Used 2008 Nissan Sentra 2.0 S 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl CVT) Consumer Reviews
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Warm Slippers
Rimantas Aukstuolis, Berea, OH, 10/09/2015
updated 10/15/2020
Nissan Sentra 2.0 S 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl CVT)
91 of 92 people found this review helpful
We bought the car new in 2008 and now have 111,000 miles. Normal maintenance, replaced part of exhaust system. Otherwise totally reliable.The "expert" review is critical of the ride smoothness. Let me be clear. This is the most comfortable riding car I have ever owned in over 40 years of car ownership. I attribute it to the French, Renault heritage of the chassis platform. If I have a criticism of the suspension it may be that the smoothness of the ride does sacrifice some handling characteristics in that it is not nearly as sure footed as my Honda Civic or Subaru Legacy (rock solid). Build quality appears cheap but is functional and durable. Exterior I believe is classic. Smooth lines. Subsequent model years have messed up a fundamentally clean style. Interior is nothing fancy but comfortable seats, roomy with well placed controls. We bought a hybrid Honda Civic the same time we bought the Sentra for about $8,000 more. Honda was built better with higher quality components, inside and out and better gas milage but we sold the Honda and kept the Sentra for "around town" transport. It's just more comfortable, easier access, more capacity and almost as reliable and trouble free. Like an old pair of well worn slippers. Update: April 2017- still going strong at 111,000 miles. No serious issues. Great for around town. An additional thought. I have experienced relatively poor handling in snow despite using winter tires. A tire store (which has also done repairs and has an incentive to find things wrong) did note an alignment problem in the back end which they said could be fixed with shims but the process of fixing it could rapidly escalate if they broke any of the fittings which were corroded. I opted not to fix and drive on, being careful in snow (with winter tires) and not noticing any appreciable, unusual tire wear. I mention this as there have been other postings which refer to the same alignment problem. At October 2016, 119000 miles still going strong. Headlight burned out and I had garage replace all front lights because change meant removing headlight assembly, not just twisting out a socket as on other cars. Also developed hole in exhaust ahead of catalytic converter. Garage rewelded and saved me $1900 for new converter. My old Honda had stainless exhaust which is significant. Passenger side auto door lock now buzzes when I unlock. Annoying. It will fail at some point. Repair isn't worth it as it would require disassembly of inside door panel. April 2017 = 125,000 miles. New tires (Kumho). Rolls right along. October 2017 = 127,000. Oil change, no issues. October 2018 = 135,000 no issues. Replaced rear drum brakes and pads (first time!). April 2020 = over 145,000 miles. Only issue was rotting rubber intake tube between air cleaner and manifold. This caused engine to stop at low rev's. Easy fix for under $200.00. Otherwise runs very well.
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Snappy Sentra
Steve Rich, New Berlin, WI, 08/12/2015
Nissan Sentra 2.0 S 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl CVT)
22 of 23 people found this review helpful
This 08 Sentra is called the big mans little sedan,four six footers will be content. Rocket launch acceleration is not in this cars DNA, but hyper milling is the order of the day, every day, and that's how I drive it, it makes me feel like "Cool Hand Luke". Car has been very dependable and very predictable,which is good! One Big Secret to NISSANS is; any CVT Nissan produced from 03-10 has a 10 year, 120,000 mile warranty on the transmission (I called Nissan direct and they read the memo to me over the phone...twice). They had some bad CVT parts out there and wanted to cover their bases! Well done Nissan. I would like to see some better sheet metal designs come out of Nissan, hopefully Carlos will do that (CEO of Nissan). Nice car, I have put about 30,000 miles on it with no problems, well ok the factory tires could be better! Also this 08 Sentra has a nice seat height!
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- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
2008 Nissan Sentra for sale near you
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I love my Sentra!
jessbugg, Winter Haven, FL, 08/05/2012
Nissan Sentra 2.0 S 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl CVT)
10 of 10 people found this review helpful
I bought my Sentra used from a dealership in early 2010, it was originally a rental car so had a few extra miles on it. I have put over 40,000 miles on it mainly driving back and forth from TN to FL for school and I have never had any problems. It's a great car, gets good gas mileage on the highway and I have not had problems with an "uncomfortable ride" I only recently replaced my tires & brake pads but the car has 70,000+ miles on it now. I've had no issues with the engine or anything under the hood, but I do get regular oil changes and maintenance checks since I do so much highway driving. Everyone always thinks my car is newer than an 08, I love it!
Good basic transportation with suspension issues
vtgeoboy, Englewood, CO, 09/06/2012
Nissan Sentra 2.0 S 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl CVT)
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
I bought a used 2008 Sentra with about 60k miles. Overall it is a good car, very spacious interior, and good gas mileage (35 mpg on highway). However, there have been suspension issues. As you can see on some Nissan owners' forums, the rear wheels are permanently out of alignment. This is an easy fix - a tire shop can install a shim kit. If you don't do that, you will burn through tires. Soon after that, one of the front wheel bearings started making a loud rumbling. That was replaced, but the ABS sensor was rusted into the hub and had to be replaced - ABS sensor is $200. Fuel filler door stopped working - plastic cable end broke.
Reliable, economical and not bad looking
silverelan, Maxwell, NE, 12/26/2014
Nissan Sentra 2.0 S 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl CVT)
9 of 10 people found this review helpful
Wife and I bought our Sentra new and have been very happy with it after 85000 miles. Just change the oil, follow the maintenance schedule and slap on some new tires as needed. I love the smooth CVT with no shift points, the engine power won't win any drag races but gets the job done. I have taken the Sentra on several West Coast road trips over mountain passes and even fully loaded we make it thru just fine. Good gas mileage on the freeway though I struggle around 23-25mpg in the city. Newer cars will do better in town but thats to be expected. Plenty roomy inside and the interior has held up well over the years. Overall we have been happy with the vehicle.