Questions and Answers
It's A Keeper
Q. Can you help me to evaluate a number of repairs that my daughter has had completed on her '92 Nissan Sentra in the last few weeks. Any information you can tell me as to what causes the problems for the model and age would be appreciated.
It has an automatic transmission and is approaching 100,000 miles. The first repair was for a 30,000 mile check-up which perhaps was performed as a tune-up to the tune of $500. At that time, she was told she that the bracket that held up her car (perhaps held it to the frame?) was rusted through and she needed a new one ($250). Between these two repairs, she mentioned to the technician that when she put the car in reverse, she was hearing a grinding noise. She was told that because the car was hanging low the muffler was actually scraping the ground????? Then the car flunked the NYS Inspection due to a high level of nitrous gas and for which the Oxygen filter was replaced for $234.
Consumer reports says that this model of auto is a keeper but it seems that we are spending a lot on maintenance this year. Based on your knowledge, are these repairs reasonably expected and normal? We were thinking of buying our daughter another used car this year as she is graduating from college this winter but wanted to keep the Nissan for my newly licensed son? Do you think this a good idea or do you think we are headed for more costly repairs on the Nissan? Do you have a recommendation on any good used car models?
Anita
A. I've worked on many a Nissan Sentra and they are a good, solid, well built car. Since price depends on weather the car was serviced at the dealer or a independent repair shop, I'll assume it was at the dealer. Generally, prices at an independent shop are lower. My recommendation is to have your Nissan serviced at the dealer for two reasons: One, Nissan requires high training standards for their technicians and two, Nissan parts are top quality.
At the dealer a 30,000 mile service will run between $350.00 to $400.00. It is a fairly extensive service that includes oil and filter change, spark plugs, air and fuel filter, transmission fluid and filter change, radiator flush and fill and brake fluid flush, among other things. At 60,000 and 120,000 miles a timing belt can be added to the regular service. $500.00 seems to be a tad high, but there might have been other things done in addition to the regular service. Also prices in New York tend to be higher than other parts of the country. That's one reason I moved from NYC to Minnesota.
I don't know what bracket you are referring to, I do know there is a bracket that goes in front of the catalytic converter that rusts out and needs to be replaced. But, it doesn't cost $250.00 to replace unless the pipe it attaches to is rusted out as well. Then the $250.00 cost becomes reasonable.
The grinding noise in reverse? The only "low riding" Sentras I have seen belonged to salesmen who had them loaded with so much stuff that they rode about 6'' off the ground. I would tend to think that it's the muffler itself that's hanging low. This is very possible if the muffler is an aftermarket muffler.
A bad Oxygen (O2) Sensor will cause high emission levels. An O2 sensor for a Sentra will run about $110.00 plus about $45.00 for installation. Even taking into account the cost of the emission test and inspection sticker, $234.00 seems a little high. Again, regional price differences can account for the difference. If the shop does good work, does it properly and you can drive away feeling confident that they took good care of your car, then I would stick with them. The little bit extra that you may pay will buy a lot of peace of mind.
I have been a Nissan man for many years (Shhh... don't tell my Mercedes I said that) and I'm a firm believer in the quality and dependability of them. As with any car, as they get older they will need to be repaired. It will be up to you to say when enough is enough. I, personally, would not hesitate to buy a used Nissan, or any Japanese built car. They are, in my humble opinion, much better built and longer lasting than an american car. A new car dealer is probably the best place to get a good used car. If you do have a problem with it, they would be more willing to work with you than a used car lot. Buying a car from a private individual will leave you no recourse at all if something should happen.
