OK. There's this old guy selling a dark metallic grey '92 Sentra
SE-R. He is only a few minutes from my house. I will never find one for sale this close ever again. That said, it has 220,000 miles on it. I know. However, he is the original owner and put them on commuting to work on the freeway. He also has run mobile 1 synthetic and redline tranny oil religously since purchasing, and has all paperwork. He has fixed all common problems including 5th gear popout. He claims the engine is still running strong. Could the synthetic have kept this engine strong? It also has Stillen aftermarket intake,exhaust, shocks and brakes. Never raced and the interior and exterior is prestine. I only want this as an autocrosser for STS, but man I'm worried about dumping cash into that engine. What makes him crazy you say? He's asking a wopping $3000 for it! I think he's going to be really tough to bring down, but is this even worth $2500? Thanks.

I race my car in STS with just over 200k miles on it. A guy on this forum recently ran a 13.3 on his 240k motor. I know of a couple 200k+ SE-R's that routinely make it to track days while also doubling as daily drivers. Worst case is you have to put in an imported motor, which should cost around $600. (Although that is a problem in STS if you end up with a higher compression motor)

I would try and talk him down some, but overall it's a good deal IMO.

I think $3,000 is to high $2,500 is still a little too high, but then again it sounds like it has been taken care of and it has highway miles.

My 92' was kinda banged up and had alot of little problems that I'm still fixing. W/ a 121k miles I only had to shell out $1700 for it. Even with money I've been putting into it to fix it I haven't reached $2500 yet.

Offer him a really low price in cash, then convince him to take it :D

A "religiously" maintained SE-R with 220k miles is a better car than a neglected beater with 75k on the clock. The SR20DE is a solid engine as long as you keep oil in it. If for some reason the compression goes sour or you spin a bearing, JDM Primera SR20DEs are what, $500? You can have an imported engine for less than it would cost to fix any major internal problem - you have a safety net if anything were to go wrong.

Work down the price and get it. Slate grey SE-Rs aren't common, and well-maintained examples of SE-Rs in general are getting harder to find.

What makes him crazy you say? He's asking a wopping $3000 for it!
Was I the only one who clicked expecting to find a story about a weird old hermit with a garage full of old newspapers and toenail clippings? ;)

Thanks for everyone's input. It's been very helpful. I'll let him sweat for a while, and then start haggling with him. If I do a rebuild myself, what does it typically cost? Thanks.

Not all JDM motors are high compression. It's actually one of the SR world's biggest myth. The only way to check is with a compression test though.

If you don't believe me, Frank Orozco put a high port JDM engine in his 200SX and runs the FMAX Stage II kit on it...there's no way he could've put down 350whp at 22psi on a 10:1 motor.

So, if the engine needs to be swapped, 9.5:1 motors are out there, you just have to do some more investigative work. Good luck!

is the jdm swap worth the time if your motor is good already? i mean, i only have 83k on my motor right now and she's running incredibly strong so i'm not really concerned about it. i was just curious as to whether swapping in a jdm while your sr20 is still in great shape is worth it.

Originally posted by Monsoon
is the jdm swap worth the time if your motor is good already? i mean, i only have 83k on my motor right now and she's running incredibly strong so i'm not really concerned about it. i was just curious as to whether swapping in a jdm while your sr20 is still in great shape is worth it.


Hey whats up Monsoon! I honestly think it is not worth it. I did feel a little power increase but I would have never done it if my motor was still alive (spun bearing) !

is the jdm swap worth the time if your motor is good already? i mean, i only have 83k on my motor right now and she's running incredibly strong so i'm not really concerned about it. i was just curious as to whether swapping in a jdm while your sr20 is still in great shape is worth it.


NO your engine is still a spring chicken

I spend 3.5K on my 91 SE-R

but then again when I got it it only have 63k miles on it =)