1993 Nissan Sentra XE from North America - Comments

Where do I begin?

A few days after I purchased the car, the exhaust pipe came apart and the car started stalling.

My father put the exhaust pipe back together and my previous mechanic figured out why the car was stalling.

It turns out that the Sentra needed a new fuel injector and a tune up. It also needed two brand new front tires because the old ones were uneven, causing the car to shimmy at speeds of 65 mph.

A month after those repairs were addressed, the transmission started going on me and it wouldn't be long before the car would die completely and believe me, it did.

After blowing $600 on the Nissan and investing well over $300 into it, I was not going to have the transmission rebuilt.

My father and I test drove the car before I bought it. My previous mechanic even checked it over and told me that I purchased a good vehicle before he changed the oil. Turns out that I was ripped off by rich folks who had money to wipe with and they decided to jimmy rig a vehicle, just so they could get $600 for it.

I even babied the car during my ownership.

I replaced it a few days ago with a 2006 Hyundai Elantra and I ended up getting $2,000 for my crappy Sentra. I will feel sorry for the poor sap who gets it next.

I never had a problem with the engine, aside from the stalling issue and that never occurred again after the new fuel injector was installed.

For a vehicle that was owned by one family for 13 years, they could have taken better care of it. Heck, I even had some of the maintenance records.

It was a decent car, until the transmission started making an annoying clicking noise. It was all downhill from there and not even Lucas Anti-Slip could save it.

I will never buy another used car.

The clicking noise might not be the transmission - it's probably the CV joints. Along with all the other things you list, this is fair wear and tear on a 13 year old car, as was reflected in the fact you got $2k p/x against the Hyundai for it.

No, it wasn't that type of clicking sound. I actually had my previous mechanic check to see where the noise was coming from and he told me that it was the transmission. On a few occasions, I could not even get the car to shift into drive and the transmission started slipping on me prior to its demise. Perhaps I should have mentioned this while typing my review. I even checked the transmission fluid and it was a dark brown color. This was when we added the Lucas Anti-Slip. I specifically told my previous mechanic to check the transmission fluid when I first brought the Sentra over to his shop and the moron did not check it! This is another reason why I bought a new car, so I wouldn't have to deal with dishonest mechanics. Owning used cars was a major pain in my backside. In my little over a year of driving, I have owned seven used cars and I invested $7,000 into them, but not into each one. This is what I invested all together. The Nissan was simply a piece of crap that needed a transmission flush every 30,000 miles, but never got one.

You seem to miss the fact that I had my previous mechanic check over the Sentra. Also, my father and myself test drove the car before I bought it. Who's the incompetent one now? You really should thoroughly read a review and its comments before you start talking out of your backside. I have bought at least seven used cars that have been crappy and that is not my fault. Blame the private owners who sold them and my moron mechanic for not telling me that some of them were lemons. I think you're just jealous because you do not have the $13,800 to buy yourself a brand new car. No one in this day in age sells a good used car on the cheap. It's not 1977 anymore. You need to stop living in the past and quit shopping at Kmart. I never said that all Nissans were crap, mine just happened to be the lemon out of the bunch.

By the mid-nineties, Nissan wasn't building the Sentra like it used to be built.

If the "rich folks" ripped you off when they charged you $600 for the car then what did you do to the buyer that spent $2000 on your car? I know you put $300 into it, but that still only equals $900. I have a 1993 sentra and if you only spent $600 on it you got a GREAT DEAL, even if you had to put some money into it. What did you expect for $600?

I am the original poster of this review and I traded my 1993 Sentra in at Fuccillo Hyundai and they knew exactly what was wrong with it. I did not embellish anything about the car, unlike the previous owners who sold it to me for $600. For $600, I expected the Nissan to last me a bit longer than the month and a half that it lived. I knew that it was a used car and evidently it was far from perfect, but I did not expect the entire car to die at 106,000 miles. I have owned some junkers in my day, however I have never had a vehicle die on me. Even my $47 Geo Prizm with 203,000 miles lasted me 2 months and when the tranny went, the car was still running. If that car had heat and defrosters, I would still be driving it today. Even my $200 '87 Chrysler LeBaron GTS with 115,272 miles lasted me 4 months, despite what was wrong with it and that car still ran and drove when I sold it. Let's face it, that Sentra was a lemon and it was poorly maintained by people who had more than enough money to maintain it. Do not make excuses for folks who rip off good people on used vehicles everyday. They have no place in our society.

I have a comment / question for the original poster: What state are you in, or more importantly, what state did you sell your 1993 Nissan Sentra XE in? I'm in Florida, and I found a 1993 Nissan Sentra XE at a dealership in Oviedo (by Orlando), and it has about the same number of miles (106k) as yours did, and the dealer says everything is fine with it. I'm going to test drive it on Monday, but if you happened to sell that car in a 50 mile radius of that dealership, I'm going to avoid it altogether because it may be the lemon you are talking about.

This car is burgundy / dark red in color. If you still have the VIN and don't mind sharing it, that would be fantastic too.

Thank you a bunch!

Hello, I am the original poster and I live in New York State. My Sentra was traded in at Fuccillo Hyundai in the town of Greece, NY on September 27th. The car was blue. The hood and one of the front fenders (forgot which one) was re-painted by the previous owners of the vehicle because their daughter hit a utility pole with the car. There are visual rust spots on the Nissan, unless the dealership in Florida fiberglassed the body and painted it a burgundy color. The undercarriage was in great shape and it was undercoated. The VIN Number is: JN1EB31P2PU243232. I would not be surprised if my old POS actually made it to Florida. For your sake, let's hope not... If I were you, I would invest in a brand new Hyundai Elantra. If any 2006's are left on the lot at your Hyundai dealership in Florida, I would take immediate interest. The automatic base model averages 30 mpg in the city and on the expressway. I have put almost 400 miles on mine so far and it has been a great car to drive! I have only had to fill it up twice in the near two months that I have owned it. The base model has a lot more options than you would expect an economy car to have.

Original Poster: Just because the Nissan you happened to buy needed a new transmission you call it a "lemon"? If your Hyundai piece of trash that you bought needs a new transmission before 106k miles are you going to label it a lemon as well? Where do you draw the line in the sand (for lemons)? Every car has the ability to break down. Even if you baby it. It's a chance no matter if you buy a car used or new. The best way to go about buying a car (used or new) is to go this site and scroll down on the year and make that you want and count the yellow smiley faces. If there are more yellow's then blues, then you have a fairly decent car. If there are very few blues, you win. It's a Honda, Toyota, or Mazda. Your welcome.

I am the original poster of this review. Look at the reviews on the 2006 Hyundai Elantra. There are many satisfied owners (including myself). I have owned my Elantra for about a year and have experienced no problems with it. My car has only 1,600+ miles on it at the moment. As you can tell, I don't do that much driving anymore.

I had the oil changed at the dealership back in July because after 8 months, I felt that it was a wise decision. It will probably take me a while to put 100,000 miles on my Elantra, but if the transmission goes, it is under warranty for 9 more years. Can you say the same for your 1993 Nissan Sentra?

I actually liked my Sentra until it turned into a money pit. When the car died, I was not going to put more money into it. I probably should have had the tranny rebuilt or replaced, but that was the past and you have no right to tell me what I should or should not do with my money. Did you actually read all of my comments?

In my honest opinion, the Hyundai has been a great investment. It may not be a Nissan, Toyota, Honda, or Mazda, but Mazdas are crap anyways. I once owned a 1993 Ford Festiva with the Mazda 1.3 liter engine and I invested $3,000 into that car before I finally had it. I practically gave it away because it wouldn't start anymore and that wasn't my fault. In fact, my neighbor stopped driving it recently. Gee, I wonder why?

I never owned a Honda, but I have heard that they are not as reliable as they were 15-20 years ago. My Geo Prizm had the Toyota 1.6 liter engine and even with 203,000 miles, the car still ran when I sold it for $40.

As for my Nissan, I can remember the tow truck dragging it onto the flatbed shortly after I bought my Elantra. I do miss the Sentra, but it was doomed from the start. $600 was not a bad deal, however I did everything in my power to keep her running. Blowing over $750 into a vehicle that was not guaranteed to run the same afterwards was not a good idea. I learned that the hard way with my Festiva. Good luck with your Sentra!

I'm looking at a used 1993 Nissan Sentra now, which is how I ended up in here looking at the comments. To the above poster the reason why your Prizm had the Toyota engine in it is because it was a re-badged Toyota Corolla Sprinter model. To the original poster good luck with your new car and sorry to hear about your Sentra experience. Personally I've had Good Luck (knocking on wood) with junkers or low cost cars and pretty much all I've driven for years. My latest was a 1986 Isuzu Trooper I've had for almost 6 years and paid $1,200 for. Before that was Mazda 323 $500 lasted 3 years, VW Jetta $250 2 years and the record holder was an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham I paid $135 at a farm auction that lasted just under 4 years. Nothing out of the ordinary was done, just good maintenance and keeping my ears and eyes open for problems to catch them early.

You get what you pay for.

I picked up a 93 Sentra for 1000 dollars this Winter.

Manual 5spd.

I was told it would take 961 dollars to get it through inspection.

The car had 124K on it.

I bought 158 dollars worth of parts and got it through inspection on 4 hours of work.

The clutch was/is loose; it slips between gears a lot, but engages fully still and I drive it easy until I can get that done. I replaced the starter recently because I did not like the way it hung on first morning startups. I got it before it got me.

I have put almost 10K on this car so far.

If I am not stuck bumper to bumper, I get 40 (That's RIGHT) MPG combined city highway at most, and 36 MPG at least.

The clutch will be replaced soon enough. The rear shock bellows too.

I named her Sarah and I do believe she will be good for 300K.

She appears to have been well tended and oh yes.. I shimmed the driver side door hinge for now and ordered up new hinge pins for 5 dollars each.