Nissan Altima

bluesky999

For those of you who have driven the alty, how quiet is it inside the cabin? I don't mind if the engine makes some noise while accelerating, but I do like low levels of wind, road, and engine noise while cruising at 65. The camrys have always beat everyone else in this regard, but I'm hoping the alty will be decent. To me, this reflects on quality.

Also, qualityguy was saying that the metal looked thin to him. Is there anyway we could actually check what thicknesses of metal the different manufacturers use on their cars? I imagine not, but hey, this is internetland, and maybe one of you engineers just might know. Saabs and Volvos used to be known for having very thick sheetmetal, that would never rust through.

iluvmax

No 0 to 60 times in this article but they like the interior and the cars speed and handling. The best thing was they had no negatives on the tailights!! Could this be the first Nissan to pass the rear end test with car n driver lol

http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caranddriver/features/2001/September/200109_preview_nissanaltima.xml

qualityguy

I would say, that everything I pointed out in my previous posts would not matter, if the price of the car wasn't around 30G's. 23 for fully loaded car tops(less leather - could not care less) - I would have written the check already, for the engine and rear suspension alone. Thicknes and quick rust-through are not nesessarely synonimos; noise and vibration increase though in the cars witl large panels. Road debris leave their marks in the body. Paint can not be really thick. which means, that every little stone leaves it's little mark on the paint (and the car has low-profile hoodcover), and the car will look like @#$% in half a year. Also, it is better to be in Towncar or MB that were built like tanks by a side crash. Chrysler 300 is a good car from this point, it feels rich and will never rust; body is extremely good. I had Intrepid (very similar car) - first 4 years it was flawless, then, within a year, everything could break, broke. Same with a friend of mine, who bouhg this car after I did. Ruski, get rid of the car as soon as you can as long as somebody still buys it from you. I have spent on repairs of Intrepid something like 11 big ones, and the transmission problem was never solved... Somebody above said, he wants to drive his Chrysler car off the bridge - I really totally can relate to that. But the body was perfect on the last day, like it was day one. I hope Mercedes guys will send some of their Germans to oversee engineering of Chrysler cars, their suppliers and assembly.

hackerboy1

Hello all. I have seen the articles in the car mags and it got me curious on how great the "new" Altima may be. Curious enough that last night I drove to one of the local dealerships, afterhours, to see for myself. We all know it looks better or worse in person. So I pull up and there it is, three of them to be exact, one V-6 and two I-4's. I have to say that I was even more impressed than from the pictures, especially the V-6. To each their own but I thought the car was a very good looking one-FROM ALL ANGLES, which is tough to do these days it seems. Then I looked inside and from what I could tell it was quite nice also. I might could find a dislike if I sat in it but from all the windows, looking in I was also very pleased. NOW THE SHOCKER OR SHOULD I SAY THE STICKER. The V-6 was like 26,500 (it had the leather and a few other goodies that pushed it up to there) and then under the DEALER ADD ON'S- $2000.00 mark-up----TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!
Now I am sorry but I do not give a damn what the heck they did to the car or what they THINK they have....IT IS STILL AN ALTIMA. AN ALTIMA. I can say I am glad that I went while they were closed. I do not think they would have appreciated me laughing in their face. For 28,500 I will go buy that Audi A-4 with the celebration package and sport package and for the same price roughly, have a car I "personally" like twice as much. WITHOUT PUTTING AN EXTRA TWO GRAND IN SOMEONE"S POCKET!! Now before you go telling me the difference in horsepoawer or this, that and the other between the two, I will tell you I already now good and well the difference. And like "looks", it is a personal choice. The biggest difference is that one is an AUDI and the other is an ALTIMA. And the Audi is at sticker. Backwards if you ask me. I choose the Audi until I can get the Altima at close to invoice like they are trying desperately to do with the 2001's right now. My 2 cents. Thank You for your time.
P.S.--Nissan hope you are listening.

hmpower

The dealers are only trying this to get the suckers who will shell out for it to be the first one to own the new model...with the new Camry out there, they will be dealing in a few months on this car, guaranteed. Don't let it scare you off.

acurahad

Most dealers are using this additional money making sceme & plus the great paint sealant & interior sealant add-on. Car sales are falling off for now and when they start hurting, the prices will drop. With the add-ons, walk out the dealership, if they will not drop them off. There will aways be another day to purchase a car, but do it under your own terms.

himomer

After passing by the dealership many times, I finally had the time to stop today. They had Mystic Green 2.5S and a 2.5SL in pewter that they just got today. I looked at the 2.5S first, I was very surprised at how good the car looked, it had the 16" alloys, and all that good stuff for $21.5K. Then the salesman took me all the way around the lot looking for the 2.5SL that was just across the parking lot. It looked identical to the 2.5S, but the darker color made it look even better, it was just over $23K not sure of the options.

I didn't see any cheapness about the interior. The plastics were harder than in my car and it didn't have the soft touch surfaces like my car either, but the interior was nicely executed. I've notice a couple of people saying the leather looked at vinyl so i made sure to get a good look at my leather and the vinyl on the back of the seat. The leather in the 2.5SL was black, and Nowhere in that car did i see any leather that looked like vinyl. I'm pretty sure many of you complainers are use to the looks of cheap domestic leather(that's what i have) and cheap asian leather. The leather in the altima was shrunken leather, that explains the enlarged graining, but trust me, it is better than the leather you would get in a Camry, because it is more durable and can take more folding and stretching. I also read that the wood trim was out of place, but it was absolutely gorgeous to me for faux wood, and it complemented the black interior perfectly. The fake wood in my car is only and inch wide and it rattles, but it is no glued on flat like inthe alty.

LanceL99

Today I swerved off the road into the Nissan dealer in Clearwater, FL when I saw the new Altima sitting in the front. It was a white 3.5 SE with a charcoal/black interior. I liked it!

The body was very attractive and the interior was very spacious. I really appreciated the telescopic steering wheel (I'm 6'4") and I fit comfortably despite the power moonroof. Driving it was nice, too. Despite the 17" wheels and the sport suspension, it rode very nicely (better than my A4, I have to admit). On top of it, the instrumentation was nice and easy to read. The 3.5 V6 really moved and the automatic shifted smoothly. The shift gate is trimmed with aluminum and was one of those notched ones (like a Jaguar or Mercedes) and worked satisfactorily.

However, there were a couple of things about I didn't care for. One, the parts felt cheap. LOTS of hard plastic that felt cheap to the touch. The fuel tank release was just sort of cut out of the carpet (very sloppy) and the buttons just didn't move with fluidity. Perhaps I'm spoiled by the extremely polished trim pieces inside my Audi, but I don't think that's it. My sister has a '94 Altima GLE (120K miles and literally has never broken; EXCELLENT car - knock on wood). Anyway, her car has a much nicer finish with quality feeling parts (especially in comparison to the new model). The parts feel more solid overall, although the doors still close with the same hollow sound.

The prices seemed a touch high, too. The sticker on it was $25K and it didn't have ABS, leather, etc. I paid just slightly more than that (plus tax, etc.) for my Audi... Anyway, check it out just for kicks! Overall, I really liked it.

ludacris

I don't think dealer mark-up matters. Our Maxima was $29k plus $5k mark-up. It's mainly for ignorant people I guess, cause the dealer said some people were actually shelling out $34k for a Maxima (buhaha). Just say "Take off the mark-up or I'm out" and they drop it immediately (in our case).

oxmead

The dealer near me was selling them for sticker. I've always detested dealer mark-up. Honda used to do it all the time. VW did it when the Jetta came out and most Chrysler dealers have been adding huge mark-ups on PT Cruisers(until recently). I blame the idiots who pay it. That's why I think a good dealer is more important than the car. Enough ranting, now back to the Altima.

I got a closer look at the interior and as much as I like this car there are some cheap parts. Namely, the little door on the console for a storage compartment and the door for the cup holder. The rest seemed fine, but like a previous post, I would have the armrest covered in leather.

felixdacat13

Anyone know if there will be any factory incentive lease packages for the new Altima's?

swsms

I am one of those critics that says the Alima leather looks more like "cheap" vinyl. I say cheap vinyl because the standard vinyl seats in an Audi A4 look almost like good leather. In addition, I have a '96 Acura Integra SE with leather and after 5 years the leather looks better and more durable than the "p-leather" in the '02 Altima.

I agree the interior is well executed and looks best in black. The faux wood looks good as well. But for those who want leather, I would purchase it as an aftermarket option. I can't fathum(sp?) spending $28-30K for a great car with cheap looking seats. There is no compromise when you are spending that type of money.

JM2cents

ruski

a friend of mine says he knows a place in Miami that will do leather interior better than any factory leather. They re-upholster luxury cars for dealers all the time.

I think that if I was going to buy the Altima, I would take the cloth one and take it to that place.

redline65

ruski - That is a really good idea. I know when I was looking at Intrigues the dealer had a few GX models on the lot that had leather that looked and felt much better than the factory leather. The GX model only comes with cloth from the factory and the dealer had sent these out to a leather shop for re-upholstering. And the price for the aftermarket leather was about the same as the optional factory leather on the GL model.

altimase35

I wasn't going to buy a new car but when I saw the new altima I had to have it. Paid $25225 for 5 speed, Bose 6cd sound system, Power moonroof, Cloth interior (live in Florida-to hot for leather). This car rocks. I was doing 110 on Howard Franklin brige from St Pete to Tampa, felt like 80 and I was not pushing the engine. Sound system is good and I love the controls on the steering wheel. The interior is cheap compared to my 1996 accord, but I bought it for the speed. Any questions let me know. I did have a flat tire today (low profile tires????). Dealer will try to fix in the am, gave me a loaner.

h

bluesky999

Stopped by a different dealer today, and he had a few Altys in. The light green (seascape?) was nice looking paint, and the car looked good from all angles to me. But I focused most of my attention on the interior. It looked better than in the pictures, although the textures are hard. I was pleased to see that the shifter did have brushed aluminum surround, as is the styled these days. I'm long of leg, and had even better room than in the Maxima, I think because the center console does not intrude as much as on the Max. Cloth interior was not bad. I can see why people feel the leather looks cheap--it is not "gathered" like in my sister's Acura RL, but instead is stretched tight over the seats. I would prefer it over the cloth myself, but I don't think it's worth over a grand. Personally, I liked the faux wood--it looked much better than the faux wood in the sebring lxi, and almost as good as that in an Acura TL (which I've been shopping for my mother). Discussed pricing with the salesman (the guy was pretty nice and not pushy), and he said that other dealers were asking for from $1500 up to $3000 over MSRP (the tag on the car mentioned 2K over MSRP). He stressed that his dealership would sell them for MSRP flat out. I told him I would wait until December to see if they come down from that (I think they will). Seat comfort was better than I expected--I didn't notice them being overly soft, but felt they were appropriately firm. Didn't look as big as the Maxima to me--it's deceptively big--which I like as I like the handling of a car that's not too big--this is just about the perfect size for me. Trunk is huge, and the liftover is not high--quite usable. I saw that the faux wood added $149 to the price, the interior air filter was $49. BTW, the faux wood covers the whole area around the shifter, for about a foot or more in length--I liked it as it added some warmth to the rather "basic" feel to the interior. Mileage on the sticker for the auto 2.5S was 23/29, which surprised me as I could have sworn I saw 22/28 on the freshalloy web site. I had been thinking about getting a Toyota Solara, but now that I've seen the Alty I favor it. As long as it comes down off of sticker price before long, and if when I drive it it is quiet enough and feels good, this may be my next car. Also, the thunk of the doors when closing them was rather normal. I remember the last generation Sentra used to feel like cheap tin. Oh yea, looked under the hood, and noticed how light the aluminum hood was. A prop rod holds it up, which is ok by me. The v6 was really shoehorned in the engine bay. Didn't look at the 4's engine compartment. I give it a thumbs up.

bluesky999

BTW, to any of you who have test driven the Alty, how did you find the levels of road, wind, and engine noise? Is it still quiet cruising at 65? THx in advance for any replies.

tim_hooligan

and i must agree with many of the things already said. I only got to see a 2.5S , I think (had to run before the saleman got to me...). In person, it looks much better than in the pics. I still don't like the rear taillights, but that's easy to fix. The cloth seats were mighty comfy. The hard plastic interior left much to be desired, but it's no offensive. If you strip the the car down, it's kinda what you'd expect for a something under 20k. Had wheel covers (barf!) so can't tell about the rims.
The one thing about it that bothered me was that instrument cluster! For anyone 6' and above, the pods the gauges are housed in can blind your view of the needles on the gauges. would've been wiser to open up the pods or eliminate them.
still didn't get to drive it (yet) so the verdict is still out. personally, if nissan brings down the price to accord levels, they may meet their goal. the price is too high where it is right now, but it's still a brand new car. and speaking of which, i'm sure many of us are leery about those 1st-runs out of the factory. i own one, and they aren't much fun.
basically, this car is not a runaway winner, but will be on my (and others' ) shopping lists. A better interior and lower price, and they'd have their homerun. period.

kostamojen2

I just saw one today at a dealer too. I like the outside, but I noticed that its more of a "blend-in" design than a "stick-out" design than I thought it would be... Maybe it was the silver :P

Anyway, it was a 2.5S with black leather, which felt to me like a Crysler-brand leather seat simular to the seabring and PT cruiser...
The Interior was a big disapointment to me, and I was surprized... The door panels were loose and practically falling off, the carpet is thin all around and that "cut-out" for the fuel release was hilarious, and the plastics were very hard like a Protege...
The kicker though was that the trunk release was busted!!! That surprized me considering this car showed up at the dealer like 2 days ago

Anyway, i didnt get to drive it, and didnt get to see an SE, so im holding off my "I dont like it" until I see more

dettim

Last night I took my wife over to the Nissan dealership after dinner so I could show her the new Altima. I had dropped by the dealership a day earlier and they had a Silver 3.5SE in the showroom. We got there late after eating dinner out and it was 8:30(they close at 9:00). The Altima was now parked just outside the showroom with several salesmen nearby. We looked it over and both agreed the exterior was stunning. The interior room was outstanding with plenty of room in front and back seats. The interior materials were not the greatest but I think of this as a "sport" sedan not a luxury car. One of the young salesman(he barely looked 18) let us look it over and tried to show us all the goodies on the car...black leather, sunroof, spoiler etc.... The trunk is huge, plenty of room for our normal Costco run. The salesman asked if we wanted to come back tomorrow for a test drive and I told him that we probably wouldn't be able to because of our 3 kids. The salesmen decided to let us take it for a test drive even though they were getting ready to close. I drove the car first and I thought the orange instrument panel was easy on my eyes. I really liked the feel of the seats. The side bolsters really kept me in the "cockpit" and the seats were very comfortable and thick. I punched the car(automatic) and the car took off as I entered the freeway. I got up to 80mph without trying!! It had plenty of power which growled when you really pushed the pedal. I drove half way then let my wife drive back to the dealership. She said she really enjoyed it and liked it better than the 2001 Maxima. My impression of the car is that it is a very sporty sedan. I know there are many out there that do not like the interior but it would not keep me from buying this car. I think the interior was designed to be sporty and after sitting in it for awhile it grew on me!! Sticker 27k with a hand written 3k ADP. I'll wait for invoice!!

daveschneider

Decided to take a look at the new Altima. One of the local dealers had six of them and one was a 2.5S 5 speed. Besides a lot of nice features the big thing for me is room. This car has loads of it. I am 6' and the seat all the way back is too far back for me. I had to move it forward a little. Another big deal is an 8 way power CLOTH seat. Every other maker I can think of makes you buy leather to get the power seat and I think leather is too hot and too cold. Anyway, the salesman offers me a ride. Off we go in the 5 speed. The thing felt bad as soon as I started off. The clutch engaged very high. The salesman said I just had to get used to it.
I now drive a Honda 5 speed and love it. As I drove it I couldn't get used to the high clutch. The car was hard to drive. Then I thought I felt the clutch slip. Sure enough, it was slipping, and getting worse fast. It got so bad I wasn't sure we were going to get back to the dealership. When I stopped in front of the show room I put it in 1st gear, let the clutch out and the car sat there, not moving, idling, in gear, clutch out! I thought you would find this an interesting story.
However, I liked the car. It rode well and felt good. I'm not sure if I like it as much as the Passat. A better test drive and time will tell just how good the car really is. I have had 3 VWs and would love to not have to deal with them again if I can find a car that drives as good as the Passat. So I hope Altima can deliver. I'm sure the bad clutch is just a fluke.

himomer

I've noticed many posts with dealer markups, is there a certain area or is there a certain option package tht causes the mark-up, cause here we have 3 2.5S and 1 2.5SL and none of them have the mark-up and i'm sure they are selling for less than MSRP.

s852

It depends on the supply. Many dealers still only have one or two 2002 Altimas on their lots to show and they really have no serious intention of selling them now and then having nothing to display while, meanwhile, rows of unsold 2001 Altimas sit and collect dust.
So, they mark the prices of these 2002 display models up beyond reality so these cars will stay on the lot until they get their truckloads of new shipments in a few weeks and the old Altimas are mostly or all gone.

regfootball

Well, I went out shopping again. This is the second Altima I have seen! Way cheap interior...looked at a black/black 3.5SE with leather...if you can call it leather. The gray interior with cloth I saw last week was fine...but in black.....horrid. Absolutely horrid. Again, the gray cloth interior I saw last week looked just fine. This one was worse than a GM or Chrysler car!!! I think Nissan is purposely doing this until the next Maxima comes out to keep the Altima below it. BTW, the Altima is a LARGE car and has tons of room. Nice looking, too.

I think if you want leather, go get it aftermarket....this stuff Nissan puts in looks bad. The "leatherette" in your typical german cars is nicer. If Nissan can fix the cheap leather and make the plastic nicer, please. Again its soo wierd because the one I looked at last week looked fine.

lngtonge18

I went car looking today for fun and stopped by the Nissan dealer hoping to see the new Altima. They didn't even have one Altima on their lot, neither the 02 nor the 01 models! And they only had two 02 Maximas, which by the way, look even worse with their "improved" taillight design. They had a whole row of new 02 Xterras, but only 3 Sentras. I just couldn't believe how few cars the dealership actually had! Jeez, this dealer better hope a few semis are on their way full of cars or I just don't see how this dealer can stay afloat. So, I'm still waiting to see the 02 Altima in person to see just how bad this interior supposedly looks.

oxmead

The first dealer I looked at was selling them for sticker, but the second was adding a $695 paint sealant pkg. But I can top that. I went to a Mitisubitshi dealer and saw a second sticker on a 2002 Lancer with a $2500 market adjustment PLUS a $1200 protection pkg.( worth about $10) that raised the price to well over $20,000. If you think that's a good deal , I have a "88 Eldorado with 120,000 miles that I will let go for only $12,500.

ruski

Does anyone know if the hinges are struts or goosenecks?

shadowjack7

Can't say that I found the interior objectionable, but I found the torque steer to be pretty distracting under heavy acceleration. Maybe this car is a good Camry and Accord fighter, but at the prices they want for a fully loaded 3.5SE right now, I'd take an Acura TL-S in a heartbeat.

maxamillion1

The same old cheap gooseneck hinges are still there this year.

gerapau

Most cars are much cheaper in Canada (when the exchange rate is considered). Nissan must be making a LOT of money on each Altima sold in the US. If they can make money by selling the Altima 3.5 SE (fully loaded) in Canada for just under $33,000 CA then imagine how much they are making when they sell the same car for about $28,500 US (or about $44,600 CA with todays exchange rate)in the states.

amazing2u

WOW... Fully loaded 3.5 SE for 32,798$ Can.

That's about 22k US$.

AND ABS is standard on 2.5 SL & 3.5 SE models.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/010910-2.htm

ronoboy

I was really impressed with the new Altima and ordered one this weekend - I'll find out today how long the wait will be. I ordered the S version with automatic and the ABS/side air
bag package. The car will also have remote keyless entry, power windows, AC, CD player,
, etc for $20,187 including delivery charge (but not tax, title, license). There was no dealer markup, but I am paying MSRP - the only "bone" I was thrown was $500 above Kelly Blue Book on my trade in, which was a 2000 Altima.

This car is just much bigger than my current Altima. The rear seats seem to slope
less at the edges than they do on the older Altima, which creates even more room in between our two car seats used by our 1 and 3 year old for our teenager (she couldn't fit if we used the car seats, she's skinny and could squeeze in if we had our 3 year old use a booste rseat, but it was tight). Due to increased width of the new model and being able to place the car seats closer to the doors, there seemed to be an increase of 5 inches by my measurement.

The engine is noticeably more powerful but the noise level seemed fine, there is a lot more interior storage space than the previous model, the trunk is huge, etc. While not as refined overall as my Mom's Maxima, this car is closer to a Maxima than to the previous generation Altima in my opinion in size and quality, only much more affordable. I thought the interior was fine (not being used to luxury cars maybe affects this judgement!), the seats comfortable and the layout good.

I know there have been a lot of complaints on this board about pricing for loaded versions and with the larger engine, but it did seem to me that I was getting a lot for my money with this car, even conceding that I would get a better deal 6 months from now when more are on the lot and that (as people here have pointed out) there is some risk to getting a new model that is just now coming off the assembly line. The previous generation Altima I have now is extremely dependable and I've had no problems with it, and our family has always had good luck
with Nissan's, so hopefully I won't be sorry! Even without dealing, the car seemd like I was getting a lot for my money.

barnone

sounds like a salesperson

mirth

I dunno - it seemed pretty genuine. I agree that the 2.5S is pretty good for the money. It's the 3.5SE that's questionable.

blueguydotcom

"Even without dealing, the car seemd like I was getting a lot for my money. "

To me, there's no way a car purchase can seem reasonable if I know the dealer is selling the car for thousands over invoice. Guess I'm silly, but I bristle at the notion of giving a dealer several thousand dollars for doing NOTHING but saving shelf space. $100-200 plus holdback of $500 or so seems like MORE than they deserve.

misterjohnny

How much does it cost to have aftermarket leather put on a car? I'm sure there is a good-better-best pricing structure, but I'd like to get a feel for the cost if anyone knows.

ronoboy

I just really liked the car! However, I admit I'm not a particularly good deal maker. I think that is the main reason initial customer satisfaction is so high with Saturns because everybody pays the same price if you decide to buy one, and your negotiating skills (or lack thereof) don't come into play. Oh well, I did get them to come up close to $1,000 on the trade and there was no markup as has been mentioned several times on this board, but I'm sure they are making plenty off of me...

vocus

I went to the Nissan dealership on Friday to check out the new Altima, and it is pretty sweet. I have to admit, the interior materials (cloth interior) were not as fancy as I suspected for a $26,000 car (3.5SE automatic w/o leather), but they were nice. The orange gauges are cool too, seeing as I grew up driving Pontiacs with the red. I liked the car alot. I sat in it for like 5 mins., and the seats seemed pretty comfy. I wanted to drive it, but it was the only SE and it was on the showroom floor. The sticker price was marked down $500 under MSRP, which is not bad. I will wait for invoice though, and also a test drive.

I was thinking though. I saw an '02 Maxiam SE on the lot with no options but automatic, and a sticker price about $50 +/- the Altima SE inside. Why would you not go for the Maxima instead of the Altima??? Any takers?

regfootball

Correct on the Saturn thing...prey on those who don't care to/can't negotiate.

bsproles

I stopped by my local dealer today to check the new 2002 models, and I must say, they're much nicer than the 2001 models, which didn't have nearly enough leg room and not much of a tilt wheel so I could sit comfortably (I'm 6'1").

The new Altimas, I think, have more legroom than my Saturn L300. The only 2 parts I wasn't terribly impressed with were the trunk (made of aluminum, I think), which didn't feel very solid, and even worse, the center console where the stereo is, looked like thin, cheap, CHEAP aluminum-brushed plastic. I've heard you can have that *replaced* with a fake wood trim dash (not just the paste-on wood trim pieces) is this true?

I really want a 5 speed V6, but after seeing that this engine would prefer premium fuel, I may be more likely to get the 2.5SL. My L300 has 182hp, and 190 ft-lbs of torque in a V6 engine. The I4 in the Altima is pretty close, with 175hp and 180 ft-lbs of torque.

The dealer had about 8 new 2002 Altimas on the back lot, and 3 on the showroom floor. Of all of them, the only 5 speed I4 and auto V6 were in the showroom, so it would've been almost impossible to ask for a test drive. They told me they didn't want to give test drives to people who weren't serious about purchasing right now, because the cars were so new...I dunno, I've never heard any dealer say that before. I was able to test a 2002 Camry with no trouble...

Anyway, the overall look of the car is great. This is a definite choice against my other possibility of a Toyota Solara. I'd rather have 4 doors anyway

-Bryan

himomer

My dealer insisted on me test driving the car. I think it's because most people just don't decide to take a trip down to a car dealership, but when they see a sleek car like the altima on the road it makes them want to go take a look at it. Something is really wrong with your dealer because my Honda/Acura dealer let me drive a 3.5RL when I was 15, and i told him i didn't have that kind of money for a car, but again they insisted that i drive it.

vmaturo

The review in USAToday was very positive.

Hey gdlucas, are you AKA zackcruz on FreshAlloy? It seems you both have some real personal issues to deal with.

jimsxn

...should be seen in Canadian perspective and Altima, especially the V6 version, is still expensive. Consider this (all 2001 prices, 2002 prices are even lower and/or have more content):

Accord EXV6 MSRP C$30800
Camry V6 XLE MSRP C$31800
Passat GLS V6 MSRP C$32750

Again, the 4cyl version is much more competitively priced. It seems that Nissan have strategically placed this sedan in the vanilla segment.

bama99

Hey gdlucas, I cant believe you actually yelled that at the salesman. I would hate to be a car salesman and run into you. Anyway, I bought an Altima last week and so far it is great. I bought the 2.5s and the 4 cyl engine has more than enough power for my wife and I. I am really impressed by how much power it can produce. I will agree with you gdlucas that there is some cheap materials used but I can get over them. Only thing that seems cheap to me is the cup holder cover. Still, its built much better than my friends more expensive Pontiac Grand Prix. Other than the cup holder cover I really like the interior! It has great room in both passenger and cargo volume. I love the look inside and the sporty feel it has. The exterior is even 10 times better with its new design. Plus its hard to beat this car when its just over 20k. And thats the thing people need to realize, its not a lexus!! Its a midsize moderately priced sedan (unless you get the V6) that is as nice or nicer than the camry and accord in my opinion! If most of you are angry because the materials seem cheap then its because your looking in the wrong price range. Just my opinion.

vocus

Not true. If I am going to spend the $26,000 asking price for an Altima SE 3.5, then I want a car with nicer interior trim than it has. The Accord V6/Camry models have nicer interior trim, and they are about the same price. Even the basic Maxima SE (about the same price as the 3.5) has nicer trim. So why not go with one of those?

lgoldin

Hi,
I guess you've missed the bama's point, which I agree with. He means, I believe, that for 4cyl ($20K car) interior is fine. V6 is overpriced. Read his post carefully.

mirth

bama - where are the cup holders on the Altima. Are they that door under the stereo, or are they right in front of the arm rest? Thanks.

bama99

The cup holders are just in front of the armrest. Right under the stereo is just another storage area.

bama99

Sorry I may not have made myself clear but for the price of the 4 cyl I think you get a lot and that the materials are fine. But Im not going to jump to the SE for 5-6k more just for a V6 engine, and Im not even sure the SE comes with leather. Anyone know about that? Either way the SE in my opinion would be better priced at 23k. I think the dealership here said they would be around 26k. Anyway, the 2.5s is very nice and I think it will do very well against the Camry and Accord.

gdlucas

What!!! bama99 what in world does the pharse "seem cheap" mean. Either it is or isn't. You bought the car so I guess you have to support your purchase, cause it's a poor frog that won't praise his own pond..... But anyway it seems that you are happy with your purchase and congrats to you and your honey. For me, myself I expected a lot better not some flimsy poorly put together interior, 4 or 6 cyl it should be better, especially from Nissan, very dissappointed. I have read some of the comments, and people come on, you should as a consumer expect more for your money. I mean personally I think Mercedes has a cheap interior. If people continue to lower their standards then in a couple of years, cardboard dashboard will be acceptable and people will say............ IT"S NOT THAT BAD............... Demand more for your money, you work for it. Not unless your were born rich, me I work for a living.