Posted on 10/28/2015 1:12:42 AM PDT by kelly4c
If anyone can help me make a car decision I would greatly appreciate it:)
I have to purchase a new (well, 1-3 year old) vehicle. My husband tends to hold on to our car until the very end (2001 Dodge Stratus that has served us well) So trans and exhaust broke on my way to work last week and we've test drove a few cars (in what little hours we have together that mesh) so it is now between the above mentioned 2 cars. The Nissan dealer will give us lifetime power train warranty and costs slightly more but the Cruze is more the size I'm comfortable with. It has a few more bells and whistles than the Altima but the center stack leaves no room to set my purse on when I need to find something in it. I drive expressway an hour every day and so need something with a bit of power (Sentra we tried today pretty well sucked at that.)
We don't want these to get sold out from under us so I need to make the choice...thanks in advance!
It is a personal thing I admit.
I have a 2008 Nissan Altima which has been and still is a great car. seven years old and still going strong. Had to replace the clutch a year ago - my son burned it out - but other than that just basic service and maintenance.
I have always had good Japanese cars- not so much success with domestic
I would vote for the Nisson with the miles you drive. However, buy what you are most comfortable in. It sucks to have to put up with a design that doesn’t suit you, especially for ten or more years.
The Cruze has been a recall-generating phenomenon (as in, lots and lots and lots of recalls) and is made by the UAW in a Government Motors plant in Ohio. It does not get very good reliability ratings with any engine and it’s pretty crap to drive. It’s also at least one if not two sizes smaller than the Altima.
The Altima is made in Tennessee and has been very reliable over its generations, with the exception of the 2.5L I4 engine. Avoid that and it’ll be a good drive.
Have you considered a Kia (made in Alabama) or even a Hyundai (which has a 10 year, 100K warranty)? What’s the budget and intended use of the vehicle?
The Altima plant is non-union, FYI. Also, that lifetime powertrain warranty on the Altima is not from Nissan but an aftermarket provider and probably is not going to be worth the paper it’s written on if you move away or one of the providing entities go belly up.
Power train warranties are (mostly) third party FYI and the last time I actually used it, it took many months just to get them to honor mine. Actually I had to threaten mine with words like “sue’. but a warranty is a warranty. If you are comfy with the Cruze, go for it but it would be better to still look around if you have the time. I know it’s a pain in the ass to buy cars as it takes a lot of time but try to expand to more than those 2 cars...
“The Altima is made in Tennessee and has been very reliable over its generations, with the exception of the 2.5L I4 engine.
That is the mainstay motor for years and the only option other than a thirsty V6 that I know of. If true then the OP should keep looking for a late model Optima, Sonata or even Mazda 6. Camery and Accords are fine cars as well but more expensive on the used market.
Speaking as a Kia Optima owner, I can't say enough good things about the car.
I'm on my third one in ten years. I've never had to use the warranties -- oil & filter change every 5K, plus other scheduled maintenance (2 30K, 60K and 100K) and that's it.
Nothing ever breaks or ceases to work properly. Never a rattle, creak or grind. 28 mpg city, 32 mpg highway.
Comfortable, reliable, economical. Definitely worth checking out.
I did not like the Cruz when I drove one.
The power steering and brakes were too powerful and the car felt like it was skating on ice
I bought a Mazda CX-5 for about the same price but a better vehicle for me
As long as it fits your other transportation needs, I’d recommend the Nissan every day and twice on Sunday. I’m like your husband on squeezing every last bit of value from a car and that’s happening with both of the Nissans we currently own, a 2006 XTerra and a 2009 Murano. They both are well over 100,000 miles with great reliability.
Girl friend and I both bought 2015 cars.
She got Altima I got a KIA Soul.
I realize that they are 2 different cars but I feel the KIA has more user-friendly features put into it.
KIA has an Altima version you should look at. This is my first KIA and I am very pleased.
If you need to be fishing around in your purse, you're going to be pulled over to the side of the road, so what's the difference?
The QR25 (2.5L I4) has had its share of teething trouble and I’m not convinced they got all the problems solved yet. You get the V6 on the Altima not just for the additional power but for the assurance that it won’t suck in parts of the catalytic converter (that’s not a typo) and grenade like the QR25 has.
Both the Kia Optima and Hyundai Sonata come very well loaded for a given price and have good I4 and V6 options, plus a 10/100 warranty when bought new. I’d skip the Mazda 6, they still have problems with their automatics. Honda Accords have had recent problems with their automatics as well, though those do seem to be solved in the last 5 years.
Hyundai and Kia’s 10/100 powertrain warranty is direct from the factory, not from a third party - one of the few companies to do so.
It should be mentioned - to get that 10/100 warranty, you either have to buy new or certified pre-owned from a Hyundai or Kia dealership. The warranty isn’t transferable otherwise.
On the other hand, at this time of year there’s all sorts of leftover cars going cheap now that the 2016s are in dealerships. Dealers are now giving screaming deals on 2015s to make them go away.
Case in point, you can get this for less than the price of a new Cruze: https://www.vanhyundai.com/new/Hyundai/2015-Hyundai-Sonata-6f2ccd670a0a000277c4308b8a761719.htm
I have been boycotting GM since the corrupt bailout and will continue to do so forever. I don’t deal with crooks. Fortunately, the Nissan is a much better car for the money, particularly for your needs. Doing the right thing is also a better decision given your driving needs.
Run, do not walk, away from the Cruz towards the Altima.
I had five Nissan Altimas in a row. On my last one, 2003, I put about 192,000 miles on it. I never changed the belts, hoses, water pump, or fuel pump. I never had to align it. The reason I kept buying Nissans was I never had any problems with any of them, and when I thought of an improvement they could make, they made it with the next model I bought. I finally bought a different car mainly because my wife wanted me to have something different.
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