The end of the road?

[Tim Rogers]

Cynthia,
As a fellow NX2000 owner, (3 of them, the one for the street has 140,000
miles) I can tell you that with some decent care, the car should last you
until you decide to drive it to the junkyard after it has had one too many
IL winters.
For your alternator, axles, condenser, T-Top and tail light, try
http://www.car-part.com to find out the availability and prices on some used
parts.
Only the alternator has to come out of an SR20DE car, the other parts can
come out of an NX1600.  I think you should be able to get all of the used
parts for the price of the new factory alternator.  An independent repair
shop (see if you can get a recommendation for a good one in you area,
especially one that specializes in at least imports, if not Japanese cars or
just Nissans) would be willing to install the parts, especially if you get
the alternator tested at an AutoZone or another parts place that does that
kind of thing for free.  Whatever you do, do not buy an alternator from a
parts shop, they do not last (I had one that lasted one day.)
You can look at your situation this way:
Your car is Paid For.
You can pay a few hundred dollars per year in repairs and still come out way
ahead of having to make payments on another car.
Get the rust fixed before it spreads.
If the engine is feeling a little weak, have the compression, O2 sensor and
the MAF grounding tested and you may be able to nail down the problem.
Feel free to ask us for more details or advice on how to do some of these
repairs yourself.

Tim Rogers
-93 NX T-top -needs motor work
-91 NX - Racecar-to-be
-91 NX - Parts car!
-75 Silverado - Rusty Beast
-01 Astro - Work Van, Tow Beast