Since the total mileage I had this car is not very great, nothing had really gone wrong.
However there is a list of things I replaced to be confident.
Put new spark plug wired (only NGK-original) Distributor cap, rotor. Which are moderately priced: $1.5 each spark plug, $10, $6 rotor. I did put new oxygen sensor - $17, manufacturer recommends to replace it every 60-90K miles. Car is perfectly aligned, does not use any fluids, runs smooth, quite and very dynamically.
The exterior of first generation Altima is very beautiful, most people agree. It has similar notes with top Infiniti J30.
From what I know, this cars will generally not bring you many problems. Once ot twise, they may require relatively expensive repair. Such as: distributor ($170-$300), valve adjustment, is a difficult procedure, preffered to let do a dealer or experienced mechanics. Costs range between $70-$250. It is recommended at about 60-100K miles or if valve train is making excessive noise. Some electronic components can be pricey, due to Japanese origin of the car. They, however rarely cause problems.
Recommend this car, as I have excellent experience with early Altimas - Stanzas.
If any particular questions, write to pont331@hotmail.com
Mikhail Scosyrev
I have a 1993 Nissan Altima with 264,000 miles. It runs like a new car and has needed minor repairs (less than $100.00) so rarely that I cannot even remember the last time I did any thing to it. ( Besides change the oil). (FYI) when we bought it, it had 23,000 miles on it.
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