It is another Friday and a quick visit to the forums of Autotalk.com have revealed another thread of interest. This week, the original poster of the thread in question needs advice on purchasing a used car; specifically the Nissan Altima. The particular Altima in question is a 2006 3.5 SE with 21,000 miles and a very simple question is raised: is it a good car?
Refreshed heavily in 2002, the third generation Altima (02-06) managed to put Nissan among the majors when it came to midsize sedans. This was mainly due to Nissan’s new found power via a first ever six cylinder engine. For the first time for an Altima, the third generation could be found with Nissan’s workhorse, the VQ V6. The six cylinder models were labeled 3.5 SE and that is just what the original poster is looking at.
With 245 horsepower from its VQ35DE DOHC V6, the Altima 3.5 was a pretty stout car and still is today. 60 mph could be found in just around six seconds and a five speed manual transmission could be paired with the high output V6. Needless to say, the 3.5 SE is a fast car despite its sedan shape. For the third generation, the rears suspension set up went to a much more sophisticated mult-link design rather than the old and cheap torsion beam. With so much power going to the front wheels, torque steer was and still is an issue and long term owners have complained about the interior quality, which is slightly sub-par.
Most reply to the original poster’s question are positive and give the Altima solid reviews. Kelly Blue Book supports those views as the third generation Altima has a Consumer Review rating of 4.4 out of 5. With only 21,000 miles, the Altima in question should retail for around $17,000 at a dealer and around $16,000 for a private party seller. That is, if it is in excellent condition.
If you have any advice about the Nissan Altima (especially if you own one), go to the forums page and post away.
http://www.autotalk.com/forums/nissan/nissan-altima-good-car-4291/
