[mydon]

I'm in the market for a new SUV. I've decided to retire my Nissan 240SX that I've had for 13 years, has 200k miles on it and has been flawless. My previous car was a Nissan 200SX that I had for about 8 years...so safe to say I am a Nissan guy and swear by them.

With that said...my concern is the CVT transmission on the Murano. I like to keep my cars for 8+ years...so my question is basically what the long term outlook looks like for the CVT's? I think they're pretty new...at least to the US....so am I taking a gamble getting a Murano with the idea that I'll be keeping it for so long?

Also...if I decide to get the Murano...I've read some articles about holdbacks on cars that the dealers get. Is this realistically negotiable when purchasing a new Murano?

 

[MightyMo]

Besides initial teething issues, looks like the CVTs are holding up pretty well so far. No idea if they will go 200K, but 100K doesn't seem out of the question for now and we'll just have to wait and see as the fleet gets older on how they hold up.

 

[Tyler_Canada]

I have 81,000 miles on mine already, no issues at all. I've been pretty hard on it.

 

[ekaxel]

Nissan is putting the CVT in all US Maxima and Altima for 2007.

 

[njjoe]

mydon-

CVT Reliability?
The MO's CVT is still too new to say for sure if it can go 200,000 miles. However, there is no reason to assume that it won't. It's just that the oldest MOs on the road are just over three years old so we have no basis for predicting long-term reliability.

Is the holdback negotiable?
EVERYTHING is negotiable when buying a new car.

Go ahead, make the jump, you won't be disappointed. The MO is a fun and reliable car.

-njjoe

 

[Eric L.]

Like everyone said above, the CVT does not appear any less reliable than a normal transmission. Nissan even decided to put the same CVT in the new Altima and Maxima (and a similar CVT in the upcoming Sentra and Versa) because it has been the most reliable automatic for Nissan in the past few years (read it in a press release somewhere).

 

[mydon]

Ok...I decided to go for it. I have one more question for you guys...might not be the right forum for it but what the heck. I found the color/model/options that I want at a local dealer. The problem is that this particular dealer puts pin striping on all the trucks they get on their lot (they say it's painted on and not a sticker). Personally, I absolutely hate pin striping and this particular striping just looks cheesy to me. They said it's not a problem that they can take it off. My question is...will them taking it off damage the clear coat on the car? I know they'll buff the crap out of it but I'm thinking a month down the road might I notice imperfections on the car? And if so...would the warranty cover this? Yes, I'm very picky when I'm spending $30k+ of my money.

Sorry for all the questions...this is my first "new" car and it's quite a bit of money so I just want to be careful and get exactly what I want.

 

[njjoe]

mydon-

If you hate pin-striping that much then insist that they get you a car without pin-striping. They can get one from another dealer in the area or you may have to wait a week or so for their next shipment of MOs. I would avoid any MO where they have taken the pin-striping off.

Thirty thousand dollars is a lot of money and you have every right to be picky about your car. Don't settle, you'll only regret it later.

-njjoe

 

[9231]

Mydon:

Lots of good stuff here. Let me just add that on the CVT issue, I do not believe that any other manufacturer has as much experience of success with CVT's. The current CVT in Murano's is actually the third generation CVT. Earlier versions were suited only to smaller, lighter cars (BMW uses a lesser duty version in the Mini Cooper).

I would not worry overly much about the transmission so long as regular maintenance is followed. There simply doesn't seem to be a disproportionate share of CVT failures vs. standard transmissions.

As for negotations, start invoice prices and go up (or down!) from there. As earlier posted, EVERYTHING is negotiable. Whether you get what you want depends on supply, demand and your willingness to stick it out.

Good luck!

ps: the 2006's seem to be the best Murano's yet both in terms of features and in Nissan being able to iron out the kinks. One of the Company's engineers told me that there have been significant improvements made in the assembly line process in terms of fit and finish. Darn! Why didn't I wait just two more years!!! :2:

 

[mydon]

Thanks everybody for the advice. I've decided to go for it...it's a little higher priced then I originally went out to spend (started out looking at Rav4's) but the Murano is too nice to resist...you only live once right?

As for the pin striping issue...I decided to ask for a Murano from another lot instead of having them take the stripe off. After pushing them a little for information on the removal process...they admitted that if they take the stripe off (with some type of solution they use) and 6 months later I notice fading or any other problems with the clear coat, it's not covered under warranty. I don't feel like putting $35k on the table and rolling the dice.