Resurrect or sell/donate this 1991 Sentra?

Maintenance/Repairs
1

Car:
1991 Nissan Sentra XE, 1.6L engine, manual trans, mileage 78,000.

Problem:
The car has been sitting, unstarted, in my garage for the past 6-years. I unexpectedly had to stop driving it, so this was not a planned storage.

It was an excellent car, low-mileage, ideal for my modest needs, and gave every indication it had a lot of life in it.

Would it be worth it to fix up? At a minimum, I need new tires, battery, fluids, filters, belts, hoses–But my main concern is: What systems/parts/components deteriorate over time, even when a car isn’t driven? I know rubber does–belts, hoses, gaskets–but what else, esp after sitting unstarted for 6-years?

It’d be towed to repair shop; then if an inspection shows major $$ repairs needed…I’d wonder if I should have just donated it.

Advice? What would you do?

Thanks!
tj

2

The first thing you need to do is remove the gas cap and take whiff of the gas that’s been in the tank for six years.

Does it smell like gas? Or does have a rancid/varnish smell to it?

If it’s the latter, the entire fuel system needs to be drained/cleaned of the old gas and fresh gas added to get the engine to run.

So, unless you’re willing to go though all this, there’s no need to worry about the other things about a vehicle that can’t run because of the bad gas.

Tester

3

Replacing all fluids, and flushing the fuel system, is definitely on the “must-do” list–I’m wondering about possible other “time-decayed” stuff–

4

Well,

Rubber does deteriorate over time. But I wouldn’t worry about all the other stuff unless I was sure I could get the engine running.

Is the engine fuel injected or carbureted?

Tester

5

I’d address the fuel system as described above, replace all the other fluids, and the tires. And inspect the brakes. May need a new battery. Then just drive. Gingerly at first. You’ll probably encounter some fluid leaks or rubber deterioration problems in the first few months. So when you spot something wrong, have it fixed. Shouldn’t be overly expensive to bring it back to life. At 78 K, the engine is just barely broken in.

6

I would sell it “as is” or donate it. If you put money into this vehicle and got it running again it would still be worth very little.

7

“I would sell it “as is” or donate it. If you put money into this vehicle and got it running again it would still be worth very little.”

Actually, it would be worth a lot to me–that’s why I’m considering fixing it up.

If it costs say $1,000 to get up and running again, I’ll have a low-mileage Sentra of proven reliability for $1,000.

How much would it cost to buy a later-model Sentra with 78k miles? A bit more than $1,000, I think–

8

I think one important factor is how you intend to use the car. If you will be using it mostly for local transportation, it is probably worth getting it up and running. Even if you put $1500 into it, you can’t get much of anything for that kind of money to replace it.
If you are planning a long cross- country trip_that is a horse of a different undershirt.

9

Its hard to answer this question for you… If it were ME? I would have it running and driving the same day I began to work on it.

If you need to take it to a shop? LOL… Thats where your issues will begin. Most shops once they get the vehicle will tell you it will cost too much to get road worthy again. Then they may even offer to buy it from you…

Then a mechanic there would fix it and either drive it or give to his 16yr old son or daughter.

If you do the work yourself it would be WELL worth it… If you need a shop? Forget it.

Blackbird

10

If it hasn’t already been mentioned, the timing belt may need to be replaced. There’s a mileage interval, and a time interval, usually around 7 years, for timing belts. If this car is considerably beyond either of those, replacing the timing belt is probably job one. A broken timing belt with the engine running could be very costly to repair.

11

“If it hasn’t already been mentioned, the timing belt may need to be replaced.”

—Not a factor–it has a timing chain, not belt. Some recommend chain replacement ~100k miles; others say chain replacement isn’t needed at all.

“Then a mechanic there would fix it and either drive it or give to his 16yr old son or daughter.”

—Not at the shop I use.

“If you are planning a long cross- country trip_that is a horse of a different undershirt.”

—Why? A well-maintained, recently inspected and repaired car, with new tires, battery, etc, with ~80k total miles, would not be capable of freeway driving?

12

Tomjay:
It looks like your mind is made up - to do the repairs.

We cannot see the car from this site. But “investing” lots of money into any 25 year old vehicle with the expectation of using it as a daily and long distance driver does mean you should be sure it’s worth it.

If it were me, some questions I’d want to answer are:

  1. What is the rust like? (brake lines, etc)

  2. Is there any indication the seals are drying up in the transmission? (implying an eventual need for an expensive rebuild).

  3. What does a local mechanic say (one who can see and inspect it)? How much will it cost to get it roadworthy?

  4. I believe this engine still had a carburetor. If so, those were the years that carbs were smothered with problematic complexity just to get them to pass emissions. If so, time has a way of drying out hoses and gaskets. Have your wallet ready.

You may want to pay $100 or so to have an experienced mechanic inspect it and give you an honest assessment. It very well might be worth it, but it could also cost you dearly.

13

“Tomjay:
It looks like your mind is made up - to do the repairs.”

Go ahead. You have our recommendations. Good luck.

14

It seems like the OP has a trusted shop, so the problem is easily resolved. Tow the car to the shop, and have the mechanic check it out. If the budget is $1,000 to $1,500 then the decision is simple. There’s no reason why this car cannot be made safe and reliable, and the passage of time does not harm the machinery if the car is kept in a dark, dry garage. I resurrect Honda scooters from the 80’s that often have not been used for 10 or more years, mostly garaged but sometimes outside in dry Northern California, and they respond to the kinds of servicing mentioned here. After a good cleaning of the fuel and cooling systems, fresh clean oil, lubricate moving parts, new tires, checking and replacement of deteriorated vacuum and fuel hoses and sometimes finding and cleaning electrical connections that have corroded, they run easily and well and show no signs of any loss of function because of the long sleep.

The real enemy is rust and the effects of high humidity on electrics, insulation, upholstery and appearance parts. If the machine has been dry, it should be fine.

15

There’s been some issues w/the fuel pump and seat belts apparently with this car. Good idea to make sure all the recall work has been done.

Edit: It’s interesting this vehicle used a timing chain. I wouldn’t have guessed a timing chain for a 1991 econobox. Just goes to show you learn something every day at Car Talk Plaza.

16

I’m certain OP’s Sentra does not have a carb

17

Yeah, I was glad to see this Sentra has a timing chain instead of belt; a belt replacement would be a significant additional expense.

I really haven’t made up my mind to repair; I do want to get all the data possible though.

Originally I thought that since the car was so well-maintained and low-mileage, that of course I’d repair it. But I’ve learned that some systems/parts/components can degrade with time regardless of mileage/driving stress—like rust and dried seals.

But sure, my bias is in favor of repair, mainly because there’s no way I could buy a low-mileage car this good for $1,000-$1,500. But if the probabilities are against me, I’ll dump it.

“There’s no reason why this car cannot be made safe and reliable, and the passage of time does not harm the machinery if the car is kept in a dark, dry garage. I resurrect Honda scooters from the 80’s that often have not been used for 10 or more years, mostly garaged but sometimes outside in dry Northern California, and they respond to the kinds of servicing mentioned here.”

–Thanks for this info—encouraging.

And I’m not the only cheapskate around here–from:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/car-talk-a-cult-hit/:

If you accept the notion that cars are a reflection of the people who drive them, what do the Magliozzis drive? In 1995, Ray drove an '87 Dodge Colt Vista, and Tom had a '63 black Dodge Dart convertible.

“None of his family members will ride in the car,” said Ray, of his brother’s convertible. “The only one that’ll ride with him is the dog, and he has to tie a pork chop around his neck to get the dog to get into the car with him.”

Although Tom test drives all the sleekest new models, he said he’d rather drive his $2,000 Dart.

“A 500 SL Mercedes, it’d cost you $92,000. Now can that possibly be $90,000 better than this? This is good enough,” said Tom. “It doesn’t burn any oil. Not a drop. … It’s a friend. I would say a close friend.”

“It’s like the black sheep of the family,” added Ray.

18

I’m certain OP’s Sentra does not have a carb

Thanks DB for correcting me. It looks like the Sentras converted 3 years earlier, in 1988, to throttle body fuel injection.

19

lol …good story, yeah, the Car Talk brothers seemed to prefer to drive their own modest cars, but I’m sure Tom and Ray enjoyed to tool around in those $92K demos once in a while too. Hey, if it’s sitting the driveway, why not take it for a spin? It reminds me of an experience I had as a kid. In 1964. The neighbor – a physician – comes driving through the neighborhood in a brand new Ford Mustang. Convertible! We kids, a group of 4 or 5 of us, his son one of the group, are playing football in the street, so he yells “hey, I got this demo Mustang for the afternoon, want to come along for a ride?” A ride in a brand new 1964 1/2 Mustang convertible? The car that is in all the tv advertisements? That’s a pretty easy question. So we throw the football in the bushes and all pile in the back seat, some sitting up on the back of the seat to fit. He continues up the block to pick up his wife, and he and the wife take us all up to the local hamburger hangout, the motor purring like a kitten, and buys us ice cream cones. Later, when we got back, we asked him if he was going to buy it, he said “nah, too much money. I’m happy with my Galaxy 500. Just having some fun.”

20

@JoeMario

I’m sorry, if I may have come across as smug . . . that wasn’t my intention

Years ago, I actually owned a 1988 Sentra, and it already had fuel injection

I don’t remember much else about the car . . . it was over 20 years ago, after all

Basic and economical transportation, but that was about it. The quality of the car was far lower than Honda and Toyota. But it was also far cheaper, as a used car, anyways