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Nissan Altima
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Comments
What the heck are you talking about?! If you think Mercedes puts in cheap interiors, then of course you'd think the Altima has a cheap one too.... Besides, Nissan basically put in better engines, sophisticated suspension, and a roomy interior at the cost of cheaper interior trims -- this way they don't have to charge 30K+ for this car. I realize many people's dissappointments, but at this price, you can't have it all...
As for this price of the Altima (20-30k), one can't have a good interior? Have you seen the new Camry's interior? Felt it. Soft-touch materials abound. Of course the real benchmark is VW and its Passat and Jetta make the Altima look like a cheap-econobox Pinto from the 1970s. That's the tactile and visual difference. Sit in and touch both the Passat and Altima. There's really no comparing the two.
But that's not why I'm writing--I was just wondering if you got it for less than MSRP or not. If we can track on the board roughly what people are paying it may help future buyers to drive a better deal. Thanks.
Oh, one last point. I don't think the interior on the Camry LE is any better than the Alty's interior. The LE is rather stark. However, the interior on the XLE with wood trim option I feel is better, but you're paying quite a bit for it. The thing about the Altima is that it will be fun to drive and look sporty and not bore you to death with its looks like a camcord.
As for the Altima's interior... Like I said, if you buy an Altima, you're not paying any more than a new Camry or a Passat. However, you get a much more powerful engine and a larger interior... so, Nissan more or less had to cut some costs from the interior -- how hard is that for people to understand? Personally, I think they should have just stuck the 3.0L V6 in the SE from the Maxima and give only the Maxima the 3.5L engine. This would have definitely drawn a clearer line between the two cars and Nissan could have made the interior trims a LOT nicer.
In terms of driving and interior space, the car is very good indeed. The 175 bhp 2.5 liter L-4 engine pulled the car with great authority even at low speeds.
My big gripe is that there is just too much "hard" plastic in the interior, and it feels cheap. It compares very poorly to a Honda Accord; the Accord uses a minimum of "hard" plastic in the interior design, and it results in a "quality" feel that makes the car feel much more expensive than it should be. It's small wonder why the Accord is such a hot-selling model.
They acknowledged at one point that they could have avoided most of the negative feedback about the interior by spending no more than $200 up front, and there was a lot of regret and butt-kicking over the decisions that resulted in the way the car originally looked. I suspect Nissan will also live to regret the $100-200 at the manufacturering level that got left out of the interior, and that it will get fixed...but obviously not this year...
I would like to say that I have followed this forum from the very beggining. Before the
actual design of the 02 Altima. I too waited patiently for the showing at the NY
autoshow, I too drolled and had a orgasm once I saw my long awaited baby. I too ran to
every web site their was to view pictures and comments on the newly design Altima. I
too couldn't wait to see one in person, with my very own eyes. I too jumped to the
website to view the first altima rolling off the assembly line. I too waited for the pricing. I
too cruised the Nissan dealers to see the new Altima. Well Saturday I was able to see
and test drive the new Altima. And needless to say I was so very dissapointed and hurt,
because I waited for so long for the big firecracker and it is a DUD. This is my personal
opinion but my opinion reflects the majority.
Exterior:
Beautiful, crisp, like none other. Fit and finish, excellent. Except for the hood and truck which felt to light. If someone who is heavyhanded slams the trunk to hard it might dent. Or if someone place something of average weight on the hood or trunk it might dent Apperance none to compare.
From any view the Altima stands out head and shoulders to the competiion. Like others
have said, looks better in person. Car has an upscale look.........At this point my knees
are shaking....I open the door to view my baby on the inside........
Interior:
I poke my head inside(interior color light) I go to sit in the car and begin to look around
and then to my dismay, I could't believe my eyes, What the world is this. I began tapping the interior plastics and again I said What in the world. Cheap, is being modest, outright Yugo interior materials, Yeap that's right Yugo. I could not believe my eyes what I saw. Cutout for the trunk release, Hard CHEAP plastic everywhere I looked. And get his when I pulled the trunk release, IT BROKE OFF RIGHT IN MY HAND. By this time the salesman come over and I handed the handle to him and screamed, What kind if crap is this!!!!!!! He said calmly, this is a pre-production model, not all the bugs were fixed at this time. Yeah right!!! He asked me would I like to test drive the car. Still hurt and confused about how Nissan could build such a cheap car. (Makes me wonder what else is cheap) Cloth interior and gaps in the fabric. I'm a tailor and believe me whoever sewed the interior seats did a horrible job. The seams and distance of the seams, should be even from the corner. If not this will cause irregular wear and cause the seams to rip. And the area just below the radio, what a joke!!!! Sat in back and I too could poke my finiger through the gapping holes in the seats. And the armrest in the center and on the doors, I say why bother, looks like an after thought.
Test Drive 3.5 SE
Smooth and precise, rough $ smooth road beautiful, almost made me forget the cheap
interior. Engine was quiet and handling a peice of cake.
Conclusion:
I will not put 15,000 nor 30,000 into a car that I feel will have major interior probelms a
year from now. Horrible, disgusting, lack of planning, rush job. I will say that Nissan has
just lost 3 new Altima purchases and everywhere I go I will tell people about the cheap
(Yugo) interior.
So - there is one back in Nissan's column, now they are only two behind gdlucas, and I'm going to tell everybody I know that it is a great car and if they want a diversion from worrying about the fate of the world given the political events of the last week they should go check it out!
ronoboy- If you don't mind me asking, how much did you end up paying for your new Alty? The dealer I talked to this weekend wouldn't budge off MSRP.
The interior is a bit disappointing. The MSRP for an SE with only the leather package is $25K. I would pay about $23K (I assume invoice is about this much). Good car for that price.
Don't know what the deal on the ABS is, there was no car available at all the dealer could find to trade for even though I was willing to take any of four colors. Does adding this option slow down production too much when they are trying to get a lot to the dealers this fall, or is ABS simply not that popular of an option? Beats me, I was surprised none were available...
I would think that this wouldn't last too long, especially given the disappointing (by most people) interior.
Please understand that I do not mean any disrespect to the WTC tragedy at all as I am appalled by the entire event. However, I believe that the event, though tragic, has realistically affected consumer confidence and automobile sales will continue to stagnate. Thus, anyone buying a new car, such as the Altima, should not pay MSRP because soon, dealerships will have a glut of these cars on their lots and will need to liquidate them.
SE, and the material seemed pretty nice in THIS model, but the adjustable armrest was a bit wobbly and felt oh so CHEAP!!! I still want one. They also had a 2002 Maxima GLE sitting right beside it. Majestic Blue with Frost interior. I LOVE that car, the interior was TOP NOTCH, and the gauges looked so cool with the retro chrome rings. I might just get it over the Altima. The salesmen tried his best to sell me the Altima over the Maxima, it was like he just knew I need the Alty over the Max, needless to say, I didn't buy anything.
I figured out that to option out both cars like I wanted, the difference would only be about 1700 more for the Maxima, which seemed to be screwed together much better, plus I get more power and an extra cog in the manual box. So my mind is made up...for now.
They sell cheaper because the supply is on every dealers lot.
What would you do as a dealer? Sell a car that's in short supply and high demand at a discount because some people don't like the interior? Heck no! Point those people to the Maxima and let others pay MSRP for the Altima.
I thought Nissan was going to do an all-out advertising blitz? I've seen lots of 2002 Camry ads.
I've only seen the ad once, though. I'm guessing they'll start ramping up the ads soon.
After looking at this Altima we swung by a Toyota dealer to see a loaded 3.0 Camry SE. Stickered over $27,000. Nice and maybe a bit nicer materials but not as roomy. At least the formerly completely boring styling is now a bit more exciting. Know I'd rather have a 3.5 SE over the Camry!
I went to a local Nissan dealer to check out the new Altimas. I was told there are 4 trim levels - 2.5 (base), 2.5S, 2.5SL and 3.5SE. I saw the S (with cloth), SL (with leather) and SE (with cloth) models. Nice, very cool looking design from the outside. The SL stickered at 25K, with leather, 6CD changer and moonroof. The price, though on the high side, kinda fitted the car, somehow. The 3.5SE had a sticker of $25,127, without leather but with curtain airbags, and the Bose with 6CD changer. I had to drive this one. The dual exhaust did it for me over the SL model. I just loved the 3.5SE.
Quick points I noticed right away: The cloth interior of the SL looked cheap and on the thin side. Reminded me very much of my 1996 Altima I sold earlier this year. I can see that this would wear out real quick. There was some plastic cladding around the door which looked cheap as well. I didn't particularly like the dash with the oval-shaped tach, but I can live with it. Otherwise, everything else looked good. OTOH, the cloth interior in the SE is of much better quality than the one in the SL. Much much better, imo. Otherwise there was no noticeable interior difference bwteen the 2.5 and the 3.5. The exterior dual exhaust of the 3.5 was a deal breaker for me. I simply loved it, mated to the sleek 17" wheels and sport-tuned suspension on the 3.5. Uhmmmm... sweet...
I took the SE out for a test drive. Came with 5-speed, my kinda car. The engine was very peppy, alive and very very quick. By now you all can tell I like this car. On the highway, I went up to 80 and it simply soaked the speed up. I took it off O/D and watched the rpm climb and the car take off.... Oh my... wished the CHP were on strike so that I can take this car for a real long spin as fast as I could go..... This engine would win you over, I don't care how cheap the interior looks and/or feels. It sure did it for me.
One negative note: Maybe it is my imagination here, but i feel the doors didn't close with a real thunk. They kinda felt light. On the Camry, you can feel the solidity of the doors; they close with a thunk that inspires confidence. Not on the Alty, though.
I will like to close on a positive note: The sales guy demo-ed the remote keyless entry on the 3.5 for me. It was nice to see you can not only open all the doors with a click, but also lower the two front windows with a push of a button. Similar to the rear trunk door on my '01 Seqouia, where you can lower the rear window by holding down a button on the key fob. I thought the design of the Alty fob was very nicely done, as well.
Finally (geez, too long already, but please bear with me for a tad longer), I decided to compare the performance with a '01 Maxima SE Anniversary Edition (fully loaded with everything). The Max looked every bit a solid and very refined car. This car felt very familiar in my hands. Though peppy, the 3.0 is no match for the 3.5L engine. Clearly, Nissan outdid themselves with the new 3.5L engine, and I can only say that they have a winner, once again, with this engine.
To close: Just MHO, the Maxima is a more solidly built car than the Alty, but the latter is a far better-looking car. And, for looks and engine only, I'd buy the Alty at sticker, and enjoy it for a long time.
Good luck to you all, especially those who are undecided. To current owners, I'd say you have a nice gem in your hands and do not feel bad you paid sticker price.
Infiniti did the same thing when they switched to next generation G20 in 1999. The '89-'96 G20 had the fully independent suspension and the later platform went cheap beam axle. Where the first generation got FWD handling raves, no one mentioned favorably the 2nd generation G20s handling. Infiniti isn't making this mistake with the upcoming G35. RWD, serious power, and fully independent suspension.
Can anyone tell me about the road noise of this car? I am not really serious right now, so I dont want to test drive it, yet..
Can anyone compare the road noise of the 2002 Camry and 2002 Altima? Thanks!
Because of the quality in the Max. I don't realy car about the rear suspension. The test drive in the Max was good and comfy. It's a minor fault compared to the carpet AND built quality of the Altima.
I test drove one (altima 3.5SE) yesterday. I was impressed with the road handling BUT was not with the wind noise. Upon further inspection, I noticed that a seal around the windshield was STICKING OUT!!! Very unimpresive in a car that price. It makes me wonder what else they scr@!# UP.
Max= Built in Japan.
Altima= Built in USA.
Everything I've read says that the Altima outhandles the Maxima by a large amount. That combined with the looks of the Altima has convinced me to wait until dealers are willing to deal on the new Altimas. Hopefully, it won't take too long.
Incidently, I think the reason Altimas aren't moving from some dealer lots is because they won't sell below sticker. The 2002 Camry can be had for close to invoice already!