Sentra Opinions?

[teggypimp95]

What do you guys think of the 02 and 03 sentra SE-R spec V? I am currently trying to deside what my next ride should be and i saw one of these today and it kinda cought my eye. Thoughts?

Quality?
speed?
Fun factor?
Gas milage?

Thanks.

[Accord_tunerx]

it pretty fun to drive...i was considering one of those last year...but when it idles its loud you can hear it i dunno it a decent car overall IMO:)

[teggypimp95]

Thanks, any one else?

[dave101]

i honestly think they are ugly as shit and would never even consider buying one.

I've never driven one so i cant say anything about that, but i dont think i've ever heard anything good about them so i dunno:dunno:

[teggypimp95]

Im not going to take you seriously when you drive a cougar. lol JK

[khtm]

^ hhahahahaha nice ZAP

[QuasarCav]

I thought you were buying a house? How does it make sense to buy another car?

[teggypimp95]

Im selling both my cars and buying something a little cheaper. I can get a sentra for a decent price. Im just getting rid of my car loan by selling my cars. So it will still work out nicely :)

Back on topic please. More opinions on the sentra other than its looks.

[Isaiah]

I think they're nice looking little cars and you really can't go wrong with a Nissan. My ex was shopping for a car 4 years ago and we test drove the '03 among other cars in its class (including the civic). The Sentra was by far the most fun to drive and seemed like the best value overall.

[teggypimp95]

Thanks for the feed back ^

[khtm]

I find MSN Autos pretty useful when looking at used vehicles:

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/reliability.aspx?year=2002&make=Nissan&model=Sentra

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/reliability.aspx?year=2003&make=Nissan&model=Sentra

Check out the reliability, features/specs, and reviews.

[teggypimp95]

Thanks

[MrMiyagi]

Yeah, the sentra is not a bad car overall. Things to watch for are the 6 spd..some people have griding problems, also some SE-Rs have had problems with oil burning...which have been fixed under warranty. Check out b15sentra.net.

As for me though, I have had a SE-R and it has been relatively problem free. The fuel economy is not bad (10L/100km ish city) and with a set of snow tires, it's great in the snow.

The engine QR25DE in the SE-R, and Spec-V are shared across the Nissan lineup in the X-Trail and Altima 2.5 and I find is quiet unlike what a previous poster mentioned. I find my car definitely has balls when I need it, and can cruise at 120km/h on the rolly highway to Banff without slowing down with skiis and 4 people inside..

Overall, not too bad. It's not super pimpin'..but it definitely is a sleeper!

[trieuth]

i drove one for awhile, it was fun to drive. but its ugly as hell imo.

id just stick with the ep3 :thumbsup:

[TNation]

www.carsurvey.org

go to it and find the Sentra and year you want.
The reviews are great
I test drove one, and it seemed pretty quick (it was the Spec-V)
.. I would look at a Maxima though, they're quicker and have virtually the same gas mileage. Get like an 02 Maxima SE, they're 6 speed and really fast and fun.
They're the same price out in Ontario as a Spec-V is out here!

[ecstasy_civic]

I loved my spec v, tons of fun to drive, if you get the sport package you get the sunroof and rockford stereo, which for "stock" is pretty good.

Gas is a little harsh and mait. can get pricey, other than that I liked it alot.

[Supa Dexta]

- check out b15sentra.net

- search butterfly screws

- brasso nissan is great...

[core_upt]

Originally posted by teggypimp95
What do you guys think of the 02 and 03 sentra SE-R spec V? I am currently trying to deside what my next ride should be and i saw one of these today and it kinda cought my eye. Thoughts?

Quality?
speed?
Fun factor?
Gas milage?

Thanks.

My current car - 2002 SE-R Spec-V

Quality

Bought the car with 29,000km, no problems, engine blew with 33,000 km, fixed under warranty thru Brasso (great service too!) and no problems since. The only *issue* is the fuel pump, which is pretty accross the board for these cars. I'm so happy the engine was replaced under warranty (new bottom end); it was a butterfly screw issue! 02-04 have this issue, so be careful - you're better off getting one with a new engine.

Also, before starting the car, you need to 'prime' it by turning the key past Acc but not to start until you hear the fuel pump buzz for a quick moment, then it starts right away - this only applies if the engine has sat for 1-3 hours. Its not a bog deal, but not covered under warranty.

Gear grinding - the six speed can take some getting used to as it isn't the most precise shifter, but i've never had gears grind. Once you get used to where the positions are, its all good.


Speed

In the city, I couldn't imagine a better car to drive (for the price, that is). The torque curve on the car allows you to adjust the cars speed quickly and it cruises very nicely. I've had mine up to 180kph and 180 is as smooth as 120 which is as smooth as 80. I've never questioned the speed/performance of this car

Fun Factor

Besides the great pick-up and speed of the car, it handles well through corners, but aftermarket suspension would be nice as there is still a bit of body roll (compared to my previous prelude, which sat 4 inches of the ground, mind you).
The interior is nice - seats are comfy (not as nice as leather, but better than regualr cloth, they are a woven, elasticy material) and supportive - drivers is 8-way adjustable, but no lumbar control), the cockpit is intuitive and the stereo is decent for stock - the Spec V's came with either a 'Premium system' (what I have) which still has tweeters up front and a 6.5" sub on the rear deck which gives it a bit of kick. There is a Rockford system which is supposed to be very nice (for stock) available with the sunroof (Sun N Sound Package). Gauges are nice too - they illuminate orange. The back seat is okay for a smallish car; I'm 6'2" so I wouldn't really want to have anyone sit behind me, but the back seat is useable. Good trunk space too - three golf bags was no problem.
In winter... well, I've never owned a better car for winter driving, but snow tires are a MUST HAVE. The factory low-profile tires will not cut it in snow, ice or cold.

Fuel Mileage

This is my biggest knock on the car - its a pig on gas. I am lucky to get 425K to a tank (well, 45 of the 50L) tank capacity. To me it seems like a lot for a 4-cylinder, even though it is a 2.5L. Plus I always fill premium as recommended. That's city.ruch hour driving only. On the highway, I was around 600K/50L which is good.


If you've owned/own the GTI and a SIR, the Spec V won't let you down. I came into it from my Prelude SR-V, and while the interior isn't as nice as the Honda, the Spec V quickly reminded me how nice it is to have an engine with torque at 3,000 RPM and not just horsepower at 6000 RPM.

Feel free to PM me with questions if you'd like.

-J

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

PM silverboost as well if you want to mod it... i know he has lots of fun with his (havent seen him around in a while though)

[teggypimp95]

Thanks. Yeah I like the car but the potinial problems and the gas milage kinda scares me away. I like the altimas too but there a bit out of my price range. I got around 11 grand to get a car with and having trouble deciding! lol

[bigboom]

i had a spec-v and while i thoroughly enjoyed driving it i jsut didnt like nissan service, nor the potential problems with the oil burning/blown engines/gear grinding so i sold mine. but not all of them have this problem so just make sure you get it checked out.

[TNation]

teggypimp95--

you should check out a Maxima, buy it from out east, you can get a 3.5L 03 Maxima for around $11 K out there
even an 02 Maxima is super quick and pretty decent... get an SE.
just a thought

[teggypimp95]

ill have a look thanks.

[03ozwhip]

that thing is suprisingly quick, throw a couple of bolt ons on it and youre close to 200 hp tq. ill tell you it definitely keeps up with my stock MR2 Turbo.

[teggypimp95]

how are the older maximas? like 97 se?

[403Gemini]

the 2002's probably had the best body style for the sentra.

Good car for the price, plenty of torque so it doesnt feel gutless, and the interior is quite attractive as well :thumbsup:

I like the car and have heard good things about it

[Inzane]

I have a 2001 Sentra SE, w/ Perf. Pkg. This is a little known model trim and option package and is relatively rare as B15s go. But it was a gem in its time. It is the last of the SR20 powered cars, and therefore I've had none of the QR related issues the SE-R and Spec-Vs have had to deal with.

The '01 SE is almost identical to a '02 SE-R (not spec-V) in terms of equipment and features, only exception being the engine (2.0L SR20DE instead of the 2.5L QR). Same 5-spd transmission, same wheels, brakes, same luxury/comfort equipment, same suspension, etc.

After 6 years of ownership and ~85k km, I've had no major issues with the car. Still on original brakes (although I'll be needing new front pads this spring), just changed tires last year, still on original clutch, original battery, etc.

[teggypimp95]

ANy one know much about the 97 maximas?

[TNation]

Originally posted by teggypimp95
ANy one know much about the 97 maximas?
i have a 98 and they're awesome cars.
they can be modded pretty easily and they haul ass really well. the world record stock Maxima is like 15.1, which is pretty crazy...
really reliable, pm for any questions

[SilverBoost]

Well I don't post here much anymore, but I'll chime in here.

Cor-upt made some good points.

It's hard for me to really give an opinion on a stock one because mine is far from stock. I've boosted mine as a lot of guys on here know, and I've also upgraded the brakes, and had all the recalls done before I boosted it. I dont have butterfly valves on it anymore because i removed them when I boosted it as well. But loctiting them is certainly a good thing to do on a stock motor.

The car is great even stock if you like low-end torque. It has a 6300 (approx) redline and so you'll find yourself banging it off the rev limiter a lot at first.

Engine mounts are also a must because the stock ones are sloppy as shit and wheel hop will actually make you miss gears. I have inserts as well as a torque damper from REV_AUTO works in the US. Now all the power goes right where it's suppose to instead of shaking my dash apart.

As for shifting and gearbox, the stock set up is like a stick in a bag of rocks with lots of little grinds. I have a short shifter installed and I use REDLINE MTL and MT90 mix for my tranny fluid and now the shifts are tight and the grinding non-existant.

This car has plenty of fun factor and once you look after the little issues then you have a very fun and capable car. I have an 02 - possibly the most problematic of all years, so they say, and I had all my recalls done. I change my oil every 3000 kms and that's pretty much it fro maintenance. I have 105k kms on it now, 50k of those are boosted - daily 8psi and track 12 psi which nets me about 325 whp. I ran a 12.8 in it last year here at race city.

As for looks, well to each their own. I like the 02-03 a lot better than the redesigned 04+. Mine is riced up a bit now with all the body kit shit and CF trunk and hood, but I also don't give a fuck what anyone else thinks of it, so consider that as well. It's quick, I love it, and I wouldn't trade it for anything else in it's class. I'm rebuilding a new block this year and swapping it out this summer hopefully, and then I'll be running approx 380 - 400 whp.

Anyway, you have to be smart about any car purchase. And yeah I've put lots of money and work in to mine to get it to run the way I wanted, but it's because I track it quite a bit and I also have other vehicles to use as daily drivers. So decide what you want to do with it and how much time you want to spend looking after it. If I wanted a nice reliable car that was pretty much idiot proof and would last 10 years I prob would've bought a corolla. But I wanted something fun to drive so I went with the SPEC V.

Good luck.

Later