My s.o. has a 2001 Hyandai Elantra, a small station wagon, but he wants to get a pick-up truck. I have 1992 Nissan NX hatchback. He asked me if I wanted his Hyandai. I’m inclined to keep my Nissan. It’s been good to me. It has 96,000 miles on it; has the original clutch (although my mechanic told me it will need a new clutch soon), and has had no transmission problems. I’ve had the front brakes replaced once (I downshift a lot). Besides the standard maintenance stuff and one or two front-end alignments, other major repairs have been only within the past two years: a new battery, new alternator, and replacement of a front axle.
His 2001 Hyandai has had some things go wrong that bother me. On a long trip when his car was only a year old, it developed a horrendous noise in the engine. On my insistence, he went to the nearest Hyandai dealer who found that a small stone had lodged in one of the engine mounts. A freak occurrence, said the mechanic. Then about a year later, on another long trip to his brother’s place, the car started emitting a strong burning smell and some smoke coming from under the hood. This was on a Sunday, so we left the car at his brother’s house, and we put up at a local hotel, planning to get the car towed on Monday. We were waiting for his brother to come pick us up on Monday; finally his brother shows up with the car; and tells us he and a friend had taken a look under the hood and discovered it needed a screw on something (he showed us the part but I don’t think even he knew what it was) but it was easily fixed. The thingie that holds the front driver floor mat has broken off – a small thing, to be sure, but still, yet something else gone wrong. The lid on the compartment between the front seats broke off – he attached it with duct tape. One of the back doors sticks, and you have to pull it hard. There’s a rhythmic thrumming noise in the rear when he brakes – sounds like tires need balancing or something. Bottom line: It seems to me too many things have gone wrong (whether trivial or not) with a relatively new car, and I’m reluctant to take it . He mentioned it again recently, and I stalled, saying I liked my little sporty Nissan, plus it has manual transmission, which I prefer. My gut tells me to keep my Nissan. What do you think?
If you’re happy with your car, I’d keep it. And the Hyundai is worth easily twice what your car is. In fact, I don’t see many Nissan NXs on the road. It might even be collectable one day! (My uncle has one and he’s determined to never get rid of it. He had sports cars 40 years ago that he wished he still had, so this one is a keeper.)
Good luck!
Keep the Nissan. I have a 92 Sentra SE-R (if your NX is an NX 2000, then we have the same internals; otherwise, yours is identical to a regular Sentra of the same year), and I drive it very hard. It has over 140,000 miles on it with the original clutch and almost no mechanical problems. My only issue is the A/C died a year or so ago and it needs paint, but its internals are fine. Everyone I know with a Hyundai has regretted it. The Nissan and the Hyundai will probably both last another 5 years or so, but the Nissan will do it with less trouble.
Another vote for the Nissan here.
My husband and I bought a Sentra at a dealership in 1988, drove it hard for over a decade, and had put just over 300,000 miles on it before we sold it a couple of years ago. The kid who bought it later drove it into a ditch while driving too fast for conditions on an icy day and wrecked it. The original clutch was still fine, and the engine still was running well until the time he crashed it, he later told us.
We also bought a used 1990 Sentra with 95,000 miles on it six years ago, and still keep it as a backup car. It now has 295,000 miles on it. It started leaking oil at 275,000 miles or so, but as long as we check the oil, it still runs great. The clutch is getting a little iffy, but that is a very recent developement. It should be noted that this is a car with a prior salvage title, and who knows what it went through before we bought it. However, this car has never broken down on us.
The only really bad things I have to say about the Nissans is that the bodies rust fairly easily, at least on the Sentras, and that the mufflers don’t last long. Other than that, they are great cars.
Keep the Nissan. Sell the Hyundai and use the money to lower the price on the truck. Then, when your Nissan does finally give up the ghost, you can get a car you actually want, as opposed to someone else’s castoff that you won’t really enjoy. This way:
-You are happy (you keep the car you like)
-You both are happy (you can put more money toward the truck)
-You get to be happy again (by choosing a car in the future that you like)
I’m keeping the Nissan. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and advice. I’m going to take my little red Nissan to my mechanic and have him do thorouogh diagnostics and any mechanical repairs he recommends (I trust him). Body could use some work, but I’ll worry about that later. Thans again!