Nissans were once dangerous cars to purchase because you were never sure if you could find the part you'd need if it broke down, and you never knew how much you were going to end up paying. Back when Nissan was Datsun and the Z only went up to 240, there were a few things you had to remember. Datsuns are very reliable and they almost never break down. When Datsuns break down you will probably have a hard time finding the part you need. Do not leave your Datsun out in the rain for more than three days or it will rust. Today, now that Datsuns are Nissans, they seem to have fixed that pesky rusting problem, parts are plentiful and cheap and Nissans are still very reliable automobiles.
If you are simply trying to fix your Nissan, you can find practically any Nissan auto part at your local auto parts store. Older Nissans (pre-90's) often have exhaust problems, and they also tend to burn oil. If one of the Nissan auto parts you need is a new exhaust system, and you want to try your hand at the banging and welding required installing it yourself, you can either pick it up or have it ordered from any local auto part store such as an Auto Zone or a NAPA Auto Parts store. If your older Nissan is burning oil, you may just need new head gaskets or you may need your piston rings replaced or worse. If you just need head gaskets, that is a pretty simple do-it-yourself job that starts with the parts you picked up at your local auto parts store. If you need new piston rings or worse, you can take that to a mechanic to have it fixed, or you may want to sink that money into a newer 240 SX.
If you have a newer car, the Nissan auto parts you want are probably not for repairs but for racing and customizing. There are endless ways to customize any Nissan from an Altima to a 350 Z. On the outside, you may want to add, front and rear spoilers, or a wing, new reflective headlight and taillight kits, fog lights, a hood scoop, tinted windows, a straight pipe with high flow muffler and a three inch diameter tail pipe, shiny new rims, a lowered racing suspension and wide sticky tires. Under the hood you may want to add new pulleys, plug wires, plugs, air filter, headers, fuel injection ports, computer chips, another turbo, a supercharger, and of course a nitrous kit for drag racing. Some of this stuff you can find at your local auto parts store and some of it you may need to order from catalogs and websites that specialize in Nissan auto parts. Websites like importperformanceparts.net and autopartscorner.com offer a wide variety of specialty racing parts for your model and year.
While the older ones may be more of a challenge to keep running with the parts you have readily available, today's Nissans are as reliable as ever and there is no shortage of Nissan auto parts to keep the car running well and running faster.
By Alex Turman