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I saw a 2003 Altima 3.5 SE automatic advertised for $17800 at a dealer 1500 miles away. It has 1250 miles only on it and is in flawless condition, according to the dealer. The car fax report shows no problems either. Is this a good buy?
Also, I have never driven the Altima but will test drive one tomorrow. I saw the complaints about the inferior plastic and wind noise inside the car. But the engine seems to be good.
I drive a 1999 Maxima and am ambivalent about downsizing ( is it really downsizing? ) to an altima.
Any advice on this will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
When are the 05 Altima and 05 Sentra debuting?
And are there any plan for an Altima SE-R (I have heard that rumor over and Caranddriver.com and Altimas.net)
Also, while the new Sentra be available in more than one model style this time?
Thanks in advance
Denso is seemingly very PROUD of the fact that at a given temperature system setting, say 72F, the airflow routed toward the windshield in defrost/defog/demist mode will be up to 20F cooler than that dispersed from the footwell, heating, outlets.
Running the A/C for dehumdification purposes to help clear fog on the windshield and keep it cleared, is something the industry has been doing for almost as long as A/C has been feasible in cars.
The fly in the ointment has come about, really, as a result of the switchover to the new least efficient refrigerant.
But first, exclusive of issues regarding actual relative humidity, the potential efficiency of the use of automotive A/C for dehumidification declines precipetously with temperature. Above 50F outside air temperature the efficiency will be moderate to good, even excellent. Below 50F outside temperature dehumdification efficiency will start to become questionable, until at about 35F it will be non-existent.
No modern day manufacturer will allow the A/C compressor to continue operation below about 35F.
And Denso is one of those that does not allow the A/C to operate below 35F. Other A/C design companies learned long ago that heating the windshield airflow and simultaneously dumidifying it provided the very best solution. That way once the dehumidification capability become low or non-existent the heated airflow would still get the job done.
Not so for Denso, when the A/C is automatically shut down at 35F and you happen to need (YOU WILL!)the defog/demist function you are just plain SOL!
For more information, A LOT more, do a broad search for "windshield fog" or "wintertime A/C tips" within discussions.
UP's: Sound system rocks, I've probly lost about 5% of my hearing since i got it.
The power is amazing, I've whipped any and every honda accord and toyota camry thats dared, and ive even toasted mustangs and camaro's which is kinda sad.
Handling's nice. After the break in, i took it for a spin (literaly) up in the hills, it was very hard to get the car to slide, the tires don't give much of a sqeek warning and before you know it your tail's in the other lane (NOTE: TCS never did anything, after 3 slides i assumed by the time it actualy acts it's a day late and a dollar short, or mine just doesnt work. I plan on testing it in wet weather at the local mart store parking lot).
While Gunning it around corners hang on tight cause the stearing tries to pull to center, at really low speeds gunning it on a corner you can actualy lose front tire grip and almost go straight while turning. The only real problem here is the fact it's front wheel drive with to much power... One cool thing ive noticed is when you take off from a stop light at a moderate speed and gun it around 20-25mph you can get the tires to chirp for a sec, People think it's a stick.
DOWNS: My first drive at night was frustrating, i couldnt see any of the steering wheel buttons! Ok so 10 months later it doesnt matter cause i dont even look down to hit them even in daylight anymore.
The paint... Ive never had water spots show up on a car so bad. Could be my water....
Oil stick, this ones really annoying, I can't even explain it, lets just say it's a challenge to check your oil.
Passenger seat... Ok, half the people that ride shotgun like to rest their fricken knee right on the shifter, there's nothing worse then to go to downshift and you grab a knee instead, a female co-worker riding with me once briefly thought it was intentional. Ive had half a mind to screw a square sheet metal piece on the center consul there. (Suggest to them to slide their seat back and enjoy a nice full leg extension, usualy there's room)
Overall: It's been good, it's definately the best car in it's class ive ever owned. It's had absolutely no problems, not even the cheap plastic center consul snapper has broken yet. And i have yet to get any of the recall notices so far... I wish they would offer a rear wheel drive version, it would be nice to be able to harness all the horsies.
Well, the 2004 Maxima has been moved upmarket anyway, so the price point is much higher. The plain and GXE Maximas are gone. Essentially, the V6 Altmimas replaced them and they are bigger than the old Max. So, you are not really "downsizing".
Car makers routinely change their model lineups to match market conditions, nothing new.
~alpha
If I were going to get one for me I'd lean towards the V6, since I've been very happy with our '89 Maxima 5 speed, which is still running strong on all six. While I think four cylinders is enough for her as far as power goes, I can't help wondering whether the V6 is the better choice in terms of life expectancy.
Recently a car salesman--just speaking generally--told me that he figured he could get 100,000 more miles out of a six cylinder than a big, hard-working four cylinder, all else being equal (he said he really babies his cars...).
The 2.5L on the Altima strikes me as a big, hard-working four cylinder engine, so do I need to be concerned about it's longevity?
I have a 97' Altima 2.4L with 234k miles. My trip coming back from holiday yesterday was 274 miles and used 7.78 gal. of premium gas. Good car, good gas millage.
Fuel economy will suffer substantially with Nissans potent but thirsty 3.5L engine...
~alpha
I would proffer that the supposed longevity of the six-cylinder engine is more than offset by greater fuel costs (in the Altima's case, the V6 requires premium and gets worse mileage). I'm speaking generally here: No matter the engine choice, a car will probably not be owned by its original owner when the engine fails. I required ABS and side airbags, and the only model I could find was a 2.5. I'm quite pleased with it.
I think that the concerns about the life expectancy of 4 cyls go back to the engines that were produced in the 80s when 4s were first becoming commonplace in American cars. These are not the same 8 valve, 95 horse engines that were aorund back then.
I know that 8,ooo miles is the tip of the iceberg, but I intend to own this car for 10 years or more and anticipate that the 4 cyl engine will be there every step of the way. These smaller engines have come a long way.
Thanks
Over at Freshalloy.com and Altimas.net spy pics of the 2005 Altima have surfaced.
The grille has changed to the infamous "tooth" but it looks good on the Altima. The rear lights are all red as well. The front bumber looks slighly different and the headlights are blacked-out.
There is no pic of the rear or the interior. A guy just happened to see the car while walking out of a resturant. There were two Altimas, a Sheer Silver 2005 and a Mystic Emerald 2005 that was covered.
I hear that the 2005 will be out by March or April of 2004, and I think it debuts at the Detroit Autoshow if I am not mistaken. It is not a total redesign, but a refresh model.
I am DYING to see the interior. That could determine wheather my money goes to the new Altima or the new Accord....let the games begin.
Anyhone else encounter this? Are there other perks to the "Touring Edition" besides what I saw? Or could this just be something that this one dealer is doing?
I'm getting ready to get a new car once again... I loved my altima but times changed and tiss the time for me to move on with a new car. my altima only has 8K on it
I keep hearing that the Altima will be facelifted by the end of Feb and the beginning of March.
The interior is supposed to be all new and have materials and quality on par with the Honda Accord (You know, some Nissan official said the Altima was SUPPOSED to have benchmarked the Passat, and we KNOW that didn't happen)
The taillights are supposed to be all red
There is a rumor of a SE-R model (I doubt it, they said the same PS about the Maxima back in 2002)
that is all I have heard thus far.
All I know is that I have been waiting a LONG time to get another car, and now that my time has finally come, I want to get the best car out there. My top choices are the Accord, Altima and Mazda6. If the Altima gets a good interior, I am going to get one, but if it doesn't I am going to have to get the Accord sedan...
I just wish they would spill the beans..
As a matter of fact, I am going to go to a dealership at the end of Jan. and request an order for an Altima and see what happens...I am going to get this info if it is the last thing I do....LOL
It would be too hard to keep hundreds of salespeople from spilling the beans, so I don't think they have any beans to spill.
Believe it or not, I've actually seen car salespeople who knew little about cars that had already hit their own lots.
Often spy photos and even previews to print journalists are done before salespeople are given solid official information.
It is true that most salespeople know nothing about the products they sell, but this guy seems to know his stuff and has almost always been right about everything.
He just want tell me everything.... He knows all the info because it is up at Nissan's dealer sight, but he just want give it out.
I mean, March isn't that far away, and the cars MAY be here by the end of Feb. Thank about it, some people (like myself) like to order cars, and if you were to order an Altima today, you might get one of the last 2004s. I mean Jan. is almost here. It is the end of December. They know something.
As a matter of fact, when the Accord came out last year, some people found out info before hand because they wanted one of the first ones. This info was out around the late part of July2002 and the Accord didn't come out until Sept.
But I do agree with you on all other points.
It is true that most salespeople do nothing about the products they sell, but this guy seems to know his stuff and has almost always been right about everything.
He just want tell me everything.... He knows all the info because it is up at Nissan's dealer sight, but he just want give it out.
I mean, March isn't that far away, and the cars MAY be here by the end of Feb. Thank about it, some people (like myself) like to order cars, and if you were to order an Altima today, you might get one of the last 2004s...I mean Jan. is almost here. It is the end of Decemember. They know something.
As a matter of fact, when the Accord came out last year, some people found out info before hand because they wanted one of the first ones. This info was out around the late part of July of 2002 and the Accord didn't come out until Sept.
But I do agree with you on all other points.
There are grainy spy shots online of a 2005 Altima that looks like it does NOT have the split grill.
I am not 100% sure that is going to be what comes out, but it creates doubt that the 2005 Altima will have the "tooth" grill.
So, unless official Nissan photos come out showing otherwise, I wish people would stop posting their assumptions as facts.
It is also doubtful that the interior of the Maxima will be "redesigned" after only 1 year especially since complaints about the Altima interior started on day one and only minor improvements have been made so far.
I've looked around for spy photos without much luck. I saw one on thecarconnection.com that didn't show too much. Since everyone is already up in arms about the bucktooth grill, where is everyone else seeing these spy photos?
Thanks in advance for your help.