Used 2008 Nissan Altima Consumer Reviews
Used Altima for sale
Reliable, comfortable
scott Lipoff, 12/24/2016
2008 Nissan Altima 3.5 SE 2dr Coupe (3.5L 6cyl CVT)
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
I've owned this car for 9 yrs and have experienced no significant mechanical problems. Maintenance has been reasonable. Car is very comfortable and performance is excellent.
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sporty little economy car
Chris, 12/11/2015
2008 Nissan Altima 2.5 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl 6M)
11 of 12 people found this review helpful
I bought this car over 7 years ago, and it has taken us on several trips without any issues. Other than a new battery from time to time and oil changes often, this car has been great to us. Just recently, on a trip to Florida, I noticed the transmission was slipping a bit and the cruise control would not work because the sensor de-activated it, and the engine light came on. I pulled into a autozone store and they checked it quickly and advised that the transmission needed to be repaired or replaced. I drove the car a little slower on the last leg of the trip home without any problems. When I got home, I researched the site about complaints on certain cars, and discovered that the Altima had some issues. To my surprise the transmission had a 120Kmile warranty and my car had a little over 105K miles on it. I took it to Carriage Nissan in Gainesville Ga. and Alex, the service person gave me Great news. The transmission needed to be replaced and it was covered, 100%. He ordered a new transmission and the following day it arrived and I dropped my car off and was given a brand new Altima while mine was being fixed. two days later , my car was ready and just like they said, no charge and the loaner car was free. I cannot say enough of how well they treated me and Nissan's warranties are legit. I'm looking forward to a couple more years out of the car, and they definitely made that possible. This is the best 17 thousand dollars I ever spent.
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2008 Nissan Altima for sale near you
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CVT Transmission
Leslie, 07/05/2018
2008 Nissan Altima 2.5 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl 6M)
15 of 17 people found this review helpful
Bought this car cash money from dealer, heard a whining noise when accelerating took it back to dealer they said that is the way Nissan's shift. Drove it home as it was my son's Graduation/College present. Less than 4,000 miles later. CVT transmission needs replaced. Since we as the 4th owners are outside of the 120,000 mile warranty, we have to replace it ourselves. For someone that lives pay check to pay check with a kid in college. I can't just cough up $4,000. My uncle suggested that I reach out to Nissan Corp, well after them telling me they could not help me until it was CERTIFIED Diagnosed by a dealership they could not discuss the issue with me. I spend $100.00 to get the Certified Dealer to diagnose the problem and Nissan Corp says we are sorry you are outside of the 120,000 mile "EXTENDED" warranty. I am sorry but if you, "Nissan Corp" realize that their have been complaints on the CVT transmission to give an extended warranty, then why not do the RIGHT thing and fix my sons car. We told my son he could not have a sports car for graduation and he saw this car and fell in love with it. It has all the bells and whistles a kid wants and looks good also. Shame on you NISSAN for crushing my kids dream car. I guess now we will try to sell it! If I guess we could use it as a Crash Derby Car!
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Another Nissan, Another Winner.
Zack B, 02/12/2009
2008 Nissan Altima 3.5 SE 2dr Coupe (3.5L 6cyl CVT)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
I traded in my 04 Spec V on this car. One of the most difficult, yet one of the best things I've ever done. The Spec V was a wonderful bang for the buck, and I have graduated to the next level of bang for the buck with my new Altima Coupe SE with Premium Package. Hands down, this is the best daily driver sport coupe on the market. Plenty of performance without sacrificing comfort. The Bose stereo is fantastic. Homelink and Bluetooth systems are absolutely wonderful. Plenty of punch with the VQ35DE motor paired with the Xtronic CVT. Takes a bit of getting used to coming from a 6 speed manual. The speed can sneak up on you very easily as the car accelerates effortlessly at any RPM.
Transmission needs to know me?
kmp, 12/01/2010
2008 Nissan Altima 2.5 S 2dr Coupe (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
13 of 15 people found this review helpful
Has anyone heard this one? I bought my altima coupe new & it rode well for about a year--no probs. Now the transmission vibrates at 25-40 mph, & getting worse. The dealer tells me the transmission needs to adjust to my style of driving-that they may need to reset it to the factory setting and let it "learn my style of driving."this sounds like bs to me! Also, the car keeps telling me I have no key, & the car won't start w/the push button. I've gone through umpteen batteries in the last few months. I can put in a new battery today, & tomorrow the car will tell me my key has no battery. Very frustrating! The dealer tells me they are "going back & forth w/Nissan" & will let me know.
Great performance but terrible comfort
Chris, 05/17/2016
updated 11/25/2019
2008 Nissan Altima 2.5 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl 6M)
9 of 10 people found this review helpful
My 2008 Nissan Altima 2.5s has a great engine and transmission compared to the Hondas, Hyundais and even Chevrolets that I have owned. Nissan really has it down when it comes to their drive trains but I have never had front seats on any vehicle that I have ever owned, including my 1956 Chevrolet pickup, that were as uncomfortable as my Altima seats are. After less than one hour of driving my rear end is more sore than it would be if I was riding my mountain bike. The seats look good but they are so stiff and lack any kind of suspension what-so-ever. I haven't tried fixing it yet but I think that I am going to try changing the foam cushioning in the seat bottom and see how it affects my bottom. The window controls on the driver's side are also poorly positioned. They are so far back on the door that I can't reach them without contorting my left arm to a crazy vertical position. I've found it easier to reach across my body with my right arm to hit the switches. The controls were ergonomically positioned for someone with very short arms. Besides the uncomfortable front seats and the placement of the window controls I really like the car. I get about 28 mpg around town and 37 mpg on the highway, it has great brakes and handles good for a midsize sedan. I would recommend the purchase of an Altima except for the granite front seats and the position of the window controls.
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Nissan Altima...SMH
soa, 06/21/2011
2008 Nissan Altima 2.5 S 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
26 of 32 people found this review helpful
My 2008 Nissan Altima has been out of commission for a month! At first I thought I needed new spark plugs, but found out that one of the cylinders needed to be replaced. Mind you if only has 67k miles on it. Took it to the dealership and they could figure out what was wrong with the engine and wanted to replace it. I've been back and forth with them for a month now and I'm tired as heck! I found out that other consumers have been having the same engine issues and there is a class action suit building in California. Honestly, I think the consumers need to all get together and sue the pants off of them for not correcting this problem. Lest we forget Toyota ? I'm not trying to be a causalty!!!!
stay away
Mart, 02/14/2016
2008 Nissan Altima 3.5 SE 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl CVT)
12 of 14 people found this review helpful
-Both head gaskets needed to be replaced at 62K -Metallic sound upon acceleration at 88K -New Basal vibration/sound when accelerating and decelerating Though Nissan would be trouble free...Cannot believe the low quality of this vehicle. Never Nissan again...
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Will Never Buy the CVT Transmission again
Bill, 03/28/2017
2008 Nissan Altima 2.5 S 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
I had a 2003 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL that I loved i actually sold it before i would have to my nephew who needed a helping hand. Hated to get rid of it. I replaced it with the 2008 Atlima of the same trim. At that time i didn't know much about the CVT transmisson. Boy have i been dissapointed!! The CVT Transmission fails miserably to deliver the engine power to the road. It Revs up high and doesn't really do much. I just turned over 155,000 miles which for a Nissan should stille be in its childhood. Engine is still solid, i have nothing bad to say about the engine other than the mileage isn't that great 26 or so at best combined between city and hwy...could be better for a 4 cyl. So here is the bad news. At 155,000 i just spent $3500 to put a new transmission in it...that's right one day while driving it just stopped! Blown CVT!! Cannot be repaired, only replaced. After doing some research i have learned that this is par for the course. Some have blown as early as 20,000 miles (in Fairness Nissan has stood behind those), but most blow before 180,000. Extended warranty ran out after 120,000 and at 155,000...gone! For the record, my nephew is still driving the 2003, it has 230,000 miles on it and both the engine and tranny (traditional transmission) are still running strong! Never again will i buy a Nissan!! The CVT is the worst thing to happen to cars!!
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Fun to Drive
Dawn, 08/01/2010
2008 Nissan Altima 2.5 S 2dr Coupe (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
This is a fun car to drive. It gets great gas mileage. I love the 20 gallon gas tank (that was a seller for me!). You can go forever on a tank of gas. I miss the room of an SUV (which I drove for years) but I was tired of the gas prices and poor gas mileage of the larger vehicle.