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Comments
Tim, I'd say that about 90% of the people on this board disagree with you, based on other opinions stated vs. Camry. The rear of the Camry puts me to sleep, whereas the rear of the Alti looks great to my eyes. Kind of like comparing Pamela Anderson's rear to Janet Reno's. Tim, 'fess up, are you an accountant? Do you wear lace up oxford shoes--the kind they wore in the 50s? Only kidding--please don't be offended! I couldn't resist poking fun
This is kind of off topic, but lately I've been paying some attention to resale values of cars (I never used to even think about it). I know you mentioned you lease a 300M. I was just curious what the residual value (I think that's the right term) will be when your lease ends. And, to make sense of the number, how many months is the lease? Of course, if you don't wish to post this for whatever reason please disregard this email. Thx.
I have been following your the thread of this discussion. I have read good and bad reviews about the new 2002 altima. I have a 1993 altima and the car works like a charm. I already have 107,589 miles logged to that puppy. At 107k mile I just started replacing both my axle even the cv boots are the only one have to replace my mechanic says better replace the whole thing than the boots. The next one to be replace is the power rack and pinion same thing rubber boot gave way but I might as well replace the whole thing. The thing is I have the car for 8 free maintenance years. And for me that is one good reliable car. So, replacing the parts for that puppy is no biggy. Next month, I will be moving to east coast and I will be driving my 93 altima across the U.S. Continent.
By the time, I arrived in east coast the new 2002 altima will be out. Time for me to take a new test drive of the 3rd generation Altima. I will still going to keep the 93 got some memorable experience with that car.
actually, i'm far from an accountant, i wear bluejeans to work, and I still hate the styling. Pictures of it emitted GAG reactions from coworkers, but some were in awe at the style (loved it). So it's obvious it's a LOVE IT OR HATE IT. Just because 90% of people in here like the style, doesn't mean I should. People bought PONTIAC AZTECS. they thought it looked COOL and STYLISH.
taste is all in your own mouth.
'fess up, you just want to race mustangs.
It sounds like that the MSRP price for Altima may be about $1,000 less than Camry for the base model, and with more horse (170 HP for Altima vs. 157 HP for Camry), I will still pick the Camry for proven reliability and quietness.
I am an accountant and I wouldn't be caught dead (or alive) in a Camry. My 95 year old grandmother loves the Camry, particularly the dash board. I will see the Altima this week, but will probably go with a 2002 Maxima SE. My 280z, Maxima and Pathfinder have all been extremely reliable cars.
This isn't even thinking with the heart or the wallet. If quiet is what a buyer wants, then yes, by all means go for the Camry. It's designed to be placid. Enjoy.
I'd put my vote in for proven Nissan fun.
Expect to pay MSRP or more for the Altima if the markup is about $1200 (6.5% markup which is hard to believe, since almost all other have markup ranged from 12% to over 20%) and any price advantage over Camry will be disappeared since 2002 Camry will be offered discount from MSRP soon, may be even now.
Based on pricing info that has been talked about so far, a 175HP 2.5SL at or above sticker would be more expensive than what you could get an 200HP Honda Accord EXV6 for after discounting.
The dealers can mark them up to $200,000 if they'd like. It is up to the buyers to decide what they want to pay.
There is no reason to pay $23K or more for a 2.5 SL when you can get an Accord EXV6 for the same price.
I just got back from looking at a 2.5S and a 3.5SE at a dealership in Columbus Oh. The car looks great in person. The S has a base price of $18,849 + a destination charge of $540. The only options were mats for $79, splash guards for $109, and a microfilter for $49 for a grand total of $19,626. The cloth was nice. The interior wasn't at Honda or Toyota levels, but it looked better than I expected.
The SE, well, Honda won't have to worry about not selling those EX V6s. I looked at a loaded SE for (hold on to your hats) $29,060!!! Here's the break down - base price - $23,149, destination - $540, ABS - $749, Leather & wood package - $1549, BOSE stereo - $899, Sunroof - $849, Spoiler - $399, floor mats - $79, Xenon lights - $499, Traction Control - 299, microfilter - $49
The leather didn't look as good as the cloth in my opinion. It was hard, and cheap looking. The "wood" was worse than the leather, but otherwise, it looked nice. Not $29k worth of nice, but nice. I was in a hurry, so I didn't have time to take a test drive. Let the conversations begin.
What about a regular leather package with no wood and just a moonroof? Figure maybe another 2k, so that puts the car's MSRP at 25k. At invoice, we're talking 22-23k. Sounds nice.
I don't want ABS, Xenon, Traction control (I turn mine off now), a spoiler (talk about a tacky [non-permissible content removed] thing), microfilter or a Bose stereo. All useless to me.
i know somebody has one...time to share.
This is how it is on the Pathfinder, for example. If you want the sunroof, you must first get the leather package.
loaded.about 27K. OUCH!!
Exterior looks nice. although the front grill is
not worthy of a 27K car.
Engine very smooth , but def torque steer under accelleration. When punching it from slow roll the car had almost no torque until 2500rpm, very weird.
Noticeable wind noise from the sun roof,but none from the windows.
Interior was very disappointing. Leather felt & looked like Vinyl. Dash was plastic feel,door panels felt cheap. Nice interior room.
I was really hoping for more.. I have owned 3 Nissans and currently have a 5 speed Pathfinder. I can say enough about nissan build quality. However,the 2002 Altima interior is not up to the 27K price tag.. I guess I wait till 2003 for hopeful improvements or just take the jump for a Maxima or Pathfinder.
I was hoping for more from the NEW VISION at Nissan : (
I guess it will all be officially answered tomorrow...
We will find out the real prices tommorow.
If the prices that have been rumored turn out ot be true, this car is doomed.
Even the Accord EXV6 will pick up sales from people shocked by $24K stickers on the 175 hp 4 cylinder SL.
I'm going to wait until tommorow to see the official Nissan pricing and see for myself if Nissan could really price the 2002 Altima at these super high levels.
Redline--that's pretty funny--Azteks for the homeless. GM would probably save money because they would get rid of the cost of storing them on the lots and trying to sell them! Glad I'm not a Pontiac salesman.
Ruski, I agree with you on Nissan packaging. Way back in early 90s I wanted to buy a 240SX, and their packaging of options was so weird that that I walked out and got a different brand. Some things never change. Also, thx for info on 300M. It's encouraging to see that some of the Chryslers are holding their values well. The 300M is a sweet ride with improved quality, and deserves it IMO.
Regarding pricing, that's a hefty markup for the V6. It is a great engine, but I agree that the car is not in the league with near luxury cars with better designed interiors like TL that can be had for less than 28K. In the past though, Nissan's spread between MSRP and Invoice was about a grand larger on their top level models, so expect Invoice to be about 2.5K lower than MSRP, based on current pricing scheme. Expect a much smaller spread on the 2.5S, based on current pricing scheme ('01 car). Just my 2 cents.
1. preliminary price reports on the Altima. That's crazy. Anyone who is smart will go get an Acura TL for $29K (or Chrysler 300M).
2. Chrysler builds 300M Special and only gives it 255HP (mine '99 makes 253HP), promises HIDs and at the last moment substitutes them with projectors.
I drive a 2000 Maxima and the quality of the interior is awesome, but the Altima is not even close to what I was hoping for. The leather is the worst I have seen in any car. It does not seem to have a tight fit about it and it looks like vinyl. The cloth seat's on the SE are fine, but the rear seat did not have the firmness I am used to.
The rear seating is less than Camry and Maxima. The larger interior room that Nissan claims has to be head and shoulder improvement only.
If I buy the Altima SE it will be 5-speed with cloth seats, spoiler, moon roof and maybe the Bose if not part of some larger upgrade.
I was critical of the Camry pricing in the past and still feel this way, however on kbb.com I priced out a Camry SE with moon roof, JBL stereo and a few hundred dollars more on little items and came up with an invoice of $23k & 26k (MSRP)-not to bad.
If the Altima is more than this I may have to live with Camry's 192HP and that wide rear end, but the at least the interior will be nicer.
My gut tells me the Altima will be selling at invoice (rebates & low financing) sooner than Nissan thinks. I was going to drive the SE yesterday and a guy standing next to the car agreed to purchase the SE for $1500 over sticker. I laughed at the salesmen I was with (who know's me well after 4 Nissan's) and said well you got to make it when you can-he laughed too.
Maxima: Good car but the styling is awful. Do the stylists at Nissan communicate with eachother? Car looked good until the back end. Absolutely horrible with no design continuity. I probably would have bought an SE 5 speed if the styling wasn't so goofy.
Pathfinder: New model with the 240hp (or is it 260hp) supercharged engine. From what I understand, all Nissan did was simply put a turbocharger on an already weak engine. I was hardly impressed with the Pathfinder, considering its large power output. Chinsy interior, too.
Frontier: Same thing as above - a weak turbocharged engine. Styling too angular, and X-cab totally useless and appears to be the smallest on the market.
I AM NOT buying the hype about the Altima. Sounds like it performs, but like the others, it has a lot of goofy aspects about it.
The Maxima has been Nissan's best work so far. They almost had a winner but somebody screwed it up in the styling department. Too bad, I would have loved that Maxima SE if it had a nice butt to go with it.
~alpha01
~alpha
Who remembers the Wedge Shape Accord in 94?Alot of people complained about the ugly rear as they were signing the purchase order.