Should I trade in the 8 for a Altima SER?
 

This is a serious Question.

I went and looked at the Altima SER yesterday and it is a serious car.

The looks are awesome. Also now with the 3.5 L 260hp engine.

This is the first one here in my City. So unlike the 4 rx8's I would have the first.

I am pretty sure since this Altima is the SER version it can be seriously tuned. Especially since it is the 3.5 L engine. Maybe hit it up with a Skyline Turbo setup. But I dont know if it could fit.

So basically all I am asking for is your opinion on the trade in.

I love the 8 and the Altima SER is insane looking.

Its a tough decision. I was probably gonna end up trading the rx8 in anyways. So maybe I should just get a new vehicle.

Anyways I look forward to your opinions and complaints on my decision.

You've got this in the multimedia section without pics... so I'll help out a bit :)

Personally, it looks like a regular Altima, which was never striking to begin with. I prefer a sports car that looks sporty.

Yes.

Well I am also wanting a car I can depend on for years to come. With the RX8 I am always tempted to just floor it and speed like I am doing the right thing.

I believe with the Altima I could settle myself down and just play it safe and eventually get alot of use out of it.

Anyways in my point of view. The rx8 is a car I would speed in all the time and the Altima is something I can treat with alot of care.

If you need a slow car to go slower in, then maybe getting a sedan is the right move.

I think it's dumb to trade in the RX-8 so soon after getting it. It doesn't make any sense, especially when you're not moving up to a better car.

You should be taking better care of the RX-8 than a family car anyway.

Also, as you floor your RX-8, don't worry about "years to come", when that time comes, you can have your Renesis engine rebuilt and have it port and polished :) Something to look forward to.

Well I payed $33,000 cash for the RX8.

I just went on Nissan.com and designed my own Altima SER and came out to about $31,000 MSRP.

So I find it as a great deal. I am seriously starting to like it alot. Also another thing about the SER. The Auto version is a 5 speed instead of like the 4 Speed Auto 8.

Anyways. I am going to settle down and just see what happens within the next month or so.

If you were looking at 2004 RX-8's right now, you could get a 6MT with Grand Touring for less than $25,000. I find that a much better deal ;)

6MT Grand Touring for $25,000? What rebates are there to buy it for $4000 under invoice?

You should be able to get it for $3500 under invoice with the current incentives to get rid of the old stock. Another $500 if you have the college thing, and I'm not sure if there are any rev-it-up coupons left.

Even $28,000 for a 2005 sounds better than $29,000 on an Altima to me.

yeah, it was seriously designed to be a family sedan, wheras the Rx-8 was designed to be a sports car.
Awesome, I guess if your into the big bulky family sedan looking look and not the slick sports car look.

That 260 hp is well utilized in a FWD car I am sure, especially around curves when you apply that power and you just keep turning.
As important as it is to be there first to own it in a given city, the only people who would have a clue are those astute enough to notice the subtle differences. In the Rx-8 many women notice ;), but hey, maybe chicks dig family haulers.
riiiiiight. What is insane looking about it. It is a four door, $30K family car...WILD!!!

Altima's are sick cars .... I think they have the same engine as the 350Z ? .. not sure though ... or was that the maxima ? , Anyways .. any nissan is nice , even the little sentra , if your sick of the rx-8 and ready for some torque. ... definitely trade it for the altima ... if not , go turbo with the 8

1.) The Altima has been available with the 3.5 for years.

2.) The Skyline has the RB26dett so you're not putting any current Skyline turbo setup in it.

3.) The SE-R is a better version than years past but overall it's still the same car that has been around for a few years now.

4.) It's faster than the RX-8 when it comes to straightline in many circumstances so don't think it will cure a speeding problem. The VQ engine is also a lot of fun to mash the gas on, very nice wide powerband and I sped worse in my Maxima than I do with my modded WRX.
Torque and a wide powerband makes it easier to speed IMO.

I got to ask what exactly is sick about the Altima?

I agree with Ike about the speeding thing.

If you're using torque as the selling point, why not get the 2005 Mustang V8 for $25,000? A lot more bang for the buck.

You are crazy. There are tons of Mustangs in my town. There are already 2 of the 05's here.

Plus I would never sell myself to Ford inless it was for their GT ;)

basically breaks down to this ...
uniqueness / looks = rx-8

speed (torque and straight line acceleration) = almost any other sports car and 4 doors around our price range

but I am going turbo ... hopefully the people are right in shawn's thread for 250 WHP (correct me if I am wrong) ... that's enough for me to stay with this car

Well, I guess if all he is concerned about is getting to the next stoplight the quickest then the altima is one sick car for that!

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lol ... if you havn't noticed , EVERYONE makes fun of the rx-8 for it's lack of torque and speed ... I remember a few times ago in import tuner they bashed the rx-8 in a comic saying it's good for nothing except canyon carving .. hopefully rx-8 owners can stop these comments and go turbo and prove that our cars can go fast ... Let's just put it this way .... my bro can run 14.1's-14.3's with his G35 .... our rx-8's have to drop the clutch around 7000 to get 14.5's ... the G35 just has to launch at 2000 rpm and it runs 14.1's-14.3's. ....

I'm pretty sure the altima has the same 3.5 l engine as the G35 too ...

Of course you would stay with the SER.

But, the SER would be stock and already has the power.

Also as to my way of driving. The Altima is FWD. The 8 is RWD.
Seeing as I am a huge drifting fan... The FWD system would get rid of my drifting days and salvage tires for me.

I am seriously trying to keep my driving to a safe level. Because if I dont, my g-parents will sell the 8 and I will be stuck driving the 99' Silverado. Which is not what I really want to be doing.

So anyways the SER seems like a car that would not be a serious attention grabber to many. But once in awhile when you have that urge you can satisfy yourself. Which I seriously hope I wont be doing.

Oh ya forgot about that .. the altima is FWD ... disadvantage for dragging and almost any type of racing... nevermind what I said .. 8 all the way ... forgot about the FWD ... sorry about that lol


edit : Hmmmz actually ... there is one advantage of the altima .... don't have to switch to snow tires when it snows .... huge hassle ...


edit again: crap you live in texas! , go rx-8 ! lol


hmmmz ... I still think you would drive like you did with the 8 no matter what car you have ... I do it in my mom's coke van when I am bored. ......

Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. I seriously did not realize that.

I was looking at G35's before I purchased the 8. So we found another reason why the Altima SER is another attention grabber to me. I dont like really small cars or really big cars. But this Altima seems just right to fit my attitude that I am aiming torwards.

Oh yeah. The G35 6 speed can have a GReddy Turbo set up on it. So if I get the 6 Speed Altima I could do some serious tuning to it if I decided to years to come. But I doubt I would get the 6 speed. Probably just settle with the 5 Speed Auto and leave it at that.

Starting to get confused ... sorry for all the edits , but hmmz the altima is not a bad car at all .. 3.5 litter same as G35 ... definitely can do alot of modding , I think you would be happy with it in the long run, sorry to ask this , but what is your age ? If your close to the age of having kids .. defintiely get the altima ... I had to put a kid in my back seat once and a baby chair .. it sucked ....

LOL you drive crazy in a Van?

Which brings me to this last Saturday. My friend had his 04' Sentra SE-R Spec V over here. I had recently purchased a $150 Dynomax muffler for him. I got a real good deal on it too. Bought the thing for $20. So we had it installed and my other friends mom came to pick him up. She was like what the hell are you doing with that thing on that car! Unexpectedly she revved her "VAN" up and took off! I was like HOLY SHIT his mom is crazy! So this all turned out to be a street race in my freaking neighborhood.

So you never know about your friends moms.

I am 16 since May 4, 2004. So yeah I might seem retarded for wanting the Altima but call me crazy. Its a definite want in my wishlist!

lmao , funny stuff ....

vans are crazy to play around with ... their suspensions are so loose that its so easy to spin the tail of the car out ....

you take the altima for a test drive yet ? It should feel alot different than your car ... the altimas got alot more torque .... drove my brother's G35 and man ... different ... the clutch pedal has a shorter distance too ... catches on alot more quicker ... overall the feel of the car feels a step higher than the 8. The interior is a different story .... feels more family car-ish while the 8 feels like a refined sports car