Nissan Sentra CVT transmission went bad/now upside down in loan.

Fennnnnn

Hello,

I am currently in quite a sticky situation. My 2014 Sentra, which I still have about $1.4K left on financing, recently had its transmission quit.

At almost 150,000 miles the value of the car with a good transmission is less than what it would be to fix and am asking for some advice/what would you do?

I travel heavily for work and need a car ASAP. I have an offer for an older 03 Honda Accord with approx 126k miles on it for around $2500 (and have had great experiences with an 02 accord in the past, ran great until a tree fell on it at about 210k miles). Fixing the Nissan would be $3500 minimum (with a one year warranty).

Here’s what I see my options are (and any other ideas are greatly encouraged!)
-fix the Nissan and drive it until it’s paid off then go from there (I’d probably drive it as long as I can).
-buy the Honda and sell the Nissan for parts once it’s paid off.
-try and get a trade in and Finance something else. (At first glance the value of my Nissan seems to foreshadow a very small return for the car)

I know I’m upside down on the loan and am taking the mistakes I’ve made to heart, but appreciate any and all insight!

Thank you kindly

jmonroe1

Fennnnnn said:

Hello,

I am currently in quite a sticky situation. My 2014 Sentra, which I still have about $1.4K left on financing, recently had its transmission quit.

At almost 150,000 miles the value of the car with a good transmission is less than what it would be to fix and am asking for some advice/what would you do?

I travel heavily for work and need a car ASAP. I have an offer for an older 03 Honda Accord with approx 126k miles on it for around $2500 (and have had great experiences with an 02 accord in the past, ran great until a tree fell on it at about 210k miles). Fixing the Nissan would be $3500 minimum (with a one year warranty).

Here’s what I see my options are (and any other ideas are greatly encouraged!)
-fix the Nissan and drive it until it’s paid off then go from there (I’d probably drive it as long as I can).
-buy the Honda and sell the Nissan for parts once it’s paid off.
-try and get a trade in and Finance something else. (At first glance the value of my Nissan seems to foreshadow a very small return for the car)

I know I’m upside down on the loan and am taking the mistakes I’ve made to heart, but appreciate any and all insight!

Thank you kindly

If you truly have a solid one year warranty on a new transmission, I’d get that and keep the car until it dies from something else. Hopefully that will be a few years down the road and you’ll be better prepared by then to get another car.

There is no way I’d go back more than 10 years for a few less miles even if it is a Honda.

Good luck with however you decide to go.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

It depends on your finances. Can you afford the Honda while you pay off the Sentra? Can you afford to fix the Sentra? No matter what, that Sentra is going to be an albatross around your neck until you can get rid of it.

My advice.
Get a car that is reliable for work. If the Honda checks out with a mechanic (and definitely get it checked) buy it so you keep your job and cash flow. Then devote all your spare money to paying off the Sentra. When it’s paid off you can either sell it for scrap or get it fixed although spending that kind of money on a 150k mile car that’s worth less than the repair cost seems a waste.

No matter what, keep your job and keep paying your car bill or your credit will get trashed and you’ll be paying 22% interest on everything.

Fennnnnn

Thank you kindly for the responses.

With too many unknowns about the Honda, the rest of my Nissan in great shape, and a newfound knowledge on caring for a Jatco CVT I think I will fix the Nissan and drive it till it’s end unless I can find a good private deal once paid off.

One thing is for sure though, with all of the research I’ve done on Jatco CVT’s and my experience with Nissan Customer Service I will never be buying from them again.

Again thank you for the help!