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Car Forum / Nissan / Nissan Cars / March 2006looking to buy 93 Altima - Opinions? Pointers?
Hi there, My little bro has a 93 altima, its been pretty good to him, its got 192000kms on it (119000 mi). A little rust here and there, but overall, pretty good shape. He wants to sell it to me for $2200 (canadian). Any opinions out there? good car to buy? Any known issues with this model? I understand that this was the first model year for this car, I guess thats not a good thing usually. Its got an automatic trannie, any issues there? Also, in 93, would it be running R12 or R134a for the A/C? I noticed there is a big rubber boot over the distributor, is that from the factory? or was that a recall? Any input would be greatly appreciated! t I don't know your budget, but they got much better in 98. My preference would be to find one with less than 120K on it. The 98 has no timing belt that has to be replaced for a long time. It has a timing chain. If the 93 has a timing belt, it is supposed to be changed at around the 100K area.  SignatureJerry G. Hi there, My little bro has a 93 altima, its been pretty good to him, its got 192000kms on it (119000 mi). A little rust here and there, but overall, pretty good shape. He wants to sell it to me for $2200 (canadian). Any opinions out there? good car to buy? Any known issues with this model? I understand that this was the first model year for this car, I guess thats not a good thing usually. Its got an automatic trannie, any issues there? Also, in 93, would it be running R12 or R134a for the A/C? I noticed there is a big rubber boot over the distributor, is that from the factory? or was that a recall? Any input would be greatly appreciated! t On 3/5/06 1:15 PM, in article 470s09Fcj9taU5@uni-berlin.de, "Jerry G." <jerryg50@NOSPAMhotmail.com> wrote: > I don't know your budget, but they got much better in 98. My preference > would be to find one with less than 120K on it. The 98 has no timing > belt that has to be replaced for a long time. It has a timing chain. If > the 93 has a timing belt, it is supposed to be changed at around the > 100K area. All the Altimas have timing chains. Thank you, at least someone knows.. all KA24's are chain driven, and if you ask me, they didnt do anything different in 98, but make it fatter.. look into the weight difference between the 97 and 98, you'll notice quite an increase. i would suggest the older model years personally, tho they are all very good dependable cars. the KA24DE is a wonderful motor, a very proven design, you can find variants of the same configuration dating all the way back to the days of datsun. Thanks for the opinions all. It will all depend on this week. I am getting the following checked: 1. Body condition - If I buy it, I will be painting it. I live in Winnipeg (salt belt) and the car is not bad, but it could be better. Also since it is white, it shows the rust much worse. There are a couple really bad spots below the rear doors at the base of the wheel well. Body guy said he would sandblast, putty, and prime. Then paint 3 coats paint and 3 coats primer. Should last another 2-4 years before the cancer spreads some more. Guy said it would cost about $1200 CAD. 2. Mechanical - Will do a compression test, radiator pressurization, and check for leaks of oil and other fluids. One thing I noticed is the mileage is about 10km/Liter (24MPG US, 28MPG UK). That is a mixture of city and highway (30% city). Is that normal? I drive a honda that is 15-20% better on fuel. Should I expect more from the Nissan? or is this average? 3. Chassis inspection - make sure everything chassis wise is good to go. Anything else? Thanks t >Thank you, at least someone knows.. > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >design, you can find variants of the same configuration dating all the >way back to the days of datsun. > Thanks for the opinions all. It will all depend on this week. I am getting > the following checked: [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] >>design, you can find variants of the same configuration dating all the >>way back to the days of datsun. A well known ailment of those alitmas, I had a 96, is that the distributor will act up and eventually fail due to the oil seal eventually failing and letting oil leak into the cam position sensor. The cam position sensor and distributor are one unit on that car. Mine did at around 140,000 miles. When, and not if, your car starts acting up and it's ignition related, replace the entire distributor, not just the rotor and cap. Car will be good and reliable again. The part costs about $180 from autozone, or $300 from the dealer. Labor is nothing. You can do it yourslef if you can change spark plugs. By the way, those mileage figures are normal. You will find that the Altima has quite alot of pep compared to your Honda. That little 4 banger moves with authority. CD OK, so got the mechanical and chassis inspection done, this is what we found: 1. Water pump shot - makes noise at idle, and is leaking very slowly. Not enough to cause concern immediately, but obviously needs to be fixed in the very near future. Is this a hard job? Doesn't seem to be... 2. Compression super low - we're talking low 80s here, but all across. did a leak down test on cylinder 1, and its 80% leak down. Obviously some valve issues here (looks like intake side as the air from the leak down was coming out of the intake). Is this a common problem on these cars? Gonna try a valve adjustment to see if the compression gets any better. If some of the valves end up being burnt, i guess its off with the head and replacement/machining of the head. Any other opinions/pointers out there? 3. Some deterioration of the floor pan (outside) due to rust. Actual holes in the sub frame, though they don't appear to cause any structural issues.a Anyways, as I mentioned, my bro is selling this car, and asking for $2200 (canadian). I was thinking that depending on the severity of the compression issue, offering around $1800. It also needs new glass. ($200 job). Let me know what you think! Terry in Winnipeg. >> Thanks for the opinions all. It will all depend on this week. I am getting >> the following checked: [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > >CD > OK, so got the mechanical and chassis inspection done, this is what we found: > [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] >> >>CD The water pump failing is not a major issue and is somwhat expected at that mileage. Replace and keep using low or non-silicate anti-freeze like the Nissan anti-freeze. Avoid Prestone . . . even the non-silicate Prestone. Oh, and reduce the buying price by about $300 to cover replacing the water pump. The water pump is cheap but labor, as usual, is not. Compression problem. Hmmm. I'm not an expert on this but since the compression is even on all 4 cylinders, despite being low, that may not be such a bad thing. Was the oil level full? As for valve adjustments, Nissan Cylinder heads pretty muhc *never* need adjusting, they're so well made. If it needs adjusting perhaps this is an indication of something major. Again, I'm not an expert on this Compresion testing, but this is the feeling I get from your observations. CD no oil consumption at all. no missing at idle or other speeds. No head gasket indicative problems (white smoke, oil in antifreeze/antifreeze in oil). No valve noise apparent. Like I said, the leak down test shows that the intake side is leaking at 80% on cylinder 1. That is the cause of the low compression. We'll try a valve adjustment and see where it goes from there.... t >> OK, so got the mechanical and chassis inspection done, this is what we found: >> [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > >CD I just looked up 1993 Altima on autotrader. $1800.00 for a car that is safetied would seem a good price. The car you are thinking of needs repairs to be safetied, so it is of less value and further, if it's your brother, he should give you a good deal, say maybe a $400 to $500 savings. $1200 tops. > OK, so got the mechanical and chassis inspection done, this is what we found: > [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > > > >CD |
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