[GTO]

Great review, thanks for sharing . Buying such an old CBU sure is a leap of faith...and more so your holding onto it for so long! But you know what? Just like the Skoda Yeti, anyone who owns the X-Trail only has good things to say about it. I sure enjoyed driving the newer X-Trail demo for our review too.

Originally Posted by haneeshN

Not very expensive to maintain. All consumables are easily available.

Pleasantly surprised to read this .

Hard clutch – bad car for city traffic

I think your clutch might need some maintenance???

[haneeshN]

Originally Posted by WhiteKnight

My bad! I meant the 2.0 that was on sale from 2011-14. The 2.4 came in from the Grand Vitara, which I was looking out for.

Yes, the last version Grand Vitara had 2.4 petrol engine. I considered the GV also but couldn't find even a single 2.4 version on sale.

Originally Posted by ads295

Hello,

A good mechanic is a priceless asset for cars like these. (That said, there is no question they're a quirky bunch.)
......

Also, great that you can source parts for your car from the UK. I imported spares from Thailand for my bike and it blew the ASC's quotes out of the water. (Tell us more about the bike you mentioned, btw?)

Thanks, access to a good garage is a must to maintain such vehicles. These old vehicles aren't as complex as the new ones and relatively easier to maintain/fix issues, provided spares are available. The key here is your mech's experience and willingness else one should be a DIY person. The bike I mentioned was ER6N and I'll soon write an ownership review

Originally Posted by GTO

Great review, thanks for sharing . Buying such an old CBU sure is a leap of faith...and more so your holding onto it for so long! But you know what? Just like the Skoda Yeti, anyone who owns the X-Trail only has good things to say about it. I sure enjoyed driving the newer X-Trail demo for our review too.

Pleasantly surprised to read this .


I think your clutch might need some maintenance???

Thank, GTO. I have driven the T31 and it is much more premium and powerful than my T30. Maintenance is not expensive mainly because I don't get any parts from Nissan. All parts are very expensive there. Consumables are cheap in the market and readily available. The major parts I've changed so far other than regular consumables are CV joint boot, wheel bearings and brake pads. I sourced bearings locally and the cost is similar to other vehicles. I got the brake pads from US for around 8000 whereas the ASC quoted a bit over 18k. CV joint boot kit price is close to 4k with ASC and I got it for just 1200 including shipping.

The expense will definitely go up in case of a bigger part failure like Turbo, Intercooler, Suspensions etc. I've been lucky so far, touchwood. Even in case of issues with such parts, there are many good aftermarket parts available in the UK which makes it affordable (e.g. I can get a new turbo for around 20k and intercooler for 12k). Ebay is my saviour

Heavy clutch is known in this car. I got the entire clutch assembly changed, including master & slave, release bearing with new fluids and it's heavy even after this. I haven't driven any new T30 to confirm this but every car I drove had a hard clutch.

[ads295]

Originally Posted by haneeshN

The bike I mentioned was ER6N and I'll soon write an ownership review

Hahaha, small world, I have the same bike and it's the one I talked about, getting spares from Thailand and all.

[Rhik94]

Amazing haneeshN.
That is a very crisp write up. My earliest memory about the X-Trail is when I saw a picture of it on the cover of Motoring magazine by Business Standard. I loved the boxy design of the car back then and I still like it now.

These are pretty rare find on the streets. I may have just come across 2 of them.

Wishing you many miles of happiness with the X-Trail.

[snan]

Such a practical car for long term use. You are lucky to get it from someone from service. Typically gentlemen and trustworthy. Having driven the new Xtrail, I must confess its a great pedigree though pretty much everything has changed in the new avatar. This and X terra remains two of my favorite Nissans (Not counting GTR ofcourse

I always wonder why Xtrail and Toyota's hugely capable Rav4 doesn't make it to India these days. (Xtrail atleast is logical given Nissan's execution history, but that Rav4 is a great machine and I hope Toyota brings the face lift here)

[akash_v12]

Lovely Review Haneesh!

It's great to see something unique on this forum.
You sure were determined to buy the X-Trail T30 and your car is extremely good-looking especially
with the Red Paint. Also, pretty good to see that maintainance is relatively affordable if you source your parts from outside. Congratulations on your new car.

Cheers,
Akashdeep

[asit.kulkarni93]

Back in 2009, We were at a used car dealership in Bahrain checking out a CR-V. There was a silver X-Trail parked on the side. I asked Dad if we can check it out and off we went for a test drive. I loved the boxy design and the huge sunroof. The space on offer was amazing. There was something wrong with that car and we eventually got a Toyota RAV4 which proved to be a right decision given most of my dad’s use was on under construction/no roads. Last year in Pune, I was looking at an Automatic diesel Xtrail but the car had its ODO tampered and the B-pillar repaired hence I had to let the deal go. But I always wanted an X-trail home and your amazing thread has got me thinking on it again.

Congratulations on your Xtrail. It sure is one heck of a compact C-SUV. Happy mile munching!

[Divya Sharan]

Lovely and a lively thread Haneesh bhai!

I remember personally 'not' endorsing the decision to go for an X Trail, one it is not a mass selling car (can be a plus or a minus) and two, generally not being very comfortable to pre-owned vehicles myself due to a variety of reasons.

But everytime I hear from you about the car, I feel you made the right choice. One can either wait for decades saving money and get something provided it's still available or do proper research and take calculated risks and reap benefits much sooner like you did.

Somehow I always thought yours was grey/metallic. Now, I can bring my Laali and pose alongside yours!

[akp666]

Ohhh man! Seeing an X-trail brings back memories of the black steed my dad owned. Was maintained at Nissan for the first 8 years and then at a local reliable FNG. Was sad to scrap the car due to NGT issues, wasn't even allowed to sell it to another state. Had so much fun driving it within the city and on highways. The sixth gear makes it a relaxed mile muncher, and that jewel of an engine made it one amazing machine. Rightly said, as a CBU, the build quality is exceptional. Good car, idiot Nissan.

[haneeshN]

Update:
The car was mostly idle due to the pandemic and I just started using it. Odo is at 1,40,000kms and I did the regular service last week. Changed the oil (tried Amsoil this time), oil filter, air filter & diesel filter. Some mild vibration was there in the front right brakes and its gone after servicing the calipers. Alignment and wheel balancing done.

Did a general check and everything looks fine. The AC compressor belt looks weak. Ordered the same and will be changed in the next service. There is some oil leak from the intercooler. Next service at 1,46,000kms will be a major one and planning to get the below things done.

- Change alternator and compressor belt
- Radiator coolant change
- Change all the fluids
- Clean and service the intercooler
- Check engine mounts and change if needed
- Clean EGR valve

[Saj 4x4]

Hello Haneesh
Inspired by your post - I have also picked up a 2007 T30 CBU diesel unit from an expat . Fully agree that this is one underrated performer and will get you where you have to go safely .
Got this at a good price in Bangalore - and have just replaced the turbo core ( budgeted for that when I bought the vehicle ). Otherwise all is running well .
Could you kindly advise from where you bought the led interior lamps and what are the lamp nos
Regards

Saj

[haneeshN]

Originally Posted by Saj 4x4

Hello Haneesh

Got this at a good price in Bangalore - and have just replaced the turbo core ( budgeted for that when I bought the vehicle ). Otherwise all is running well .
Could you kindly advise from where you bought the led interior lamps and what are the lamp nos
Regards

Saj

Congrats on your purchase. Wish you many more happy miles.

You can get any generic [264]42mm LED bulb. They are a direct fit and you can replace them yourself. Many are available on Amazon or you can get from a local spare parts shop. If still not sure, you can take the existing bulbs and visit a store, they'll be able to give you the equivalent LED variant.

[Saj 4x4]

Thanks Haneesh

My question is the the map light in the front is BA type. Other lights I managed to order on Amazon and DIY .

We must catch up to compare vehicles and ownership cost .

Over all very happy with performance and comfort on the highway - city is another story trying not to bang or getting scratched.

[haneeshN]

Originally Posted by Saj 4x4

Thanks Haneesh


We must catch up to compare vehicles and ownership cost .

Sure, let's catch up sometime. Sent you a PM.

[haneeshN]

Service Update 1,42,500 km:

Car wasn't used much due to the lockdown. Started using it after the first wave lockdown and went on a trip to Goa. It performed well without issues. The rear suspension was bottoming out on bad roads and I decided to change the suspensions along with all bushings.

Got the car checked by the mech, he suggested changing it after 10k more km but I insisted to get it done sooner as the cost is going to be the same. The following was planned for this major service.

1. Complete suspension overhaul including bushes and rods
2. General oil service
3. AC gas refill
4. EGR valve cleaning
5. Radiator flush and coolant change
6. Intercooler service (cleaning & fixing the minor leak)

Parts procured:
1. Tokico Front and rear shocks - 27000
2. All bushings - 6550
3. Front Link set - 4000
4. Rear link set - 3500
4. Tie rod end - 4500
5. Front and rear buffer kit - 8000
6. Front-wheel bearing - 5500
7. Diesel filter - 1400
8. Air filter - 1300
9. Cabin air filter - 1600
10. Compressor belt - 1051
11. Alternator belt - 1051
10. Engine, Transfer case, Gearbox & differential oil and coolant - approx. 8600


All the suspension parts & oils are sourced locally, the bushings are bought from psbushings.co.uk as they were too expensive here and got much better polyurethane bushes for a better price from this site.

Sourcing the parts took around a month and the car was handed over to the garage with all the parts. Everything was done in five days. I didn't rush them as I wanted them to do the work properly. The ride height increased close to 1.5 inches after the suspension change, confirming the old ones were nearing their end. Car is much smoother now and ready to go without major expense for at least 50k more km.

I thought about whether I should spend this much on an older vehicle or should I sell it and buy a relatively newer car. However, finding a replacement for this would be very difficult unless I can spend at least 20lakhs as none of the cars below this price point has the features and space of this car. So, decided to do this major service and stick with this car as long as I am legally allowed to use

The total expense including labor was about 81,500. The car has done over 5000kms since the service and will be due for the regular service soon. It will be much cheaper service (around 6000) and am looking forward to covering the 1,50,000 milestone soon.

I'll let the pictures do the talking now:

Waiting at the garage for the work to start:


Shoes removed:




Oil sediments in engine below the intercooler:


Engine bay after cleaning:


New struts in place:


New Rods too:


Cosmetic changes:
I wanted to make some minor cosmetic changes in order to give the car a new look. Decided to paint the rims in matt black and handed it over to the painter.

Freshly painted alloy wheel:


In addition, applied gloss carbon fiber vinyl to the center fascia of the dashboard. This was a DIY. Ordered the vinyl from amazon.

Made a stencil of the fascia to help with cutting the wrap:


WIP:


Gave it a full wash straight from the garage:


This is how an almost 15 years old car looks


That is it for now. The car still goes very strong and this will be a keeper. The RC validity expires by March 2022 and I'll get the FC done early next year. Hope there won't be any blanket ban on old diesel vehicles in the near future.