Story Time

"Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness" (long-voyager-2nd-edition) 07/31/2019 at 11:22 • Filed to: Car Buying, bad decisions

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Years ago we owned a 2006 Sentra SER Spec V.

It was a great car for us, but we had gotten in over our heads a little to get into it, so when I found an 03 with 48k and a few “minor upgrades” for about 1/2 of what we had in the 06, we traded to get our payments down.

Well, this little “gem” ended up dying on my way home from the dealer as the butterflies on the intake let go and bounced around smashing the plugs. After sitting at the dealer for 2 weeks awaiting them to stop horsing me around, it finally got sent to the local Nissan dealer and got fixed.

We drove it that night without issue, then the next day found out about the alarm issue: The car automatically locked after 10 mins, but if the fob was out of range it would still read unlocked, which in turn would completely lock you out of the car. After breaking into my own car 2-3 times, I got pissed and just started tearing out wiring until the alarm was gone. Drove it out to a family event that afternoon only to have the shifter break trying to leave. So I ripped the console apart and shifted it via the cables, since the aftermarket shifter had broken.

The next day I drove that pos back to the dealer and forced them to give me something reliable. That landed us in our 04 Colorado that we drove for years without issue before trading it on our 06 Stratus sedan that was wonderful.

E90M3 > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/31/2019 at 11:29

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Those the actual cars? 

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/31/2019 at 11:36

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I ’m always surprised how janky some people make their cars.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 07/31/2019 at 11:58

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I guess I should have been alarmed by the aftermarket fenders, intake, exhaust, and lopey cam, but it was exactly what we wanted at the time and the price was perfect ( that is until it turned out to be a total pile ) .

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > E90M3 07/31/2019 at 12:01

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Same colors but no.

The 06 had the “S-tune” package with the bronze wheels and S-tune stripes, R-tune header/intake, and full exhaust.

The 03 had quite a few visible mods: fenders, intake, exhaust, short throw, tint , and a lot more done that wasn’t visible .

bob and john > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/31/2019 at 12:12

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so ,previous owner stuff. fun. 

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/31/2019 at 12:14

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I bought a salvage title subaru XT6. I regretted it pretty quickly but it had to drain my wallet for a while before I kicked it out. 

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 07/31/2019 at 12:23

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We owned the car exactly 3 weeks. I drove it in perfect working condition for exactly 4 hrs out of the 3 days we actually got to drive it.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > bob and john 07/31/2019 at 12:24

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Previous Owner combined with shady dealer trying to cover it up. It wasn’t until the DOT got contacted that they finally fixed it.

Tripper > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/31/2019 at 12:43

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“Well, this little “gem” ended up dying on my way home from the dealer as the butterflies on the intake let go and bounced around smashing the plugs. After sitting at the dealer for 2 weeks awaiting them to stop horsing me around, it finally got sent to the local Nissan dealer and got fixed.”

Also previous owner of an 02'. Have we talked about this before? Same issue, only they didn’t know what it was when I had it in. I had it in 3 times because the spark plug was being pinched shut in one of the cylinders . After the 3rd time they said they were going to have to escalate the issue or something and it would take a few more weeks. So I had them do their “fix” one last time and traded it on a brand new WRX.  

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Tripper 07/31/2019 at 12:49

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Possibly. The dealer knew exactly what the issue was. I loved my 06, it was a wonderful car that got abused regularly and never complained.

Tripper > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/31/2019 at 12:55

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It was such a fun car. I had a weird coolant issue on my way home from college one time. I just had to burp the system and it was fine. Other than the obvious it was a gem. I loved the way it looked. One of my close friends had a late gen prelude and we thought we were so cool. The experience at the end and with the dealer did kind turn me off to Nissan in general however.

i86hotdogs > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/31/2019 at 13:03

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Always liked the looks of this gen. Now they’re trying to pass this atrocity as an SE-R

It got a little better

VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/31/2019 at 13:20

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Prior 04 Spec V owner here. On paper it seemed like everything I could want in a budget sporty car when I picked it up in 06.

I was the victim of the crank position sensor issue that be had a TSB out for it but no recall for my Vin, so I had to keep getting it replaced and randomly would just not start some days . One of the doors also flung open on its own when I took a hard left and it would eat brake pads like pac man. After 3 years of that I bought a WRX that ran flawlessly.

Soured on Nissan ever since.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely 07/31/2019 at 14:44

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My 06 was flawless for the entire duration of our ownership, despite being continually abused and even tracked on occasion .

The 03 however was a steaming pile, but I think a lot of that was on the PO.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > i86hotdogs 07/31/2019 at 14:45

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I thought they dropped the SER before the new body style?

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > i86hotdogs 07/31/2019 at 14:45

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Unrelated, you have any interest in my van?

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Tripper 07/31/2019 at 14:51

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My local Nissan dealer was actually quite spectacular to deal with. They even got the R-tune header installed on my car under a warranty repair for the cat. The factory mani/cat was on 6 month back order, but they happened to have an R-tune header sitting in their parts dept, so they called Nissan and got it approved. Warranty still intact, not a dime out of my pocket.

The car was a riot to drive, plenty of power to have fun, tight enough to rip up corners yet soft enough to be enjoyable for road trips, excellent fuel economy.

The 03 made my 06 look like a pooch though. That car had a bunch of engine work done, to the point it had a lumpy idle ( which is an interesting sound on a 4 cyl BTW ), and made the first 3 gears pretty much useless without careful throttle modulation. I have no idea how fast it actually was, but it being so quick was a big reason I jumped on the trade.

VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/31/2019 at 14:53

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Funny thing - my friend at the time had a 06 and she loved the hell out of it. Ran flawlessly, but she couldn’t keep it for financial reasons, like you, and she misses it. Perhaps I just bought the wrong year or the wrong car (ala PO, like you.) 

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely 07/31/2019 at 14:58

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I really think their longevity was directly tied to their owners. That 03 had been heavily modded and beat to hell and back, my 06 had 12k when we bought it and was dealer maintained since new.

I actually had a chance to buy it back a few years ago, but it had been rolled/poorly repaired and had over 300k miles on it, wasn’t something I wanted to get into after that.

i86hotdogs > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/31/2019 at 15:17

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Yes, it’s just a NISMO trim now. 

i86hotdogs > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/31/2019 at 15:18

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I always will, but I’d have to either sell a kidney or call a wedding off to afford it. 

Tripper > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/31/2019 at 16:01

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That is awesome on your dealer’s part! Someone cammed an SE-R? At least that is what it sounds like. My 02 is cammed and thus has a lopey idle. It stands out less on an older car, but I agree that it is odd from a 4 cyl.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Tripper 08/01/2019 at 07:02

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Yep, pretty heavily no less. I never had a chance to get used to the sound, it sounded pretty much like this at idle:

I wish I had more pics of them both.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > i86hotdogs 08/01/2019 at 07:04

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I’ll give it to a fellow Oppo for what I have tied in it.