Used Car Of the Day: 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

Today's used car of the day is a Chris Tonn special. It's a 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R. And it's affordable.


That's the good news. The price is a low $3,500. The bad news is the body appears to need some paint work, and there is one rust spot.

On the hand, the seller says there are no mods or major mechanical issues and the car runs well. On yet the other hand, it doesn't have ABS or a sunroof.

If you're a Nissan stan looking for a fun project car on a budget, this could be for you. If you're looking for something, um, more aesthetically pleasing you might want to keep browsing.

Nissan fans, hurry up before our own Chris Tonn adds this to his fleet.

[Image: Seller]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by  subscribing to our newsletter.

Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

More by Tim Healey

Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 26 comments
  • Z9 Z9 on Nov 05, 2022

    I owned a '91 NX2000 which was the "more attractive" version of the SE-R and remember it fondly. The thing that sold me on this platform was, first, being given a regular Sentra for a month when my VW was trying hard to be a Lemon Law case. Then I decided to test drive an SE-R and met a car salesman in San Francisco who, before letting me drive the car, took me on a highly irresponsible and thrilling drive on nearby city streets. The guy was a physics postdoc and said he was selling cars for fun.


    One thing I remember from driving the Sentra was the incredible visibility. Visibility is an underrated fun factor.


    Is the SE-R a future classic? Don't ask me, I have terrible judgment on that account.

    • FreedMike FreedMike on Nov 06, 2022

      Nice examples of this car are going for decent money, but not modern classic money.


  • Wjtinfwb Wjtinfwb on Dec 07, 2022

    One of Nissan's best, from their last days as a scrappy, Mazda type builder of fun cars. Too bad those days are gone.

  • Amy I owned this exact car from 16 until 19 (1990 to 1993) I miss this car immensely and am on the search to own it again, although it looks like my search may be in vane. It was affectionatly dubbed, " The Dragon Wagon," and hauled many a teenager around the city of Charlotte, NC. For me, it was dependable and trustworthy. I was able to do much of the maintenance myself until I was struck by lightning and a month later the battery exploded. My parents did have the entire electrical system redone and he was back to new. I hope to find one in the near future and make it my every day driver. I'm a dreamer.
  • Jeff Overall I prefer the 59 GM cars to the 58s because of less chrome but I have a new appreciation of the 58 Cadillac Eldorados after reading this series. I use to not like the 58 Eldorados but I now don't mind them. Overall I prefer the 55-57s GMs over most of the 58-60s GMs. For the most part I like the 61 GMs. Chryslers I like the 57 and 58s. Fords I liked the 55 thru 57s but the 58s and 59s not as much with the exception of Mercury which I for the most part like all those. As the 60s progressed the tail fins started to go away and the amount of chrome was reduced. More understated.
  • Theflyersfan Nissan could have the best auto lineup of any carmaker (they don't), but until they improve one major issue, the best cars out there won't matter. That is the dealership experience. Year after year in multiple customer service surveys from groups like JD Power and CR, Nissan frequency scrapes the bottom. Personally, I really like the never seen new Z, but after having several truly awful Nissan dealer experiences, my shadow will never darken a Nissan showroom. I'm painting with broad strokes here, but maybe it is so ingrained in their culture to try to take advantage of people who might not be savvy enough in the buying experience that they by default treat everyone like idiots and saps. All of this has to be frustrating to Nissan HQ as they are improving their lineup but their dealers drag them down.
  • SPPPP I am actually a pretty big Alfa fan ... and that is why I hate this car.
  • SCE to AUX They're spending billions on this venture, so I hope so.Investing during a lull in the EV market seems like a smart move - "buy low, sell high" and all that.Key for Honda will be achieving high efficiency in its EVs, something not everybody can do.
Next