This car will go forever--No joke
Pros:
205,000 miles and still running. Need I say more? Fun to drive, great gas mileage.
Cons:
stereo and paint quality
The Bottom Line:
Strongly, strongly recommended to anyone.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I purchased my 1997 Nissan Sentra as a college student in June, 2000. At the time, it had 26,000 miles on it, and the dealership certified it, so I got an extended warranty, etc. I was looking for a replacement for my money eating 1993 Ford Probe GT and, based on previous experience with Nissans (parents have had several) I went with this car. Now, a little over 3 years later, I'm still driving the car, and it still runs just as well today as it did when I bought it. Did I mention that it has 205,000 miles on it, now? Or that I only very recently had to replace the clutch at 191,000 miles? It's true, I drive this car a lot on the highway, and I suppose that is a lot easier on a car than city driving. With this kind of mileage, though, I feel like this car doesn't owe me a thing, and when it finally does start having some problems, I'll be buying another Nissan Sentra as a work car without any doubt.
For highway cruising, the seats are quite comfortable. They could use a bit more padding after 5 or six hours on the road, but it's something you get used to. The clutch and shifter feel very good, and are placed very well, too. Acceleration is decent-- You won't have any problem merging onto a highway, but you won't win any stoplight dragraces, either. Braking is above average, even with rear drum brakes. I have had to replace my brake pads one time, and they're probably going to need replaced again in the next few months, but still... They stop me, evenly, and without throwing me through the windshield.
The A/C works wonderfully, and will blow cold all day long, even in 80 degree weather on the highway. I have never had to have it recharged.
I have very few complaints about the car. The stereo DOES suck, as has been noted on here several times. I repaced it very soon after buying it, and have been happy with the result. The paint seems to chip very easily, as well. I've gone through an ENTIRE bottle of touchup paint. Anyone who has ever used touchup paint knows that that is no easy thing to do. At about 140,000 miles, the car developed what I thought to be an electrical glitch. The battery light and brake light would come on and blink off, then come back on and stay on. This continued for about two days. Fearing an expensive electrical problem, I took it to a Nissan dealership close to where I was, fully expecting them to quote me an outrageous price and planning on trading the car in on another Sentra. To my surprise, it was quickly diagnosed as a malfunctioning alternator, which could be replaced for only a few hundred dollars. It's been over a year since that happened, and I haven't had that problem since, so my fear was unfounded.
Overall, I would strongly recommend this car to anyone who needs a dependable car that still has a few sparks of driving excitement in it. If you put a lot of miles on a car, this is the car you want. Same reliability as a Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic, but the dealers WANT to sell you a car, so they will work with you on price, etc. The car interior is definitely starting to show some age, as is the exterior, but as I said, the engine just goes and goes.