in search of another sentra

i got the damage report and my sentra is totaled. the insurance company gave me a check for $5,625 and i have $2,300 of my own. so obviously i have $7,925 to put towards a sentra. since i couldn't do much with my GXE, which model should i keep an eye out for?

i would highly reccomend a 04-05 spec v, only use about half of your money on the down payment and you have some money to make a serious monster out of that car. you could also go with one of the se's since they have the sr20 motor which has alot of aftermarket for it

I'd keep any eye out for these:

91-94 Sentra SE-R(SR20) - $1000-$3000
95-98 200SX SE-R(SR20) - $2500-$6000
00-01 Sentra SE 2.0(SR20) $4500-$7000
03-05 Sentra Spec-V(QR25)$9000-$16000

The Spec-V is the fastest followed by the Sentra SE-R, then the 200SX, and then the Sentra SE.


Also, keep an eye out for the extremely rare 1999 Sentra SE-L(SR20). And if you're interested, a 92-94 Maxima SE twin-cam with a 5-spd, those things are FAAASSSTT!

any idea how much insurance might for the 03 spec V?

Shit, not much at all. Insurance companies see it as no more than a FWD economy compact. And since they come in nothing but manual, that'll help you're rates too. Any FWD Nissan will be pretty easy on insurance.

how about the price range for a used 03 Spec-V? the old man wants me to pay off as much as i can as soon as i can, and i'd reeeeeeeeeally like a Spec-V

my insurance is 145 a month for a brand new 2005 spec v with full coverage blah blah blah....four doors and 4 cylinders= grocery-getter to insurance companies, just dont let them hear your exhaust!

I'd say average for an 03 Spec-V is about $13,000.

With $7,000 to spend, I'd go for a 200SX SE-R. Nice peppy SR20, and nice late-90's good looks. Plus it'd be better if you decide to go turbo later on. The Spec-V has a hard time with boost, as of now anyway.

265hp to the wheels at 7.5 psi dynoed.....

the sr20 does handle boost WAY better than the qr25, i just had to get my 2 cents in....lol

Yeah, that's nice power and all, but it's much more unreliable than a boosted SR20. Especially at 7.5. I heard it has major problems at levels above 8.5psi. Just saying, the SR20 is built for boost. You can crank out boost in the high 20's(psi) without changing bottom end internals. Not that you'd wanna do that in a FWD Sentra, but just knowing that it can handle it means it's much safer and more reliable at medium boost levels.

yeah you have to overhaul a qr25 to get reliability, but i have seen one hit 400whp after 20k miles no prob, but very expensive

good news, my dad came home from vegas after winning 3K. he split it between my brother and i so i have 9K. not a lot, but still better than before. the Spec-V is lookin good:)

id go spec if your looking non turbo, if you want to boost at all grab something with the sr20, from what i understand the 90s model ser sr20s can be made really fast really cheap, but then if you get the spec and take good care of it you can trade it in later on something nicer....im looking at a STI or 350z after i pay mine off a bit more

I must say after driving my friends 200SX with only I/H/E and a suspension upgrade, I like it much more than the Spec-V's. It was faster and handled better than my other friends 04 Spec-V with only an intake. I would personally try to find a nice 200SX for about 6K, and put the rest into either suspension and bolt ons, or throw the 3k towards a turbo kit and put down some serious numbers that most Spec-V's could only dream about. And all you Spec-V owners, don't think I am hating, it's still a good car stock with exceptional handling.

I must say after driving my friends 200SX with only I/H/E and a suspension upgrade, I like it much more than the Spec-V's. It was faster and handled better than my other friends 04 Spec-V with only an intake. I would personally try to find a nice 200SX for about 6K, and put the rest into either suspension and bolt ons, or throw the 3k towards a turbo kit and put down some serious numbers that most Spec-V's could only dream about. And all you Spec-V owners, don't think I am hating, it's still a good car stock with exceptional handling.

Yeeaayah, what he said!^. Get a 200SX.

and if you put all of that money into a spec v what would you reccommend out of the two?

and if you put all of that money into a spec v what would you reccommend out of the two?

Well he doesn't have enough money to put all that stuff into a Spec-V, so I would still say 200SX. Besides, the QR25 has larger drivetrain losses than the SR20DE, the 175HP and 180TQ at the crank is very misleading. For alot less money than a Spec-V he can have a faster and great handling 200SX or early model Sentra SE-R.

if he put all but 1500 of it towards a down payment on a used spec v then added headers intake exhaust underdrive pulley, BSR, and cams he would crush a 200sx am i not mistaken?

if he put all but 1500 of it towards a down payment on a used spec v then added headers intake exhaust underdrive pulley, BSR, and cams he would crush a 200sx am i not mistaken?

It would cost more than 1500 dollars for all those performance parts, at least for quality names, but yes if he had all that then he would beat, not crush a 200SX with similar mods(a JWT ECU instead of the BSR), but then he would still owe about 6-7K on the car, and I don't know what his financial budget allows, other than the 9K he has for the whole thing. Again I am not bashing the new Spec-V's, I am just saying for the money, as in the 9K he has, you can have a 97 200SX and still have about 4K to throw around on bolt ons or turbos which can make it much much faster than the Spec-V stock for the same price or less. Everything depends on how much money you have and how much you are willing to spend. Personally if I had 9K, I would buy a rust-free B13 Sentra from the south for $1000, and swap in a SR20DET that throws down 205HP on 7lbs of boost stock, and still have 5-6K left over for anything else I wanted. But I like tackling bigger projects like that, and sleepers.

I'd take the 200 just for the fact that it's cheaper, was made back in Nissan's heyday(when their cars were super-reliable), and the sweet high revving SR20. The SR20 and the Honda's K20a are my favorite FWD engines ever, because they have the high-revving nature of a small torqueless B-series, but with a nice flat power band and excellent midrange torque. The QR is really beefy and has an superb torque curve, but it doesn't have that HP peakiness that I love about the SR20. It actually reminds me a lot of the feel of my VG in my Maxima.

what about a 240sx? i dont really know too much about those but the fact that you can drop a sr20dett in it since the rear drive config, better than a spec or the 200?

Yes, better as far as speed. Kinda hard to find a good, clean 240. And it's RWD so if you're on a budget, the insurance might not be worth it. Plus I have a thing for FWD, so I'd rather have a 200 or a Spec.