To begin with, I bought this car used at Carmax, so I have no idea what it has been through between 1996 and 2002. I bought this car last year because I moved off campus and needed to drive to school and my 1986 Plymouth Voyager minivan wasn't going to survive those driving conditions (also my brother turned 16 and was willing to take the van if I got a newer car).

I found this car on the lot at Carmax and for the price it had many more features than comparable cars such as the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic. I test drove all these cars and in terms of acceleration, power, and noise they were all the same. The Sentra had power windows, locks, and mirrors though, so I picked that car.

The ride:
I drive mainly between my house and my school, about a 30 minute trip on a flat straight highway. This car is excellent during this trip. I have no problems accelerating to the speed of traffic and can often travel in the fast lane with no problems. Though you didn't hear this here, I have taken it to about 90 mph before any significant "gee I should slow down" rattling. For highway driving, the ride is pretty smooth, and definitely much better than what I was used in driving an old minivan.

I do city driving every now and then, mostly in Washington D.C., infamous for poor road conditions. In this situation the car does not ride as smoothly as I would like (the Toyota Camry, for example, rides a lot smoother in this situation). Every time I hit a crack or pothole it feels more like a jarring sensation rather than one in which the car just bounces up and down on its shock absorbers.

This car handles pretty well on curves such as on beltway-type roads where you are expected to take these sharp turns at 55 mph. I feel like I have a lot of control of the steering while navigating these curves. Also this car handles very well when pulling into very small parking spaces in very cramped parking spots, as I often have to on campus.

The car brakes very quickly, and when I slam on the brakes, it stops almost immediately. One minor annoyance is that the brakes squeak. When I first got the car, they squeaked as soon as I touched the brake pedal, but over time the problem has lessened.

Where I run into the most problems is when I try to drive with more than just myself in the car or when going up big hills and mountains, or when the air conditioning is on. My car definitely struggles in these situations, though I can sometimes temporarily make acceleration easier by turning off the overdrive feature.

The features:
Having never had a car with power windows, locks, or even functioning air conditioning before, I was very happy to have these. The rear seats fold down so you can carry larger items in the trunk. The radio/tapedeck is pretty standard and has decent sound. The Sentra comes with a donut spare tire as opposed to a full sized spare. I have never blown a tire though, so I do not know how well the donut functions. A big issue that is often mentioned about this car is the cupholder blocks the radio controls. More accurately any drink larger than a soda can block the radio controls (soda cans fit just right). This is a pain and I end up having to use the storage space between the front seats as a place to wedge drinks.

Gas mileage:
Great! Though I am not exactly sure how many gallons my tank holds, I can get about 350 to 400 miles before the gas warning light comes on. The gas warning light comes on at a good time because I have never once run out of gas.

Repairs:
Well unfortunately (for me) the repairs were for things that I did to the car. The coolant leaked after my brother ran it up a curb and the cap came loose. I ran off the road on Christmas day when it snowed and caused a lot of damage that took a very long time to get fixed. To this day there are still issues that pop up as a result of that accident. However replacement parts for this car are very cheap compared to other cars and can often be found at an auto salvage yard for even cheaper, so despite the accidents, this car has not been too much of a financial burden. An example of how plentiful parts are: one morning I awoke to find that someone had physically knocked off my passenger side mirror (it was parallel parked and the mirror was on the sidewalk side). That same morning I found a replacement power mirror at a salvage yard for $50. It was incredibly easy to install myself. The salvage yard guy saw my cracked front bumper and checked the inventory and said he could have one for me that afternoon for $100.

After a year and a half and a lot of abuse, my car still runs just as well as when I first bought it. I think this car is good for anyone who will use it mostly for driving themselves around.
Amount Paid (US$): 8000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1996
Model and Options: GXE, Automatic, Power windows, locks, mirrors