1987 Nissan 200SX

The 1987 model year sits at the beginning of the generation's federal record, which shows a clear upward spike in complaints and recalls peaking in 1995–1996 (58 and 39 complaints, respectively) before declining. For the 1987 model specifically, the top complaint area is the fuel system (9 complaints), and there are three fire complaints with zero crash complaints—a notable safety signal. The data does not specify a root cause for these fuel-system issues, but the pattern suggests that early models like the 1987 may have been the first to exhibit a problem that later triggered multiple recalls (three in 1995 alone) across the generation. Given that the 1987 year lacks any recall data in the record and has a concentrated fuel-system complaint profile with fire incidents, it represents a higher-risk choice compared to later model years that received corrective actions. **This is not a good year to buy unless you are prepared to address potential fuel-system fire hazards that the data indicates were never officially recalled for this specific year.**