I have an offer on the table from Carmax to buy my 27,000 mile Altima for double the residual value of the lease ending December of this year. The Altima has been given the applicable maintenance as scheduled because it is cheaper to maintain a vehicle than repair it. Yes, I am aware that Nissan CVT's are ticking time bombs, even with scheduled maintenance, hence why this was originally started as a lease.

I need to have a vehicle with a bit more ground clearance and 4wd moving forward. It doesn't necessarily need to be a daily driver, but something capable and relatively reliable. I am debating if I should just take the hit on a new Frontier PRO-4X (even with a 10% dealer premium above sticker), or pay off the Altima lease and pick up an older 4wd truck or SUV like an Xterra to handle my dirt road/small load trailer-pulling needs.

I am torn 50/50 on these options. Each has their benefit and drawbacks like insurance on one vehicle vs two, maintenance on one vehicle vs two, not knowing how well someone maintained an older vehicle vs one that I am certain has been maintained properly.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. The people I used to discuss this kind of thing with are no longer with us.