$20K Nissan Sentra SE-R from 1992 Is Bland on Top, Spicy Underneath
A quick glance at this little black coupe doesn’t do much for the eyes. Its shape is pretty standard, bland ’90s economy car. Like the car you’d see pulling up to your curb to deliver a pizza. It’s cleaner than most ’92 Nissans out there, but it ain’t perfect, either. There are 87,382 miles on the odometer as well as the usual dings, chips, cracks and scratches that come with those miles. The underbody is a little dirty and grimy. Yet it sold this week for $19,547 (including buyer’s fee). That’s dangerously close to the cost of a brand-new 2024 Sentra, with no miles and a warranty. The reason why this old one sold so well comes down to the three letters on the trunk lid: SE-R.
The decade or so from the late 1980s to late 1990s was a nice time for fans of sport compact cars. We were spoiled for hot versions of Integras, Civics, CRXs, Preludes, Eclipses, and Celicas. Nissan, meanwhile, had the rear-wheel drive 240SX and, starting in 1991, the front-drive Sentra SE-R. Built on the third-generation Sentra, aka the B13 to Nissan nerds, the SE-R (“Special Edition Racing”) came with very little to distinguish it from a regular Sentra. No look-at-me scoops or spoilers, here. Road & Track’s original test noted that it has “the appearance of a spruced-up grocery getter rather than the shark it really is.”
What gave the shark its teeth was the 2.0-liter SR20DE twin-cam four-cylinder that screamed to 7500 rpm and returned 140 horsepower to propel the 2500-pound commuter coupe body. A five-speed gearbox, limited-slip differential, and four-wheel disc brakes rounded out the package.
Car media at the time loved the Sentra SE-R, praising its driving dynamics and value for money. The “dream of a brand-new $12,000 BMW come true,” sang Car and Driver, and the first-gen SE-R has also been called a ’90s reincarnation of the beloved BMW 2002.
Nissan sold the B13 Sentra SE-R until 1994, and it used the badge on its spiced-up Sentras again for the B14, B15, and B16 platforms. There aren’t reliable production numbers for the B13 cars but, perhaps even more so than some of the hot Hondas they rubbed shoulders with, these were absolutely not cars people thought would be collectible classics one day. They were cheap when they were new, and then they quickly got cheaper, so most lived hard lives and left the road years ago.
A mint, original, 445-mile 1992 Sentra SE-R sold a couple of years ago for $35,175 (and was a no-sale a year and 226 miles later at a $24K high bid), but that car was a unicorn and likely the best B13 Sentra SE-R in the world. Few other clean ones have popped up for sale in recent years, and none have brought remotely close to to either of the high bids on that ultra-low-mile one.
The price on this week’s Sentra is strong, but this is also a strong car for what it is. Other than the usual wear and tear, it has old tires, a wonky stereo, and some minor corrosion underneath. Nobody would pay a premium for a Porsche or probably even a Toyota in this condition. But anybody pining for a clean B13 can’t exactly be picky. The winning bidder put it succinctly: “phew…that was wild! I had a ’93 before and just couldn’t let it go.” Fair enough.
Great little car, I remember it well. A buddy had one back in the day, we used to go out hooning in it. Looked like any other Sentra of the time, but it had a killer heart underneath. Looked at it at the time and needed 4 doors so I bought tthe Jetta GLX instead. FYI-the original Infiniti G20 was basically the 4-door version of this car.
I owned a red SE-R new from 1992, and parted with it in 1998 after modding and driving the hell out of it for 120,000 miles. I’ve driven faster, and I’ve driven nicer, but I’ve not daily-driven a more reliably satifying analog experience before or since.
Drove one for a while ehh ok but not great.
The sleeper looks are exactly what made these cars so cool. There’s a beauty in their simplicity.
This period of time had lots of fun and affordable “sporty” cars. Personally around this time I was into the Mitsubishi Eclipse / Eagle Talon twins. A little more functional with the hatchback.
I own a 1992 32k original mile example in red that I will be selling in the spring after I do a deep detail on it. It’s a total blast to drive, and like new inside. These things are a blast to drive hard, and will take it with grace. Hope mine brings a good number once I get it out there.
Ah I don’t think so had one 5years ago mint sold it for 3 thousand yes an ser still not collectables sorry who ever thinks that wrong I know about cars
And I know about cars, too. ;<)
Sold mine for 3 so I’ll give you 3
Bought my ‘92 red SE-R new, it was my daily driver for eight years and 125,000 miles. Fun and reliable!
I wanted to buy an SE-R new, but all of the local dealerships did not have them in stock. Instead, I traded my ’91 SHO (sho enough, lots of issues is main reason for returning to the import fold) for a loaded Maxima SE. Different kind of car than the SE-R, but felt like a smarter buy, and I still had plenty of fun in that car.
Mr. Newton finds the ’92 Sentra’s body style to be uninspiring, but I find it clean and attractive. Compare it to my wife’s 2023 Camry. The new Camry’s body is busy with all sorts of complex lines and angles that give me a headache to look at. It’s also a pain to wash. So even if this ’92 Sentra SE-R sold for almost as much as a new model, I prefer the ’92. Again using my wife’s new Toyota for comparison, the Camry is not only ugly, but gratuitously complex. It has electronic “safety features” that attempt to take over driving when you make emergency avoidance maneuvers which are very unsettling. You need a $3,000 electronic tool to replace the rear brake pads. In a few years when electronics begin to go wrong, it will be an expensive car to keep on the road. But the beautiful ’92 Sentra remains home mechanic friendly. Easy to service and repair, yet dependable and fun to drive. There’s a lot to love in these once under valued nineties cars. You will miss them when they’re gone.
Had a white 91. Drove it into the ground and it never stopped putting out. Even after it lost 5th gear at 175k miles, I would scream it in fourth down the parkway at 100 and still could not break that engine. Ended up trading in for more doors and seats (kids). What fun it was to drive that thing.
I remember these. They were definitely overachievers. I would not even consider ANY Nissan today (except the Z), but back then, Nissan had a few good cars.
I bought a 92 with about 20K on it as my first car back in ’92. Great car – I kept it for about 5 years and 117K miles. The red paint faded pretty badly in the Arizona sun but it was a fun car to drive. A great contemporary competitor to the ’91 BMW 318is, of which I owned 3 examples a decade or two later.
I bought one new in ’92 to replace my very used ’84 GTI (also bought new) at the time. The SE-R was pretty quick for the era and handled well. I always though the steering felt too boosted, especially coming from the GTI. Overall though, fun car at the bargain price. My SE-R blew the motor with about 75,000 on the clock, assuming this was the rare event. Wound up selling off cheap to a Nissan/SE-R fan who replaced the motor, wonder if he still has it…