Can a car guy help me out? I have lots of questions.

I do have a mechanic but he is 'long-winded' and I don't want to call him at this moment.
I am in the process of car buying. My dad is a computer geek. He keeps trying to sell me on an ugly hatchback with low miles. Low mileage is not all one needs to look at when buying a car. He doesn't seem to understand that.

But one of my question is of a 2016 Nissan with 6k miles for $11k.
Further research via Carfax tells me it's on the recall list for ignition switch issue.
SUMMARY
ON CERTAIN VEHICLES AFFECTED BY THIS RECALL, THE MECHANICAL KEY IGNITION SYSTEM MAY HAVE BEEN EQUIPPED WITH A BALL SPRING WHICH COULD BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO LONG-TERM EXCESSIVE WEAR AND POSSIBLE FATIGUE BREAKAGE AFTER SEVERAL YEARS OF NORMAL USE. IF THE BALL SPRING BREAKS, THE RETENTION FORCE OF THE IGNITION SWITCH IS REDUCED. IF HEAVIER ITEMS (E.G. A HEAVY KEY CHAIN) ARE ATTACHED TO THE IGNITION KEY, AND THE VEHICLE IS DRIVEN OVER ROUGH SURFACES, THE WEIGHT OF THE ITEMS MAY PULL THE IGNITION SWITCH FROM THE ON POSITION TO THE ACC POSITION.

Is this an easy/simple fix?

The previous owner only had it 6 months.

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BrewCityBarfly · M

Depends on the year, model, etc. I usually like to check similar make/model/year to see what kind of long-term mileage they get in comparison. For instance, if it was a 2015 Nissan Altima, I would check other 2015 Nissan Altima's and how many miles they are getting.

6k is low miles for any vehicle, and depending on the year, I would be suspicious. People should average about 10-15k a year with moderate driving. Make sure the title is listed as "clear", anything else can indicate it might have been in an accident or something else.

Manufacturer recalls do not have expiration dates, and any dealer would need to repair free of charge. I had a POS 10 year old Dodge mini-van with a recall, and when the part failed, it was a free fix.

iamnikki · 31-35, F

@BrewCityBarfly I checked car fax. Previous owner had it 6 months. no accidents, just the aforementioned recall. How and where would I check for long term mileage?

BrewCityBarfly · M

@iamnikki Check Carmax or something similar. Do a search on the same year/make/model and see what kind of miles they are getting. If they are all getting traded on low miles then it might be a warning. Of course, if this is a 6 month 1-owner it is likely newer and not enough information. If that was the 2nd owner, then it might have issues.

I had a Nissan Altima many years back and it was an awesome car and very reliable. A few quirks, one recall (on the frame believe it or not), but ended up well over 100k miles.