2003 Nissan Altima

I have purchased my black Nissan Altima 3.5SE 2003 in April 2005. I did a lot of research initially and decided that the Altima 3.5 is the right car for me. I wanted a lot of power, leather interior and 3.5 engine (there is also a 2.5 available). I called the dealership and got very lucky, they just got one in. Black, leather interior, Bose stereo system, rear spoiler and sunroof. I arrived to the dealer 30 minutes later and I fell in love with the car right away. It was 2 years old with 56k miles. I test-drove the car and it delivered exactly as I expected. Here are some of the things that I like about the car: power, great seats and ergonomics, excellent Bose sound system with 6 disc changer, leather steering wheel with controls, huge trunk space and rear seat space. Things that I somewhat dislike about the car are: big turning radius, little shaky on the road if windy, little shaky in curves at higher speeds, AC controls are little old fashioned. In 4 years of driving the car I had few mechanical and electrical problems that I had to repair. One of the main things that I had serious issues with was that the engine would stall and shut down while driving. It was very dangerous few times when it happened and it would happen out of nowhere. I found out that there are several other owners with the same issue and I had to replace the crankshaft position sensors (approximately $320). I was disappointed that this repair was not covered under a recall. Also, I had to replace the battery 3 times already. Not sure why, but it dies on me every two years. Also, there is a recall on rear suspension or chassis that I got fixed at no cost. Other than that, I only had minor repairs done in the last four years in total value of maybe $2500, including tires, oil changes, light bulbs etc. Some of the memorable moments with the car are my trip to NY, Niagara Falls and Canada. It was four of us and we probably drove 2000 miles in 5 days and the car has been awesome. Its comfort, trunk space and great sound system made the trip very easy. The power is perfect, car always delivers when needed to accelerate and pass quickly. The ABS brakes also come handy when need to stop quickly without sliding across the road. Overall the car has been very reliable and fun to drive. I just hope that Nissan does an official recall for the crankshaft position sensors; I would like to see that approach to support the Nissan driver community. I’m not sure if they have resolved the issue on their newer Altima models. I put 70k miles on the car since I purchased it and I’m planning to drive it for a long time. I would absolutely recommend this car for a single person just as much for a family.