New Car

[Aguirre]

I want to get an import car for around $7,500 with decent hp and with less than 150,000 kms. I was leaning towards purchasing a 2002 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V, but before doing so, I wanted to ask for your guys' opinions. Are there better cars for around the same price or is this a good car to buy?

[toastgremlin]

I cross-shopped those but ended up avoiding them; there was a lot of badmouthing about the engine being kind of fragile (balance shafts, etc). I'm sure there's some work you can do to make the engine and car more reliable, but I wasn't very excited when I test-drove it.

What kind of car are you really looking for, other than "import" and vaguely powerful? What have you tried?

[ekguy]

There is a member on here who is selling a spec v for about that price. low mileage. Dunno if he posted it on here yet. I'll send him the thread. He works with me as well so I can let him know.

[Aguirre]

How about a mitsubishi lancer ralliart? Is it better than the sentra?

[core_upt]

thanks ekguy!

Aguirre, here is a good form for reading on the Sentra:
http://www.b15sentra.net/
specifically: http://www.b15sentra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=135241

I have an 02, which is up for sale at the end of the month or sooner. As mentioned, this car, from 02-04 was plagued with engine problems from the factory. The issue was a set of screws that held the butterfly valves in place in the manifold. The screws would come loose, get sucked into the engine, and that's it for the engine! DO NOT BUY A SENTRA THAT HAS NOT HAD THIS RESOLVED! My Sentra had the screws come lose and Nissan replaced the engine under warranty in 2005 under warranty (happened at 30,000kms).

Other than that, I have had my MAF replaced and the cat. converter cleaned out in 2008. No issues with oil consumption at all, but you would certainly like to have it checked out on any SE-R you look at.

As far as the car in general goes, I really love mine. It isn't a head turner or a jaw dropper, but as far as compact 'tuners' go, it still brings a smile to my face when I open it up or throw it through a corner. The interior is nice (lava red), seats are comfy - way nicer than a Civic's. Stereo is decent. The car, with winter tires, is great in the snow, so it makes a great all weather car. Interior room is decent as is trunk space, though the seats don't fold down, which sucks.

Gas mileage isn't terrible, but with the 2.5L, if you're heavy with your foot, you'll go through gas quickly for sure.

For the money, $6,000-8,000, it's tough to find anything in a comparable model year that offers the same performance.

Anyway, my car is a 2002 SE-R Spec V, Silver, 6Speed, 119,000kms, bone stock and comes with a set of winter tires mounted on steelies (one season left on them). Maintenance includes new engine (as mentioned at 30,000k, new brakes at 108,000k, MAF sensor at ~95,000k, new summer tires in October 2008. I have owned the car for 5 years, purchased in 2005 with 29,000k.
I'm asking $7,000, $6,500 for a beyond.ca member. I'm happy to show you the car, let you drive it, and open to answer any questions you have. PM me if you're interested.

[creekerkid]

im in the market for a new dd myself and have been researching the hell out of the sentra spec v vs the 2004 lancer ralliart. from what im reading the ralliart is the "crappier" car in all respects except reliability. most 2003 and 2002 sentras had massive recalls done and tend to burn more gas as well as break down more. Personally im leaning more and more towards the ralliart for the simple reason that with a couple grand of mods it can be on par with a stock sentra, it looks better, and will sound better. (not to mention better gas mileage)