21st Apr 2008, 18:19

I recently purchased a 2006 Sentra SE-R Spec V with 10900 miles. I haven't had any problems with it yet and it seems to run strong. Fun car to drive. I am currently in the process of upgrading to some performance parts like Cold air intake, headers, exhaust etc.

My opinion is, while I haven't had my car long, with enough people buying a certain type of car, there is always going to be people that have problems all the time and people that have no problems at all. Sometimes it is the car itself and the way it is made, sometimes (more often than not) it is the driver and how they take care of the car. Many time, if you are buying used, it is what took place before you got the car. Maybe the driver drove the car to death, wrecked and rebuilt it or didn't replace the oil for 10,000 miles. You never know. I know that because a car is a big investment that it is hard to do this, but don't let one bad experience ruin your opinion of something. Now if you have bad experiences with 2 of the same car, ditch it because it's a POS.

4th Jun 2008, 15:41

I also just purchased an 03 Spec V not too long ago. The car is completely stock with 67000km.

Never had a problem with burning oil, however when I added oil, I noticed it dropped about half on the stick from full between low, and ever since it has stayed at that point. I also read online that this could just be blow off, not an oil burning issue.

All updates have been done. Should I be worried still? Even with the updates done, I was wondering if I should go ahead with purchasing a header to get rid of that pre-cat that seems to be failing.

It's a great car; I absolutely love it. Just looking for some advice.

20th Jun 2008, 13:07

I own an 02 Spec V that I bought used a year ago with 40000 miles on it. It now has 59000 miles of headaches.

It's turned off in the highway for no reason twice on me. Took it to Nissan and they advised that I need a new engine. Took it to a buddy's garage and he said it was the Pre-Cat. Went back to Nissan and the lady said, "that's the reason why there's so many problems with this car because of the hot rodders out there". First of all, I'm a family man and don't have time to be hotrodding, bought the vehicle because during my youth I had a 240sx and a first gen SE-r and had fun with it.

My car is completely stock, and aside from royal purple oil changes and an optima battery after stock one died, nothing has been done to it.

The paint is starting to peel for no apparent reason since I wash it by hand. Nissan has severely gone down in customer service since they sold out to the French (Renault). I'm planning on getting rid of it and taking the loss in blue book.

28th Jun 2008, 14:45

I have a 2002 Spec V; bought it from some kid who did not know anything about cars; since I bought it, it has not given me any problems. She is fast and strong. In my opinion it's just how you take care of your car, or it's just the luck you have. Another thing; the car is fast and strong; it can smoke an Altima SE-R and a Lexus IS-300 so far. So I give thumbs up on the Spec V.

24th Oct 2008, 10:35

Bought a 2003 Spec V back in July '03 with 6 kms on the odometer.

Was a lot of fun to drive all the while until about 120,000.00 kms just when the extended warranty I had purchased expired. I'm now at 145,000 kms.

Have had a lot of minor problems -> leaking trunk, visor falling down, etc.

However, the one that topped it all is the idle throttle body.. and the engine revs going crazy.

Nissan had done a recall in Nov./ Dec. 03 to remove the foam from corroding the 'circuit', however even after this the problem surfaced and needless to say that I will be putting down some serious coin to get it fixed..

As of now, with the diagnosis and the part I'm out about 300.00 USD and the installation has yet to happen. Need to get it done as I have to get the car certified.

Shame as I am seriously re-considering to get another Nissan product (350Z/G37) as an upgrade.

2nd Jan 2009, 11:27

Bought my 02 spec about 3 weeks ago in cash for $5000, which isn’t bad at all cause the car only had 60k. I named him specker and I treat him as my bestest buddy and not my baby.

The car is horrifying to drive in rain or snow, but a lot of fun at like 3 in the morning when there is no one on the road.

I love this car so much, maybe because I'm stupid or just love the adrenaline rush, but every time I sit into this car I feel as if it's going to explode or something. So it's like a guessing game "Will I make it down the block or not?” It’s really fun, so far I've been getting really really lucky.

Worst thing about this car is that it's not meant for bumper carts, I've already had to change my front bumper and the right side of my back bumper is hanging pretty low to the ground.

If you cherish your life, I suggest that you stay far far away from this car, if you see it on the streets then turn off onto a different street or pull over for a while until it’s out of your sight.

Best Wishes.

21st Jan 2009, 07:02

I bought a 2002 Nissan Sentra SE-R and I have it for 7 years now and have 67,000 miles on it. The car is great since it has more power and torque. I have a few modifications like Megan Racing headers, Greddy exhaust system, Injen clod air intake, Tanabe 4 point front underbody support, Greddy rear tower bar and Ksport Kontrol suspensions. The only problem I got so far with this car is the throttle body getting stuck open which makes the idle way too high. It cost me $300 for the replacement. I have also done all the recalls for this car. Like what the others said, it's how you take care of your car. All it takes is do the scheduled maintenance. I have been running this car since first day with Royal Purple Oil and a 91 Premium Gas.