choppy i'm just typing as they come.

[Schludwiller]

If you aren't too worried about gas mileage, then it's a good truck for you. They're very durable and quite offroad capable right out of the box. Main thing to look out for on older Xterras is their exhaust manifolds are cracked and out of warranty. Do a search and you can find out all about that stuff. Other than that they keep on running.

You can find lots of good deals on the older ones as people are dumping them with gas prices so high (well almost any SUV really).