carsarecool

iTrader: (1)

They were talking about this in another thread, so i started another one instead of hijacking that one anyway, the gf is pretty much set on buying this 02 altima , and i'm wondering who here has bought a car thats been "nissan certified pre-owned" i'm told by the dealer they do a huge inspection on the car, make sure everything is in running condition, clean it to an inch of its life yada yada and it has a 3 year( from when you buy it) 100000 mile (total miles) powertrain warranty. Anybody had problems with it, or is Nissan pretty good at handling claims? Also to pick up the car we're driving around 3 hours to the place, can you go to any nissan dealer to get warranty work or do you have to go where you bought it? Are there things they wont cover even though they should, or is it basically an extension of the 60k powertrain?

Barc

iTrader: (2)

1) The inspection done is generally no more or less involved than any other vehicle the dealership takes in, in my experience. That being said, it has a warranty so its not like you're buying it "as-is." But I wouldn't expect it to be any better than any other used car on the lot that's been through the service department before being sold.

2) Make sure you look up what's covered under the warranty. There are different levels of Certified Pre-Owned warranties, each covering different numbers of parts. You can do a search on the web and find the parts covered, or ask at the dealership.

3) Nissan is pretty good at handling claims on parts covered and willing to do the work. That being said, they will charge you shop rate for parts not covered so be careful and understand what's wrong with the car before authorizing work to be done. A diagnostic fee is nothing when you compare it to 5 hours of labor for something that could have been done at another mechanic for less than half of the charge.

4) Any dealer should honor the warranty. However, every dealership has a different personality. Ask anyone who has ever been to a bad service department their opinion of Nissan's service and they will tell you. Some will work with you, some will try to screw you. Just be careful.

5) It is not an extension of the 60K warranty as it covers more parts. With that in mind, it also doesn't cover every part in the powertrain nor every part anywhere. It covers certain parts that you can look up in the manual. I advise you do that before signing on the dotted line with any warranty you decide to buy.

Hope that helps and good luck!

carsarecool

iTrader: (1)

Cool, thanks- i figured it covered a little more than the regular powertrain, from hearing about toyotas and hondas "certified used car" program, they make it seem, at least on the outside, that buying used is almost better than buying new from how much crap they say the car goes thorough.

From it not being much different than selling any other used car, I didnt think it would be but at least the warranty is there, has anybody had problems with it? And another question (maybe not as easily answered) but are any of the common problems in the 2.5 altima (that arent recalled) NOT covered by it? Thanks again guys

Barc

iTrader: (2)

I've tried to use it once and have it not cover the part. This was the gas tank pressure valve (the one that vents out when it gets hot so the tank doesn't build too much pressure) and neither it nor the other part connected to it was covered. I will admit, however, they tried their best to get it to be covered by looking at every part that might be close and may have caused the issue but to no avail.

As far as the 2.5 Altima, I'd say you're ok. My wife has one (05 SL) but we haven't had to use the extended warranty yet. I researched it quite a bit and didn't find a lot of problems. Do a search on the Altima sites and look to see what problems people are having. It's a good start.

Good luck!