Used 2013 Nissan Altima Pricing

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TEST What's the best-selling car in the country? Easy, right? Toyota Camry.

But what's No. 2? Honda Accord? Ford Fusion? Hyundai Sonata? Good guesses all, but wrong.

It's the Nissan Altima. That's right, Nissan's best-seller is the car that people rarely factor into the midsize sedan equation. Even we'll admit the Altima is one of those cars that slips from our minds sometimes, that is until we drive one again. Then it's, "Whoa, this car is really good — and a serious hot rod. Handles well, too."

If this fifth-generation major makeover doesn't make the Altima pop instantly to your mind in the same fashion as the Camry and Accord, it probably never will. Because the 2013 Nissan Altima just got even better. Quite a bit better, in fact.

What's New?
We could read straight from Nissan's playbook and tell you about the 2013 Altima's reskinned body that's stiffer, yet weighs 80 pounds less than before. Or how its continuously variable transmission (CVT) offers better fuel economy and acceleration.

Or we could go on about how the Tennessee-built Altima offers a hands-free text messaging assistant in addition to lane departure warning and rear moving object detection systems — both of which are segment firsts. And we could tell you the interior has been completely redesigned to the point that it's now on a level with the Maxima — especially our top-shelf, leather-clad 3.5 SL test car.

But none of that matters if this Altima doesn't feel better from behind the wheel. And after an extensive test-drive, we will tell you that this midsize, front-wheel-drive sedan is still as athletic as ever, with a little extra refinement thrown in for good measure.

A Bit of a Hot Rod
So how quick is the 2013 Nissan Altima 3.5 SL? Good question, especially since it only comes with a soul-sucking CVT while most of its competitors are now using six-, seven- and even eight-speed automatics.

How's zero to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds (5.9 seconds with a 1-foot rollout like at a drag strip) grab you? For perspective, that's over half a second quicker than the last Altima V6 we tested. It's also quicker than the 2012 Toyota Camry V6 and 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T by 0.4 second. And it beats the 2011 Honda Accord V6 by a not-insignificant 0.8 second. The Altima continues on through the quarter-mile in 14.3 seconds at 99.8 mph. So in other words, it's pretty quick for a midsize sedan.

And this is with zero additional power. Yep, the 3.5-liter V6 remains unchanged from 2012, so it's still rated at 270 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 258 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm. Smooth and plentiful power is just a throttle jab away, even at highway speeds. It's nice to know the power is there, but we did notice that the throttle delivery can be a bit abrupt, especially when pulling away from a stop.

How Did the Altima Get Quicker?
It's lighter, for one. Our 3,358-pound test car weighed in 54 pounds lighter than the last Altima 3.5 SR we tested in 2010. It's more aerodynamic, too. Nissan says the coefficient of drag has been reduced by 5 percent.

But much of the credit goes to what's arguably the world's best CVT. Sure, there aren't that many, but it's still one of the few instances where we can remember a CVT that does what we want most of the time. For instance, upon leaving the line on a hard launch, the CVT almost immediately pegs the tach at an indicated 6,800 rpm for maximum power.

Out on the road, especially in Sport mode, the CVT never hesitates to bring on big revs without hunting for gears like traditional automatics. And the dreaded CVT rubber-banding has been greatly reduced. In fact, in regular drive mode, it almost lugs the engine too much in the interest of fuel economy.

That didn't surprise us much given the Altima's fuel mileage estimates. Compared to the previous Altima, the mileage numbers are up by 2 mpg in the city and 4 mpg on the highway (22 city/31 highway). We averaged 21.6 mpg during varied driving, much of which involved winding the engine out to test the limits of the CVT.

If those numbers aren't enough for you, there's also a reworked 2.5-liter four-cylinder available. It adds variable valve timing on both exhaust and intake camshafts along with an additional 7 hp for a total of 182 hp at 6,000 rpm. It's 11 pounds lighter than its predecessor and Nissan says it will return 27 city/38 mpg highway. Impressive numbers for a sedan of the Altima's size.

Still the Four-Door Sports Car
The Altima has built a reputation over the years for not only being the class hot rod, but also the class handler. But after our first stint in the new car, we had some reservations. It felt as if Nissan had put aside performance in favor of a cushy ride and a quiet interior.

But to our surprise, it turned in impressive track numbers that said otherwise. The new Altima snaked around the slalom cones much quicker than we expected of a car with such a compliant ride. Its 66.6-mph slalom run was not only a 0.5-mph improvement over the old Altima SR, but noticeably quicker than the last Camry, Accord and Fusion we tested. The Dunlop SP Sport 7000 all-season tires provide plenty of grip, helping the Altima generate 0.86g around the skid pad.

Even better than the numbers is the way the Altima's responsive steering and predictable chassis make it a fun tool with which to attack your favorite freeway on-ramp. Yes, there's still torque steer, but it's perfectly manageable and not intrusive.

NASA Knows Seats
A big part of the reason the 2013 Nissan Altima is such a pleasant place to spend time has to do with the front seats. They were inspired from NASA research on seating and posture, and Nissan says they reduce spinal loads and improve blood flow. Science aside, they really do deliver in the comfort department. In fact, they're probably in our top five for most comfortable seats ever.

The overall cabin space feels about the same, which came as no surprise, since this Altima has the same wheelbase as its predecessor. Up front, leg- and shoulder room are up slightly, while hiproom is down a notch. The rear seats have added about an inch of legroom, but the head- and foot room are a little tight.

Most of the major controls are easy to use, and everything looks high quality. Our top-of-the-line SL model was trimmed in leather, some sparse wood and a few metallic accents. It's classy-looking without being over the top. We were less impressed with the feel of some of the switchgear, though, as the radio knobs felt sticky and hard to dial in precisely, and the radio itself sounded only average.

A Future Number One?
The 2013 Altima 2.5 starts at $22,280 (including $780 destination), a $950 jump over the 2012 model, yet it's still cheaper than the entry-level Camry by $535. The cheapest V6 Altima (the 3.5 S) begins at $26,140, while our 3.5 SL started at $30,860.

The Tech package — which includes navigation with a 7-inch display screen, the aforementioned lane departure warning and rear moving object detection systems along with blind-spot warning — is a bargain at $1,090. They all work as advertised and provide another layer of safety on top of the car's standard wide assortment of passive safety features.

A few other small options (such as floor mats — seriously, how are they not standard on a car of this ilk?) brought the as-tested price to $32,620. Not cheap by any stretch, but as they say: There's a lot of car to love here.

Which leaves us with just one question: Is all this goodness enough for the Altima to overtake the Toyota Camry for top spot on the American Car List? For that to happen, John Q. Public will need to start including the Altima on any and all midsize sedan consideration lists.

And he/she should, because if you add up all of the Altima's parts and combine those with its more dynamic driving experience, it's a better car than the Camry, especially for anyone who has even an ounce of go-fast in their veins. And even if you're not interested in performance, the 2013 Nissan Altima still delivers impressive fuel economy, great seats and a compliant ride.

The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation..

What's the best-selling car in the country? Easy, right? Toyota Camry.

But what's No. 2? Honda Accord? Ford Fusion? Hyundai Sonata? Good guesses all, but wrong.

It's the Nissan Altima. That's right, Nissan's best-seller is the car that people rarely factor into the midsize sedan equation. Even we'll admit the Altima is one of those cars that slips from our minds sometimes, that is until we drive one again. Then it's, "Whoa, this car is really good — and a serious hot rod. Handles well, too."

If this fifth-generation major makeover doesn't make the Altima pop instantly to your mind in the same fashion as the Camry and Accord, it probably never will. Because the 2013 Nissan Altima just got even better. Quite a bit better, in fact.

What's New?
We could read straight from Nissan's playbook and tell you about the 2013 Altima's reskinned body that's stiffer, yet weighs 80 pounds less than before. Or how its continuously variable transmission (CVT) offers better fuel economy and acceleration.

Or we could go on about how the Tennessee-built Altima offers a hands-free text messaging assistant in addition to lane departure warning and rear moving object detection systems — both of which are segment firsts. And we could tell you the interior has been completely redesigned to the point that it's now on a level with the Maxima — especially our top-shelf, leather-clad 3.5 SL test car.

But none of that matters if this Altima doesn't feel better from behind the wheel. And after an extensive test-drive, we will tell you that this midsize, front-wheel-drive sedan is still as athletic as ever, with a little extra refinement thrown in for good measure.

A Bit of a Hot Rod
So how quick is the 2013 Nissan Altima 3.5 SL? Good question, especially since it only comes with a soul-sucking CVT while most of its competitors are now using six-, seven- and even eight-speed automatics.

How's zero to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds (5.9 seconds with a 1-foot rollout like at a drag strip) grab you? For perspective, that's over half a second quicker than the last Altima V6 we tested. It's also quicker than the 2012 Toyota Camry V6 and 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T by 0.4 second. And it beats the 2011 Honda Accord V6 by a not-insignificant 0.8 second. The Altima continues on through the quarter-mile in 14.3 seconds at 99.8 mph. So in other words, it's pretty quick for a midsize sedan.

And this is with zero additional power. Yep, the 3.5-liter V6 remains unchanged from 2012, so it's still rated at 270 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 258 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm. Smooth and plentiful power is just a throttle jab away, even at highway speeds. It's nice to know the power is there, but we did notice that the throttle delivery can be a bit abrupt, especially when pulling away from a stop.

How Did the Altima Get Quicker?
It's lighter, for one. Our 3,358-pound test car weighed in 54 pounds lighter than the last Altima 3.5 SR we tested in 2010. It's more aerodynamic, too. Nissan says the coefficient of drag has been reduced by 5 percent.

But much of the credit goes to what's arguably the world's best CVT. Sure, there aren't that many, but it's still one of the few instances where we can remember a CVT that does what we want most of the time. For instance, upon leaving the line on a hard launch, the CVT almost immediately pegs the tach at an indicated 6,800 rpm for maximum power.

Out on the road, especially in Sport mode, the CVT never hesitates to bring on big revs without hunting for gears like traditional automatics. And the dreaded CVT rubber-banding has been greatly reduced. In fact, in regular drive mode, it almost lugs the engine too much in the interest of fuel economy.

That didn't surprise us much given the Altima's fuel mileage estimates. Compared to the previous Altima, the mileage numbers are up by 2 mpg in the city and 4 mpg on the highway (22 city/31 highway). We averaged 21.6 mpg during varied driving, much of which involved winding the engine out to test the limits of the CVT.

If those numbers aren't enough for you, there's also a reworked 2.5-liter four-cylinder available. It adds variable valve timing on both exhaust and intake camshafts along with an additional 7 hp for a total of 182 hp at 6,000 rpm. It's 11 pounds lighter than its predecessor and Nissan says it will return 27 city/38 mpg highway. Impressive numbers for a sedan of the Altima's size.

Still the Four-Door Sports Car
The Altima has built a reputation over the years for not only being the class hot rod, but also the class handler. But after our first stint in the new car, we had some reservations. It felt as if Nissan had put aside performance in favor of a cushy ride and a quiet interior.

But to our surprise, it turned in impressive track numbers that said otherwise. The new Altima snaked around the slalom cones much quicker than we expected of a car with such a compliant ride. Its 66.6-mph slalom run was not only a 0.5-mph improvement over the old Altima SR, but noticeably quicker than the last Camry, Accord and Fusion we tested. The Dunlop SP Sport 7000 all-season tires provide plenty of grip, helping the Altima generate 0.86g around the skid pad.

Even better than the numbers is the way the Altima's responsive steering and predictable chassis make it a fun tool with which to attack your favorite freeway on-ramp. Yes, there's still torque steer, but it's perfectly manageable and not intrusive.

NASA Knows Seats
A big part of the reason the 2013 Nissan Altima is such a pleasant place to spend time has to do with the front seats. They were inspired from NASA research on seating and posture, and Nissan says they reduce spinal loads and improve blood flow. Science aside, they really do deliver in the comfort department. In fact, they're probably in our top five for most comfortable seats ever.

The overall cabin space feels about the same, which came as no surprise, since this Altima has the same wheelbase as its predecessor. Up front, leg- and shoulder room are up slightly, while hiproom is down a notch. The rear seats have added about an inch of legroom, but the head- and foot room are a little tight.

Most of the major controls are easy to use, and everything looks high quality. Our top-of-the-line SL model was trimmed in leather, some sparse wood and a few metallic accents. It's classy-looking without being over the top. We were less impressed with the feel of some of the switchgear, though, as the radio knobs felt sticky and hard to dial in precisely, and the radio itself sounded only average.

A Future Number One?
The 2013 Altima 2.5 starts at $22,280 (including $780 destination), a $950 jump over the 2012 model, yet it's still cheaper than the entry-level Camry by $535. The cheapest V6 Altima (the 3.5 S) begins at $26,140, while our 3.5 SL started at $30,860.

The Tech package — which includes navigation with a 7-inch display screen, the aforementioned lane departure warning and rear moving object detection systems along with blind-spot warning — is a bargain at $1,090. They all work as advertised and provide another layer of safety on top of the car's standard wide assortment of passive safety features.

A few other small options (such as floor mats — seriously, how are they not standard on a car of this ilk?) brought the as-tested price to $32,620. Not cheap by any stretch, but as they say: There's a lot of car to love here.

Which leaves us with just one question: Is all this goodness enough for the Altima to overtake the Toyota Camry for top spot on the American Car List? For that to happen, John Q. Public will need to start including the Altima on any and all midsize sedan consideration lists.

And he/she should, because if you add up all of the Altima's parts and combine those with its more dynamic driving experience, it's a better car than the Camry, especially for anyone who has even an ounce of go-fast in their veins. And even if you're not interested in performance, the 2013 Nissan Altima still delivers impressive fuel economy, great seats and a compliant ride.

The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation..

Used 2013 Nissan Altima listings and inventory:
Shop Edmunds' used car, SUV, and truck listings of over 6 million pre-owned vehicles to find a cheap used and certified pre-owned (CPO) 2013 Nissan Altimas for sale near Ashburn VA. There are currently 1,690 used and CPO 2013 Altimas listed for sale in your area, with list prices as low as 7,380 and mileage as low as 8,223. Simply research the type of used car, SUV, or truck you're interested in and then select a vehicle from our massive database to find cheap pre-owned vehicles for sale near you. Once you have identified a used vehicle you're interested in, check the Carfax and Autocheck vehicle history reports, read dealer reviews, and find out what other owners paid for the used 2013 Nissan Altima. Then select Edmunds' special offers, perks, deals, and incentives to contact the dealer of your choice and save up to 300 on a used or CPO 2013 Altima available from one of 2,630 dealerships in your area.

What's a good price on a used 2013 Nissan Altima ?

Save up to $300 on one of 147 used 2013 Nissan Altimas for sale at dealerships within 25 miles of Ashburn, Virginia with prices as low as $9362 as of Apr 27, 2018, based on data from 18 dealers and 136 consumer-driven dealer ratings ranging from 1 to 5 out of 5 stars.

Price comparisons for used 2013 Nissan Altima trim styles:

The used 2013 Nissan Altima 2.5 SV is priced around $11370 with average odometer reading of 89436 miles.

The used 2013 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL is priced around $10869 with average odometer reading of 80001 miles.

The used 2013 Nissan Altima 3.5 SL is priced around $12700 with average odometer reading of 59307 miles.

The used 2013 Nissan Altima 3.5 S is priced around $14998 with average odometer reading of 35000 miles.

The used 2013 Nissan Altima 2.5 S is priced around $10965 with average odometer reading of 63876 miles.

The used 2013 Nissan Altima 3.5 SV is priced around $12997 with average odometer reading of 68352 miles.

Shop with Edmunds for perks and special offers on used cars, trucks, and SUVs near Ashburn, Virginia. Doing so could save you hundreds or thousands of dollars. Edmunds also provides consumer-driven dealership sales and service reviews to help you make informed decisions about what cars to buy and where to buy them.

What options are available on the 2013 Nissan Altima?

Available Nissan Altima 2013 Submodel Types: Sedan, Coupe

Available Nissan Altima 2013 Trims: 2.5 SR, 2.5 S, 2.5 S w/Prod. End 06/17, 2.5 SV w/Prod. End 06/17, 2.5 SL, 2.5 SV, 3.5 SR, 2.5 SR w/Prod. End 06/17, 3.5 SE, 2.5 SL w/Prod. End 06/17, 3.5 SV, 2.5, 3.5 SR w/Prod. End 06/17, 2.5 w/Prod. End 06/17, 3.5 SL, 3.5 SL w/Prod. End 06/17, GXE, GLE, 3.5 S, XE

Exterior Colors: Gun Metallic, Scarlet Ember, Glacier White, Deep Blue Pearl, Winter Frost Pearl, Super Black, Solid White, Brilliant Silver Metallic, Dark Slate Metallic, Pearl White, Metallic Slate, Brilliant Silver, Navy Blue Metallic, Java Metallic, Ocean Gray Metallic, Storm Blue, Cayenne Red, Radiant Silver Metallic, Tuscan Sun Metallic, Saharan Stone, Majestic Blue Metallic, Sheer Silver, Crimson Black Metallic, Polished Pewter, Radiant Silver, Red Brick Metallic, Saharan Stone Metallic, Smoke, Azure Blue Metallic, Code Red Metallic, Coral Sand Metallic, Metallic Slate Metallic, Precision Grey, Sonoma Sunset Metallic, Dark Slate, Majestic Blue, Mystic Emerald, Red Alert, Sonoran Sand Metallic, Metallic Jade, Precision Grey Metallic, Satin White Pearl, Winter Frost, Winter Frost Metallic, Cloud White, Crimson Black, Mystic Emerald Metallic, Platinum Metallic, Polished Pewter Metallic, Sandrift Beige, Satin White, Seascape, Sheer Silver Metallic, Sonoma Sunset, Velvet Beige

Interior Colors: Black leatherette, Unique Sport Interior cloth, Beige cloth, Charcoal cloth, Charcoal velour, Beige leather, Charcoal leather, Blond velour, Blond cloth, Frost velour, Charcoal, Blond leather, Blond, Frost cloth, Frost

Popular Features: Keyless Entry/Start, Pre-collision safety system, Automatic Emergency Braking, Alarm, Audio and cruise controls on steering wheel, Aux Audio Inputs, Fold Flat Rear Seats, Rear Bench Seats, Stability Control, Tire Pressure Warning, Trip Computer, Bluetooth, Power Driver Seat, Adaptive Cruise Control, Post-collision safety system, Remote Start, Back-up camera, Auto Climate Control, Multi-Zone Climate Control, USB Inputs, Upgraded Stereo, Sunroof/Moonroof, Heated seats, Leather Seats, Navigation, Parking sensors, Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane Departure Warning, Apple Carplay/Android Auto, Upgraded Headlights

Engine/Mechanics: 4, 6 cylinders

Transmission: AUTOMATIC, MANUAL

Fuel Types: regular unleaded, premium unleaded (required), premium unleaded (recommended)

Drivetrains: front wheel drive

Used 2013 Nissan Altima Overview

The used 2013 Nissan Altima is offered in the following submodels: Sedan, Coupe. Available styles include 2.5 SV 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl CVT), 2.5 S 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl CVT), and 2.5 SL 4dr Sedan w/Prod. End 11/12 (2.5L 4cyl CVT). Pre-owned Altima models are available with a 0-liter gas engine, with output up to 0 hp, depending on engine type. The used 2013 Altima comes with front wheel drive. Available transmissions include: continuously variable-speed automatic.