Need some advice from some people who know more about cars than I..

My '02 Altima is in pretty bad shape. 154K miles, bad bearings, needs brakes, needs tires, heat doesn't work, has minor dents and dings, and to top it off I think I've got a blown head gasket (burns water continuously, sips oil, stutters when I accelerate, cuts off randomly when I stop, doesn't start very well). But hey, it still drives (for now) and the CD changer works

Alright, so just sell it to some salvage/junkyard? It's not that old so it seems like it should be a decent car, but I just don't have $2000 to spend on the stuff to get it running better, just to have something else probably go bad soon. Or could it still be worth a little bit, maybe to a shop or somebody who does car work and can just spend a little time to make a profit of their own?

IBT(NMSJ)

1/23/2011 2:15:10 PM

So, one day you were just driving it and the bearings, brakes, tires, and heat went bad, and then you blew a head gasket?

1/23/2011 2:20:05 PM

well I didn't know the heat didn't work til about November, but that only inconveniences me, so I can deal with that. I'm not positive that the rear brakes need to be changed, but they might. The rear tires will be ok for a while, the front should probably be changed pretty soon, and yeah.. I've had work done on the bearings, but they keep going bad, and I keep going back to get them fixed, but they keep going bad. Then about 3 days ago it started shaking real bad and burning water real quick.

1/23/2011 2:27:11 PM

1/23/2011 3:40:07 PM

Quote :

"NMSJ"

1/23/2011 4:47:31 PM

craigslist. put it for $700

1/23/2011 5:28:33 PM

bad wheel bearings? That's just rotten luck. They do need to be lubed properly and sealed from the elements. How long till the new ones went bad?

You might have no heat because you're low on coolant. Since you're low on coolant, you could have overheated and warped the head. Since you warped the head, you now have coolant and/or oil leaking into the cylinders and/or out over the block. So then you have stuttering and random cutting off.

[Edited on January 23, 2011 at 9:24 PM. Reason : nmsj ID 10T]

1/23/2011 9:23:45 PM

had the front and rear bearings changed (packed?) about a year ago, then they had to re-do the back about a month after that. replaced one front about 3 months ago maybe, now the back is noisy again. but i don't want to bother spending money on it if the rest of the car is shit.

i realize most of the stuff about it overheating, as soon as i saw the therm start getting hot i took it to my brother who works at an auto parts store, filled everything up but it was already losing oil somehow. maybe i just didn't catch it fast enough.

so anyways, those are the problems, i know it's probably my fault, whatever. i just wanna know what people think to do with it besides lighting it on fire.

1/24/2011 12:35:49 AM

24hrs of lemons.

1/24/2011 7:33:18 AM

Ill give you $500 cash for it

1/24/2011 2:23:11 PM

^^,^ beat me to it.

1/25/2011 6:33:02 PM

Quote :

"had the front and rear bearings changed (packed?) about a year ago, then they had to re-do the back about a month after that. replaced one front about 3 months ago maybe, now the back is noisy again. but i don't want to bother spending money on it if the rest of the car is shit."

Goddamn. Did you have a bunch of Nigerians working on it or something? That's just uncalled for right there.

As far as the coolant in the oil, etc, etc...my bitch ass would be K&W block sealing that shit, especially if money's really tight. Every now and then that shit works.

1/25/2011 7:16:51 PM

apparently for a few year stretch Nissan shit themselves and had a lot of problems with catalytic converters (i don't know what they do, but somehow this is related) burning coolant/oil. I guess maybe that happened to me, then I got it too hot and warped the head (guy at the shop said I have all steel head gasket - doesn't actually blow or break but usually just warps the head or whatever).

So, I can get a new (remanufactured) engine/cat for like $4k, and have a 3 year/100k mile warranty on it.. or I can get rid of it, but i still don't have enough money to buy a new car, i'd just be looking at something used. Thoughts/opinions?

1/25/2011 8:09:35 PM

yeah, those years were 1984-Current

1/25/2011 8:14:14 PM

Quote :

"i still don't have enough money to buy a new car, i'd just be looking at something used. Thoughts/opinions?"

oh god

not a

USED CAR

the horror

1/25/2011 8:29:19 PM

i didn't uhhh say that it would be horrible. i'm looking for opinions. $4k on my car is a lot, but i would think it would be in pretty good shape after that. or like $10k on a used car that i don't know where it's been, not that it would be bad or anything, just not sure if i want to spend the money for it.

1/25/2011 9:05:04 PM

You can get a damned nice used car for 10k IMO.

1/25/2011 9:28:53 PM

move this to classifieds, $525.00 cash money!

1/26/2011 12:20:44 PM

Just let me know if you decide to sell it, I pay cash and can pick up same day.

1/26/2011 2:08:40 PM

NMSJ

1/26/2011 3:04:10 PM

^


I will give you a can of gasoline and a match for it

1/26/2011 3:54:01 PM

Nissans arnt even worth a fire bath H8R

100$ bid

[Edited on January 26, 2011 at 5:49 PM. Reason : .]

1/26/2011 5:48:48 PM

Alright new question, and I'm not gonna start another shitty thread, so I'll use this one.


I'm looking at getting a new (used) SUV, probably around $10-12K. I was thinking Jeep Grand Cherokee or Toyota 4Runner, or maybe an Explorer (probably not). What sort of things should I be looking for, or is one of them obviously better than the other?

2/12/2011 3:27:26 PM

since you bought that catalytic converter excuse, you better go with the 4runner

2/12/2011 3:44:14 PM

Brian you should have taken care of one thing at a time when it started.

The good thing is that you are one of the only white people I've seen in that body style altima.

If you want to sell it let me know.

2/12/2011 6:21:42 PM

^^ I mean, I don't know a lot about cars, but looking at reviews of Nissan's around my year, they have about the worst reviews of any decently popular car, and it's almost always burning oil/coolant, so I'm going with what the guys I know tell me. Apparently mechanics around the country are using the catalytic converter excuse, so fuck me. Anyways, SUV advice? I like how the Jeeps look more, but Toyota seems more dependable than Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge, but I also won't be driving as much and will take better care of it.

2/13/2011 2:00:03 AM

Given those choices, I would go with the 4 runner

2/13/2011 3:41:31 AM

Ill give you $500 in any form of money you want.

2/13/2011 5:05:18 PM

Not even going to try and top the offer I made then?

2/13/2011 6:54:39 PM

I don't really give a fuck either way. If he's serious about selling it I'll get a pm.

2/13/2011 9:21:21 PM