Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Options
Nissan Altima
This discussion has been closed.
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
question is, if i decide i want this car, which i probably will, and if the price is within reason, which it should be,.....will i be able to get it without waiting a month...or maybe even much longer??? i sure as heck hope not, i'd like to have it in a week or two after test driving.
If the dealer gives you any crap tell them you are strongly considering Accord and Camry.
If Nissan wants to sell 180,000 units they need to move these cars out the door quickly.
In this price range there are many nice cars available its a buyers market.
Embargo dates are imposed after these mass introduction deals so that no individual publication gets the scoop on everyone else...but that doesn't mean that each pub's individual issue date isn't going to be a factor. You want the quickest, look for it in Autoweek either in the upcoming issue [dated 7/30] or the one after that. Then all of the monthlies should have it in the Sept issues, that go on sale later next week.
Post your photos.
Features of the new Altima include an aluminum hood & trunk, 180hp 2.5 4-banger/240hp 3.5 V6, aluminum suspension components, multilink rear ala Skyline......Great car. But ABS is OPTIONAL! I can't believe it!
How can Nissan omit such a safety feature? ABS is not a new technology. And it's not that expensive anymore for it not to be a standard feature on cars nowadays. Mercedes Benz, the progenitor for all car trends pioneered this safety feature decades ago. Nowadays, it's a common feature/standard among other car brands (VW's, Audi, BMW, Volvo, Subaru, etc.). Sheesh! Even a basic VW New Beetle GL has ABS!
Looks like Nissan still has a lot to learn making safe cars to drive, IMO.
Pat
Host
Sedans Message Board
It clouds there judgement and sense of the way things are not how they think things are.
MSRP SE loaded will be 26k max, with an invoice close to $23,500.
And my car manages to slide just fine on bone dry pavement, like today. I've stopped HARD from 80 mph in a 97 Grand Caravan and a 97 Honda Civic EX (both with ABS) and I know I can stop faster (even in the heavier van) with ABS than without.
Way to go Nissan. Your logic fails me.
They had the 4-cyl mpgs too but I wasn't really looking at them. Just check nissannews.com--
pricing not out yet--ahhhh, I can sleep better tonight--(I told my DH I may fall in love with a car for the first time and he said he thinks it's already happened)
ajacat
I know mpg isn't the main point of this car--as I said we've glanced sideways at a Prius but then come back to our reality with a preschooler--and with our desire for acceleration and fun--but still, I want to be able to continue to feel superior to SUV owners .
Maybe a 2000 Max is the way to go. Or maybe this. It does have better safety features.
Best to all,
ajacat the bleeding-heart family racer
No prices, just more wild guesses and speculation at the likely price, but most of the review sounds wonderful other than the fact that Nissan has apparently failed at copying the interior materials quality of VW as the Nissan excutive had claimed they wanted to do.
The FreshAlloy article mentions cheap-looking hard plastic interior materials.
However, it was still a pre-production vehicle that was road tested, so it is possible that it will improve on the "real cars."
The also mentioned that the powerful V6 models were troubled with torque steer.
I would think the SL will have a softer, more refined and quiet ride than the SE, with its harder, low profile 17" tires, rumbling V6 with dual exhausts and the stiff sport handling suspension.
"We are going to let its performance speak for itself," said Tim Gallagher, Nissan spokesman.
Here's the article http://www.detnews.com/2001/autos/0107/26/a01-254941.htm
There is no reason there cannot be some price overlap with the Maxima, just as there is a very large overlap in prices between a loaded Camry XLE V6 and and a base Avalon.
Also, the fact that the huge rebates and incentives that exist on the 2001 Altima will not be offered on the 2002 Altima is, in effect, another price increase in of itself.
I spoke to a Nissan Manufacture rep (friend) and was told that everyone including the dealers will be very surprised with the pricing on this car regardless of trim level and engine.
Of course he knows I post messages here and would not want to lose his job over confidentality rules.
He also said 0-60 times were same or better than the current maxima times.
I guess I will wait for the car magazines to confirm all of this.
My guess is this car can be had for 500.00 or 3% over invoice.
I will not buy this car above 3%, knowing I can get a 2002 Camry or Accord at 3%.
Even with more power than a Camry, I think the Altima still will need a price advantage to compete with the 2002 Camry. However, if the the MSRP is low enough, they won't need to discount them much more. If the car is nice enough to be "worth" $23K to buyers, why would it be better to pay $23,000 for the car that was stickered at $26K and then severely discounted down to $23K than to pay the same $23K if Nissan decided to just agressively price the car at $23K fully loaded to begin with and not discount it much further? It's the same money. The Acura TL is not discounted dramatically because the MSRP is already lower than most of the competition even after large discounts are offered on competing cars.
As for the Altima. I'll say it again, I'll be blown away if a Nissan dealership has the audacity to attempt to sell any Nissan near MSRP. A few hundred over invoice seems fair. Under invoice sounds better. It is afterall a Nissan. And yes, I one of my cars is a Nissan. Love it. Still find it in some ways more fun than my normal driver. But I think nissan's bad name should result in buyers getting good deals. If a dealer refuses to budge, laugh and tell him you're off to get a Camcord. They'll move the price for that.
If the MSRP on the 2002 Altima is low enough compared to competing cars, the there will be little reason to discount further. When the Xterra came out, there was little competition in the same price range, so there were few discounts on that Nissan truck in the first year or so.
I don't see the point of having a unrealistically high MSRP just so it can be marked down back into reality. If they just price it right to start and there is no better alternative available for about the same or less money elsewhere, why would they need to discount the new Altima any further?
It will have sportier styling than a 2001 and a new SE model will be available with firmer handling and sport appearance trim.
It will also have a more luxurious XLE model with available navigation system.
I'm expecting the new Camry to be priced higher than the new Altima, but pricing is not announced for either the Altima or the Camry.
as for a remodel, expect a few glitches in quality like any first-run car, but nothing too major (i.e. 1990 Ford Taurus!).
and PLEASE...don't let it have the horrible paint quality like all other Nissans that lead to major chipping in the paint! ARGH!!!
my vote is for the 4-banger with leather and sunroof for 21k.
It doesn't matter if the sticker said $27K if you paid thousands less for it new, then the 19000 for a used one is not that great of "actual" depreciation is it?
If they price the 2002 low enough that it is actually "worth" what they ask, then they don't have to mark it down futher and it will in turn have better resale value because the dollar difference between the original MSRP and the used value will not be as large.
I don't understand why you want to get a discount off of an inflated asking price instead of just having a reasonable asking price to start and little if any more discount.
"I don't understand why you want to get a discount off of an inflated asking price instead of just having a reasonable asking price to start and little if any more discount. "
I want next to invoice on any car I buy. The dealership deserves the holdback on the purchase. That's their profit. Beyond that, I'm insulted at the notion I should give something as useless as a dealership another 1-2k. Why would you willingly hand money over to people who exist only as middlemen-leeches?
It is possible that Nissan could make the difference between the invoice price and MSRP much less than is typical if they want to have a very aggressive MSRP.
Trading is a profit center for dealers. You cannot expect a good price for a trade-in. If the person had sold the car on his own, he would have got more money and perhaps the $24,000 he spent originally was too much if the value of a 1 year old model is only $17K. He would ahve been better off buying a 1 year old model instead.
Those things contributed to the high perceived depreciation. Add that to the fact the he sold after only 1 year. The heaviest depreciation is usually in the first year of any car.
I don't think he's saying that all all.. rather if he had to buy a car X, he's not going to pay MSRP if he can get it Invoice.After all, paying 2K more for the same Camry goes against: I'm insulted at the notion I should give something as useless as a dealership another 1-2k</>.
but if Nissan in your case insists on MSRP, then wait a month. good bet they will discount it on your second trip...
Anyway, in answer to the question, all of the car magazines will have something on the new Altima in their Sept issues.