Bought my 16 yr old daughter her first car, a 2003 Altima auto w/ 140K for a whopping $750. Long story, but there isn't much wrong with the car and we've already fixed a couple of the 'normal' issues and are trying to whip it into shape for her, and she is having to do the work too.
One question I have, has anyone done much w/the rear suspension? I know we are needing rear shocks and lower shock bushings, but the back end tends to bounce around and step out to the right on larger road imperfections at 50+ MPH. To me this signals a change in alignment settings when the suspension cycles through its range of motion. A visual inspection shows a couple of the other bushings that look like they could use a replacement as well (torn rubber), but nothing that sticks out as being a major indicator of the problem. In fact an inspection by a local tire/suspension shop said they didn't see anything wrong and recommended an alignment to correct a rear toe issue.
On a side note, the rear subframe does look fairly new and seems to have previously been replaced under the recall (I am just judging by what I see) but I plan on calling the dealer this week to try and get confirmation on that.
Is there any aftermarket poly bushings available or are we stuck w/ stock replacements?
Thanks in advance if you can help.