# Interested in a Spec V but need help



## the lost girl (Feb 18, 2004)

I'm new here and am looking into buying a 02 Spec V. It has 35,000 miles on it and looks amazing. btw its fully stock. I was just wondering if anyone had some comments about buying it. should i get and are their any things that are normally wrong with a these cars such as bad brakes or like my current car shity tranny's. I want to hear all the bad and all the good. 

you'll have to excuse me if i sound nieve and cautious but this is a big bill for me but i'll do anything to get rid of my Ford Taurus. 

thanks for the help


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## chimmike (Oct 17, 2002)

don't buy the 02. If you can, get an 03 or a new 04 for around 15k, but stay away from the 02s...it was the most problematic year.


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## Blank (Aug 21, 2003)

chimmike said:


> don't buy the 02. If you can, get an 03 or a new 04 for around 15k, but stay away from the 02s...it was the most problematic year.


 some )@'s have big problems, others dont, i have a late 02, no prob whatsoever.. the 03 and up have better transmissions... find out why this one is being sold, is the owner fed up with the problems he is having, or looknig t oupgrade??? there is a lot to look at in a car before making general statements like" never buy an 02" or all 02's have problems" look over the car and see how it shifts, especially into Reverse and 3rd as those seem to be problematic. also, try to do this when it is cold, as this is another complaint...

I lover my 02. and wouldnt trade it for my friends 03... i like the red interior and the higher topend(in theory, i have never used it  )

good luck on finding the right car!!!


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## the lost girl (Feb 18, 2004)

thanks for the help. wells its about 29 degree's here so i know its runs in the cold and its coming from a dealer who got it straight from nissan my guess is that it was a lease car before. i took it for 2 test drives and even though i suck at stick i didn't have to much of a problem driving it. I test drove an 04 also and would love to own one but thats a little out of my price range. thanks again


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## SPEEDO (Jun 9, 2003)

chimmike said:


> don't buy the 02. If you can, get an 03 or a new 04 for around 15k, but stay away from the 02s...it was the most problematic year.


I have an 02 and my car has been fine! No engine or tranny problems, had a crank sensor replaced (no big deal) I love my car, dont care for the interior of the 03/04's. I only have 23k on mine and I do drive it every day!


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## tekmode (Feb 22, 2003)

the lost girl said:


> thanks for the help. wells its about 29 degree's here so i know its runs in the cold and its coming from a dealer who got it straight from nissan my guess is that it was a lease car before. i took it for 2 test drives and even though i suck at stick i didn't have to much of a problem driving it. I test drove an 04 also and would love to own one but thats a little out of my price range. thanks again


well as long as it has a warranty, and everything has been tested to be working good. Go for it. Make sure all the recalls have been done to it though. Have fun


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## muphasta (Aug 12, 2002)

what kind of $$$ are they asking? I too have an '02, and no problems with it.


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## Silvspec86 (Apr 4, 2003)

i got an '02 also, only problem was the third gear tranny grinding, the dealer replaced it with the '03 tranny under warranty and no problems what-so-ever after that. also, check if they did all the recalls on the car. and try to get them to give you a '03 tranny before you buy it. i love my '02 and it just feels right have the one that came out the first year since the SE-R's rebirth. Its the original!


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## the lost girl (Feb 18, 2004)

Well i'm kind of in a bind right now. my mom just wrapped her car around a tree, she's fine but now she needs a car. so i'm giving her mine and just buying the Spec V. i'll have it by saturday. 

i went back to the dealer today and noticed that it doesn't have an antenae should i make them fix it or get an after market one. 

i'm paying 12k for it. i would like to think i got a pretty good deal but i probably didn't 

where can i find a list of recalls for the car. i didn't even think about that. i'm hoping to go to the dealer tomorrow to make sure their done.


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## Silvspec86 (Apr 4, 2003)

make sure they fix EVERYTHING before you drive it of the lot or sign anything, and i mean every lil thing you arnt happy with. i had a "lil" incident were i went back to get a one inch scratch buffed out and month, and a couple hundred angry phone calls later, i got the car back with an entire side, and front bumper repainted, clutch replaced, and a new starter.....its a very long and agonizing story...dont ask. just make sure you nver trust dealers to their word and get everything fixed before you do anything. some of the recalls are listed as the top three or four posts, stickies, on this forum. without looking at the car and its condition, i'd say you are getting a good deal. (beware, east coast dealers are known to BS and scew with you!!, i got mine in MD)


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## Blank (Aug 21, 2003)

the lost girl said:


> Well i'm kind of in a bind right now. my mom just wrapped her car around a tree, she's fine but now she needs a car. so i'm giving her mine and just buying the Spec V. i'll have it by saturday.
> 
> i went back to the dealer today and noticed that it doesn't have an antenae should i make them fix it or get an after market one.
> 
> ...


if its a nissan dealer, ask them to run the VIN, that will tell you... Id prolly get an antennae from them, tell them you want it or else your not taking the car, they will give it to you... 12K isnt a bad price for an 02


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## the lost girl (Feb 18, 2004)

Its not a nissan dealer so i think i'm gonna look at the Vin call one of the 1-800 numbers on the stickies and see if that will get me anywhere. suposedly the dealer get the car special for me from a guy he knows with a Nissan dealership. Like i said suposedly. If this is true i would hope that the recalls were already taken care of. 

also another stupid girl question i noticed some of the recalls just said Nissan Sentra, now i know my car is a sentra but some places distinguish between SE-R and just regular Sentra. would the recalls be doing that.


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## Blank (Aug 21, 2003)

the lost girl said:


> Its not a nissan dealer so i think i'm gonna look at the Vin call one of the 1-800 numbers on the stickies and see if that will get me anywhere. suposedly the dealer get the car special for me from a guy he knows with a Nissan dealership. Like i said suposedly. If this is true i would hope that the recalls were already taken care of.
> 
> also another stupid girl question i noticed some of the recalls just said Nissan Sentra, now i know my car is a sentra but some places distinguish between SE-R and just regular Sentra. would the recalls be doing that.


recalls should be done for all sentra and SER's


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## SilvrSpec619 (Apr 12, 2003)

First, the answer to you question regarding the recalls and whether its to a sentra or SER. As far as I know they code by engine size not emblems models in the recall paperwork. So, when u do ask them they will probably ask for your engines size of your car...they don't really care whether it's an SER or SER spec V. They're just tring to keep things simple w/ the 1.8 or 2.5 engine sizes. 

And here's a real tip...Look up the build date of the car. Some of the later '02's were already fixed with some parts like some engine internals from oil consumption problems(not the tranny issue though, so try and have them swap it out for an '03 or an '04 if its Jittery in any way, remember, it's not a brand new car anymore so the tranny won't loosen up any more then it probably is). If they were built on or after May of 2002(5/02 is what it will say) you will be allot safer then the others. Mine is a later '02(build date 5/02) and (knock on wood) I have had very minimal problems w/ it(half of it being in the shop was because of recalls being done). Now I know this guy that bought his in Nov. of 2001(god knows what the build date is on that thing) and I hear that his car is in the shop almost every other week. Every time I talk to him there's a new problem w/ his car. 

Well, Good Luck in buying the car.


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## the lost girl (Feb 18, 2004)

I've had the Spec V for about a day now and i absolutly love it. And so far no shifting problems I still have to check up on the recalls though. thanks for the help everyone


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## SilvrSpec619 (Apr 12, 2003)

Congrats and enjoy the Riiiiiiidddde...


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## KA24Tech (Feb 2, 2004)

I would call your Nissan dealer with your VIN. The service department can run it to check if all the recalls have been completed, the 800 number will do the same thing and ask for it as well. The VIN is coded for the year, make, model, assembly location, engine, trans, int trim, body color, and sequence number. I would start with the dealer where you plan on doing all of your services at (oil change, etc.) so that you can build a service history with them. It makes warranty repairs alot easier to get taken care of without issues.
Very nice car and congratulations.
Hopefully you can get mom out of that nasty Taurus (the trans on those were their Achilles heel) and maybe into an older Nissan like my Altima - roomy, comfortable, US built, and very reliable... 
Troy


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## RobertspecV (Feb 23, 2004)

Yeah, don't let people talk down the '02 to you. I've had mine for 8 months or so and have put 20,000 miles on it. I paid $13k with 10,000 miles on it back in June, that seemed fair to me then and still does. All of the problems are minor and fixable, and the recalls are not bad either. You'll love the car - there isn't much in the price range that is this fun to drive.


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## the lost girl (Feb 18, 2004)

RobertspecV said:


> Yeah, don't let people talk down the '02 to you. I've had mine for 8 months or so and have put 20,000 miles on it. I paid $13k with 10,000 miles on it back in June, that seemed fair to me then and still does. All of the problems are minor and fixable, and the recalls are not bad either. You'll love the car - there isn't much in the price range that is this fun to drive.


Fun to drive is an understatement. i've had it for about 3 days and have already put over 200 miles on it. i absolutly love it.


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