 I've owned quite a few cars of all makes and models, and the Altima SL is one of the more stylish vehicles out there for the money. It comes with many options standard that you would pay extra for on Hondas or Toyotas. The ride and performance are decent for the price. Having owned the other Japanese vehicles, I thought I'd give the Altima a try since I really like the body style. With all that said....I did nothing but basic routine maintenance on my Civic amd Corolla up until both were sold with about 200K miles on each. My Altima had turned 68K and been in the shop 3 times for things such as....belt pully assembly failing, front axel replacemrnt, rotor replacement. Thank god I purchased the extended warranty which covered most of the exspense.   Aside from the inconvienance, it is a nice riding car. The local  Nissan dealership has been great to deal with. While I'll probably keep the vehicle until time for a replacement.....not sure I'll buy another Nissan?   Update: It's now 2018, and my Altima has all in all been a decent choice. At 137K miles, its been a better than average commuter car. The new Altima's have even better fuel mileage. I will eventually turn the car over to my daughter, and would definitely consider another Altima...or upgrading to a Maxima or Infiniti.