would yall buy one all over again....loking at buying one for our family

[fireford10]

Hey yall, im new to the forum and i do not yet own a nv 3500 pass.  Our current family/tow vehicle is a 2003 chevy burban 5.3 2wheel drive. We have a total of 7 kids, 5 of which still roll with us everywhere we go, the other 2 are drivers and we arent cool enough to ride with half the time, lol. But when we go camping we all ride in the burb, 3 bench seats, and some cargo and its LOADED down....before we hook up to our 33' trailer weighing 6700lbs dry. Ive upgraded the rear end, but its still pushing the capabilities of that setup. I saw a pop up ad for these new 3500 passengers from nissan, and fell in love once i clicked on it. 8700-9500lbs towing capacity (depending on what web site you use), and all the other stuff it offers is amazing. Nissan sales people still dont have a clue about what this thing does, capabilities, and stuff. I end up telling them more abot it then they know. Our main question is are there any families like us, towing what we tow, and driving one of these???? The dealers arent budging much at all. I found one in Tampa for 37400, SL, towing package, nav package, fully loaded. 5 boys under 12, we are rapidly outgrowing the burban, so if faced with the option again, would yall buy it all over again? Is it worth everything they say it is? Is it "falling" apart on any of yall? does it continue to drive smoot? We test drove one, but it wasnt equiped like we need it.  Also, the nearest dealer that arent A$$holes are in Dallas, 3 hrs away. Should we wait till '14 models come out and try picking up a '13 still on lot? Because it seems that theyre extremelly hard to find in Black, with the SL package and everything we want on it. Dollar for dollar the new suburbans, expeditions, or any vans cant come close to this vehicle. Whats yalls input? Thank  you!!

[KMGLTZ]

the people at the nissan dealerships are useless when it comes to the NV's.. your better off looking up info online. these vans have been proven to be pretty reliable so far.. not to many on the road yet so its hard to tell. as far as capability, they are pretty good. the V8 is a great tow rig, and is decent on gas and powerful. I like mine so far, only has 7500 miles on it though. its definatley better then the ford or GM vans

 

you sound like a suburban 2500 would be a good choice for you..

Edited August 13, 2013 by KMGLTZ

[walt2810]

Hope some one can chime in and assist. I am also looking at them as the family hauler and in southern california all the dealers carry black or white SL fully loaded. Only have 1 SL usually on lot so the van is still limited in supply. Good luck

[fireford10]

the people at the nissan dealerships are useless when it comes to the NV's.. your better off looking up info online. these vans have been proven to be pretty reliable so far.. not to many on the road yet so its hard to tell. as far as capability, they are pretty good. the V8 is a great tow rig, and is decent on gas and powerful. I like mine so far, only has 7500 miles on it though. its definatley better then the ford or GM vans

 

you sound like a suburban 2500 would be a good choice for you..

thank you. yes the suburban 2500 with a duramax would be great, lol. But still going to be too small in 3 years when these 5 boys arent 40-80 lbs any more. theyll be scrunched up tight in it. Its hard to raise a big family (which we chose to do and LOVE it) because no1 makes vehicles for us. I mean, how many 9 people families are there that can afford a nice vehicle and a travel trailer that will sleep everyone? Its not even on their minds when they design large SUVs, and the full size vans that will, havent ever been able to tow 8+k lbs, untill here recently. The ones that will cost as much as the NV, without even the option of leather, and seats that interchange. We've made our mind up for sure tat we want one. I guess we will just figure everything out about its true, real world, capabilities as we go. I told myself id never buy a new vehicle again, but its hard to pass this up. I feel the price will just go up as theyll be adding more "standard" features to the SL to jack the price up.  A deisel engine in it would be awsome though!!!!!

[fireford10]

Hope some one can chime in and assist. I am also looking at them as the family hauler and in southern california all the dealers carry black or white SL fully loaded. Only have 1 SL usually on lot so the van is still limited in supply. G

the only dealer here has a silver one. And the sales manager killed any chance of a deal ever to be made with them.  rediculous. As of now, no one will really make a great deal on them because as long as theres 20 people who want one and they only have 1 on the lot at a time, theyll just continue to be douches to get the maximum amount for them. But theycan be really nice about it if thatsthe case, and id be more inclined to paying their "invoice" price.  Its all in how you treat people in my opinion.  Its just getting harder and harder to find that these days.

[TJS6]

We have a family of 8 (6 kids 12-5) and have had our NV for about 6 week and have over 3500 miles to date.  I would absolutely recommend this vehicle for anyone with a large family and needing to tow anything.  We have a boat and trailer and this is amazing to tow with. Just last week we went camping for 5 days and there were no problems loading all 8 and all of the camping supplies in the back of the NV and towing the boat.  We had a suburban previously and this fits and pulls so much better than the suburban ever did.  The dealer we made our deal with was amazing and worked with us.  We purchased a Black 2013 SV with the tow and tech packages.  They also took out the cloth seats in the SV and replaced them with a dark gray Leather.  We went this route due to the fact that nissan only offers the one color for leather and a beige color with this many kids didn't make sense.  Due to the fact that this black one had been on the lot for several weeks they made us a deal of $ of sticker including the leather.

[KMGLTZ]

I dont have a passenger NV, but i do know that they are great to tow with.. also i got my NV as a leftover for around 26k brand new.. you could probably get one for a pretty reasonable price if you were willing to give up some features like nav and leather

[walt2810]

the only dealer here has a silver one. And the sales manager killed any chance of a deal ever to be made with them.  rediculous. As of now, no one will really make a great deal on them because as long as theres 20 people who want one and they only have 1 on the lot at a time, theyll just continue to be douches to get the maximum amount for them. But theycan be really nice about it if thatsthe case, and id be more inclined to paying their "invoice" price.  Its all in how you treat people in my opinion.  Its just getting harder and harder to find that these days.

 

If you're interested I can forward you the contact that I am speaking with if you' re willing to travel. I cannot do any pm's yet.

[fireford10]

If you're interested I can forward you the contact that I am speaking with if you' re willing to travel. I cannot do any pm's yet.

Thank you, but if its in CA it would be way to long of a drive for a few thousand off, lol. Ive contacted a dealer in Dallas, and go figure they sold the last black one on friday. But there are supposed to e getting more in on 30th and im waiting for hm to call and tell me there is one on the list so i can go ahead and make a deal.

[walt2810]

Good luck. I test drove a super black SL on Monday and was surprised on the ride and handling for such a big vehicle. The NV still had all he plastic wrap on the seats and wheels. Felt better than the Chevy van I drive at work which I got 3 months ago brand new.

[axulsuv]

Give Nissan in Charleston , SC a phone call , They know the NV and are great to work with ... And they have them on the lot !!! 

Glenn

[Tatunka]

I would also recommend the NV for families.  I have three kids and dogs that I haul around as well as my TT that weighs about 8500lbs.  I chose the NV because of the space, amenities, cost, and safety.

[Decades]

     I have 5 kids, the oldest is 10 but the youngest takes up the most room because of the enormous car seat.  In a seven-passenger minivan, we are crowded.  I got the NV because it can fit all 7 of us, plus whatever we wanted to bring with us on long trips in comfort.  I also can pull out all of the seats and haul lots of stuff.  With the NV I can check off a lot of boxes for what I need in a vehicle, plus a lot of occasional wants.  As my kids turn into adults, they will still fit in this van, with lots of stuff.

     The 8 airbags and rollover safety is what sold me, and I was comparing it more to the Suburban/other large SUVs than other vans.  On the downside, I think carrying stuff on the roof will be harder than with a SUV-height vehicle, and the 7+' tall van will prevent me from using a lot of parking garages, too.

 

Decades

[sampson]

Hi there,

 

We have a 2012 that we got new in Aug 2012. 16000 miles so far with no complaints or breakdowns.

We have 6 little ones, all in car seats or boosters. Nv is perfect for us. Be prepared for a loss of trunk space if you have a suburban now (and need all the seats in the Nv).

 

Good luck!

[bachex]

We have six kids (for now) and tow a big travel trailer with our NV. It does great except when there's a headwind. Last week we took a trip about 300 miles south with the trailer. Most of the driving was freeway and I kept it at about 75mph. I got 11 miles to the gallon over the entire trip, which isn't bad at all with a big TT fully loaded with kids, gear, bikes, etc. It did great even on some of the steep grades....definitely slows down a bit but that's understandable. 

 

It sounds like this is the perfect vehicle for your setup.

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

Yes, we would buy one again!

 

Our kids are grown, but we still went for the NV passenger van over any other choices for a number of reasons.

 

We have / had a Chevy Tahoe / Suburbans and the fleet of company "cars" for my work is all GM.  Trailblazers to Suburbans. I like the old GM's, but the newer models have gone to far with making everything nice for the driver and have lost a lot of room for both passengers and cargo.  I hate having to climb in the rear seat of any of the newer ones when I have to for work - I don't care what spec's they advertise for leg room / head room and son on - these vehicles feel tiny  / cramped (and I'm only and average sized guy at 5'9"). GM trucks are great, in my opinion, for a truck with even less interior space (unless you get a cap on the bed)....but the SUV's all suck for interior space. Fine for 4 adults on a short trip, but not enough to travel with luggage / cargo or more people. I don't want to ever have to load a bunch of stuff on the roof like I did every time we went on any lengthy trip in one of the old SUV's. I MIGHT get roof bars to carry a canoe for camping trips in the NV, but that's all I can see ever going up top.

We just did our first vacation with our adult kids and their significant others - 6 adults with all luggage comfortably cruising along in the NV.

The ride is solid / stable and feels firm but not too "trucky" and way better than any of the old large passenger vans of the 70's and 80's I ever drove....or worse yet, the crappy Econline work vans that usually changed lanes on their own volition.

I also like the driving feel of it having a truck style front end which also makes the drivers seat / position a lot more comfortable than any traditional van I drove in the past.

Then there's just the fact that every single one of my Nissans have been reliable vehicles that gave me years of trouble free service.

[Crisman]

I'll sell you mine, really. It's blue 2012. Fully loaded. I live in SoCal. We don't need it anymore. Used to have a boat that it towed great. Plenty of room for the kids as you know.

[gagnelli]

Crisman, let me know what model and features you have on this, and mileage.  I might be interested.

[james264]

I would stick with what you got !  Looking at some engine and tranny issues on this site had   2 GMC trucks with over 240k miles with  no issues other than the normal wear and tear. The first Nissan not to impressed with the way the handle warranty issues all smoke and mirrors. The are turning into the same Detroit scumbags.

[Gedigan]

I have a 2012 NV3500 high roof cargo van that I converted into a long duration camper.  It has the factory towing package that is rated at 9500 tow/950 tongue and comes with all wiring, extendable mirrors and a special "tow mode" transmission selection.

All in, there is about 1000 lbs installed in the truck when it is full with water (46 gal) and food (refrigerator and freezer).

I also use it to tow a 30' trailer that usually is between 8500 and 9000 lbs.

With the tow mode selected and the trailer hooked up with a load distributing/anti-sway hitch I almost forget the trailer is back there.  Plenty of power with the big V8, truck weight makes it very stable, good visibility, and the high roof makes a big hole in the air for the trailer.

Extra benefit....open the rear doors and I can see the trailer neck when hooking up.

After 4 years the truck is performing well, just regular service, and I've had it over some rough roads.

If I was doing all over again...I would still buy one of these trucks.

[wollip]

Gedigan -

 

Lee - Any chance you'll be launching your website anytime soon?