aj70257

Hi,

I am trying to determine if I should purchase a 2001 Nissan maxima GLE v6 sedan I found at a used car dealer. I have never owned a Nissan I am only used to Toyotas and Hondas so I am looking for some advice on whether to go ahead with this vehicle purchase based from experts/owners of maximas in this forum.

Here are the details and issues of the vehicle I have found. After 3 days of driving the Service engine light came on and turns out it needs new catalytic converters ( code P0430 Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold Bank 2 ) upon checking with a local mechanic the recommendation is to replace all 3 catalytic converters. The vehicle is in california so no after market catalytic converters can be used here only OEM so the replacement will cost upto $2000. The vehicle was purchased for $3000 which seemed like a great deal. It has 185k miles with 2 previous owners. I had the vehicle thoroughly inspected and it checked out good - no leaks, drives well, a/c is good but the gas mileage seems pretty bad. The gas mileage for this vehicle is listed as 19 city, 25 highway so it is low to begin with. But otherwise the vehicle seems good.

My question is should I keep this vehicle if the dealer agrees to replace the catalytic converters. Does anyone have experience with 2001 nissan maxima or with catalytic converter replacement costs that can provide some insight on the reliability of this car? Should I purchase this car knowing it has 185,000 miles on it? Or should I give this back and go look for a honda/toyota. I am looking to buy a cheap commuter car which I can use around town to use for a year or two at the most.

Thanks for any help/insight anyone can give about this vehicle which will help me make a decision whether to fix and keep this vehicle or give it back and look for another one.

ateick

iTrader: (1)

If you want an inexpensive, good on gas commuter car buy a Honda. They will run forever if maintained and I've seen them run forever even by those that think general maintenance consists of filling up with gas.

Lontar1

iTrader: (5)

not sure about the California laws, but 2k for emission seems to high. I went to rockauto.com and there are Cali legal for 238, you just need to replace it. Maximas are excellent vehicles, I still own minw with 250k miles on it. If you could get the dealer change it for you is better but is your decision, Good luck..

nestorlugo

iTrader: (11)

First thing you need to do is...get you a friend at the place for the inspection sticker, then download fsm for the 2001 max then, youl need to gut your pre cats then install anti_foulers on the rear o2 and you should be mil free. and always pump good gas, don't drive it like a honda.plz

aj70257

Thanks for the replies Lontar1, ateick, nestorlugo

nestorlugo can you please elaborate on what this means:
get you a friend at the place for the inspection sticker, then download fsm for the 2001 max then, youl need to gut your pre cats then install anti_foulers on the rear o2 and you should be mil free.

do you mean someone at the emissions place?? what is fsm? what does it mean to install anti fouler on rear o2 and what does mil free mean? sorry I am not sure about any of these terminolgy. Thanks!

Donkeypunch

That thing about needing an oem cat is BS.
As long as it meets the requirement for ca it's fine. Magnaflow sells ca legal cats.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

California has laws that don't allow you, as the owner of the car, to replace catalytic converters. Only repair shops can. And they don't have to use only Nissan parts.

You probably don't need the main cat, just the pre-cat that is causing the code. P0430 is bank 2 of the engine, the side towards the radiator. Other companies make them.

If you can get the pre-cat gutted, that would be a lot less expensive than replacing it. That is illegal for a repair shop to do, so most repair shops won't do it.

So glad I moved out of California.