It was so promising. In need of a car, one presented itself. A basic little Japanese 5-speed sedan, no frills – so what could possibly go wrong? Something major, repeatedly.
After developing a bit of potential engine trouble with the ’87 Beretta, I was on the hunt for another vehicle. The same uncle that had sold me the ’85 S10 now had a nice little Nissan Sentra for sale for $1500. The body was in good condition, the engine ran well, it shifted nicely and it had 4 new Blizzak snow tires on it. Money was exchanged, and it was mine.
Taken on the day I got it.
I liked the colour of it – the brown seemed to suit it. The interior was brown, too. It didn’t have power steering, but it was so light it didn’t really need it. It held the road well too, but the brakes didn’t have a pile of stopping power. This would prove to be an issue later.
Basic and functional
The car really didn’t have any extra frills, but the basic stuff was there. Controls and gauges looked and felt decently nice. The car was comfortable enough for the 4 1/2 hour run to Halifax, but had a propensity to hydroplane.
Wide open engine bay
The engine worked well too. It was peppy enough, and smooth. My previous experience with a Nissan four was positive, so this one bode well too. I think it was a 1.6 litre engine, similar in size to what a Tercel or Civic would have had at the time.
Moving stuff – unfortunately the cat didn’t come with me.
I set off on the first of many, many trips back and forth to Halifax as I started my new job as a mainframe operator. It was the first job I had ever worked in a shift-based environment. It was an 8 to 8 shift, either nights or days, as the Unisys 2200-based mainframe needed constant watching and tending to. Whether it was making sure there were audit trail tapes in the autoloader tape drives, or tending the Siemens printers, or any of the other duties, there was always something to do. One benefit of the shift schedule was that there were varying times off, from anywhere from 2 days to 7 days in a given period – so on my days off, I’d travel home. Good times.
My first apartment in Halifax
My parents would also come up to visit from time to time on the shorter durations off. I’d drive them around so they could take advantage of the wider selection of stores to shop at. One day, we were all in the little car on the highway, and was in the wrong lane for the exit I wanted. The traffic was heavy, and there was an opening ahead of me on the right. I accelerated, switched two lanes over into the on-ramp..
Ouch!
…right into the ramp, with cars backed up on it. I hit the brakes – which weren’t really that strong – and tagged the guy in front of me. He was driving a half-ton with a really sturdy bumper. We got off the ramp, and looked at the damage. Incredibly, he told me that I got the worst of it, to slow down, and to have a merry Christmas, and he promptly left. We couldn’t believe it. We got out of there pretty quickly. The car drove fine, I stomped the hood back into place, and I made it back to my place. On my next time home, I got the parts to fix the car and put it back to normal.
I think I still have that plate.
A few weeks later, just before Christmas, I was on the highway heading back to my apartment when the car started making a funny sound. It kept losing power until it got to the point that it couldn’t pull itself up the steep hill to my apartment. I had it sent home to Cape Breton on a wrecker, and upon pulling the head off found that the head gasket had blown between number 2 and 3 cylinder and burned a sizeable gap in the block between the cylinders. It wasn’t fixable. Another engine was found, and installed.
Happier times for the Sentra.
I took the car back to Halifax, and to my dismay, found that this engine had something wrong with it. Clouds of blue trailed behind the car. It was pretty bad. Cars would honk their horn at me. If I could have put a bag over my head, I would have. After taking it to a shop, they diagnosed it as a cracked head. A new head was installed, and it was worse than ever! At a stop sign, the car would almost be hidden from the smoke that would come out the exhaust. Fifteen hundred dollars later, the car was undriveable. I was disgusted. The hunt was on for a running engine, one that we could see ran fine. One was duly found and installed, but my confidence was shaken in the car. We were able to sell it – and a friend of my father had gotten a new car, and was selling the old one. Was I interested? Well – not overly, but as I was now relying on my father to loan me the money to buy it, and it being a GM product he approved of, what could I say? What has been the worst car you have ever had?
I’ve certainly had that dispiriting cycle of installing an engine just as smoky as the first. As I watched my money go up in smoke, I hoped, then begged, then prayed (and god replied “You’re an aetheist, we don’t serve you – I’d forgotten momentarily) that it would clear soon, and when it did not, I said “My goodness me, but I do suspect the portly and tattooed gentleman at the wrecking yard who sold me this may well keep his conjugal relations in his matrilineal line and just may well in fact resemble something puckered and sphincterous” or words to the same effect.
Believe it or not, I bought a 1990 Mitsubishi Galant for the same “promising reasons “
It was a base model car with no options, I even bought it the same year you did 1999.
I had just graduated high school and my hand me down 87 Taurus LX was a nightmare nothing worked all the options had broken or worked in the most screwed up way.
The galant was pretty, simple, basic nothing to go wrong, I was so wrong. That car spent 7 out of the 18 months I owned it in the shop. When it ran it ran great, when it broke it was expensive and time consuming to fix. I finally had enough and traded it in for a ford ranger.
One of my most fun cars was also the most unreliable – but isn’t that usually the way of things?
Wife bought a 1975 Fiat 124 Spyder while I was on a deployment in Western Africa. What a joy to drive. What a pain to fix.
When I got back, it seemed I was working on that car every weekend. I was based at the Presidio in SF at the time. The nearest boneyard with Fiat parts was over in Oakland. A parts scavenging run across the Bay Bridge became my Saturday AM ritual.
I was a former mechanic, yet had never before experienced many of the Fiat’s odd failures. Even buckling the seat belt left you wondering whether you’d be able to unbuckle without resort to tools. (Yes – it happened) Apply the parking brake and it might not release (2x). Turn the key and the starter relay might work – or not (the 3rd used relay finally fixed that). Luckily it was a stick shift. Even the &^%$#! jack broke, the discovery of which occurred at a predictably inopportune time. Rain? Ha – Got you. The wipers did turn on. Too bad they wouldn’t turn off when it was over. On and on . . . .
In the Fiat’s defense, my wife and I had some great pre-kid adventures fixing the car in some of the most scenic spots in northern CA, the Sierras and Lake Tahoe. It was such a regular occurrence scarce trunk space was always devoted to a folding chair so my wife could watch me work on it wherever it broke down.
To this day, I firmly believe that car was haunted.
Funny- in all the used cars I’ve owned, a ’73 Fiat 124 Spyder stands out as the least reliable, with nothing even a close second. Car finally burnt to the ground in downtown Portland due to an electrical fire- with me in it. The only saving grace was I kept my ’69 Malibu when I bought the Fiat, so I still had reliable wheels.
The first of two Jeep CJ’s replaced the Fiat. They were as reliable as the Fiat was fragile.
For most of my adult life I have owned basic and “no frills” types of cars, so except for the color, this car would have appealed to me. Nowadays I try to buy cars that are a step above basic, cruise control has become a must have.
I would guess that cracked heads were a common failure of these Sentras? You were either going to (eventually) find an engine that didn’t smoke, or just give up/cut your growing loses and junk the car.
I never had an experience quite like the one in your write-up, and keep my fingers crossed that I never do. The closest I ever came was with a PV544 Volvo bought for $700, that was overpriced by several hundred dollars.
It was non-stop with the engine. I have come to suspect that the oil rings had stuck in their grooves from a lack of oil changes. I’d had that happen on a future COAL.
Nissan made some great cars back in the 80’s. They also made these. My grandfather had a similar Sentra, with the three-speed automatic. This was the slowest car I have ever driven in my life. I think it had a top speed of maybe 70 mph.
I wonder about the weak brakes. Did you investigate them or did you just cross your fingers? (I am not moralizing here, looking at my own history). This could have been a simple thing such as a leaking booster hose. On the plus side: a fender bender makes a good story if it ends without bodily injuries.
These Sentras were right up there with the Corolla, Protégé, Colt, Civic.
I never did. I had figured that the combined weight of the three of us in the car just dulled the brakes. it wasn’t bad with just me. I couldn’t believe he let us go – lucky.
There were a pile of them made. I must have just gotten a bad one.
My 1972 Vega, back in 1975-76, became a money pit.
Traded for a ’68 Chrysler Newport convertible with a 440/TorqueFlite, whose passenger side head gasket had blown between two cylinders and over time, arc’ed the block similar to what happened to you.
Glad to hear it wasn’t just me it happened to. I don’t think I’d heard of it happening anywhere else
In high school (from the mid to late 90’s) I’ve had a huge crush on a girl who drove a Nissan Sentra of the same vintage and it had the same exact color as the car pictured here, it makes me wonder if that is the same exact car she had in high school or not, I miss the simplicity of these cars.
I can’t say that they were the worst cars ever owned but the ’77 and ’79 Civic were right up there. Four engines in two body shells. First engine failure was from all the teeth wearing off the oil pump drive gear hidden under the bearing block up by the cam shaft. The bearings siezed in the time it took to pull over and shut it down. Second motor was from a terminally rotted car with 45K km on it. That one threw a rod just seemingly for the hell of it. Among the debris in the pan was a nut from the big end bearing cap that had not a mark on it. I fished the siezed motor out of the scrap bin and with fresh bearings installed and the drive gear from the thrown rod block it went back in and lasted until the car rusted off it. To be fair the fourth motor came with the second car but still had the usual issues the others had. Head gaskets being a regular tune up item. Nothing builds character quite like driving sub $100 cars that would double in value every time you fill the gas tank. At least I had the 510 to go get parts for the Hondas. That was back in the mid to late ’80s and I’ve never owned a Honda since, though it has more to do with the “mom’s old Honda” crowd that I laugh at. Still have a 510 though.
Lesson from this CC: Japanese cars could be just as Unreliable as American cars!
Worst Car? 1957 chevy convertible bought in 1965 from a Rambler dealer. Had one rusted out freeze plug, a broken Foxcraft floor conversion shifter and 20 or so used condoms in the back seat. That’s why it was $70 ($500 or so today) and it had a nice top, good quarter panels and a decent interior.
It also had headers and dump tubes made from cast iron sewer pipe. I had no wrench big enough, so that were periodically vibrate loose and fall off creating an open exhaust. i had been used and abused and i continued the tradition.
I blew it up and piggybacked a couple of rod bearings. I replaced a cracked piston with a 2 dollar item and bought new bearings and shims. Got it back together and no love, it would crank but not fire. Towed it on a rope to some old German mechanics. The problem; I had run it hard enough to stick the old worn distributor plates in full advance. They put in a new to me used distributor.
Probably the worst car I owned was a ’64 1500S VW Square back I bought for $300 around 1980. Money was tight, I sold my ’70 Honda CL 450 so I didn’t have to drive my 12 MPG ’70 C10 90 miles a day to my new job in Thousand Oaks from Montrose Ca.
This car was a total rustbucket, even the roof had rustholes. It came from Canada. It had a sunroof that did still open and close, but fitted poorly and no amount of duct tape on the rust holes and sunroof would stop the waterfall whenever it rained, which it still did frequently in winter, unlike today. The heater worked, but the engine had so many oil leaks the fumes would smoke you out of the car. The transmission popped out of second and forth gear, I used a bungee cord from the shift lever to the handbrake to hold it in forth gear on the freeway. Front end and steering box was really loose, it was a battle keeping it on the road especially if there were any crosswinds. One day a rear wheel cylinder blew out, the old single circuit system lost everything but the handbrake, which I used to make it to work. I put about 30k miles in a year on that old junker, but it did keep running the whole time I needed it, just had to keep dumping oil in it. Once in a while the transmission would not shift, I had to remove the gear oil fill plug and use a screwdriver to pry the shift fork back into action.
Finally I was able to buy a ’75 Rabbit with AC. What a difference that made for the long commute. I sold the Square back for $600, by this time the rear main was pouring out a quart every 50 miles. Told the new owner this must be fixed before he could drive it, and told him to check oil every few miles. He called me a couple of days later, the engine blew up. I asked how many miles had he driven, he said about 200. Did he check the oil? Nope. Told him sorry, tough luck!
Not my car pictured, this is a ’67 (correct color) in the condition I wish it was in at the time.
I bought a base-model ’87 Sable wagon with 89k miles on it from a traveling salesman who replaced his cars every 3-4 years. Dealer serviced from new. He swore that the only problem he had experienced with it was a failed fuel pump the year before. It was saving them all for me. Over the next 18 months, it ate a power steering hose (had to remove several other parts to reach it), a radiator hose, a radio, an ignition switch, a heater core (the whole car was built around that, so I bypassed it), front struts, CV joints and a transmission. Thankfully, I had gotten fed up with it shortly before the transmission failure and sold it, so I didn’t end up paying for that. The Sable was a really nice road car, a pleasure to drive when it was working. It was also my third and last Ford product.
That was a real Friday car!
Oh, how cool is my BMW 328i E36 Touring. Manual, wagon etc.., and how cheap it was when I bought it unseen three years ago. Well, it needed some work from the panel beater, and the roof and doors upholstery remade. And new tires. And a bit of suspension work. But it will be such a fun and cool car…ooopps, the oil dipstick is dry, and the car is drinking oil at a rate of 1 liter/400 km. Ooopps, the mechanic says the Nikasil cylinder lining is damaged and I need a new engine. The “new” engine is fitted with a new clutch and now it´s making a strange noise. Ooopps, the mechanic says the noise comes from the gearbox. Another gearbox is installed and the noise remains the same. I took the car to another workshop and he says the problem is the dual mass flywheel. A new DMF and clutch…and ooopps exactly the same noise! And meanwhile, the old, oil heavy drinker engine and the “new” one (afortunately a lot more sober) sound and feel the same: ugly and rough, harsh and nothing like the turbine-smooth inline six BMWs I have driven. I think my car is haunted, too. But after going to the body workshop and with a black leather sport seats set installed, it´s so cool…
It’s a gorgeous car. It is truly a labour of love!
A labour of self-delusion, I would say. I still believe the car will come good. Someday.
Said that, it goes well, it´s practical and fun to drive.
Mark, i had an 87 Nissan Sentra same as yours but gray. While i did not experience the engine troubles you had(actually very reliable car) I did experience the hydroplaning, i used to live in Ansonia CT and drove daily 150 round trip to Manhattan NY where i used to work. I would take I-95 all they way. When it rained, (i’m a left lane lover)i could feel the hydroplaning and sometimes it was scary. Until one day on my way to work…..not only did the car hydroplane through a slushy puddle(full on winter)but the water hit the bottom of the car so hard…….it blew a hole right through the driver side floor and into my face lol luckily i didnt lose control and pulled over to the right side as the car died and woulndt start. Towed to a gas station and found out that the cars computer was under the drivers seat and was kaput. i was going to replace it as the car was fun to drive and very reliable….but it was too much to spend on an older car. it went to junkyard heaven. but it was a relly good car. it was far from my worst car. That honor reluctantly goes to my dream car, a 1972 Cadillac Eldorado which had an electrical short that could not be found.
Did reliability of Nissans improve or decline after Renault took control of Nissan in the 90s?
It wasn’t my personal car but it was my parents 2001 Buick Century Custom that they bought used in 04. The first year of ownership it was fine however, the second and third year were pure hell. The fan control knob broke off, followed by the hubcaps departing from us while coming to a stop, a “low tire” light that could never stay off, window regulators that would break with no warning or reason, a parking brake that stuck just because it could and finally the 3.1 showed its true colors and blew a head gasket. All before 100,000 miles. The only upside to them owning that Buick was that it led to my mother buying an 88′ Mercedes 300E that was a wonderful old vehicle and that eventually became the car I learned to drive in. We still have the Buick sadly as it’s now in the hands of my grandmother, with no mileage display, hubcaps or fan control knob. To this day I despise that car and will probably push it off the nearest cliff when the time comes to get rid of it.
It’s interesting that you had this many issues with this car. My father had an 88 2 door, same body as this, and around the time you took these pictures, he was still driving it every day. I guess you got the lemon.
I bought a new 1987 Nissan Sentra in high-school. The first week I got it I drove it from Tampa to Miami for spring break at an average of 100 MPH. That was the last time it could go that fast! On the way back it would shake and do an average of 90 mph. Back then there was little traffic and mostly orange groves along the highways. After spring break the car went down hill! It spend most of its time at the dealership but finally when I got it running decent again I installed a $2000 Alpine Stereo! No rap music, just Rock and Roll! But the car was slow as crap . I got laid in it often because it smelled new and looked shinny. Dark grey! I loved that piece of junk! I remember on Dale Mabry hwy they just made it three lanes. I was at a stop light with my bestfriend blasting music. A corvette pulled up next to us and a 300zx next to him. It was going to be a bad ass race between the 2. I put my automatic car into neutral and reved up the sentra. The light turned green and I put it into drive with my engine idled high! My tires spun like crazy! Smoke everywhere. We were watching the corvette and the 300 go at it. They were switching gears like crazy! Then my friend turned to me and said “why are we in front of them?” ???? I said “oh yea why are we in front of them??” We got to the next light just before Hillsborough and the guy in the corvette said “what the heck do you have in that thing that had it took off so fast? ” I said ” I don’t know??” The next light turned green and I realized that they did not know how to shift gears and I competly messed up my transmission! It kicked every time it changed gears! But it was with it! I abused that car for 3 more years then got a stanza then a maxima, then a infinity g20! Abused them to the breaking point! I drive a Mazda 5 minivan now and yea, I still fly like I’m driving a sports car! Screw it, you only live once!