Opinions on 2000 Nissan Altima

[fbrdphreak]

This is my gf's car. It is good mechanical condition to my knowledge. The rear drums were leaking, the water pump leaking, and it needed new rotors/pads up front; new tires as well. All that was taken care of recently and it was doing well, it recently developed another coolant leak. I'm thinking radiator cap and will try that soon.

But the point here, is I wanted to ask people about their experiences with these types of Altima's with 120K. The engine seems to run well, gets good gas mileage, the auto tranny shifts well, doesn't seem to leak, noise-free, etc. It should probably have the struts replaced soon and bushings checked, I fear all that is pretty shot but it isn't quite high priority.

How do these cars fare with age? She would probably need to keep this car for several more years, or maybe "upgrade" to a slightly newer car that would have excellent reliability (I'm thinking Honda) for minimal out of pocket cost.

Trying to plan decisions around cars here. Thanks all

 

[fbrdphreak]

bump?

 

[melchoir]

They're from Japan so they all last forever with no maintenance right?

 

[lurk3r]

Not 0 maintenance, but the car is a beast, if you don't drive it like a lunatic you should be able to get 300k out of it. Of course my rule is whenver the repairs cost more than the car's worth turf it, so if it needs rear brakes, struts, and a few other things that quickly will get you over the $5000 the car's worth.

In general if you're looking at used old cars you're better to stick with the one you know the history on then to gamble with wondering if some kid drove it into a lake.

 

[StageLeft]

Should be a good car long-term. If your sister is looking to keep costs low I'd think of looking at something like a late model used ford fusion over a Honda. Honda & Toyota both have crazy high resale value, so used cars are a big premium. Nissan certainly does not, so if she wants to stay with Nissan there are tons of options for under $10k.

 

[ballmode]

It's good, just make sure timing chain doesn't rattle... use the standard upkeep and it should be fine.

Interiors don't hold up as good as the camry/accords in the segment however

 

[fbrdphreak]

Thanks folks.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

friend has a 1999 altima. 180k and still going strong.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

As a side note, the subsequent generation of Altima (2002-2006) was a substantial improvement in quality and performance. Something to keep in mind if you end up replacing the car in the next few years.

 

[angry hampster]

^ Agreed. They also were available with Nissan's monster 3.5L V6. Very quick little sedans.

 

[crosshairs]

Im driving an 01 that just turned 143k....I have no plans on replacing it before it hits 200K..which I'm sure it will do without issue.

If the car has been maintained, yours should also go to200k without any major problems.

 

[Gibson486]

I drove one. 01 Altima. Beat the crap out of it. The previoues owner (my aunt) never took care of it either. It still ran like a champ. It failed inspection in the end (failed O2 and failed cat) and it would eat coolant, but it still ran like a champ. Too bad the thing was so dam uncomfy. I traded it in at about 145K.