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Comments
My garage door opening is 92 inches wide and is 82 inches high.
Will the Armada fit inside my garage?
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Shair Khan
The Sedona had just been delivered that day and was still waiting to be prepped. There were two marks above the right rear passenger door pointing to issues with the rubber stripping around that door, it was crooked and I was wondering why it hadn't been fixed at the factory.
I have an older house with a small garage and the Armada just barely fit, the Expedition and Sequoia both seemed to fit a little easier. I had the same issue with the rear cargo door, it would hit my garage door on the top when opened. The good thing was I could walk under the cargo door when opened without hitting my head (I am 6'2") which I can't do on my 98PF.
I have test driven the Expedition 4x4 and Sequoia 4x4. I definitely like the Sequoia better than the Expedition, but it is on equal terms with the Sequoia due to the Sequoia's resell value and and the fact the Sequoia is a proven vehicle.
My wife hasn't driven the Sequoia, but she will. She definitely liked the Armada much more than the Expedition which she has driven.
My biggest disappointment is the lack of a nice Dark Red as a color choice, not a deal killer, but a strange oversight along with the non-split third row seat. The silver is ok, but I have a Silver PF and I thought I would like the Sedona, but after seeing it in person it is out. The Deep Water Blue was the best one I had seen, but none of them had the Sand interior.
I didn't talk price, but the sales person was trying to tell me how Nissan couldn't offer deals like Ford because they weren't building very many Armada's. The usual sales person speak. I am still leaning more to the Armada, but I will not pay MSRP in a competitive market. Since we aren't in a rush to purchase, I will wait until December and January when car sales are usually slow. I haven't seen one on the road in the Denver area yet, except the one we test drove. I definitely wouldn't say the Armada is jumping off the lots in this area, at least not yet.
RSHE,
Yes my Armada is the 4x2 SE Base Model, no sunroof, etc. I can say as each day goes by, I am so glad I bought this Armada. I will try to update more if I can get my wife out of the Armada so I can drive!
One other observation - I am 6'2", and this is the only vehicle I have ever owned that has not had the driver's seat adjusted fully to the rear. Lots of room!
Chrysler just stated today that they are going to undercut the market with price to help with new Durango sales. I am going to take a long look at the new Durango, it sounds great, but I have not yet seen one. I can't wait to see one in person. Has anyone seen one?
I test drove an LE today. It felt like a good drive except the navigation system wouldn't shut up. We were not even using the maps/directions. It was making a noise like when you are watching your TV with no signal on. It was so annoying. I was trying notice the resonance effect people are talking about. But this noise didn't let me observe that. The salesman confirmed that it is the second time he is noticing this problem with the NAV system. This of course will not change my mind/opinion about Armada. I am sold on it. I am just looking to find the reasonable price. This may be a bad NAV unit on this vehicle.
I mentioned earlier in this thread that I paid full MSRP, but got about 2K above blue book for my trade in (honda odyssey). A fleet manager at another dealer in the area confirmed that they are not coming off MSRP yet. Sounds like there are better deals out there if you know where to look.
I paid MSRP for my Odyssey back in late 99, and not much later there were waiting lists and significant markups over MSRP. It is a bit of a gamble . .
Without too much detail - I can tell you why I started looking for a 3 row SUV - We are a family of a 3yo, one due next month, and 4 dogs. My husband and I are at the 6' mark, and my son was already 'feet on' the back seat from his car seat in our current truck, and there was absolutely no way I could have fit 3 Britax Super Elites (our car seat of choice) across the back seat - which we would eventually need with 3 kids (hoping not done with this one!) The area I live in requires 4wd to get around in the winter, and even sometimes in good weather - getting up to my parent's mountain retreat is an offroad experience.
I have owned an Xterra since the first week it was out. It was my 3rd Nissan vehicle. VERY happy with this truck but it got small very quickly after I became a mom.
Other vehicles reviewed, test drove in order of purchase possibilities (I know we were all over the map here, no flaming please!):
Toyota Sequoia
Land Cruiser
Honda Pilot
Durango
I dropped by our local dealer on Oct 10th just to 'look'. I thought I'd be really upside down on my truck lease so I didn't think it was going to be something I was looking at until May. Turns out it was very close, and the dealer wanted to get the first truck out there.
They had 3 - all 4x4 - SE, SE with EVERYTHING, and an LE. I fell in love with the SE - but hated the color. The dealer contacted a metro area one and brought a Deep Water Blue with the darker interior (drawing a blank on the color names right now). When it arrived for delivery, it had a pinstripe and a $1200 'dealer package' (market adjustment) markup.
My dealer promptly removed it. I paid approx $1100 under MSRP, and am happy with that, considering they weren't going to mark down under MSRP, but the vehicle I got came in with several options that the one I was contracted/priced on didn't.
After 500 miles I have noticed:
-No paint issues, and I've been LOOKING because of fear of damage due to road ripping up around here
-Wonderful maneuverability for a beast
-Better (by a couple miles) gas mileage than my Xterra
-The darker interior doesn't have the 'plastic garbage can' feel like the lighter grey
-They really should have made the mirrors power fold in!!! IE - garage fitting issues
-Smart design on the back cargo door. Love the 'van' opening with the glass seperate. Back loading area is perfect for my height, and for my dogs to jump in - no gate to deal with, etc.
-No resonance issues. I'm sensitive to those types of things too - I'm still trying to get used to the 'noise' of the V8.
-Love the high handles on the back doors. I've seen various posts here about them and kids - and it's PERFECT - to keep my son OUT of the truck - and the perfect height for me to grab open and pop him in while negotiating a shopping cart
-Still not sure what to think about a possible split on the rear seat row - not missing it - had a split with the Xterra - caused some concerns for me with car seat handling (tether placement, etc).
I can get into the drive - the power of a V8, the security of all the extra airbags, the room, did I mention, THE ROOM? My brother has a Suburban and my parents have admitted this is so much more comfortable and more well thought out - for a good 6-8k less than his vehicle was. I think the only thing that he has that they missed was a DVD center - which I really could care less about.
Only complaints so far -
The goofy Speed Sound Adjustment thing on the stereo - mine was turned on when I got the truck - one of those things I never thought to check - ANNOYING and unneccessary 'perk'
Color name - I was lucky, I really like the 'green' tone better when it arrived - but this vehicle is NOT blue - deep water or no - MAYBE super blue green algae, but NOT blue!
Mirrors as noted above
The open area in front of the radiator fan - should I screen this? I already have been picking leaves and new asphalt out. I'm sure it can take a few rocks, but not quite sure how sensible this 'look' is.
Can't keep my hubby out of it and driving it like a manual and in 4wd up the mountain (and he's a city boy)
People nearly running into me on the road trying to get a better look...in a land where 3/4 vehicles on the road are trucks or SUV's you'd THINK folks would have seen the ads etc - all the boys trying to talk to an 8 month preg mom dragging an almost 3 yo is kind of fun though.
The folding seats - GREAT if you have a warning when you pull the latch - caught my hand in there first time not realizing the spring action...we'll blame that on the sales guy.
The seat cloth - I liked the fabric in the Xterra better - this stuff looks more expensive at first glance but feels cheaper and is slippery - not fun when installing car seats or attempting to get out in my condition gracefully.
Thank you all for your opinions and feedback - it helped me with my decision.
It seems that between the wide frame on the bottom of the front windshield and the large sideview mirrow, there is a pretty restricted view on the right hand side when making a sharp right hand turn.
Now, I am not talking about a road curving to the right, that seems to be ok. But last night, when I was pulling out of the dealer parking lot, trying to make a right hand turn onto the road, it seemed like the view of the whole intersection was pretty much obstructed.
Does anyone else have a problem with this?
On the subject of price, I have been getting $500 off the MSRP from the local dealers here in PA for the 4x4 SE.
armadaornot...try moving your head.
bowke28 - There was a post on a different (short lived) Armada thread about the fuel filler door not locking. I mentioned this to my sales person on my test drive and was told that it locked when the Armada was started or moving. Maybe bowke28 can confirm this. When I test drove the Expedition, I noticed it didn't have a locking fuel filler door either, or does it lock when the vehicle is running? anyone, anyone?
As far as the Deep Water Blue, looked more green to me also. I have seen a Canteen (Ugly Green IMO) colored Armada that was a pre-production version, ugh, looked like Pea Soup. In addition to some paint QC issues, IMO they need to revisit their color choices. I think people also need to realize these are the first production units coming off the line so there might be issues. IMO real quality control/engineering problems are vehicles like the Ford Focus and the BMW X-5, with double digit recalls.
I didn't notice any issues with the right front pillar and I made a right turn from the dealer lot. My wife's Accord coupe has less visibility up front than the Armada.
I would have to agree with others that power folding mirrors would be nice, much more useful to me than split third row seat they also left out.
Is is interesting to hear that another poster is getting better fuel mileage than she gets with her X-Terra, the fuel mileage on my 98PF has always been rather poor, especially considering the lack of horsepower.
And thanks on the SSV but my sales rep told me how to take care of it - just found it annoying.
As to early production - it is my understanding that Nissan has postponed release rather than put something out on the market under quality. I had no recalls on my Xterra, and though it was based on the Frontier, it was still considered a first production model (I had the second one off the lot where I was).
My dealer seems to be very interested in keeping in touch with us to 'monitor' the quality. I guess it helps we're small town USA here.
I find some of the posts here to be a little hyperactive on the quality/minor defect front. Let's face it this is a brand new vehicle from a brand new plant with a brand new work force. Odds are especially early on there will be a few glitches. Overall the magazine reviews for the new Quest (new model/same plant) and the Armada have been good. Therefore I will go out on a little limb and say the Armada has no major design flaws and is a competitive vehicle. That said, it is almost unreasonable to expect a vehicle that has been under production for only a few weeks to not have some minor glitches so get over it.
If you are super worried about quality you should not buy a brand new model in the first few months of production- I don't care who the manufacturer is. This is not a just a Nissan issue. See the Mercedes M Class made in Alabama. Per JD Power and Consumer Reports the M Class still has quality problems 5 years into production in a new plant. See Toyota- go ask my neighbors who had their Sienna recalled for a $5,000 engine job due to the oil sludge defect (granted paid for by Toyota but still a major inconvenience).
I can already hear the responses to my post- Nissan should not sell a vehicle with any glitches blah blah blah. I generally agree but with any company even the much praised Toyota there are start up problems with a new vehicle. Go ask GM what the quality stats are on the new Hummer H2 (terrible, truly terrible). The US makers have been selling defect cars for decades (want to talk about my Ford?).
I am not trying to get people riled up, although I probably will, but I want some common sense in the discussions and I assume/expect that Nissan will fix all legitimate Armada problems that come up to the owner's reasonable satisfaction. I realize an Armada is a major investment and people expect a lot out of their hard earned money but some posters appear to me to be off the kilter with some complaints. I have not seen any real problems in these posts about the Armada- dead engines, defective transmissions, etc (talk to my buddy about his '02 Land Rover that has left him literally stranded 3 times).
As the weeks roll by the production kinks should get worked out. The Armada is too important a vehicle to Nissan to allow any major problems to go unchecked and I have some degree of confidence that they will stay on top of it. If you do your research you will see that Nissan's quality is pretty well documented- not as good as Toyota but not bad. I think the overall Nissan quality has suffered some in the last couple of years because they have introduced so many vehicles at once (Maxima, Murano, Quest, Armada, Titan (soon), Infiniti G35, FX35/45, etc.). One caveat to the Toyota/Nissan quality argument is Lexus/Infiniti. On that basis, I think Infiniti matches up head to head with Lexus or at least per JD Power.
pfarmada - honestly your post in response holds little merit because you still have not detailed the nature of the defects. Hints and dropping remarks here and there do nothing to help the owners or potential owners identify problems. Yet you blast nissan for these problems. Post what is up and let us take that into consideration as we evaluate vehicles.
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I went back to post #516 and didn't see a specific mention of your problem with the Armada, all it talks about is your lack of resolution with Nissan and the dealer.
I saw greasemark pencil arrows on a Sedona colored Armada, at least one was pointing at the rubber stripping around the right rear passenger door/window, there was another mark pointing at something, but I couldn't tell what as the Armada was very dirty and had just been delivered to the dealer so hadn't been prepped. Could have been pointing at a paint flaw.
As an aside, on a 1991 Nissan Pickup built in the Tennessee factory that I purchased brand new, I noticed rust around the rear pan area under the tailgate. Somehow they had gotten a very thin coat of paint on the truck, at least in that area, and it was showing. I took it to the dealer and it was fixed under warranty no questions asked. It is interesting to hear about Nissan paint problems 12 years later. I hadn't had any other paint issues on either the 1995 Truck or the 1998 PF I currently own.
I do think it is good for people to get together and discuss the issues they are seeing on something as new as the Armada. It makes other potential Armada purchasers aware of the issues before they make the purchase.
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Shair Khan
Thanks for the heads-up...
Im looking at the Armada because we need an 8-seater with all the towing capacity possible. I hate the Tahoe and the Suburban is too large for my wife's comfort. Dont need a ton of behind-third-seat cargo space because if the cargo is more than groceries or golf clubs we usually either dont have more than 5 in the car or we can throw most of the crap in the boat being towed. My dad has an '03 Expy EB that Ive driven a ton and like quite a lot, but overall its pretty boring compared to the Armada and not nearly as fun to drive.
The Armada engine and transmission are awesome- super smooth and easy to handle, a lot of power that is well tamed but immediately available when you stomp on it. The Armada's ride is very smooth with the tight-feeling firmness that I like. If you want something a little softer (with a little more roll) go with the Expy. Im also impressed by the torque band of the Armada- wont bore you with details, but low-end torque is what counts. Once you get the vehicle and towed load moving and up near cruising speed, torque diminishes greatly in importance.
I have noticed the resonance that has been so extensively commented on but have test driven 3 different vehicles on enough varied roads to be satisfied that it only occurs on concrete, and gets more noticeable the wider the striations on the road are. "Striations" are the grooves that run perpendicular to the direction of travel on the surface of concrete roads. At worst (when driving on roads with the widest striations) the resonance is nothing that cant be overcome by turning up the radio- in my opinion the resonance heard is not the same reverb effect caused by driving with a window open. It is also not anything beyond what occurs with pretty much any other vehicle driving on striated concrete roads.
I really like the interior styling of the Armada, but I agree with what seems to be the majority that the interior fit and finish (and color scheme) is a little weak. A lot of items are made of pretty thin, cheap plastic but IMO probably wont cause durability issues over time. What a shame to have to settle for the interior to "probably" not have durability problems on a vehicle in this price range- the quality should be much higher. The graphite interior seems to suffer the least from the "rubbermaid" effect. On one of my test drives, I fiddled with the passenger-side heated seat button and with absolutely no undue pressure ended up punching it down into the console. It had obviously not been snapped completely into place at the factory and would be very easy to fix, but it reinforced the unfortunate cheapness and poor fit and finish/quality control of the interior. Also, the fit and finish of the leather seats in a few (not all) of the Armadas Ive seen has been incredibly shoddy- kind of loose and unevenly sewn. Makes one a little nervous to place a factory order without being able to see the vehicle first. Ive checked paint jobs and door frames thoroughly on every Armada Ive seen, a few in both outdoor and indoor light, and havent spotted any problems or grease pencil arrows yet.
I love the roominess of the front and 2nd row seats. The 3rd row seat lacks a little headroom for a 6'1" guy like me, but I cant think of a situation in which someone my size would have to ride there unless it was a short trip, in which case the 3rd row seat would be entirely comfortable enough for me. The leather seats are a little thinner that the Expedition, but I find them comfortable and they fit me well. The lack of a split 3rd-row seat is a downfall- dont know if it was a pretty blatant oversight, a way to lower costs, or a lame attempt to hold something back to use as a new-model-year upgrade later.
As for pricing, all my local dealers are still parrotting the MSRP line. I agree with most that pricing will probably drop over time as exactly none (to my mild surprise) of the 9-10 Armadas that have shown up locally over the last two weeks have sold, other than one that a dealer finance manager special ordered for himself. I have offered 2 salesmen $1000 over invoice. One got a little touchy, almost offended, and told me to forget about it. The other surprised me by saying that his boss would kill him for selling the first one out the door at a discount, but by the time we're ready to make a decision in a couple of months the situation will probably be different. If anyone has bought at a significant discount under MSRP, you will win my undying appreciation if you will please shoot me an e-mail with your location as Im willing to cross a couple of states for a good deal and a nice drive home.
Overall, I really like the Armada with strong but not deal-breaking reservations on the interior. However, being able to pick up a a good, used '03 Expy EB for $31-32k makes it a tough call and keeps me undecided for now.
Sorry for such a long post, hope my input is useful for someone out there, and may God continue to bless America with the fortune that allows us to even consider buying vehicles like the Armada in the first place.