Somewhere along the line, Nissan went from “Major Motion” to Big Altima Energy, and I don’t know that there was any one event that caused it. But it is difficult to reconcile today’s purveyor of CVT-equipped rental specials with the powerhouse that built the turbocharged dream machines of decades past. But if you choose well, a cheap used Nissan can be a great deal.
Yesterday we looked at a couple of well-worn Hondas. They were mechanically more or less the same, but wrapped in very different packages. The Pilot SUV was generally in better shape, and the vote reflected that. I think the sun-damaged wrap job on the Ridgeline didn’t do it any favors, nor did its threadbare interior.
But to me, the Ridgeline felt more honest. And the rust on the Pilot scares me. I’d rather pull wheel bearings, and if you’ve ever done it, you know that’s saying something.
All right, let’s check out a couple of inexpensive used Nissans. Don’t worry; there isn’t a CVT in sight in this lot. They’re a little beat-up, but they’re both strong runners. Let’s see which one you think is the better deal.
2008 Nissan Titan SE – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: 5.6-liter DOHC V8, five-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Tacoma, WA
Odometer reading: 170,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Thirty years ago, you could get a small truck almost anywhere, but if you wanted something full-sized and V8-powered, you had to buy American. But after Toyota broke into the full-sized truck market with the T100 and later the Tundra, Nissan followed suit with its own big truck, the Titan. The American trucks still rule the sales charts, but the Japanese upstarts definitely have their fans – among them our own one-man auto rescue, Stephen Walter Gossin, who has a beat-up Titan not unlike this one, and swears by it.
You need a V8 to play in this league, and Nissan doesn’t disappoint. The Titan is powered by a 5.6-liter, 32-valve V8 that puts out over 300 horsepower. The only transmission available is a five-speed automatic, which in this case drives the rear axle only. The seller says it “starts right up and drives as it should,” and it’s ready to be put to work. I do see a low tire pressure warning light on the dash, but about all you can do is check the tires, air ’em up, and see if the light comes back.
Inside, it shows a little wear and tear. There’s a rip in the driver’s seat, and the center armrest doesn’t look too great. The seller also says the overhead console is broken. But none of that will keep it from doing whatever you need a truck to do.
I think it’s a rule somewhere that once a truck reaches a certain age, it is required to have some minor damage on one bumper or the other. This Titan passes that test with flying colors. The front bumper is mangled on one side, and there’s a plastic cover piece missing. You could replace it, but something would happen that would just bend it again.
2009 Nissan Altima 2.5 S – $3,800
Engine/drivetrain: 2.5-liter DOHC inline 4, six-speed manual, FWD
Location: Hayward, CA
Odometer reading: 98,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The Nissan Altima has become the butt of a lot of jokes in recent years, and that’s too bad, because it’s actually a pretty nice car. It’s a little sportier than a Camry, and probably just as tough. It has to be, to survive the kind of treatment it often gets.
In these days, the Altima came with either a 2.5-liter four or a 3.5-liter V6, either one available with a six-speed manual or the dreaded CVT. This one has the 2.5 and the manual, which strikes me as the correct choice for an inexpensive beater. The 2.5 had some oil-burning issues earlier in its life, but it was all sorted out by this point. It’s still under 100,000 miles, and it just passed a smog test, which is a good sign.
As you’d expect from the low mileage, it’s in good condition inside. There’s nothing fancy about an Altima’s interior, but there’s nothing unpleasant about it either. And the seller says everything on this one works.
It’s virtually impossible to find an Altima of this age without some body damage on it somewhere. This one has a wrinkle in the right front fender and some scrapes along the right side. It’s not bad, but it was apparently enough for an insurance company to total it; this car has a salvage title.
There is a stigma attached to Nissan ownership these days, but it’s not the fault of the cars, nor is it fair. If you avoid the CVT issues, they’re durable and reliable cars that drive pretty well. Your choice today is between a big brawny truck and a good sturdy sedan with a stickshift. Which one appeals to you?
That era of Titan is a fantastic work horse. That’s my pick.
With that said, that Altima engine/trans combo would make a stellar daily commuter.
You can’t really go wrong with either rig today, imo.
My main issue with the truck is the 2WD nature, it is fine for most of the country, but honestly I don’t know that I would go back to just RWD in a pickup.
Having just bought a 2WD rig for Canadian winters, I don’t see an issue beyond resale.
Hell, my buddy just traded his 2016 F150 that he bought new, and he even said he can’t remember when, if ever, he put it in 4WD.
Now if you go off road, maybe there’s another story, but a locking rear diff has solved any problem I’ve come across.
Hmm, driving my Geo Tracker in Canadian winters, I’ve often felt unsafe leaving it in RWD. I commute up a fairly large hill, and the rear end gets pretty squirrelly there in the snow. Beyond that, even pulling out of stop lights in the snow has the rear end pulling to the side.
You’d say that’s not an issue for modern trucks? Would the higher weight, longer wheelbase, and existence of traction control be enough to prevent that behaviour?
Wheelbase is what’s getting you. The shorter the rig, the more it’s gonna wag. It’s the reason I don’t like RWD converted Minis.
Your Tracker has TWO FEET less wheelbase than my Genesis Coupe had. Which I daily drove for 8 years, 4 of those doing a 200km daily commute. It never felt squirrely.
I also typically drive with traction control disabled.
Good to know that RWD is likely not a deal breaker, then! It would have been easy for this first experience to turn me off it forever
I’ve never actually owned a FWD car. My FWD-biased Sorento is the closest I’ve got. I’m always uneasy when borrowing FWD cars in the snow.
I prefer to steer with the throttle in low traction conditions. But it’s probably just cause it’s what I’ve spent the last 2 decades driving.
Man my FWD Civic was like a pair of sled dogs in Pennsylvania snow. I drove it in snow so deep the snow was coming over the hood and separating at the windshield.
I know FWD is objectively better in the snow. It just never will be for me.
Modern trucks are a LOT heavier, in addition to the fact a Tracker has a really short wheelbase. I think it’s even shorter than a Mini Cooper’s, even if you have the 4-door Tracker. Worse, most of your car’s weight is in the front, away from the wheels that need traction. Throwing some sandbags in the back is the old-school hack.
Traction control helps tremendously. On modern high-power RWD sports car it’s usually the reason less-experienced drivers don’t constantly crash.
Yeah, it is really stubby, especially with my 2-door!
I guess having a roof over the rear makes it visually look like it has more weight on the rear than a truck with an empty bed, but it’s probably pretty insignificant, with the roof being fiberglass and all
I have a rather large 2500 truck, it has traditional 4 wheel drive without the provisions for Auto AWD. This vehicle also came with HT tires AKA Highway tires for Towing I imagine. It has the rear LSD axle, but it is terrible in the snow with just 2wd engaged. I grew up with V8 and 2wd trucks in the midwest, they were fine for the most part until they were not. I would not even be able to get up my driveway with just 2 rear wheels engaged. worse if it was a One Wheel Peal setup.
Have you tried removing the snow from the driveway and salting the ice before trying to drive up? It is as important as knowing when to put sauce, toppings, and cheese on a pizza.
lol, sounds good in theory, but some of us work for a living and cannot get to the shovel to do that when returning home… also no need to do that if you cover the driveway in car projects and have a 4wd winter vehicle. ;P
The 4WD components also corrode if not used regularly. Even on this California truck if the system was never used it would possibly require maintenance to function reliably again.
A lot of buyers simply want it so they don’t have to deal with the more effective solution–seasonal wheel/tire setups.
Well snow driving to Canadians is like ice hockey, high alcohol beer and Tim Hortens they are just born knowing how to do it naturally.
It’s just hockey. But yes.
when my 2014 willys wheeler got totaled out we decided on a 2015 nissan armada sl with 114K miles. almost every option except nav and the headrest tv’s. we gave $13,500. i was a bit apprehensive about it at first because i never liked the looks of the 1st gen armadas compared to 2nd gen, but now that its been in the driveway for a year i realized just how big of a bang for your buck these pigs are. if there was ever a negative it’d be the mpg’s. we went to disney last month we averaged 16.8mpg on a 1100 mile round trip. normally tho its pulling 14.5 give or take around the house when you stay out of the throttle. ive seen it as low as 10 when my wife does more spirited driving…
What is a Willy’s Wheeler?
nothing really special, just a trim package on the wrangler. like sahara or rubicon.
*Sigh* cue all the ignorant comments about Nissan. Both of these are cheap honest transportation. I went with the Altima since I have a use case for a cheap sedan and not a full size truck. However, both of these are actually solid vehicles that are far more reliable than the majority of commenters here realize.
The Titan is good and I’d give the manual Altima a whirl, but Nissan sank its own reliability reputation with the CVTs they inflicted on a lot of people who needed cheap honest transportation but ended up with $5000+ transmission replacements outside warranty. It wasn’t just one model for a single year. And now their signature variable compression engines are showing worrying signs of failure as well. They’ve got their work ahead of them to build back that trust.
Exactly, nobody forced Nissan to flush their reputation down the toilet. This Altima is immune from the dreaded exploding CVT but you can’t blame the public for the guilt by association when the second most expensive part on most of the lineup keeps failing.
Sorry this is not the place for ignorant Nissan comments, unless CVT or funny, this is the AUTOPIAN DAMMIT.
I could use the truck. Conversely, I have no use for the Altima.
Altimas are not just as tough as a Camry, unless you exclude the bit that allows the engine to turn the wheels.
Where’s the “neither” button?
I picked the Truck because I don’t want to deal with an Altima with a salvage title
If the truck were 4 wheel drive, I’d pick it but, in this case, the Altima wins.
In my head, the decision came down to one question: “Do I want a CVT?” So the Titan got my pick.
…that’s a manual Altima. However, that manual is connected to a QR25, so always keep a bottle of oil in the car and check it at every fillup…
It’s also a salvage title if that also helps justify the truck.
I love the quaint sound of the valvetrain from the QR. Feels very “here’s my imitation of a solid-lifter pushrod engine”
Also the article says not a CVT in site. That is why when it comes to cars and aliens always trust the blues. The greys are better with the anal probing.
According to a friend
As the former owner of a Sentra SE-R Spec V, I never want a QR25DE again. A horrible, hateful, oil-guzzling thing. Also…well, truck. And 2WD, which kinda makes it more honest. Truck again for truck things.
Perfect winter beater with a manual. Put some snow tires and send it to terrorize metro detroit impala and charger drivers.
Manual sedan wins the day.
An actual manual everyday sedan? Always and twice on Sundays. There will always be pickup trucks in the US, but this is something much more rare.
This looks like the Altima has seen some bad days beyond a wrinkle…the misaligned hood feels a lot more than a simple wrinkle and a couple scratches. The trunk looks possibly misaligned as well (around the tails). It’s cheap but I’d be wary.
If that Titan were 4wd I’d be all over it, but 2wd limits it a lot. That said, it’s still my pick. That is a tough powertrain that should have a decent amount of life in it. For work duty, it’s an honest solid cheap truck.
The Titan’s price and condition makes it disposable, and that suits me just fine. Buy it and use it up. When something expensive breaks I’ll give my local auto charity a call and let them drag it off to Valhalla.
RWD is a big downside for a truck hereabouts, and I don’t need a truck in the first place. I’ve also had a lot of respect for manual Altimas ever since a car-guy classmate who drove a 2.5 manual Altima like this one explained how the lousy CVT ones tank resale value and bloat junkyards with inventory, allowing savvy manual drivers to buy cars and parts cheap, without having to deal with CVT unreliability
That’s a good point – there should be parts galore for these for years to come. Even those ugly taillights.
Everything but bumpers. They really should have kept them one color for EZ replacement
Upon giving it more thought pickup trucks are poor winter vehicles because no rear weight, maybe with a spoiler. Most pickup truck things are in the other 3 seasons. Coming out of winter buy the truck and park it in the winter. Drive the Ultimate.
Except for the classic winter truck thing of pulling your friends out of snowbanks!
Otherwise true. When you have to shovel the snow out of your bed before you use it, you tend to not use it
If I’m getting a 2WD truck, it should be regular cab.
Dinged truck over a salvage title.
The Altima is definitely faster, but I’ll take the Titan.
Salvage title + damages and scratches? The Altima is probably still a better value but there’s a solid chance you might be buying someone’s murder weapon… So, I’ll stick to the truck.
The Titan carries less stigma (I lived in Atlanta for a while, Altimas of a certain age still strike a bit of fear in my heart). Plus, the odds of major repairs that are usually required around 100K feels somewhere around slim to none. I’ll take the Titan, do truck stuff on occasion, and source new parts from pretty much any junkyard because they’ll be fairly plentiful.
I was about to vote Altima, but that salvage title and the misaligned hood gave me pause. I think it’s been hit hard in the front, and that’s why it’s got the salvage title.
A grungy truck is somehow more respectable than a grungy sedan, what can I say?
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Altima is the way to go today. Big four-banger and manual transmission, that’s the business. If I need trucklike capability, I’ll bolt on a small hitch and just make extra trips, and just roll right on by the gas stations the rest of the time.
Never thought I’d vote for an Altima. But it’s manual and that reminds me of the Sentras of yore
Throw some WinterForce tires on it & terrorize the fire trails