The decision has been made

Well, after all the hemming and hawing and research and calculating and recalculating and even a little bit of crying when I came to the conclusion that the G35 coupe was just out of my price range (and my time constraints, as it turns out), when my little green beastie finally started to up and die, there really wasn't any other option in the matter. I'm now the proud owner of an Aztec red 02 Spec-V with the sunroof and stereo upgrade package (only one available in the colors I wanted, and the blue color was a little too light for my taste and didn't really mix with the interior. The folks at Courtesy Nissan in Richardson, TX really gave me a great deal on both price and financing. I've had it for just over a week now, have put about 1000 miles on it cuz my commute to my new job sucks, and I can't believe the difference between this car and my last one ('95 Escort LX with about 85k miles and a stump-pulling 88hp).

Likes:
The car is, as everyone told me, a rocket. Even when trying to be gentle during the break-in period, I'm having to be very careful because driving it like the Escort will have me redlining the car and spinning the tires at launch.
At cruising speeds, the car maneuvers surpisingly well. I can actually maneuver in traffic instead of having to drive in the slow lane.
For being a big guy driving a small car, I'm considerably less cramped it, even with an even bigger guy in the passenger seat
Stereo's powerful without having that obnoxious bass thump that people seem to think equates a good stereo (louder does NOT equal better)
Per fill-up mileage is about the same (lower actual mpg, but bigger tank)
There's actually some significant potential to increase the performance of the car.

Dislikes (all of them relatively minor and most are just personal gripes):
Wish I could have waited for the 03 for the new interior, is much less gaudy than the black/red. Not bad, per se, but a little more subdued from what I've seen on the pics
Sunroof - Didn't want it, but didn't have an option to not have it for the colors I wanted
Finding 6th is a bit tricky as it feels like the natural inclination of the shifter is to drop back down to 4th rather than straight down to 6th. Less and less of a problem as time goes by and I get adjusted to the shifter, but missing a shift and revving the engine up near the redline during break-in makes me twitchy.
Interior virtually necessitates getting the windows tinted, as the car very quickly becomes an oven in the Texas summer sun.

Nitpicks, aside all in all, when it comes right down to it, I don't think there's a better car for the money out there.

John David Spoon

Congrats on the car! I wanted red, but did not want the sunroof and upgraded stereo. So I got black.

Originally posted by muphasta
Congrats on the car! I wanted red, but did not want the sunroof and upgraded stereo. So I got black.

I thought about it, they said they could have located me one in another color, but a black on black car would just bake out in the sun here. I don't have covered parking during the day. Have to admit tho, the black probably goes better with the interior than any of the other colors.

Kinda wish at times some of the regular SE-R colors were available in the Spec-V trim. The green was kinda nice looking, and it's a much lower profile than the "Hey, pull me over for speeding!" red.

John David Spoon

Well, I know what you mean about baking. I am in east San Diego, where it gets into the lower 100's. I too park out in the open, so I need to get the windows tinted.

Hey man Congradulations on the new ride. I have you both pretty much beat. I'm down here in Louisiana, try having 98+ temperatures and humidity. You wanna talk being baked. Anway I have a white one and I too wish that now I had waited for the 2003's because I wanted a yellow one.

I don't know if I'd consider 98 and humidity beating the 100+ degree heat here in socal. I mean I know that humidity sux, I grew up in Mi, where it can be in the hi 90's, w/near 100% humidity. But, the humidity doesn't heat up the car any more than just the actual heat!

Thank God it is cooling down here now though! I work near the beach, where it is usually 72, but when I get home, it can be 105 or higher! But now that it is getting cooler, it has only been about 85 at home. Sept is usually the hottest month for us though, so it is not over!

What's up man,
Well whether it's hot here or there.......IT'S SUCKS, ohhh 72degrees. I think the last time I heard anything in the 70's was back in like March. I can't wait until it starts to cool off because I could have sworn I saw the Devil chillin on my car waiting for me to get off work.

I'm tellin you that it is rough here! At work that is! I mean, I work on a cliff 200 feet above the ocean. The view is great, if you like looking at the Blue water, and clear sky, after the marine layer burns off anyway. Then, what is really terrible, is the fresh ocean breeze blowing when I step outside! It is awful!

Man you suck. So I guess, I got it made out here then. Soon as you step outside ya start to sweat right off the bat, the fact that I have no ocean around at all, oh yeah when you get into your car, the steering wheel burns the ishh out of your hand. At night it might get down to about 80degrees. Man I tell ya, you don't know what your missin.

I got one of those sun screens for the windshield so I wouldn't burn my hands.

Where I live, like I said, it gets really hot. 100+ degrees in June, July, and sometimes all the way into Sept. 3 times in 2 summers, the heat melted the glue for my rear view mirror in my old truck!

I'll be moving soon, to where it is rarely over 85. I don't think the glue will melt there!

Where are you about to move to? I know what you mean about the heat being so intense. When you get stationed somewhere you have to register your car right, well after putting the sticker on my front windshield about two days later it just melted right off.

Just moving closer to the ocean in San Diego. I don't like my neighbors, or I'd stay put. My rent is going up by $425 a month! Right now I am in the eastern part of the county. I am moving to a more central location. the move will cut my drive time to work down by 15 min in the morn, and 20+ min on the way home.