In our constant quest to stimulate the American Economy, Diane and I purchased a new Nissan Altima SV. This is our 9th Nissan in a row. We have two reasons why we buy Nissans. The first is that Diane’s cousin is part-owner of our local Nissan dealership. That means that when we go in to buy a new car or SUV, we get a rock-bottom price and none of the negotiating shenanigans that happen in most auto purchases.
The second reason is this Nissan dealership has a first-rate Service Department. We have never had a major problem with any of our Nissans. We take our vehicles in for scheduled service and they run great! To me, reliability and safety are paramount factors in choosing a vehicle. Both Patrick and Katie have totaled Nissans (our beloved Maximas!) but in both instances, Patrick and Katie walked away from the accident unhurt. That means a lot.
Do you have any plans to buy a new vehicle?
No, but my daughter Kristine just leased an SUV. Mazda, I think. She loves it.
Bob, plenty of my friends like Mazdas. I like the styling.
Nice! They’ve come a long way since Datsun…
Roy, you’re right. Datsun morphed into Nissan and went from boxy-styling to more curves.
I’ve always had good luck with Nissan
Dan, I’m happy with Nissan reliability and value.
Very nice! And yes–we’re planning to purchase a new vehicle in 2017. Because my husband has the longer commute, he’ll get the new one and I’ll inherit his KIA Forte (which is seven years old, but runs great, has needed nothing beyond regular maintenance, and is a stick-shift, so the girls won’t be asking to borrow it). We decided we’all probably keep our 14-year-old minivan. We wouldn’t get much for it in trade and it’ll be useful for ferrying the twins’ stuff back and forth to Baton Rouge.
Deb, our rule was “A vehicle for every driver.” We kept our older vehicles and let Patrick and Katie drive them until they graduated from College (and beyond!). We bought a Nissan Quest van when Patrick first started College and used it to movie him and Katie for years. Vehicles and kids in College is all about logistics!
Yes, we do plan to buy a new car in the next year. We are thinking of a Subaru again. The Ford Fusion has been great but we really liked the all wheel drive of the Subaru. Plus if I ever hope to drive again, I want a narrrow wheelbase. My friend’s son is a Nissan dealer in KC and she loves hers.
Patti, one of my sisters drives a Subaru and loves the all-wheel drive, too.
George, we plan to drive our old Kia until it falls apart. It has a few dents (it rolled down a mountain and it was attacked by a deer) but it keeps on going. It has the two features an automotive Luddite like me can appreciate: a go pedal and a stop pedal. Our previous car was a Mercedes. We got it at a bargain but the cost of upkeep was just too much for us. A new car would cost way more than our first house did and for a geezer like me that’s a frightening thought.
Jerry, we tend to keep our cars until they hit 100,000 miles or so. Our old Altima was 10 years old. Many of my friends have given up on cars like Mercedes. Even minor parts cost hundreds of dollars!
Jerry, I’m feeling like that about a car costing more than my first house
Maggie, the quality of the vehicles has improved. Our new Altima has a bunch of air-bags and safety features like the Blind-Spot sensors. If you keep a car for 10 years, it really isn’t that much money.
Nice! Really nice one.
There is a good chance we’ll be getting a car fairly soon, and yes, it will definitely be another Forester. When we got the last Subaru the dealer said people who buy them, keep them, and she was right. Jackie (who doesn’t drive, of course) has flirted with other models, mainly based on protection (there are a lot of bumps when you live in New York and don’t have a house with a garage), but this time I have stuck to my guns.
It’s a Forester, period. I like the Crosstrek’s look but they don’t give us enough cargo space for the back and forth from Florida.
Jeff, the New York State winters rust cars. Our old Altima ran like a top, but the floorboards were rusting out! Even keeping our vehicles in a garage doesn’t provide a lot of protection form the elements.
It’s the salt, not the snow
Rick, actually it’s both. All the slushy snow triggers rust.
No Outback? We love ours.
No problem with the Outback, but it is longer and costs more. Parking space is often at a premium here.
Oh wow, that is nice! You are a happenin’ couple!
Carl, the Stock Market went up 900 points last week so we were feeling the Wealth Effect and celebrated by buying a new car!
Very nice. when my house sells (first house, cost $25K) I’m going to get replacements for my 15 year old ford windstar with about 75k miles and the (now) hated pt cruiser only 10 years old, and I wanted one so bad, but regretted it about a month after buying it.
I agree with deb about keeping the van they are very handy for hauling.
I know one vehicle I want is a suburu, if only for the dog commercials. glad to see agreement based on facts. I’m thinking about a hybrid, though there is a cautionary tale: a friend of mine took her prius hybrid to WI and coming back had an issue and had a hard time in WY finding anyone who could address is.
Maggie, my friends driving Suburus love them. And I highly recommend Nissans. Good value and no hassles.
My ’07 Honda CRV is at 63K, and I plan to run it out to at least 100. Now that they’ve FINALLY replaced the killer Takata airbags (any of your Nissans on the recall list?), the car may outlast me.
Art, Patrick says the next car he buys will be a self-driving one!
Wow, I’m surprised you got a swoopy two door. I didn’t even know that had one, all of the SVs I’ve seen have been four door sedans. Is it the 2.5 or the 3.5?
We are very happy with our Subaru, and of course Barbara loves her Infiniti G35.
Rick, the Altima is basically a “shopping-bag car” for us. So we went with the 2.5 engine. Nissan makes the Infiniti line of cars so many of Barbara’s car parts in also in our Altima.
Jackie wants to know who gets the new one, you or Diane.
Jeff, our Marriage Contract reads: “All new vehicles go to the wife.”
Hey, you guys all drive Japanese cars? Should I be surprised?
Here in Europe we also have a lot of them, of course – but I’ve been saving the US economy by always buying a GM car for the last 20 years (before that I had Renaults which were relatively comfortable )…
Actually it’s been Opel station wagons or Kombis as we call them at frst (very practical if you have a dog) and nor for 8 years I’ve had a little Meriva (kind of Microvan, built in Spain) and it did almost 200 000 km because we regularly drive our 500 miles from Germany to Hungary and back a month later – for Americans that’s probably nothing though.
Wolf, I’m into reliability and safety. Nissan vehicles deliver both.
Wolf I have had a ford vehicle for over 20 years. I’m planning on one of the replacement vehicles being a ford. But in 3 years they are moving more plants to Mexico, so it’s harder to support our economy. Though of course, I’m expecting pres &^&&^$ to stop ford leaving.
Wolf, we only put about 3,000 miles a year on the Subaru, 2,000 our on the Infiniti.
I only put a few thousand miles on a year too, but since we started driving 4,000 miles a year going to Florida, driving around for two months, and coming home,. it is more like 7-8,000 a year.
Jeff, Diane drives about 2000 miles a year and I drive about 8000. But now with Retirement looming, my mileage will shrink.
I’ve had my Chevy pickup for six years. It had 14,000 miles when I got it, and it has 46,000 now! Take away the 2,000 miles I logged going to California and back and it’s about 5,000 miles a year! Linda has a Subaru and likes it fine! Oh, and Kristine’s is a Mazda!
Bob, I figure my driving will decrease by 50% when I retire.
But George, now that you’ll have time to go on holiday, don’t you want to see the parts of the US (and Canada …) that you haven’t visited yet?
Or have you been everywhere already?
I’m on a German speaking forum (actually several …) for travellers to the USA and Canada and they report so many beautiful and interesting places to visit – I’ve only had time (and money …) to visit a few highlights …
Or will you go flying ’round the world – or just stay at home reading all those books?
Wolf, I’ve been to all the States except for Mississippi and Hawaii. I think I’d rather be reading that being patted down by the TSA in some airport.
Congratulations, George! Your new car is a beauty. I notice there is plenty of legroom. I drive an old sedan, a Hyundai Accent, which has a good pickup and can withstand the jolts of Bombay’s roads. I may buy a new car sometime next year.
Prashant, we’ve had very good luck with our Nissans over the decades. I see a lot of Hyundais on the road, too.
Pretty pictures, George. Do you take them shaken or stirred?
Have fun with it.
Rick, some people are complaining about Trump winning the Election, but the Market went up 900 points and we felt like celebrating with a new car! So far, we’re loving our new Altima SV!
Good on ya. And I won’t complain about Trump until he does something bad–I don’t buy what he says anymore than I bought Bill Clinton’s “Reinvent the Government” or Obama’s “Hope and Change” or the other Clinton’s “Stronger Together.”
I may hold my breath a little, though….
Rick, I’m in a watchful waiting mode with Trump. We’ll see what happens in 2017.
Smart man. We also bought a Nissan Altima SV in 2015. Very nice car. We just enjoyed 3300 mile road trip to Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole and on to eastern Wyoming and back. May be our last long trip. Age has crept up on us. Came home weary.
Frank, we’re loving our Nissan Altima SV! The Blind Spot Indicators are terrific! I’m not into travel any more. As you said, age crept up on us.