Buy a 02 altima or 03?

Im Looking To Buy A Altima Around December. I Have 18,000 To Buy 1. Which 1 Should I Buy The 03 Or The 02. I Would Like To Get A Se But If My Money Comes Up 2 Short I Would Settle For A 2.5. The 04 Altima Is Coming Soon Will The Prices Of The 03 Models Drop Enough For Me 2 Get A Se?

P.s.- This Is Going To Be My First Car.

The answer to your question is mostly financial-related:

-- how much can you afford?

-- do you have a stable income for a new OR used?
-- u'r decision b/w 2002 or 2003 is easy (go for 2003) -- if you want to 'save' money - then just save significant and go for 2000/2001 Maxima or Accord.
-- If u wanna hover around that 'range' then just go for BRAND new and get SE v6 -- much better engine for resale & longevity. Although, if u dont drive on hiway much - the 4-banger is also v. v. strong (I like 'em both).

-- the BEST time to buy is right now! Take the FINAL price of ALTIMA on websites (retail usually) and take off about $2500 ...they want to get RID of their 2003 models before 2004 models roll onto the lots!

Good luck.

-sursh79

for 18,000 you can get a used '02 or '03 Maxima!! if uninterested in a Max, you can definitely pick up an '03 SE for that price, which is a better idea because most of the kinks are usually worked out by the second year of production

Right now you cannot find an SE for 18K the 03's are still sticking around in price and they will for another six months after the 04's come out so i would say forget the 3.5 and get a 2.5 for a 4-cyl it's friggin zippy you can get one fully loaded for around 23K u can talk them down get a loaded one instead of abarebone 3.5