Post by
derzy »
https://forums.nicoclub.com/derzy-u101097.html
Sat May 11, 2019 5:37 pm
I daily drive a red 2004 Sentra SE-R and I've owned her since September 2006. I bought her with 41,170 miles (she was a July 2003 production and was sold to her first owner a few months later) and have put an additional 180,000 miles on her, bringing her to 221,000. She baked in the Arizona sun for our first 5 years together and continues to bake in the Southern California sun daily. Her paint started delaminating about 3 years ago (I think it was due to the high salt content of the coastal city I was living in) and she looks like garbage now but she's still immensely fun to drive and only gives me sporadic trouble. She has her original engine and transmission and I have not yet replaced the head gasket. Her interior is still phenomenally clean, with minor wear in a few places on the front seats and shredding on the edge of the driver seat belt where it runs through the buckle (I'm a fidgeter and I tug on it repeatedly while driving). I lost the illumination on the A/C temperature and fan speed knobs about 5 years ago but when you've driven the same car as long as I have, you can control everything without even looking. My headlights have been sanded and UV coated about 5 times and will be replaced soon as they're no longer reconditionable. My windshield and all windows are original factory glass.
(I need to consult my records, so the following statements may change within the next few days as I go through my paperwork.)
I have replaced the alternator twice, with the most recent replacement being about 2 years ago, and the radiator once. I have not replaced the A/C compressor but have been told I should consider it, as it's doing some weird power draw things (headlights dim every time it kicks on). I replaced both rear window motors about 5 years ago, but they had been broken for a couple years prior to that. I have replaced the fuel pump at least once and had to RMA the replacement a couple months ago because the engine was flooding (I'm not convinced that the new pump has fully solved the problem, and I can still smell rich fuel when the car sits nose-down on a slope for extended periods of time). I need to replace my motor mounts and control arms ASAP; I do not believe I have ever done so before. Brake and tire wear has been perfectly normal, and I manage to get about 26 mpg average economy with my driving style.