$11,400 (walkout) good deal on 2.5SL?

[WdnUlik2no]

I posted this in the 3G Altima subforum, but it appears to be more traffic in this one.

Hi, I haven't been here for a while since I had to turn my G35 lease back in. I still have my TL, but my wife needs a new car since the 98 Ford Escort decided act up this past week and $600 of repairs have done nothing.

Anyway, I ran across a 2004 Nissan Altima 2.5SL with 77K miles. I have the carfax and everything looks good EXCEPT there was a "Transmission Overhaul" report 9/20/08. The sticker says $10,980. He originally wanted $12,300 walk out, but I got him down to $11,400. It seems like a good deal, but the only thing that concerns me is the transmission overhaul on the carfax.

Is this a good deal, and how concerned should I be with the transmission overhaul? Is this a common problem with Altimas?

[sammyboy]

Thats a lot of money for an 04 you can get an 09 2.5s for like 5 grand more.

[WdnUlik2no]

Well I was going to pay cash and didn't want to drop much more than $10,000. An 09 would be nice but even if I wanted to spend that much, my wife wouldn't let me. Its basically for her and she doesn't seem to care about having a newer model, just something nice and more reliable than the Ford Escort.

According to Kbb, the $11,400 out the door is a good deal, but I trust opinions from actual people like you guys who know a lot more about these cars than a website.

What do you think about the transmission overhaul last year, should that raise a red flag and are transmission probs a common issue with Altimas? I've been scouring the web for Altima transmission issues, but haven't found much of anything except a couple of complaints.

I know the previous gen TL's has massive transmission problems, so when I saw "Transmission Overhaul" on the carfax report, I got kind of nervous.

[Mr.Coupe]

OH GOD Dude $11,400 for an 04 is A LOT. You can go to dealers now and get an 08 BRAND NEW for a couple thousand more. If you are going to pay cash for the 04 in that case use the money as a downpayment for a new one that will be a few thousand more. Then your monthly payments will be NOTHING. By saying NOTHING I mean that your monthly payments will be extremely low. KKB I hate to say is full of crap when it comes out to giving the true value of a used car. Shop around at different dealers to look for the best price on an 08 which will be a lot cheaper then 09 since the 2010's are coming out or 09 models to compare the 08's to 09's in pricing. Once again that is way to much for an 04 .

Ricky C.

[WdnUlik2no]

wow! that bad huh? LOL Glad I didn't take the deal now.

Here's the link to the car if you guys want to take a look.

http://www.atlantatoyota.com/d....html

so hypothetically, what would you guys pay for this? Keep in mind, the $11,400 I was quoted was the "out the door" price and included everything (tax/tag/title etc). The 08 Altima's I've seen were $19K and up and the 09's were $22K and up

Nice Car BTW.

Modified by WdnUlik2no at 9:15 PM 8/23/2009
Modified by WdnUlik2no at 9:31 PM 8/23/2009

[Mr.Coupe]

Thanks for the nice car comment. It is a nice looking car, but the problem I see why it's over priced is because you are buying it from a Toyota dealer. If it's one thing I have learned from people that I have seen buying used cars is that it costs close to buying a new one. Here's a perfect example, my girls dad bought an 04 Toyota Tacoma from CarMax in 2006 @ 15% interest or some SIHT. I bought my 05 Frontier in 04 for 28K ( Top of the Line everything) My girl told me a few days ago that her dad still owed like 19K I said to her SIHT my truck has been payed off already since 06. I got it at 6% interest, but always sent way more then they asked for monthly payments. On used cars you ALWAYS get higher interest, a SIHTY price which is always OVERPRICED and you always run into mechanical problems. My advice to you is to go shop for a new car for that much of a price. If you were going to pay the car cash for $10,000 or more then like I said you can use that money for a HUGE downpayment for a new car and negotiate a price out the door which includes tax/tag/title ect. That's what I have done with my Frontier and Altima. Your monthly payments will be very low because if you finance a car that costs $15-20 K with a downpayment like that you will only finance 5-10K and the interest will be a lot better then buying a used car. Sorry for the long post, but I would be pist off if I see a member/brother from NICO get riped off by these guys. Look into an 08 or 09 which will be cheaper now that the 2010 models are coming out and dealers want these years outta their car lots.

Ricky C.

[crayzitalian3]

Ricky has a good point... just do it!

lol

[WdnUlik2no]

great points yall! the more I think about it, the more it does seem kind of high. The only thing is most of the "name" brand (Honda, Toyota, Nissan) dealers here are about the same in price. The smaller dealers seem to have better prices on comparable cars, but the low prices make me think something is wrong with it.

Also agree on carmax, I always thought their prices seemed kind of high, but yesterday it was confirmed when I saw that a car I was looking at was actually $2,000 MORE than Kbb's retail value.

As far as the Altima goes in general, how reliable are they? less than Honda, more than Honda, about the same? Any things I should be aware of like bad transmission's, engine, etc?
Modified by WdnUlik2no at 6:56 PM 8/24/2009

[crayzitalian3]

well im sure it was taken care of for the 08's, but im not a 100%, but for the 07's there was an engine rattling problem, Recall was sent out for that so no issues if it hasn't been taken care of.

there are other recalls as well, nothing to worry about though.

i know my brakes squeak and make so much noise as i come to stops, very very embarrassing lol.

but other than that stuff, i love my altima !!!! it's the best

[Mr.Coupe]

As far as the Altima goes in general, how reliable are they? less than Honda, more than Honda, about the same? Any things I should be aware of like bad transmission's, engine, etc?

Dude I'm not ganna sit here in my desk and tell you that Nissan is better then Honda and Toyota because I have a couple of Nissans and love them. All 3 are Great reliable, economical and great cars. I do admit that for some reason Toyota's cost more then Honda and Nissan when it comes to almost the same car. Take for example the Camry it's mostly the same car as the Altima and Accord. Why it would cost more I'm not sure . My first car when I was 15 was a 300ZX never did me wrong. Then my Frontier which is my work horse hasn't done me wrong and now my Altima Coupe 3.5 V6 with a Turbo pushing 9 PSI it hasn't done me wrong. I will also not sit here and tell you to buy a Nissan because I and everyone on NICO has one. It is going to be you and your wifes car. I say buy something that you and she will enjoy. Something that is a good cost and something that the dealer will not try to rip you off from. Weather it's a Nissan, Honda or Toyota dude just make sure that it's the car you guys want. When it comes to Amreican cars now a days they ALL SUCK besides the legends like Mustang, Charger, Challenger and you get the point. I say the American SUV's are still reliable. Not to sure about Jeep, My bro in law has an 08 Grand Cherokee and it's nothing but problems . Well hope it helps you out bro.

Ricky C.