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Was going to buy a Civic or Accord but ...

dud

dud

Diamond Member
My wife and I are looking for a new car. I have an '04 Frontier and she is thinking of giving her '99 Mazda to our son. We did some research and decided that it was either going to be an '06 Civic or Accord. Just for the heck of it we decided to visit Honda, Toyota, Mazda and Nissan dealerships looking for a replacement.

We were impressed with the Hondas but not happy that they were uninterested in cutting us a deal (why would they when they can sell millions at sticker price?). Mazda was disappointing and so was Toyota. We visited the Nissan dealership where we bought my truck and looked at the Altima and Maxima. The Maxima was too expensive and had more luxury then we needed. The Altima impressed us though ...

The salesman showed us an Altima 2.5s that stickered at $21K. We liked almost everything about it. He insisted that we go for a drive, even if it was just as passengers. We left the dealership onto a 2 lane divided highway and he floored it. The thing just took off ... we were impressed.

Back at the dealership the sales manager told us about the current incentives (double $1,500 cah back plus $500) for a total of $3500! Without negotiating he had dropped the price on the car down to $16.5K! That is an out-the-door price of less than $18K! My wife and I had a new front-runner for our replacement car! The Civic EX and Accord LX both are about $21K OTD.

So my questions are this: What is a good price for an Altima 2.5s? Are they reliable (as opposed to the Hondas)? The car has much more luxury then we need but I cannot help comparing a 2.5s at $18K to a Civic EX or Accord LX at $21K. I simply DO NOT see the value in a Civic anymore.
 
Look at the forums at Edmunds to see what people are currently paying for the car. I think that is a good gauage on the price that you are getting
 
The Altima is a great car IMO, even the ones with the famous V-6 are affordable. Nissan will have a redesigned Altima soon, so you can get a deal on the current ones. The Civic is just overpriced.
 
Accords are very good cars, but a bit overpriced.

Civics aren't made like they used to be. I'd get a used Accord over a new Civic.
 
Now is a good time to buy Altima on the cheap because a redesigned brand new one is coming out this fall. So if you like the current one, you'll get a great deal.
 
Originally posted by: RaistlinZ
A brand new V6 Altima for under $18,000 is a pretty good deal IMO.
Click to expand...

2.5 = 2.5L 4 cylinder...


my sister has a 2.5S, nice car. haven't ridden in it, but the interior seems pretty nice. i just dont like the instrument cluster.
 
Most of my friends have compact cars so its really nice riding in my friends Altima when we go places. The interior is roomy and comfortable and the dask looks pretty nice. Pretty well built with slightly better acceleration then an accord due to the power coming in a it earlier in the rpm.

If i had the money, i would probably go for the accord. Trunk is a bit smaller but it feels more luxurious. An altima just isnt quite at the same grade as a camry or accord but its still a very nice car.
 
In a perfect world there would be distinct price differentiation between models. You want a basic car ... you pay a basic price. You want luxury you pay extra for it.

In our case the Civic EX is WAY too overpriced (IMHO) for what you get. In fact, you can get a nice Accord LX for the same price as the Civic EX. Does this make sense? The Accord is a much nicer car. It just proves to me that the Civic is over priced (but they are selling fast).

On the other hand the Altima is a nicer car (IMHO) then the Accord and a MUCH nicer car then the Civic, yet it is over $3K less OTD. Go figure ...
 
my buddy has a V6 altima. that car is scary fast. it's a nice car, and imho, a much better buy than a civic/accord/camry even with the 2.5
 
You could get a 4 cylinder altima without many features for like $15,900 if you offered that much in cash or a check to them. It is a really reliable engine as is all nissans engines right now. I believe the mileage on the highway for the 4 cylinder and city combined will be like 28mpg. My moms v6 gets like 30 highway and like 24 city so a combined for like 26 but she is really light on it.

We've had absolutely no problems with the vehicle and highly recommend it.
 
look at Hyundai Elantras and Sonatas. I just bought an Elantra and it is absolutely wonderful to drive a car with as good of handling and warranty as this one does.
 
I have the 2.5S Special Edition Altima. I am very pleased with it. The engine is much more responsive than the Civics. While you lose out on some fuel economy, I think you get a lot more from the car. I got it at about 21k in Nov with the Special Edition and Deluxe Package (moonroof + wheel upgrade).
 
I was surprised by the Altima 2.5 rental I had considering the bad reviews it got. The engine has good low-end torque and I got 29mpg on the highway. The ride is between the Camry (soft) and Accord (stiff). The only thing I don't like is the ghetto looking cleared-out rear tail lights. I have found carsdirect.com to be a good indicator of market pricing for new cars in your area. BTW, $21,000 - $3500 = $17,500 and I would guess you could get another $500 knocked off to close the deal.
 
Look into a Legacy GT 2005 or 2006. I recently purchased a NEW 2005 legacy GT for 22.5k before tax. It's an amazing car and the sticker price was 27.8k back in 2005 and its the same car as the 2006!! Subaru is giving incentives to the dealers to push 2005 and 2006 legacy models off the lot as they are selling under expectations and 2007 models will be here by this fall.

What did i get for 22.5k ? 250HP, 250ft-lbs torque (3600rpm), awd, sporty handling, amazing acceleration. These cars are very nice both inside and out, i'd look into one of these.

EDIT: I've driven other cars such as the Acura TSX. I was VERY close to purchasing a 2006 TSX but i liked the legacy more.
 
"I was surprised by the Altima 2.5 rental I had considering the bad reviews it got. The engine has good low-end torque and I got 29mpg on the highway. The ride is between the Camry (soft) and Accord (stiff). The only thing I don't like is the ghetto looking cleared-out rear tail lights. I have found carsdirect.com to be a good indicator of market pricing for new cars in your area. BTW, $21,000 - $3500 = $17,500 and I would guess you could get another $500 knocked off to close the deal."

The fact of the matter is that $21K - $3.5K = $17.5K BUT before I said a word the sales manager was already at $16.5K without me opening up my mouth. I am sure I could have gotten something off of that too.
 
I have the 3.5se manual 05 and let me tell ya, i love this car. Its insanely fast, and a real joy to drive. Tons of room, lots of storage, and a great trunk. You cant beat it.

I paid a bit more for mine, but thats because of the engine, and the wood interior, and the leather wrap steering wheel, the wheel controls, the 17 inch wheels, etc.

One upgrade which is greatly needed, is the intake. Its small, so if you put a big one on it... its going to breathe better.
 
Originally posted by: Pegun
look at Hyundai Elantras and Sonatas. I just bought an Elantra and it is absolutely wonderful to drive a car with as good of handling and warranty as this one does.
Click to expand...

i test drove a 2005 elantra GTS automatic last year. even tho it has 140+ HP, acceleration SUCKED when i floored it.
 
I can't say what sort of quality you're going to get from the Altimas, but I can tell you that Nissan builds quality into every one of their vehicles, imho.

I have an 8 year old Frontier (first year out, with the 4 banger & 5-speed), and the only money I've had to put into it is to replace the a/c compressor (~$400), and one brake job on the front end, plus normal hose, belt & filter replacements. This thing is still on it's original factory clutch! 😀

So if you can get an Altima for that price, I'd say jump on it. 🙂
 
My last car was a 2003 Nissan Altima 2.5s.

Great car... nice power for a naturally aspirated 4 banger. For the price range you're looking in, I don't think you'll find any new car that is as good for the buck.

Highlights of my 3 years with my Altima:

Pros:
Incredibly roomy... I'm 6'5" 300lbs+ and I fit very very comfortably, and so do my passengers.
Excellent stock sound system... seems like a small deal... but the radio really does have an effect on how much you enjoy the car.
Had no trouble handling snow conditions
Solid power, definitly fun to drive.

Cons:
The rear bumper is such that every little nick and scratch shows up really ugly.
Lots of body roll when taking turns fast...
Wheel spin is definitly a problem if you try to do a quick take off... Engine outpowers the traction by a good bit.
Floormats were wussy... wore right through the driver side mat in 48K miles.
 
I don't own one, and only have ever driven rentals of the models you mention, but my favorite rental is an Altima or Maxima.

Compared to other cars I've driven, rental or otherwise, these two have been the most memorable... to the point where I'll be looking at them when it comes time to buy a new car.

A friend of my wife's has a Maxima and loves it.

I know...not really helpful... but it is my $0.02. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: JEDI
Originally posted by: Pegun
look at Hyundai Elantras and Sonatas. I just bought an Elantra and it is absolutely wonderful to drive a car with as good of handling and warranty as this one does.
Click to expand...

i test drove a 2005 elantra GTS automatic last year. even tho it has 140+ HP, acceleration SUCKED when i floored it.
Click to expand...

Torque is usually correlated with acceleration.
 
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