[Vwdiesel] Nissan

[William J Toensing]

Yes. I owned a 1983 Nissan Sentra diesel from 1983 (bought new) till Nov. 1985 when I bought a 1985 Mazda 626 diesel & sold the Sentra. I am one of those who keeps track of MPG from tank to tank & the overall average for 50,000 miles was 42 MPG, all but about 5,000 miles in LA traffic. After I sold it, I added EVERY gallon bought down to the third decimal point & divided the total gallons used into the aprox. 50,000 miles driven to get at that figure of 42 MPG. When I sold it, it was overheating somewhat & had a black scum in the coolant overflow tank indicative of a head gasket leak. I didn't know that at the time I sold it, but found this out from subsequent experience. The Sentra diesel came to the USA in only the 2 door form with a 4 speed manual transmission, to the best of my knowledge. I think, from the picture I would buy it with a price of $500, or possibly less. If the engine is shot, you might be able to get a used engine from Japan as they junk out perfectly good cars with 30,000 miles on them because of expensive Japanese regulations that require a very expensive "safety" inspection that often costs more than the car is worth. However, whether there is a later model diesel that will fit, I don't know. Since that Sentra is now 23 years old, I don't know what parts availability is.
The Sentra's handling wasn't the greatest & I upgraded to the Mazda 626 diesel when diesel was $1 a gallon. I wouldn't mind having that Sentra diesel now. 
Nissan also imported a Maxima 6 cylinder diesel in '83 & '84, as I recall.