Any Nissan drivers out there?

Norm Apter

Well, my wife and I had our first go of car shopping this past weekend, just walking up and down Santa Monica Boulevard onto various used lots trying to keep the ravenous salesmen at bay. We're looking for a 4-door sedan with decent fuel economy and good reliability, a clean title and hopefully something under 65k miles on it. Max we want to spend is 12k including fees&taxes (so probably 11k for the car itself).

Originally I was hoping to get lucky and find a used Honda or Toyota, but we didn't stumble across a lucky find. There were really only 3 or 4 cars that caught our attention:

2003 Volkswagon Jetta GL Sedan, stick w/ 71,000 miles
2006 Saturn Ion w/ 44,000 miles, stick, leather interior, moon roof
2006 Nissan Sentra w/29,130 miles, automatic

The price of each is listed for just under 10k.

I just did some research and it appears that in terms of mpg, the VW gets a pretty poor 23/29 (city/hw), the Saturn 26/35 and the Nissan 28/35. (The Nissan's engine is 1.8 as opposed to the Saturn's which is 2.2)

We did a carfax check and all three have only had one owner and have clean titles (i.e. no wrecks or major repairs)

We're going to go to a few more dealerships, but of the three right now the Nissan is my leading candidate. The only downside to the Nissan is the exterior color. Its kind of dark/burnt yellow. Actually, I don't really mind it at all, but I'm just thinking in terms of resale value one day that could be a major negative. Anyway, I wanted to see if there are any folks on the forum who've driven any kind of Nissan before and whether or not you have any opinions about their long-term reliability.

ND13

By far, the Nissan is the better bet for the long-haul. An NO, I'm not just saying that because I'm a GM of a Nissan dealership. I'd also put money on the Nissan 1.8L outperforming the Saturn 2.2L.

Willow

We drive a Nissan X-Trail. A good little SUV. I would never get another Nissan product, only cause they don't have anything (right now) that we like.

Serendipity

Dad has a 2000 Nissan Maxima and we've had a 1989 Maxima too. Both were great cars, but the 1989 was MUCH more reliable than the 2000.

candyliquor35m

The nissan will last forever. My pathfinder has +160k on it and doesn't use a drop of oil. Both the nissan and the saturn may both have timing chains which means you won't have to change the timing belt every 100k.

Make sure you change the atf on the nissan every 20k.

Those mileage estimates are never accurate especially with a automatic transmission. They would be more likely to be accurate on the saturn since it has a stick.

As far as resale, a stick is much harder to sell.

Nissans are as reliable as a honda or toyota from my experience.

Sami

Couple of Nissan's in the household, always liked them. Out of those the Jetta has the nicest interior, and it drives quote well but I'd put the Nissan far ahead in terms of mechanical reliability. I wouldn't even consider the Saturn if it was me.

cindy100

I had a 1995 Nissan 300ZX which I bought new; had it for 11 years, 136,000 miles and never had any problems with it, at all. Prior to that, we owned two other Nissan's and no problems with either one of them.

Cindy

Squidmon

I've owned nothing but Nissans since '88.

'88 sentra- went 325k miles before i sold her.
'95 Sentra- My ex-wife still uses it to drive the 50 miles to work every day.
it has 230k on it and still runs like new, body is just startin to look rough but it's never been garage kept
'01 Sentra SE/R- drove it for 50k until i traded it for...
'04 Sentra SE/R SPEC V- was the most fun to drive and very quick.

I sold that cuz i was low on cash, now all I drive is my '01 Maxima 20th aniversary edition. Great car, only have 37k on it as I kept it parked in the garage most of the time. The 3.0l/ 6cyl is one of the best engines made and has been rated in the top 10 best engines the last 12 yrs runnin.

In other words, Nissans are great. Good gas mileage, not great. But they very rarely break and if maintained will run forever.

SKsolutions

If you do some research on the Saturn, you may be surprised. I had a 1996, and she and I had a contest. I tried to kill it (to justify getting a new car), and she tried to keep running (to spite me). She won and got sold to someone that treated her better. Fun car (stick). The new ones are made my Opal, I believe, but the motor is the same + .3 liters. Parts are cheaper than a gallon of gas. 200K on the original self adjusting clutch is common.

Norm Apter

Thanks, everybody. Well, I went back to the dealer just two hours ago -- both the Saturn and the Nissan were at the same dealer. Took both for a test drive and told him that I was going to take the Jetta (at a different dealer) for a test drive tomorrow....well, that was my "in" ("What could I do to make you buy it tonight?"). So I got him to knock off $500 (I'm a terrible negotiator/haggler) and got it for $9500. Signed on the dotted line. I haven't had a car since 2003 so I need to find insurance before I can drive it off the lot on Wed. But I'm pretty psyched.... only 29k miles, a clean title, decent city gas mileage, one previous owner, fairly nice music system, and will still be covered by the original warranty until I reach 36k miles or next April, whichever comes first.

Again, it is yellow....(its the Nissan Sentra Sport with a rear foil)... which might be a major turn-off for some, but when my friend saw it yesterday, she said that since I've got a teaching gig in Malibu this coming year, I might just fit right in!

mantis

Nissan all the way. I have owned 3.

1) 1990 Maxima Se fully loaded. Traded in at 100k with no problems.
2)2001 Xterra se It has 95k on it right now and we still own it. Never had any problems.
3)2005 Pathfinder Se It has 28k on it and as the other 2 I had no Problems at all.

I plan on another Nissan actually 2 more. The wife needs a new car/SUV and we will probably get a Murano. Unless she wants to go with a car it will be the New Maxima or a Altima her choice.
I have been looking for a new car/SUV for a few months now, I have looked at everything in my Price range and I keep coming back to Nissan. I really have no reason to own anything else. I probably will get a Murano as well.

I also have plans on owning the new Skyline GTR. Once they hit the streets and the first wave of them are gone, I plan on checking them out. The wife and I need a Weekend warrior and this seems to fit the bill perfectly.

BaggedLancer

I currently drive a Nissan, although a slight variant....Infiniti g35. Absolutely love the thing to death. Easy to work on and maintain. However, parts for my car are expensive! I've been doing alot of the work myself though. On my list of stuff to do is change the belts, new brakes, and other fluid changes.

bobman1235

BaggedLancer wrote: »

I've been doing alot of the work myself though. On my list of stuff to do is change the belts, new brakes, and other fluid changes.

In related news, an Inifiniti G35 was recently seen in the suburbs of Boston, with a loud squealing coming from the hood, running through stop signs with a confused and terrified looking passenger desperately pushing on the brake pedal. Police were able to find the vehicle by following the trail of fluids.

Sami

[QUOTE=SKsolutions;891950The new ones are made my Opal, I believe, but the motor is the same + .3 liters.[/QUOTE]

I think Saturn's have always been rebadged and modified Opel's, or at least shared a lot in common. I used to own a Vectra back in Europe, decent car but Opel in general has a bad rep. If they bought in Calibra with a bigger engine, I might take a look.

leadfoot1

Good choice with the Nissan. We have had a few Nissan / Infiniti vehicles (2 Pathfinders, 2 Infiniti G35's, 1 Infiniti FX45, 1 Infiniti M45 Sport) over the past few years and they are very reliable IMO. Still plenty of life left in the one you purchased.

daboyz

I've got an '06 Altima 2.5 SE which I love to death. For a 4 banger it's got good get ups and the gas mileage is great.

Norm Apter

I have a follow-up question on used cars, but this is not specific to Nissans. Anyone who has bought a used, or as they are now known, "pre-owned" car may be in position to help out.

While I'm very happy with the Nissan Sentra we picked up a few days ago, I'm not a very carefuly shopper. It wasn't until after I had signed on the dotted line and paid in full that they handed me a *single* key. It opens the front doors and works the ignition. Now, of course I can open the trunk from the inside, but only after I got home did I realize that this key does not fit the slot for opening the trunk.

Of course I later called the dealer back and to no surprise they said, "well, that single key is all we have." I should have paid more attention from the get go, but now I need to work on finding a solution.

I'm interested in:
a) making a duplicate of the door/ignition key (this is just a "regular" key, not one of those automatic/electronic, push-button ones)
b) getting key for the trunk so that I don't need to pop it open every time from within (again I'm assuming that its just your typical key)

Any ideas? Do you think an authorized Nissan dealer might be able to help with this? (The used car dealer that I bought it from is actually a Saturn dealer -- this was a trade-in -- so I get the sense they're not going to do much for me)

Thanks,
Norm

ND13

Just go to your local Nissan dealer and they will help ya out.

brettw22

Most likely your key is chipped so find that out before you just go to a Home Depot and get a copy made. If it is, then you can find generics online, but the 'programming costs' can be $50+ if they have to put it on their little machine......(lame bs IMO)

The one thing I would do is get keyless entry with trunk release if that's how it came from the factory. The dealership can run your vin and give you a part number that you can either buy directly from them, or go online and find it for quite a bit less.

Good luck..........

lucky777

Buy a Mazda

BlueStingray

Buy a Honda : )

edbert

If your car does in fact have keyless entry definitely buy them online. I did that for my wife's 05 Altima that we just picked up last November. It came with two keys but no remotes. I bought mine off of ebay and then used the directions on www.programyourremote.com to get them to communicate. You just have to make sure that you buy the one specific to your car. I don't have any tips on the keys, but more than likely you will have to buy those directly from the dealership.

Serendipity

ND13 wrote: »

Just go to your local Nissan dealer and they will help ya out.

They charge a lot though. I think you'd be better off buying a key separately and doing the programming yourself (or have a shop do it for you) instead of going to the dealer...

Norm Apter

edbert wrote: »

If your car does in fact have keyless entry definitely buy them online. I did that for my wife's 05 Altima that we just picked up last November. It came with two keys but no remotes. I bought mine off of ebay and then used the directions on www.programyourremote.com to get them to communicate. You just have to make sure that you buy the one specific to your car. I don't have any tips on the keys, but more than likely you will have to buy those directly from the dealership.

OK, so far I haven't made a move in either direction.

How can I find out if my car has keyless entry capability? I didn't look into this sort of thing before I bought the car. Prior to making my decision, I focussed mostly on the issues which I asked about above (reliability, fuel economy), as well as other more obvious features such as size and interior controls.

Again, the particular make and model of my car is 2006 Nissan Sentra S (Special). The seller simply gave me one key for the front door/ignition and that was it. I called him back about the trunk key but he really couldn't tell me anything about this model because I bought it from a Saturn/Jaguar Dealership (this was a trade-in).

Any tips either in reply form or PM will be appreciated.

Sami

Ask first at Nissan, then if the price is high (which I don't think it will be) you can go to a car audio store. They'll have a few options, including alarm/remote ignition (good for the hot days here in TX) for a few hundred and up.

Lowell_M

Norm Apter wrote: »

We're going to go to a few more dealerships, but of the three right now the Nissan is my leading candidate. The only downside to the Nissan is the exterior color. Its kind of dark/burnt yellow. Actually, I don't really mind it at all, but I'm just thinking in terms of resale value one day that could be a major negative. Anyway, I wanted to see if there are any folks on the forum who've driven any kind of Nissan before and whether or not you have any opinions about their long-term reliability.

I have a 1999 Altima with 215,000+ miles on it and have NEVER had any major repairs made to the car. Only the normal oil, brakes, tires, etc. Most reliable car I've ever seen.

edbert

It sounds like the key that you have is the "Valet" Key which only allows you to access the doors to the car and the ignition, but not the trunk or glove box. You should be able to contact your local nissan dealer with the VIN and find out if in fact you have keyless and then get the part number for the remote. Use that part number to do a search on ebay, buy a NEW remote, program it and you are done. I wish I knew what to do about the keys, but I really have no idea. Someone else will have to chime in on that.

edbert

Sami wrote: »

Ask first at Nissan, then if the price is high (which I don't think it will be) you can go to a car audio store. They'll have a few options, including alarm/remote ignition (good for the hot days here in TX) for a few hundred and up.

FYI, new remotes will run you a few hundred from the dealer and online you can get them new for about $25 and you program it yourself.

Lowell_M

BaggedLancer wrote: »

I currently drive a Nissan, although a slight variant....Infiniti g35. Absolutely love the thing to death. Easy to work on and maintain. However, parts for my car are expensive! I've been doing alot of the work myself though. On my list of stuff to do is change the belts, new brakes, and other fluid changes.

+1 Along with my 1999 Altima, I have a 2007 G35 Sedan. Awesome car...expensive parts. (I've gone through some brakes and tires due to track days)

Sami

edbert wrote: »

FYI, new remotes will run you a few hundred from the dealer and online you can get them new for about $25 and you program it yourself.

Like this?

http://keylessremotesonline.com/product.sc;jsessionid=2FFB1363CC24446CA3DAF6A6F5E60848.qscstrfrnt04?categoryId=251&productId=2137

I was skeptical at first but since it's only remote entry, not ignition key, it makes more sense. I couldn't get one online for my BMW, everything needs to go through a dealer since it's one of those "smart keys" that also provide ignition.

Norm Apter

Update:

Well, I've finally had a chance to call several Nissan dealerships about getting an extra copy of the valet key made (not the keyless entry remote).

At first I was getting quote outrageious prices, as they all assumed that my key was chipped and had to programmed. The avg. price for key and programming I was getting was $130. Wow! But with the last two I actually gave them my VIN and they told me that indeed my key was NOT chipped and would not need programming. Thus, they told me that I would only have to pay for the key itself, which would run $40.

So, here's my latest question. If my key is not chipped, would I be able to just get a copy made at Home Depot for $5 or whatever the cost may be or should I still go to the dealership and pay the $40. Obviously this question is open to drivers of any cars without so-called "chipped"(programmed) keys.

And thanks for the link for the keyless entry remote, Sami. That looks like its just what I need.