Hello Scotty,
Thank you for welcoming me here.
Recently I bought a 1989 Nissan Sentra XE 2 door sedan for $2300, that has the 90 hp GA16i engine with manual 4 speed transmission and has 122,410 miles on the odometer.
Now this was my first time buy a car by myself so I was very naive to the process. I'm just a full time university student working two part time jobs. I already have a car as a daily driver, which is my 1998 Honda Accord. I felt I paid way too much for a 30+ year old car and that was a foolish mistake, it was initially offered at $3500 when I only wanted $1500. The main reasons for purchasing this specific car was that I wanted to learn to drive a standard transmission and drive a car that was just like my father's car (his was a 1987 Sentra) who has been absent most of my life.
The car leaks a lot of oil and will leave a dripping oil trail or large oil puddle anytime it has been driven around or stopped ,to just move the car for the street sweeper. The engine turns over and runs, but has a high idle from a cracked timing cover and the oil leaking so much I put an oil pan underneath to catch it. The chassis/body seems to be in good shape with little to no rust at all, being a California car. the light sky blue paint isn't in bad shape either. The grey interior is still in good shape with the seats not destroyed yet, though the dash is cracked and seat vinyl material dried up and one small gash on the driver side seat.
My mechanic was not pleased that I bought a car this old and warned me parts aren't easy to find anymore.
So far I have been purchasing multiple parts for the car in attempt to get it running and road legal again. I have a new Dorman timing cover, DNJ timing chain kit, a new old stock OEM Nissan water pump, new air/oil/fuel filters, and other miscellaneous parts.
My parents have not been very receptive of my decision to buy a car this old and they are upset at me for doing this. They said I made a mistake doing this and told me to get rid of the Nissan. I didn't want them initially to know I had this car until I had no choice to move it on the driveway before the police knocked on my door, and told me to move it before it gets towed away. It currently has a PNO (planned non operation) certificate until I plan to get it fixed up and pass CA emissions hopefully.
I really thought this would a nice first project car to work on, and the aforementioned reasons of learning to drive manual and have something like my father's.
Any thoughts or comments? Did I really make a mistake buying this car? Should I have listened to my parents? Is this car simple and easy to work on as a first project car? Should I remain optimistic? Is this car still a reliable and durable Japanese car before the Nissan/Renault merger? Is this a semi-rare car or will it become collector status in the future?
Thanks for taking the time to read my concerns.
Its in the name, a "project car."
You've got the car, which one would you prefer?
Say you made a mistake and through $2000 down the drain, or remain optomistic, learn stick, and play around with it?
Now, its a Sentra so I doubt it will ever be a collectors item but back then they were better made. More importantly, its simpler technology and you didn't pay much. Mod Man knows a lot about these he was pinged already he can give you a better answer when he logs on.
The most annoying thing is the California emissions test good luck with that.
Caution: Lot's of people on the forum have engine problems, and then just buy tons of parts and hope it will get fixed. DO NOT do that. Do a proper inspection and diagnosis. More experienced members like above mentioned can tell you the first step to take, but throwing the parts bomb isn't it.
I personally find your move neutral. If it runs and drives and shifts and you can get the oil leak under control then great! If not, $2300 isn't like ridicously much or anything in which case drive it until the wheels fall off.
Good luck...
As a summary, I wouldn't call your parents wrong as its a old car and it might have more problems than you'd like, but remain optomistic and try to get what you can out of it. Either way it will be a valuable lesson you learned.
@Kerem You are pretty much right.
Personally I still think that his parents could be a little more supportive, especially where it is his life and his money. I also find it commendable that he is willing to go this far to learn how to drive a standard which I think should be encouraged.
Thank you @Kerem, @legendaryslayer, and @billybob for your comments. Unfortunately I have another mechanic looking at the car and told me the engine block is cracked beyond repair. Now I have to find another engine to make this work.
Well, it is an old Sentra from the '80's. These kinds of issues are to be expected.
Someone mentioned changing the seals to stop the oil leaks. That is true and should be something you do just to make things less messy around the driveway.
Parts are scarce and can be pricey. That should have also been an expectation with an imported car that old. When you buy a project car, it is important to have a place to work on said project. I can understand why your parents would be upset as your workplace is their driveway, which is currently being lubricated by said project car.
Will it be a collectible? Absolutely, positively not. It just isn't that kind of car. Did you make a mistake? Maybe. Everyone wants a project car until they HAVE a project car. And then they realize how much work is ahead of them and get discouraged.
If you like the car, don't get discouraged. But realize how much it is going to cost you to get it on the road. You live in California. There are very strict laws there that you'll have to make it conform to. It is old enough to just need a safety inspection so that will help.
Decide if you want to throw money into it or not. Projects are labors of love. You usually lose 90% of what you put into it financially. If you still want to keep it, at least get an oil pan or something to put under it and keep the oil from mucking up the driveway while you work on getting repairs started. Know that restoring a car like that can be expensive quick, so really give this thought before moving forward.
@Mod_Man I learned it from Scotty and you when ever you responded the questions.
It's a good idea to change parts that have obvious problems when buying used cars.
@legendaryslayer That's awesome! I'm glad you are learning things here. 🙂
@Mod_Man Thank you.
I am 15 years old which is pretty young for learning cars lol.
Yeah I guess I had no idea what can of worms I have gotten myself into. The feelings are mixed with this Nissan, it's like having the little devil and angel sitting on both my shoulders. The street outside our house is already stained with the dripping oil trail when I backed it onto the driveway. I tried removing it with Goo Gone solution but that was a fruitless effort.
Yes I have purchased two oil pans ahead of time before I got the car knowing that it will leak.
Agree with ModMan here.
But this illustrates a bigger point. The intersection of tuner culture with Japanese reliability has really increased the demand for old Japanese hobby cars. But parts is the issue that gets people. This issue is especially acute with RHD and otherwise JDM imports. Sure, you can get any parts you want for a Skyline overnight, but good luck sourcing parts for your RHD Wag-o-van.
I don't think it's a mistake of buying as a project car. They are good weekend reliable toys. Nissan and Renault merged around 2000s. One thing you should do is changing the oil seals to not cause oil leaking. @Mod_Man can tell you more information about the car. He's a better expert than me :). Yes they are very easy to work on as a first project car.
One thing I should mention is that always check the mechanic before buying a used car.
Well @legendary slayer, I found out the hard way. The next time I buy a used car I will definitely bring a trusted mechanic to tag along with me. How naively stupid I was not to think about bringing a mechanic with me for this car. Live and learn (the hard way in this case).
@sunny-dan There's a username below the regular username. Like yours sunny-dan. I hope you're not giving up your project car. And I hope you can find the parts you need to buy.
@legendaryslayer
I'm not sure if there is a duplicate username if that's what you mean. No I still have the car. I've had my local mechanic persuade me to sell the car to a mechanic friend of his for salvage or parts. It seems like a rare-obscure-unloved-throwaway car. Parts are already an incredible challenge to find sometimes, depending on what part it may be. I've had to source parts from Nissan B12 sentra facebook groups where one guy has exclusive parts.
I would give to the mechanic's friend if some of the parts aren't there to fix your project car.
I am not a Nissan fan but back then they were much better made. The $3,500 that they were asking was way too much. The $2,300 was high but certiantely not outrageous. I have knowingly paid too much for cars that I really liked. The age of the car really doesn't matter where it is a project car. With it's simplicity it is actually a good project car, especially where it runs, drives, and the body is in good shape. Don't let the nay sayers get you down. BTW: listening to your parents is WAY overrated. My parents STILL (believe it or not) get upset at me for the cars that I buy but that doesn't stop me.
Thank you @billybob for your supportive comment, something that is lacking from my parents . Unfortunately the main engine block is crack-damaged beyond repair, so the only alternative is to find a good quality donor used engine to transplant it in. I really like the small size of the car, and the boxy shape I can tolerate it even though I previously disliked boxy looking cars. I will have to figure out a way to support this project car of mine through whatever financial means necessary. Despite the broken engine, if it was still good and not internally damaged it would have been a gas saver car for me, bring a 1.6 liter compared to 2.3L 4 cyl. VTEC engine my 1998 Honda Accord has.
Actually, I had one of these for eight years (1992-2000). Zippy little car, responsive, capable of getting 40 mpg on the highway but with uncomfortable seats. It was an econo-box to be sure, without any distinguishing features to make it a collectible. But it was much simpler technology, hence, it should be easier to fix.
Given that it's 32 years old, you'll be learning on obsolete technology, and parts will be hard to find. Will it be reliable? I don't know. It's an antique project car. You'll find out, as you work on it.
If you arent going to hurt yourself too much money-wise (i.e. you wont miss meals or go in debt putting some money into it), I don't see why not. Its a good basic car to learn on, and to be honest I always liked the way they looked. I think you did way overpay for it, but thats done and now you can figure out how you want to proceed from here.
Without a doubt a mistake.
One of the biggest difficulties your going to have with that car is finding parts. Its a great project to learn about older engines but expect to spend lots of money on on it as you would on any other project car. Also its best to not drive is it roughly considering its age. Good luck!
Yes I am already aware of how challenging it is to find parts on such an unremarkable econobox car like this. I've only had luck rarely on ebay finding OEM parts, at this point I buy whatever OEM part is still on the internet, at this point any part is useful for the future in case something breaks down. I've had some luck from a Nissan Sentra enthusiast facebook group with members kindly offering me some of their parts for my Nissan.
Update 06/05/2021: My Nissan car is currently still at a engine mechanic shop far away in the Los Angeles area waiting to have the broken cracked engine to be pulled out and transplanted with the replacement used JDM engine I purchased, along with a new radiator, new front cv axles, new distributor and wires, and various many other parts I have bought gradually over time. I think about the car every other day subconsciously anxious and excited for when it's finally done and towed back home. Still need to get new brakes and suspension stuff like struts. My car bounces a lot when I push it down and release it. I am trying my best to work hard and save up to be able to pay off the labor costs, I just got a new work schedule where I will be working 3x/week since I'm out of school. I'll hold onto my patience on this one! 🙂