400,000 mile Nissan Sentra
When Robert Wallace bought a Sentra GXE 10 years ago, he hoped to get 150,000 to 200,000 miles out of it. Maybe 250,000 miles tops, if he got really lucky and was conscientious about maintaining it.
Today, 396,167 miles later, his white Sentra still motors around the greater Sacramento, California, area as he visits government offices and businesses repairing copier machines.
“I never expected to be getting close to 400,000 miles,” Wallace says. “But I broke 300,000 miles and it just kept going. I’ve got to the point where I’m actually making money driving this car when you figure the taxes I write off driving 40,000 miles a year for my job.”
Even more than the high mileage, Wallace has been surprised by the low cost of ownership. “When I bought it, I was attracted to the idea of not having to replace a timing belt,” he says. “I thought it would keep the maintenance costs down.”
Wallace says his Sentra is “the best car I’ve ever owned.”
Those expectations have been met — and exceeded.
“Usually, when a car starts getting around 100,000 miles, you can count on some $1,000 repair,” he says. “But I got to 200,000 miles before I had to replace anything.”
He made a few repairs when the car went beyond 300,000 miles, but nothing major enough to consider unloading his faithful Sentra. “It’s had so few issues, I’ve never had a reason to get rid of it,” he says. “Besides, it’s still getting 35 miles per gallon. I’d love a new Nissan, but I think I’ll keep this one until it blows up.”
Wallace doesn’t anticipate being in the market for a new car anytime soon. But when he is, he knows what brand it will be.
“This is my first Nissan, and it’s definitely the best car I’ve ever owned,” he says. “You hear about the dependability of Hondas and Toyotas, and they are great cars. But you can’t beat a Nissan. Now, I want to see how far it goes. I’d say I’ve got my money’s worth.”
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When Navfe Terry was 10, he was taken for a ride in his aunt’s 1986 gold Maxima. At that moment, the youngster knew what car he would buy some day.
“It was the nicest car I had ever seen,” recalls Terry, now 34. “I said I’m going to buy one when I grew up, and in 1998 when I was in the Army I did. I was serving in Fort Lewis (in Washington) and I bought a 1992 Maxima.”
Six years later, Terry sold his first Maxima, which had 230,000 miles on it, and bought a used 1998. While serving in the military, he drove his Maxima from the Northwest to Virginia for training. After retiring from the military, he frequently used it to commute between a job in Las Vegas and his home in Everett, Washington, where he now resides.
The car is going strong with 277,000 miles on its odometer. More impressive than the mileage, Terry says, is how age hasn’t dimmed the car’s condition.
“The day I bought it, the engine was so quiet, I wasn’t sure if it was on or not,” Lewis says. “And today it’s the same way. It’s got that just-out-of-the factory quiet.”
Terry was so impressed with his car that he bought his wife one to match. Now, twin black 1998 Maximas are in his driveway. Together, the vehicles have traveled almost 550,000 miles.
“When I was younger, it was the looks that attracted me to the car,” he says. “But as I get older, the importance of durability kicks in. We haven’t had to do any major work, and on long-distance trips I can get about 480 miles on a tank of gas. Where else can you get a car like this that gets 29 to 31 miles per gallon?”
Terry’s wife has mentioned it’s time she got a new Armada or Murano. Terry figures his own car is good for at least another 100,000 miles.
“I’m keeping mine,” he says. “But when the time comes, it will be another Maxima. I’m not sure if it will be new or used, but it will be a Maxima for sure.”
Source: NissanUSA
Victoria Nissan News 