We purchased a new Nissan Sentra in 2009 on the basis of a new Nissan factory that had been built in our state. We believed we were helping state workers maintain well-paying jobs. Sadly, we were greatly disappointed in our purchase. From the beginning, we began to experience problems. One of the first problems we noted was a rather irritating rattling sound coming from the front end of the vehicle. The rubber stripping around the driver and passenger windows also came loose and had to be tucked back in each time we opened the door. We also had an incident where 2 of the motor mounts cracked and had to be replaced at our expense. In a previous Nissan vehicle, also purchased new, we experienced the same motor mount problem with all 4 mounts. Again, we had to repair the vehicle at our expense.

The vehicle was my father-in-law's, and my husband and I purchased it from him. The Nissan Sentra is a decent car, but if I were to buy another car, it probably wouldn't be a Sentra. Firstly, I will never again buy a black or dark-colored car. The state I live in is extremely hot, and the black exterior and the black interior materials make it sometimes unbearable. On sunny days, my hands have been burned on the steering wheel, which can be very frustrating. The air conditioning is not powerful enough to make up for the heat inside the car. Otherwise, the car performs all right. The brakes are very powerful, but it is difficult to bring the car up to speed when traveling on the highway. The car has lots of mileage on it and is still going strong. I expect we'll have it for at least two more years.

I liked the color of my car and the compactness of it. It's small, which is great for someone like me who has trouble seeing and maneuvering in larger vehicles. The only thing that I don't like about it is there is some play in the steering which tends to make me nervous. It's great on gas and a full tank will last me a while considering a go back and forth a lot. It has a working radio but doesn't have the newer technology that cars today have such as Bluetooth and back-up camera. Even though this is a little disappointing to me, I can live with it. It had great mileage when I bought it and only one previous owner, which is a plus for me. The interior was a little worn, but I couldn't really afford a newer car--so this one will definitely do the job for now. The only thing I've had to replace since I've had this car were the tires, which were very worn, but that's not the car's fault, it's the previous owners. I've owned this car for almost two years now and have not had any serious problems with it. It is definitely a money saver.