The Nissan Altima Coupe is the best unknown bargain of 2017!
If you haven’t noticed already, I quite enjoy enthusiast bargain cars. And if there is one car out there that is the best enthusiast bargain of the bunch it’s the Nissan Altima Coupe 3.5 SE. With a 0-60 mph in 5 seconds, 270-hp, manual transmission and good looks all for a price even Goodwill shoppers could swallow.
The Bargain Shopper’s Dream Car
The Nissan Altima Coupe debuted in 2008. And it came from the factory with a 3.5-liter V6, could pull 0.84 g on a skid-pad, a four-inch reduction in length and 2.5-inch drop in height. And has good looks to boot! You could choose between a continuous variable transmission (CVT) or a six-speed manual transmission. I’ll let you make the easy choice there, but the CVT is quicker to 60 mph. The car performance was let down by its all-season tires but that is something easily swapped out. And that was mostly due to it being front-wheel drive.
Automoblog sums it up nicely by saying “For the everyday commuter and weekend road-carver, the Altima fares up nicely and fills a gap between the raw-racer 350Z and the family-hauler Altima Sedan.” In 2008 Motor Trend compared the Nissan Altima Coupe against the Honda Accord and Mitsubishi Eclipse GT. It placed second only behind the Honda Accord because of it’s lack of performance tires. And Car and Driver noted “High style, plenty of power, rear end looks nothing like the sedan’s.”
What does it cost?
When the Nissan Altima Coupe was new in 2008 it cost $31,895. Go to Cars.com and the price range is $3,000-$10,000. That averages out to $6,500 – that’s an 80 percent depreciation in eight years.
I had completely forgotten about the Altima Coupe 3.5 SE. It’s one of the few enthuasist cars that is still a bargain in the market. And it has the looks, safety, performance, and price that even your spouse could love.
I always liked the way the Altima coupe looked, would have loved to have seen a SE-R version of the coupe back when they were new.
Yea I really want to drive one of these. It really is a lot of looks/performance for the money!