[relicstone]

I am in the process of purchasing a 2002 SE-R Spec-V from an off lease Nissan dealer. The car is fully stocked minus ABS. “O well” The car has 30000 miles on it with minor to be expected used car problems. The car is being sold with the remainder of its 3-year factory warranty. 1st the shift boot is warn in the top left area from shifting it looks like. 2nd The center console/arm rest has a cracked hinge. 3rd the spare tire cover is missing. And 4th the biggest problem I see with the car is the transmission is difficult to shift in and out of 6th gear. As well as 3rd gear kind of bumps in and out before she gets warmed up. Many have suggested adding redline transmission fluid (the dealer also recommended it and said if that’s the only transmission problem that’s what he would do.) I believe that the shift linkage is the main problem with 6th gear, but I am not a certified mechanic. The car is currently at a Nissan dealer ship (not the one I am buying the car from) undergoing repair /diagnoses. The 1st –3rd things are being replaced. The transmission is getting the diagnoses/repair/replacement. I believe I have read somewhere, in this form that the 02-model year has a transmission recall, but I am not sure.

Any info / thoughts you guy’s/gals may have would be great.
Oh. By the way the deal I have with the dealer is to have all of the above repaired before any money changes hands.

 

[caveman]

You know, if you have to ask, you probably already have a little voice in your head telling you that it's not a good ideal. If you've read anything on this list, you would know that 02s are the worst ones.

Why would someone unload a car at 30K miles? 1. They buy a new car every 2-3 years all the time. 2. They are unloading a bad car. I'm going to vote for 2 cause 02s are known to be crap, and most people who want to drive a new car all the time lease a car. You could check to see if the car you are looking at was leased.

I drive my cars in to the ground and when I got the Spec V I was going to keep it for 8-10 years. I'm unloading it this winter and I got a 03.

 

[relicstone]

Yes the car was on a lease i ran the car fax. I am mostly wondering if they repair the transmission will it present the same problems in the future or will the 03 04 trans infulance the proper working order.

 

[chimmike]

avoid 2002s. that's all I'll say.

 

[BlackoutSpecV]

All these guys who don't own 02's always say they are crap. I have an early build 02 and I have had only 1 problem.

That being said, the 02 does have a potential tranny problem. If they replace it with a new one (it will be the 03/04 version) then that should be okay. If you can find an 03 for a little more I would say that it might be worth the extra $$. Used cars are a crap shoot, and as everyone has pointed out the 2002 spec was the worst year of a mass produced cheap economey car.

::EDIT::
the advise... make sure the tranny is fixed/replaced if you choose to buy the car

 

[Zac]

6 gear sticking problems are not uncommon, i have heard of it multiple times before. the wear for 30k sounds rather excessive though. if you do buy, be absolutely sure you get a warranty.

 

[relicstone]

the car will have the remander of the factory warrenty left plus the 5year 60k powertrain warranty. i am deffently getting a warranty extension if this deal goes through. The big reason i am pursuing this car is that the dealer didn't know what they had and priced the car a couple thousand below blue book and still they wanted to get every thing fixed.

 

[chimmike]

dude, the 2002s nearly have a recall on all the trannies. they revised gearing and some other things in it in 2003, which made them that much better. the 2002s also had the piston ring problems, and all the 02's/03's had the precat problem.

 

[jamesdean]

the car will have the remander of the factory warrenty left plus the 5year 60k powertrain warranty. i am deffently getting a warranty extension if this deal goes through. The big reason i am pursuing this car is that the dealer didn't know what they had and priced the car a couple thousand below blue book and still they wanted to get every thing fixed.

That sounds a little funny to me. If you don't mind me asking what price is the dealer asking? Dealers are snakes. They don't make mistakes on pricing. Have you checked Kelly's book values yourself? Retail on this car is about $13,700. That doesn't mean the dealer paid anywhere close to that. Trade in value for that car is about $9,500. So the dealer only paid probably $8,500 to $9,000 for the car. I wouldn't take it for over about $9,800 myself. Check out www.edmunds.com as well. Kelly Blue Book pricing kinda favors dealers rather than the consumer. Edmunds will also give customer reviews and overall ratings for that particular vehicle. Do your homework before you buy and cover your butt. I have an '02 Spec V as well. Only problem was tranny not going into reverse and the recalls. They replaced the tranny with an '03 and no problems in 23k miles since.

 

[relicstone]

Jamesdean:

I am getting the Car for 10,500.00 and its at the nissan dealering getting a new 03 tranny and the recalls checked/done. i am getting the car this friday (hopefully). i know the car came off of a lease program with New Jersey being the place it was taged. I have showed the car to my machinc and he said that if they repair the transmission (which they are) , I was getting a good deal. He as done some aftermarked work on the New spec Vs and for the price i was going to have a car that im really happy with once moded. (header, CAI, CAT BACK, and others once i got a handle of the car.) Im looking forward to the car and well, if im not happy with it im not out of bigger car loan then i would have been if i found a different one.

 

[jamesdean]

Did your homework, good man. Good luck with it.

 

[relicstone]

thanks i will keep you all updated with the progress.

 

[caveman]

Does anyone know what numbers are stamped on a 02 tranny and a 03 tranny?

How do you know your car will get a 03 tranny? Also, I want to know cause we got a very early 03 and I suspect it has a 02 tranny. If I could get a new tranny, I might not hate my car so much.