I drive a 2003 Nissan Xterra 2WD, automatic V6 non-supercharged, that currently has a little over 205k miles in it; it was gifted to me by my aunt so I paid zero dollars for it. I live in NY and my car doesn't pass inspection - when scanned codes pop up for all 4 catalytic converters (I've brought it to different mechanics and they all say the same thing). My question is, is it worth paying to get it fixed or am I better off just getting another car?
I really enjoy the Xterra as it still shifts with no problem, the engine still has power and sounds fantastic when I push it (don't worry, I don't do it too often haha), it handles sufficiently enough for me, still blows cold air, and just overall does the job of getting me where I need to go with little problem.
Downsides about it is one look at it and you would think it went through war. When my aunt (who isn't the best at maintaining cars) gave it to me it had scratches all throughout the exterior and the interior was worn to hell. When on the lift you can see a lot of rust underneath it and under the hood (which the paint has completely faded) one could tell it wasn't maintained all too well with the amount of dirt and rust. It does make a lot of rattling noises when I hit bumps and many people call it "really noisy" since you could hear parts moving about on bumpy roads. It was a free car so I took it nonetheless.
But considering how much each cats cost in general, plus the labor, I'm unsure if it's worth putting the money into fixing it with the high mileage as well as it being a 2003 vehicle and the state that it's in. I've seen on other website forums that people driven their Xterras well over 250k or even 300k miles, but I'm also paranoid my car could be the unlucky ones and just die out before it reaches those miles for whatever reason. I change my oil myself every 5k miles and have replaced some parts that needed replacement - last one was the water pump and timing belt. Thanks in advance, I know it's a bit of a long post but I wanted to make sure the details were out there for my situation.
If it runs into serious four figures, probably not, especially given the amount of rust that an older NY state vehicle can accrue. (And especially if the vehicle wasn't outfitted with OEM Universal cats, which are much cheaper than brand/design specific cats. There are folks who have welded universals onto non-universal pipes on vehicles, but often the ECM doesn't like that, particularly if the pipes have different diameters. If that's the case, you'll fail the NY inspection, even with universal cats).
You could get a general inspection of the vehicle, include body integrity, before making a decision. Having said that, I've seen, on YouTube, Eric O from South Main Auto (Avoca, NY) fail some older vehicles for safety reasons, due to eroding body integrity, as a result of rust. He's also failed some because of these universal cat retrofits, because of the codes generated, if memory serves me well.
Good luck.
