coughlin47

Quick Background: I have a long, 55 mile one way commute to my job, so in 2007 I looked for a good, 'quality' ride, and Nissan wasn't even on the 'short list', however, after a test ride in the Altima, I was sold. The salesman (who I trust), convinced me to go with the 2.5, and I'm glad I did! So, since March 2007 I've been driving the 2.5 SL (fully equiped, but no NAV). I have a 5 year loan, so have 2.5 years left at approx. $400/month. I now have 73,000 miles on it, and no major problems - I take it in religiously for all scheduled maintenance, and have had the typical issues that one would have with any car being driven that much (rotors, tires, etc). About 35 miles of the commute is busy highway (70 - 75mph) and the other 20 miles 2 lane, 'city' traffic. The only downside for me is that it is a bit noisey for me (I wear hearing aids and perhaps amplifies the road noise), and the seat is much better than most cars in its class,however, I drove an Audi A4 for a few weeks and the ride was pleasurable. (given that I want to keep my car payments about the same, the audi is out of the question, besides, I reallly do like the Altima). So, after all this, here is my question ... what would you do:
2009 Altima 2.5SLs special financing until the end of Sept .. 1.9% financing (assuming I qualify). Payoff on 2007 is $11,000 and the trade-in value (independent sources) is $11,400 to $13,500. Given that I put 30,000 miles a year on the car, is now a good time to trade it in and get the 2009? Basically, equivalent car (unless someone can tell me any significant improvements over 2007) and I can get payments within $30 of what I'm paying now. I know I can probably drive the 07 for a couple more years, but given my long commute, I'm a bit concerned that I'll start running into problems with it. I realize this is my decision, just wondering what you would do, or if there is some logic I should consider when making this decision?
Thanks,
Bill

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realmac

I would hold onto the 07 personally. Yes you do put a lot of mileage on your vehicle, but look at it this way. Your car is worth say 12000. The most it can depreciate is 12k also. You buy another new vehicle and it can depreciate the same amount as your car now if you were to pay it off. However the cost to replace the cvt from what I've been reading is $5500. You might want to have the CVT fluid flushed and refilled. This should run you a couple hundred dollars.

The 2010 models are coming out very soon, I don't think 1.9% is that compelling. The economy isn't picking up that much steam. After the refresh and into the holiday season we'll probably be seeing seasonal deals under 3%.

The problem with CVTs is not that they fail, this can happen to any transmission. Replacement costs is what kills the owner. I think you could tolerate 1500-2000, but over double that and you begin to wonder the purpose of doing this in such a new car. Not saying it's going to happen, but that's a risk you'll be taking if you keep it. So potential cost of repair vs new Altima depreciation and running into the same problem down the road, unless you get a manual.

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realmac

We also haven't had any major engine recalls to my knowledge of the current batch of QR25DE engines. Seems like the current ones are pretty well built. Of course time will tell, I really hope we don't start seeing widespread problems like 3rd gen owners experienced.

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