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Comments
Yes, the Altima is mentioned -- as is the Accord, Camry, and all kinds of cars from Ford, GM, etc.
Moreover, the site states the Altima tires are hard to find and "...won't be available at Nissan dealers until mid-2003."
First, who buys tires from the DEALER anyway?
Second, I KNOW the Tire Rack (www.tirerack.com) has had the OEM tires since at least Jan, 2002.
Thus, I don't know if I'd make my car buying decisions based on the "Lemon Aid Guide". Your experience with Nissan Dealers in your area, however, is a separate issue -- and I can't say I blame you for being ticked-off enough not to buy because of that experience.
I, however, have had pretty good luck with Santa Monica Nissan here in Los Angeles -- but then again, I've not had anything go wrong... Just had to take the car back to them for the aftermarket leather and the airbag sensor notice they sent me.
Also, if you don't need the ROOM of the Altima, I'd also suggest you look at (in no particular order):
- Accord Coupe
- Mazda 6
- Acura TSX
- Used G35
- Used Maxima
Obviously the V6 is faster but its a lot more expensive too. I love my 2.5S and see no reason for an engine upgrade.
(:-D
To make a long story short, I ran into a curb (brakes locked), which cause about $5000 damage to the front driver side (wheel, drive shaft, fender, light assembly, hood, the whole nine yards). Although Nissan did a fine job at fixing my car (4 weeks later with no rental), a lot of issue are creeping out of the wood work right now....especially tranmission thunking when the auto shifts from second to third.
Accident aside, most of my issues are more on the idea that my dealer(s) charges me $25 per problem they cannot reproduce. This doesn't seem right to me. Are US Nissan Dealers like this? The last time I took my car in, I tried Walkley Nissan in Ottawa to have my brakes inspected and to have a couple of warrenty items looked at. The car sat on the lot from 7:30am to 4:30pm without being addressed. This was discovered when I called to see it if was ready to be picked up at around 3pm. Basically I was charge $40 for the inspection, non of the warrenty work was done, and was given an estimate of $600 for front rotor and pad replacement even though the rotors were only 1 year old with 15,000 KM on them. Sounds Fishy doesn't it? Well after a llong debate with the service manager, I took the car back in the next day, and had agreed on new pads, machined rotors (dealer claimed they were warped) and a brake cleaning for about $100 (no labour costs). He treated me right, but is this something I would have to deal with each and every time I take my car in? A friend also has a nissan and takes it to them for servicing and its not uncommon for them to not get around to his vehicle on the same day.
Sorry...I'll stop venting now.
I've always just asked friends if they know of a good mechanic/repair shop they've been to and had a good experience with.
I've got a GREAT mechanic I've used for the past 5 years -- never any problems and easily HALF the cost of going to the Dealer (Note: I've got more than one vehicle).
Again... Sorry for your experience -- you're right, sounds they were trying to milk you for cash. I had to change a Rotor on my Nissan Truck, and it only cost me around $100.
Instead of buyers paying more, they would drive people who are on the fence to competing cars from Mazda and Honda.
This is curious to me since my general impression of Nissan is that they are sort of like Toyota (and even Toyota offers rebates). Or am I wrong and is Nissan trying to be more like Honda (who never offers rebates)?
Or is the Altima such a hot seller that Nissan doesn't need to offer rebates? Or is it just that Nissan dealers in general tend to discount more than Toyota and Honda, so in the long run, customers still come out ahead?
Once the 2003's are gone, the discounts will eventually get just as big.
In the past, Nissan used to offer big rebates on most of their cars. Recently they have been trying to move away from this, selling fewer cars for more per-unit profit.
With the competition heating up with Toyota, Mazda, and Honda Nissan may have to rebate as seen in the last few posts. In New Jersey the Altima is selling fantasticly. However in my area Nissan dealers are giving 0.9% Financing though.
http://www.students.oamk.fi/~kymaat00/kuva/bird.mpeg
(:-D
Someone posted earlier that they think there will be a 2004.5 or 2005 model next year that will have minor exterior styling tweaks and an interior quality upgrade.
If not, there is probably something wrong with the heater.
I have used windshield defrosters with the a/c compressor running in many cars and I was still able to get plenty of heat at the same time. There was no need to go out my way to try and defeat the dehumidifying process because the a/c was too cold in the winter.
If the a/c doesn't run, the windows will fog up in a short amount of time in cold weather with the windows closed and people breathing in the car.
That is the purpose of the a/c compressor running when the windshield defogger is turned on. It isn't to cool the car, but to remove moisture from the air. That moisture fogs up the windows so you can't see out. The windshield defogging action works much better when the air coming out is dehumidified.
You can open a window to keep the windows from fogging up instead, but that defeats the effort of trying to keep warm.
As far as having problems with the compressor, actually running the ac may lengthen the life of your ac unit (sort of). In the past many problems have arrisen from people not using their ac at all in the winter. Not using the unit from time to time causes the seals to dry out and leaks to occur.
I have one question though. Can you not shut off the ac when you are just heating the car and not using the defroster? I have owned a few Nissans now (a couple of Maximas and a Murano) and I have been able to shut off the ac whenever I was not using the defroster. All of my Nissans have had auto climate control though and I have not owned an Altima. Also, as far as Nissan claiming it is a safety issue, they are probably right when it comes to running the ac while using the defroster. As others have stated, running the ac while using the defroster will help defog your windows MUCH better.
In this day and age of law suits for everything Nissan is probably just covering their behinds. If they didn't set the ac to come on automatically some idiot who decided to drive with his windows fogged up and had an accident would probably see fit to sue Nissan. Also, every car that I have owned over the last 10 or 12 years have had the ac automatically come on with the defroster so it is not something that only Nissan does.
Maybe your heater's broken, or maybe you don't have the right mixture of antifreeze/coolant in the radiator (which can also cause the heater to run not to hot). You might want to have your car checked out just to see.
If you change the mode and press the AC button, then the compressor should shut off and the light should go out.
The general website is http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/nissan (or /infiniti if you want.)
When the "DEFROST" position is selected, the air
conditioner automatically turns on (however,
the indicator light will not illuminate) if the
outside temperature is more than 36 - 37°F
(2 - 3°C). The air conditioning system will
continue to operate until the fan control dial
is turned to OFF or the vehicle is shut off,
even if the air flow control dial is turned to a
position other than the "DEFROST" position. This
dehumidifies the air which helps defog the
windshield. The "RECIRC" mode automatically turns off, allowing outside air to be drawn
into the passenger compartment to further
improve the defogging performance.
Bonnie, the middle of the paragraph describes what you are talking about. It appears that you can turn the fan OFF and that will turn off the a/c. Give it a try, and tell us if it works.
My PT is different actually. The AC comes on in Defrost mode, but you have to turn the fan control knob a different way to get it to come on in any other mode. I like that setup best, even though I thought it to be overly complex when I first got the car.
I almost bought a used Altima myself a couple months ago. The car was really comfortable to drive, although it feels huge when you first start driving it. The 3.5SE has lots of power, but beware of its fuel economy and torque steer (pulling when accelerating hard), which might make it seem like a handful.
Styling is definitely different, but at least you won't confuse it for all the Camcords out there, right?
I would definitely take a look at some other midsize cars to be sure this is the one you want, but I don't see it being a bad choice. Let us know what you decide, and good luck!