The 31-year-old admits it’s been hard to find parts for the ‘forgotten vehicle’

NEED TO KNOW

• Alyssa Renee bought a rare 1988 Nissan Stanza Wagon in 2022 and has worked to restore it ever since

• She shares her restoration journey on TikTok and says finding parts is the biggest challenge due to limited availability
• Renee recently acquired two more Stanza Wagons and loves connecting with others who share stories about the unique car

Alyssa Renee has loved cars since she was a little girl.

Renee started working on her own cars at just 18, and, in September 2022, when she was 27, she purchased her first 1988 Nissan Stanza Wagon with front-wheel drive. She tells PEOPLE she has spent the last four years keeping it on the road and scavenging for parts to bring it as close to showroom quality as possible. 

However, before she saw a Stanza Wagon — known globally as the Nissan Prairie — for sale on Facebook Marketplace a few states away in Ohio, she had admittedly never heard of the car.

“For months, I had contemplated purchasing it, but the price plus the cost of transport to Nebraska was keeping me from buying the brown one since it was not in running condition,” Renee, now 31, explains. “I decided to just do it, but the day before I was going to arrange transport, someone sent me one that happened to be for sale locally for less than half the price of the one I was going to buy in Ohio.”

“Two days later, I drove from Lincoln to Omaha, Nebraska, to pick it up,” she says.

@b0x_babe

This car is my entire personality. I love seeing her be so appreciated! She may be a little weird to look at but she is SO RAD!! #underappreciatedsurvivors #80scars #nissan #stanzawagon

♬ original sound – Alyssa Renee

Renee has been working on the car ever since it first pulled into her driveway and has been documenting the restoration process on TikTok.

She admits the hardest part about owning the Stanza is “finding parts” for the now-rare car.

“They were produced for such a short amount of time and don’t have high enough demand today for aftermarket parts to be produced,” Renee explains. “I have a personal vendetta against the engineers at Nissan in the ‘80s because the parts for the 1986/1987 Wagon are not all compatible with the 1988.”

The most rewarding part, however, is the fact that she has gotten to know other car enthusiasts who recognize the vehicle.

She loves it when someone “recognizes my car and has a story of their own to share.”

“Maybe their parents or grandparents owned one, or it was their first car, followed by stories their parents most definitely never heard,” Renee shares. 

She has been able to find auto parts on both rockauto.com and eBay. 

“Honestly, having a parts car is the key. I have had some luck in locating parts at two salvage yards in the U.S., but both were from 1987 and couldn’t use much for my 1988.”

While she had no clue a Stanza Wagon existed before 2022, now she can’t get enough. In fact, she recently purchased two more.

“In April this year, I picked up two more Stanza Wagons (both 1986 4×4) and passed one onto my sister as her first project car,” Renee shares. 

She likes to show love for the “forgotten vehicle,” which seats up to seven passengers.

“It had a very short run from 1986 to 1988 compared to the sedan. The ‘80s was an interesting time for cars. Manufacturers seemed to be in competition for who could add the most odd features and my car is a good example of that,” she says.

“The Stanza Wagon has no B-pillars and features dual sliding rear doors, which is something commonly credited to Chrysler/Dodge for doing first, but Nissan did it in 1986. Eight whole years before Chrysler.”

Although she is still looking to make some improvements, the car has a semi-functional radio, air conditioning, front-wheel drive, knobs for a subwoofer, cruise control and only 93,000 miles on it.

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