I will soon be ordering a altima coupe and this has me worried. I have read too many extremely low ratings on nissans reliability and interior build. Coming from an 07 camry and seeing all the amazing reviews on the camry, I am at a bit of a crossroads. You see, the camry has horrible interior. Loose trim pieces among horrible handeling along with hesitation and flare problems.
Nissans interior seemed to fit very nice and I liked the aggressive style. The soft touch plastic? dash has me a bit worried. Anyone have any problems with the dash? There also seems to be a huge gap in reliability. I know in my toyota I am going to get to and from work everyday. Nissan seems to be the opposite. I have heard great things about nissans reliability, but studies rate nissan among the lowest of all cars.
Why so low? Has anyone had any problems with previous nissans? Does anyone know if the coupes are built in japan or america?
Thanks.
Nissan reliability....
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mikemart
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Author of the greatest post ever.
Re: Nissan reliability.... (Meder)
I've read great reviews on Nissan's interior styles. As for reliability, I believe Nissan Altima is one of the top cars the past two years, hanging tough with Toyota and Honda. As for soft touch plastic, I've read of numerous makes and models being easily scratched; so that won't be just a Nissan issue.
My father is a lifetime Toyota guy; I'm a two time Honda owner (one being an Acura) and I just ordered my A/C last week; we definitely understand Japanese reliability. Based upon the research that I've done, I believe this car will be extremely reliable, but with random issues of being a first year model (which should be covered under any warranty).
I am financing the last 8 or so grand of my A/C. For added protection, I am going to purchase additional warranty protection from my credit union so that after the manufacturer's warranty, if something malfunctions, I'll still sleep at night. Just my 2 cents.
In short, I personally have not read much as far as Nissan being unreliable. I am confident enough too make my first BRAND NEW car purchase an A/C.
Hopefully current Nissan owners will opine.
My father is a lifetime Toyota guy; I'm a two time Honda owner (one being an Acura) and I just ordered my A/C last week; we definitely understand Japanese reliability. Based upon the research that I've done, I believe this car will be extremely reliable, but with random issues of being a first year model (which should be covered under any warranty).
I am financing the last 8 or so grand of my A/C. For added protection, I am going to purchase additional warranty protection from my credit union so that after the manufacturer's warranty, if something malfunctions, I'll still sleep at night. Just my 2 cents.
In short, I personally have not read much as far as Nissan being unreliable. I am confident enough too make my first BRAND NEW car purchase an A/C.
Hopefully current Nissan owners will opine.
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MinisterofDOOM
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Re: Nissan reliability.... (Meder)
In the real world (meaning outside the highly biased offices of Consumer Reports) Toyota is no better off than Nissan.
Toyota is VERY VERY over-rated in terms of reliability these days. They're still living off the positive image of yesteryear, which went away just like yesteryear did. Toyota is no longer the bar...they haven't been for a while.
In short: you'll be no better off with a Camry than you would be with an Altima.
I think Nissan has been portrayed pretty poorly in reliability studies. Sure, like Toyota, they may not be as bulletproof as they were in the glory days of the early '90s, but NONE of the Japanese brands are, anymore. I'd sooner cast my lot with Nissan than Toyota or Honda. At least with Nissan you don't get a pricetag that's marked up because of 5-years-past success (Camry pricing has become completely ridiculous...you could step up to a Maxima or TL for what a higher-end Camry costs! "Fully loaded" Camrys run frighteningly near the $36k mark!).
I'll say this: No engine Toyota makes will come CLOSE to being as resilient, durable, and easy to maintain and keep running for a long, long time as the VQ. VQ+ any of the Altima's transmission options is as rock solid a powertrain as you'll find anywhere.Toyota's new 3.5 is a HUGE step up over the crude 3.3 in their last Camry, though.
Also, you can only get a manual transmission in the Camry on base model 4 cylinders. Stupid!
Camry and Altima are both built in the US (pretty much all US market cars are built here now. Even the Koreans have factories here).
Reviews that say ANYTHING about interior styling are highly opinionated by their very nature. I rarely read a review of any car that doesn't complain about "cheap" or "plasticy" interiors. It's all down to what you like. Most reviewers dislike things I like (like fake [or real] brushed steel) and like things I hate (like wood), so I rarely find I can depend on comments regarding interiors. That's what test drives are for.
I personally like the new Altima's interior. It is a HUGE step up from the last model's in terms of fit-and-finish and materials. But again, that's my opinion.
Toyota is VERY VERY over-rated in terms of reliability these days. They're still living off the positive image of yesteryear, which went away just like yesteryear did. Toyota is no longer the bar...they haven't been for a while.
In short: you'll be no better off with a Camry than you would be with an Altima.
I think Nissan has been portrayed pretty poorly in reliability studies. Sure, like Toyota, they may not be as bulletproof as they were in the glory days of the early '90s, but NONE of the Japanese brands are, anymore. I'd sooner cast my lot with Nissan than Toyota or Honda. At least with Nissan you don't get a pricetag that's marked up because of 5-years-past success (Camry pricing has become completely ridiculous...you could step up to a Maxima or TL for what a higher-end Camry costs! "Fully loaded" Camrys run frighteningly near the $36k mark!).
I'll say this: No engine Toyota makes will come CLOSE to being as resilient, durable, and easy to maintain and keep running for a long, long time as the VQ. VQ+ any of the Altima's transmission options is as rock solid a powertrain as you'll find anywhere.Toyota's new 3.5 is a HUGE step up over the crude 3.3 in their last Camry, though.
Also, you can only get a manual transmission in the Camry on base model 4 cylinders. Stupid!
Camry and Altima are both built in the US (pretty much all US market cars are built here now. Even the Koreans have factories here).
Reviews that say ANYTHING about interior styling are highly opinionated by their very nature. I rarely read a review of any car that doesn't complain about "cheap" or "plasticy" interiors. It's all down to what you like. Most reviewers dislike things I like (like fake [or real] brushed steel) and like things I hate (like wood), so I rarely find I can depend on comments regarding interiors. That's what test drives are for.
I personally like the new Altima's interior. It is a HUGE step up from the last model's in terms of fit-and-finish and materials. But again, that's my opinion.
Re: Nissan reliability.... (MinisterofDOOM)
Many toyotas are still built in japan, along with some camrys. It also seems the murano was built in japan. The diffrence between the us and japan built camrys are huge. I was wondering if that went for nissan also.