2002 Nissan Altima 2.5S
By tremere613 onWhen I moved to California for the summer,I was in a dire need of a car since Los Angeles isnt anything like NewYork-- spread out and impossible to navigate from 1 point to anotherwithout a car. I met a family friend who was selling his 2002 NissanAltima-- 2.5 S model, silver exterior and black interior. At first glance,the car looked perfect for my needs-- a young driver, not looking tospend too much on just a car that will get me from place to place. Andat least it wasnt a Kia. It looked somewhat stylish, although the plasticbutton interface in the interior seemed a bit cheap. But thats wherethe positives ended--- this car has turned out to be a huge hassle anda never-ending problem from the day I got it.
The car had 96,000+ miles on it and wasused(although Carfax reported no major accidents or "lemoning"of the car), so this is only my experience. However, the problems beganquickly and spread fast. 1 of the major recalls on the car was for thecrank sensor, which is "a component used in an internal combustionengine to monitor the position or rotational speed of the crankshaft.This information is used by engine management systems to control ignitionsystem timing and other engine parameters." So this piece in mycar was messed up, and suddenly while I was driving like 40 miles anhour in the street, the car just died. Thank G-d I was able to makeit to the shoulder/curb. I took it to the Nissan dealership, and theyrecognized it immediately since it is a big problem with the Altima,and they said the car would be fine and wouldn't stop anymore randomly.Boy, were they wrong.
The car, however, really depends on yourneeds. It is a solid car if it has low mileage. Nissans are rumoredand known to break down at the 100,000 mile mark. This car still isa solid competitor to the Toyota Corolla/Camry and the Honda Civic.It gets 23 mpg in city driving and 29 mpg on the highway, so if savinggas is of huge importance, look somewhere else. It comes standard withA/C, Power Windows and Power Door locks, seats 5, has regular CD player,and front and passenger side airbags.
