Does 5.5K seem too cheap for a SER

There is a Sentra SE-R Spec V for sale on Craigslist by a small dealership for $5500. Does this seem to cheap to the good people of GRM? I mean it is below KBB.

Holy crap looked up insurance cost. OMG $1431 for 6 months.

The motors tend to pop before 150,000kms...like, every single one of them.

I bet it's hammered.

Well, not every one, but quite a few. What year is it? Miles? Any mods done to it?

If its an 02, that price doesn't surprise me a bit. Depreciation on them is terrible. They don't have the greatest reputation for longevity (as mentioned above). Some of it is justified, some of it isn't. And I know exactly what you mean on the insurance. Here's a quote from my agent's assistant, "Nissan Sentras are really cheap to insure, as long as its not one of those "Spec V" models." If you are still interested after the insurance sticker shock, post back up and I'll let you know what you need to look out for. On the plus side, mine has been a LOT of fun.

Edit: Oh, and they pretty regularly sell below KBB value.

It is an 06 and no after seeing insurance cost, I am not interested.

If you want a fun B15, look for an early 2.0 SE. That has the SR20DE instead of the altima/truck motor they put in the SE-R.

Buy it anyway just BUY SOMETHING FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.

You might want to try another insurance company. I insure mine w/full coverage for about $900 less per 6 months, and even that seems ridiculous for a 4 cylinder, 4 door car. Are you sure the $1400 wasn't yearly, because even that would be significantly higher than what I'm paying. (Or have you been naughty! )

$5500 is a pretty good price for an 06, and the 06's didn't have nearly as many drivetrain issues as the earlier models. The only downside is they have the "bucktooth" front end, which most people don't like as well as the 02/03 grill.

In reply to kazoospec:

I had an accident which is why I am looking for a new car. 22 plus a accident and full coverage equals a lot. Anyway I am looking at a car tomorrow. So hopefully I will get a car.

Gotcha. I get the "old guy" discount.

Good luck w/the car search.

That seems pretty excessive. Though, I guess I have never paid full coverage.

Platinum90 wrote: That seems pretty excessive. Though, I guess I have never paid full coverage.

Esp. considering I looked at the insurance on a Neon SRT4 and it was $600 for 6 months.

When I was 19 (13 years ago) I called for giggles to get a quote on full insurance coverage for a then-new Supra TT. $13,000 a year .

MCarp22 wrote: If you want a fun B15, look for an early 2.0 SE. That has the SR20DE instead of the altima/truck motor they put in the SE-R.

Challenge priced even:

http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/2073402895.html

In reply to MCarp22:

I had no idea the regular Sentra came with the SR20DE.

(edit: can't keep my head on straight, I thought only the 200sx came with that engine, I'm glad I was wrong)

If you're going to get an SE-R, get a B13. I co-drove SCC's Project SE-R cross-country and absolutely loved it.

I drove a spec v once and was not impressed, shifting gears was really notchy.

Flapjack wrote: I drove a spec v once and was not impressed, shifting gears was really notchy.

That's true stock. With a short throw shifter, weighted knob, synthetic trans fluid and poly shift bushings, its tolerable, but its never gonna be an Honda transmission. You pretty much just gotta muscle it gear to gear. How "notchy" it is really just depends on what you're comparing it to. Compared to the three speed in my '74 Camaro, or my dad's '76 Jeep, its positively butter. Compared to the S2000's and current gen Civic Si's I've driven, its got all the smoothness of a wood chipper. The six speed's nice though.

I looked into the B15 SE-R before I bought my svt focus because I liked my B13 so much. If I remember correctly they had issues with catalytic converters disintegrating and being pulled back into the cylinders and/or screws in side the intake manifold coming loose and causing havoc. I really wanted to like the car (175hp/180ft-lb, Limited slip, right size) but it just wasn't a reliable choice.

^^^Those are the two main issues. The intake screws are an easy fix. They just need to be removed, loctited and re-installed. The precat pretty much requires an aftermarket catless header install. The header install, unfortunately, makes the car sound like crap, so for most people, an exhaust upgrade follows. The good news is the header upgrade gives a pretty nice power bump since the stock unit is also extremely restrictive. The other one other common gripe is that they tend to be hard on head gaskets.

Brett_Murphy wrote: In reply to MCarp22: I had no idea the regular Sentra came with the SR20DE. (edit: can't keep my head on straight, I thought only the 200sx came with that engine, I'm glad I was wrong)

Don't forget the NX2000 came with the SR20DE too!

My SR20DET (turbo) swap runs well too. As do our race cars, both also NX2000s. 380 whp out of 2 litres anyone?

Brett_Murphy wrote: In reply to MCarp22: I had no idea the regular Sentra came with the SR20DE. (edit: can't keep my head on straight, I thought only the 200sx came with that engine, I'm glad I was wrong)

You have to look for the SR20DE Sentras. The only B15 Sentras with the SR20DE were 2000 and 2001 SE models. Before you nix the 200SX SER give one a drive. B14 Sentra SEs had the SR20DEs too if you are looking for four doors. I would opt for the B15 purely because they improved a lot of things from the B14.

GTwannaB wrote: You have to look for the SR20DE Sentras. The only B15 Sentras with the SR20DE were 2000 and 2001 SE models. Before you nix the 200SX SER give one a drive. B14 Sentra SEs had the SR20DEs too if you are looking for four doors. I would opt for the B15 purely because they improved a lot of things from the B14.

At that point would you rather have the B15 sentra or a P11 G20?

In reply to Nitroracer:

Tough call, the weight penalty of the G20 vs the birth control uncoolness penalty of the Sentra. A G20t with a 5spd and LSD would be nice.