Why are used Nissans very cheap? [MERGED]

[squala]

Does anyone here know exactly what accounts to the relatively low resale value of these cars? I used to blame quality issues for this (based on read articles and some experience), but in other threads, owners defended their cars' worth. Some claimed that their Nissans did them proud, and that they're not as unreliable as others think.

Perhaps I just wasn't lucky enough to drive a decent Nissan, but I still believe there's a negative reason why the going for 2nd hand models is so inexpensive.

[nicko]

Nissan Parts are not cheap specially the hard to find ones. Some of the parts are even priced like Mercedes Parts. Another thing is it hard to find surplus part for Nissan unlike Toyota ot Mitsubishi. The good side is Nissan parts last more longer than other cars. I have a Nissan Sentra Diesel had it for 15 years na only last year the auxiliary was repaired when the carbon wore out na and there was 4 carbons instead of 2 kaya mahal ang parts.

[ghosthunter]

The major reason why 2nd hand nissans are priced low is the public perception of nissan cars being low quality. But that just means that buying a second hand nissan car will give you very good value for money. My wife's car is a second hand nissan sentra series 3. She's pretty happy with the car too.

[j_avonni]

It's in the name. If the name of the car is Toyota, maganda ang resale value. I have a friend, who commented, "This car (Sorrento) is very good. The look, features, performance, etc. There is only one difference - It's Kia."

[mazdamazda]

Pinoys are transfixed to the Toyota & Honda brands.

Don't really know but almost all Jap vehicles are at par with each other in terms of quality & reliability.

[bilog]

I think the "very cheap" price would pertain to the late 80's to mid 90's model of nissan. Back then Nissan are perceved to have poor build quality. Nowadays i would not say that preowned Nissan comes in very cheap price. Siguro slightly cheaper than their counterparts.

[ghosthunter]

I think the "very cheap" price would pertain to the late 80's to mid 90's model of nissan. Back then Nissan are perceved to have poor build quality. Nowadays i would not say that preowned Nissan comes in very cheap price. Siguro slightly cheaper than their counterparts.

not just slightly cheaper... the price difference is big.

Just compare the same year model Sentra 1.6 & Corolla 1.6.

[squala]

not just slightly cheaper... the price difference is big.

Just compare the same year model Sentra 1.6 & Corolla 1.6.

Don't know if I should laugh or cry here. I got the Corolla (101) a year ago and now, I see a slightly older sentra (B13) costing half as much. Practically, I can sell my car and get 2 of those for coding reasons. But on the intangible side, it's just that Nissans here don't appeal to me. As many have claimed, they have a willing body but no soul. I'm kinda thinking now if charisma also puts a great deal of value in a car.

By the way... if you look at it the other way... the question should be:

WHY ARE USED TOYOTAS / HONDAS OVERPRICED?

You have a point there. It's true that given its newfound rust problems (roof and fender), the Civic ESi's resale value (about the same as Corolla GLi of same age) is rather too much. And this is one reason why no one should believe in the so-called Japanese Car of the Year. A vehicle's true worth can only be determined through the years.

Given this, I'm technically a victim of overpricing, but heck, I love my car and it was worth every buck. IIRC, this is called consumer surplus.

[the_wildthing]

Market conditions lang yan... nasanay na kasi ang Pinoy about the Nissans of old. Kaya kahit yung bago, pareho rin ang treatment sa market value.

[nicolodeon]

It's like what GH and Mazda2 had said: public perception and rule-of-thumb preference. Mazda said it right: almost all Jap vehicles are at par with each other. Now, if you go to Japan and observe their market, the Japanese slightly favor Nissan and Honda over Toyota and Mitsubishi. For instance (based on my observations), the Nissan Skyline is more valued than the Toyota Celica, or the Mitsubishi Eclipise. Here, if you mention the name "Skyline" to the the driving public, most of them would probably say "Skyline what?", Now, if you mention "Toyota Celica", a good number of them would probably say "Ah yes, I've heard of that."

One must also remember that during the late 60's, to the 70's and even up to the early 80's, Toyota ruled the market with Mitsubishi following a close secnd. Back then, there was no Nissan but there were Datsuns. What most people don't know is that Datsun is Nissan and vice-versa.

During the economic crisis of the first half of the 80's, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Ford (remember the Telstar and the Laser?) and also Gemini stopped local production/assembly. During those times, what you would commonly see on the street are the Corona (Silver Edtion, Macho Machne, etc), Corolla (DX-Liftback, DX-Sedan) of Toyota and the Galant (Lambda, Sigma), Lancer (box-type, L-type) of Mitsubishi.

So my generation and the generation before me were exposed to Toyota and Mistubishi while we were growing up. As we got older and we now can afford to get a car, guess what brand we would look for? You guessed right: either Toyota or a Mitsubishi. Why? Because these brands have already "burned" their marks in our sub-conscious.

Sorry, I think I got carried away.

[vinj]

A big factor is perception brought about by the old models (notably the Stanza, Maxima, and B12).

If people will continue to harp on poor reliability then i'm sure a good number of guys are very willing to debate on that.

[ILuvDetailing]

Skyline -> the Fairlady in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Its all about perception, was having 2nd taughts when before purchasing the X-trail, and we're leading towards the Rav4 but I have no regrets with our decision. Thumbs up to Nissan

[empy]

i agree with what the guys above me said - buy a used nissan and laugh all the way to the bank while your friends scratch their heads trying to figure out how they can afford to buy a civic.

i realized how different perceptions of 'prestige' are between countries when i accompanied a relative of mine, who had just immigrated from the philippines, to go car shopping. she wouldn't even go to a nissan or mitsubishi dealer - she only wanted to look at civics because of the 'prestige factor'.

dito kasi, a civic, corolla, sentra and lancer are all the same from a prestige perspective - they don't have any. diyan yata, may snob appeal ang civic...is that true?

[jimaroquai]

Cost ng spare parts of Nissan? They are not as expensive as others think. You just have to be diligent enough to look for an auto supply which gives away nissan parts at a very low price. I am a proud owner of a Nissan California 89 with 123,000 km 1st owned and its been with me for almost 15 years now. Nacarnap na, na tow na, 8 times nabangga and it is still serving me quite well. Though I am already thinking of retiring it but have no plans of selling it. Remember second hand nissans may cost much lower because of the thought that spare parts are costly. You cannot buy local replacement parts as, most often than not, they don't fit on the system. My technique? If a part of my car prevents me from fitting in a local spare part i will ask my mechanic to convert it.

ops, OT

[voltes_V]

Sa atin lang yata mababa ang resale value ng nissan. Here in canada and the US medyo ok pa rin ang resale value nila. The guys here abroad would prefer a nissan 240sx over an eclipse or celica mainly because it looks more masculine.

[david12345]

To Nicolodeon,

Ever since I arrive in Japan (1988), the #1 and #2 spots have been carried by Toyota and Nissan, respectively.

You can not compare a Skyline to a Celica/Eclipse (different class/price). A more appropriate comparison would be a Skyline and a Supra/GTO, since they are used in JGT racing. In the GT class, however, Skyline's popularity is still tops.

Based on my personal perception, the upper models of Nissan (such as Cima, Cedric, Gloria, Skyline) are quite good. However, the mid/lower models such as Sunny/Sentra, Bluebird are mediocre/average.

[Field Master]

I used to have one reliable nissan car. It was Nissan 1.6SGX all power, the first of its kind in early 90's. It never stalled me in 5 years i drive her. I hand it down to my sister but sold it too as downpayment for her new car. Parts are not that expensive as I recall marami ka rin makukuhan. The only negative thing lang is that medyo makalampag (i dont generalize) sya but the aircon will freeze everything inside. On its low resale value I put this on filipino colonial mentality.

[viet]

Huwag nissan bilhin kung plano ring ibenta. Pero kung tipong mapagmahal sa gamit para makasama habang buhay, Nissan ang piliin.

[Benzmizer]

I have not read the entire thread but this is my thought of why Nissan's resale value suffered.

The boxtype sentras (B12) were a hit. Nissan sold a lot of these units from the LX, SLX and SGX. Engine was unquestionably good... the suspension and insulation isn't. Not all but majority of B12s experienced underchassis problem and the sound deadeners of the cabin was thin. These 2 combines = disaster. You hear knocking sound (suspension) and hear loud road noise. This resulted to a lot of complaints from it's owners.

This negative impression on Nissan dragged on to the B12s replacement, the B13. Despite quantum leap improvements on it's suspension, safety features, ABS (1st to locally introduce), front and rear 3-pt seatbelt system, speed sensing door locks (1st), etc., the trauma on Nissan cars remained. This was no different to the B14 series despite the introduction of the MLB suspension, prestige by winning the SEATC and the Pan-Philippine Marathon -- wherein the B14 acheived 30,000 kms in 30 days. Still, resale value of the Sentra was considered one of the lowest in it's segment. (vs. Corolla, Civic and Lancer)

Then at almost the same period, the (initially) very successful introduction of the Nissan Vanette -- where NMPI had to work triple time to cater to the demands of the market, became short-lived.... The amount of success the Vanette garnered resulted to an equally (or even more) disastrous result when the design oversight of the radiator shroud caused countless overheating --- to a point engine blocks break! This did more harm than good. Result --- poor resale value.

The Bluebird Altima's intro in 1993 was a flop. Why? Nissan priced it comparable to that of the Toyota Corona and the Honda Accord -- which were the top 2 selling mid-sized sedans at that time. So to unload the stock, Nissan dropped the price. Again, a mistake that resulted poor resale value for Nissan. It was only when the Cefiro was introduced in 1997 where Nissan's resale value slightly improved.

The amount of damage on Nissan's image thru the years was already hard to remedy.... But this does not give justice to what is actually true. Nissan is a good, reputable brand. It has introduced some automotive technology firsts here in the Philippines.

As I quote viet:
"Huwag nissan bilhin kung plano ring ibenta. Pero kung tipong mapagmahal sa gamit para makasama habang buhay, Nissan ang piliin."

This is actually what is already happening. If you are looking for a "cheap" but quality vehicle that you'll own and never worry of how much you'd be able to sell it in the future, go for Nissan. But if at the time of purchase, you already start computing how much you'd get of a future sale of your-to-buy Nissan, forget it. Buy another brand... maybe a Honda or Toyota.

Nuff said.

[N-nigma]

uhh not really squalla. Only in the Phillipines lang to. In other countries the resale value is much much better. And I think now, Filipinos are getting smarter not the old ways where the Nissan poor quality kwentong barbero thing is the way to go. Coz I noticed pricey cars like the Z, Patrol, Murano is not affected by the kwentong barbero thing. Who knows, 5 yrs. from now pag wala na cla "manong barbero", iba na resale ish dito gaya na sa other countries.