# When Should I Pull the Plug on This Car?



## ABillmann (Dec 7, 2004)

Need some thoughtful opinions.

1998 Altima GXE, 96k, 5-speed.

After owning three Toyotas, I bought this car, mainly because I liked the styling, heard some decent things about Nissan, and wanted a 5-speed when 5-speed Toyotas were awfully hard to find.

I've about had it with this car. Last spring, it needed a completely rebuilt tranny because of failed steel in one of the gears. (This car is NOT abused in any way.) Then it needed a replacement sensor near the fuel door. A few months later, the radiator was leaking and needed to be pulled out and repaired because the weld near the cap was starting to fail. Now, it's the infamous "service engine soon" light, complete with rough idling and jerky driving.

I've done my part. I keep the car tuned (yearly), installed platinum plugs, good wires, and a good rotor. I've religiously done oil changes and coolant flushes. I'm not an agressive driver.

I guess I'm just not used to quality that's noticeably inferior to Toyota. Then again, maybe it's just a fluke. Half of me wants to drop this car like a hot rock, while my logical side says it's cheaper to fix it and keep going (as I have been doing for the last 14,000 miles to no real satisfaction.)

My question: Considering the age/mileage, am I about to be driving an especially unreliable money pit? Or is there some hope? If you have any insights (good or bad), I'd appreciate it.


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## Asleep (Jan 19, 2003)

hmmm, everyone makes a lemon, just not sure if the jurys out on your car or not. the quality is not inferior to toyota however. a ka24de, which is your engine, will go 220k+ miles with regular maintenance, and the chain, as opposed to the belt that many other import engines use, will last the life of the engine as well. as far as the tranny goes, ive never seen one go bad for that reason... it was bad steel they said? that just sounds funky to begin with. i can understand the synchros going bad, but not steel, just out of the blue, unless you were low on fluid and just didnt realize it. 

there are some things though that go bad on an altima. the cheap plastic radiator sucks, ill admit that. thats the reason i replaced mine with a metal one. no problems since. the distributors are known to fail, although, mine is the same one thru two engines so i cant say ive experienced that one. the mass air flow sensors have been known to fail as well, although, again, i havent experienced that on my car either. my advice as far as the way your car is running now - have the ecu checked for codes and find out what, if anything, is wrong with your engine, get rid of the platinum plugs, install standard ngk plugs and wires, and a cap and rotor from nissan and not auto zone. the check engine light comes on periodically so it might be a maintenance interval you hit. dont give up just yet, it sounds like its just maintenance you need to do. good luck.


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