Keep it or dump

cash_poor

I BOUGHT A NEW NISSAN ALTMA IN 1996. IT CURRENTLY HAS 45,000 MILES ON IT. A SIDE FROM THE NORMAL REPLACEMENT ITEMS, (TIRES, MUFFLER, BATTERY) I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE CONVERTER BECAUSE THE SENSOR RUSTED OUT ($300.00), THE VALVE BODY IN THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMITION NEEDED REPAIRED ($800.00), AND NOW THE COMPUTER WENT OUT. THE MECHANIC REPLACED IT WITH AN USED ONE FROM THE JUNK YARD. $400.00) THIS CAR IS STARTING TO BET A BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH. HAS ANYONE ELSE EXPERIENCED SIMILAR PROBLEMS? SHOULD I EXPECT ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS? SHOULD I GET RID OF IT?

MY LEMON

Mr_Shiftright

Well, one is always tempted to ditch a car that has had problems, and that is quite understandable, but unless you are going to buy a new car with a warranty, trading off one used car for another might not bring you any relief.

I myself don't believe in "lemons", since it is impossible for an entire car to be bad. Yes, some cars are not well engineered and some have problems, but the idea that a car is a "time bomb" waiting to go off because of some "lemon-ness" built into it 6 years ago just doesn't wash with me.

I'd say you just add up the cost of these repairs over the last year or two and see if the monthly average is anywhere near the cost of monthly new car payments. If not, you are still ahead, and if so, maybe it is time to buy a new car.

vidtech

I would stick with it.those are supposed to be fine automobiles.hopefully,your over the hurdles and have smooth motoring ahead of you.why let someone else benefit from the repairs you have just done.

swschrad

one possibility is that the car could have been a flooded car. should possibly run the VIN on one of the internet services and see if there is a flood in the car's history... lots of things get creepy in swimmers.

if not, there isn't much left of a major nature that beating the car up would have messed up, so it should be in pretty good shape.

used cars are always a gamble on present condition. yours ought to be in reasonably good shape now, barring any little whangs and oopsies that come with age and wear.

fleetwoodsimca

My reading is that this Altima was bought new. If so, then you have had many problems past the warranty period. Contrary to what others might choose to do, I would be strongly considering getting rid of it and moving on. I believe that some individual vehicles DO come out of the factories with far more variance from specs than do others. Hey, that is what blue-printing engines is about, for instance. Well, it makes little difference what one's philosophy is on this point. One's emotional satisfaction can be the make-or-break on the desirability of continued ownership. Get a car YOU want. Life is too short. |:o]

zueslewis

Let me argue with you a moment. I deal with lemon law and breach or warranty cases every day. I agree with you that a group of problems doesn't ruin the whole car, but it does make a vehicle comply with a legal statute and causes a demonition in value (whether others agree or not is irrelevant).

The biggest issue with calling a car a "lemon" is that it meets a legal statue. Most consumers completely misunderstand this designation and cry about their "lemons" after the dash rattles for the third time. It has to be "a significant impairment of use, safety or value".

Mr_Shiftright

That sounds more reasonable to me.

My only point was really a linguistic one. An entire car cannot be a "lemon" since in most cases it is only a small percentage of the car's componentry that is malfunctioning.

It's not unlike saying that because a window is jammed in your house, or the hot water heater leaks, that your house is a lemon and you think it's going to fall down now.

zueslewis

Just because the transmission goes out, it doesn't mean the car is going to explode and burn up on re-entry.

mrdetailer

Cars.com lists a basic automatic Nissan Altima with 45000 miles as selling from $6300 to $2500 depending on the condition. Edmunds lists it at $6200 to $4100 for below average.

You do have an advantage of approximately 1 thousand because of the low mileage.

On the average vehicles should cost about $1200 per year for maintenance and repairs. Looks like recent repairs have been bad, how about other years?

The psychological factor can be significant in deciding to purchase a newer model.

Your resale value will only go down.

I would take it to a Nissan specialist mechanic and have them go over it carefully. Then you will know for sure whether there are a lot of anticipated repairs. It won't be perfect, but it can give you a good idea of future repairs.

But then again your screen name may say everything about this decision. Cover what's needed until conditions improve.

fleetwoodsimca

And by the way, thanks for the input to all of us on your experience with an Altima. I for one have been attracted to them. I will now be more cautious in that regard.