The Maxima/Supersentra
02-24-2003, 12:31 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 548
The Maxima/Supersentra
Yes, alas, the day has come where I make the official announcement.
I'd like to think that my 1988 Maxima SE is a great car and will last forever, and well it runs great, and is extremely reliable, like a Nissan, and it definitely tops my list of most reliable cars that I've owned. I've owned it for exactly one month short of one year (she was born to me on March 23, 2002).
However, I think that like most older cars, she is quickly reaching the end of her life of trouble-free service, after 15 years and 177,000 miles, and things are one-by-one going wrong. Right now, she sits out in the cold, lonely, in a relative's garage, with her fate to be determined.
Here's what's wrong: the exhaust system is broken, the pipe rusted through right behind the catalytic converter, thus making it illegal to drive. I don't know if I need a new catalytic converter or if I can repair what's there with a new section of pipe. the newly-bled hydraulic clutch lines leak fluid from the release cylinder, and a faulty thermostat is blamed for overcooling. She also needs a new oil pressure sending unit, I accidentally broke the wire off on the one that's in there now, and the gauge stays at 0 PSI. In addition, the timing belt should be replaced before it goes on any more major trips, to keep that Nissan engine running like it should.
A close look at the transmission housing shortly after I bought the car revealed a short spot of welding, about a 4" line where it was cracked, and the oil pan is slightly dented. This has never affected the performance. There is very little rust on the body, but it could use a new paint job.
Going on everyone else's word, 177,000 miles is just breaking in this car. When you turn the key it doesn't even crank - it just starts. Without fail. Nothing can stop this thing. It's incredible, it really is. It's taken some serious abuse since I got it and it's still running strong. I used to race it in the city against these little kids' toy cars, these hondas and acuras, and other sick and disgusting lowered street pollution, and nail them against the wall while beating the hell out of the maxima. But it took the abuse. It's only been in the shop twice in the past year - once because the spindle needed to be replaced, and once because one of the halfshafts came unbolted and the car didn't move (although I thought it was the transmission).
Other people here know more about these cars than I do, I don't want to part with this car because it's been so good to me. Does it seem like these repairs are worth it, for the way it runs, or is it something that indicates future impending problems? It'd help me if I could get the opinions of other Maxima owners. I'd like to be able to fix it and have a good running car again. But I don't know if it's worth it. It's like these little things keep going wrong with it.
Dan
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1988 Nissan Maxima SE:
SHIFT_immortality
I'd like to think that my 1988 Maxima SE is a great car and will last forever, and well it runs great, and is extremely reliable, like a Nissan, and it definitely tops my list of most reliable cars that I've owned. I've owned it for exactly one month short of one year (she was born to me on March 23, 2002).
However, I think that like most older cars, she is quickly reaching the end of her life of trouble-free service, after 15 years and 177,000 miles, and things are one-by-one going wrong. Right now, she sits out in the cold, lonely, in a relative's garage, with her fate to be determined.
Here's what's wrong: the exhaust system is broken, the pipe rusted through right behind the catalytic converter, thus making it illegal to drive. I don't know if I need a new catalytic converter or if I can repair what's there with a new section of pipe. the newly-bled hydraulic clutch lines leak fluid from the release cylinder, and a faulty thermostat is blamed for overcooling. She also needs a new oil pressure sending unit, I accidentally broke the wire off on the one that's in there now, and the gauge stays at 0 PSI. In addition, the timing belt should be replaced before it goes on any more major trips, to keep that Nissan engine running like it should.
A close look at the transmission housing shortly after I bought the car revealed a short spot of welding, about a 4" line where it was cracked, and the oil pan is slightly dented. This has never affected the performance. There is very little rust on the body, but it could use a new paint job.
Going on everyone else's word, 177,000 miles is just breaking in this car. When you turn the key it doesn't even crank - it just starts. Without fail. Nothing can stop this thing. It's incredible, it really is. It's taken some serious abuse since I got it and it's still running strong. I used to race it in the city against these little kids' toy cars, these hondas and acuras, and other sick and disgusting lowered street pollution, and nail them against the wall while beating the hell out of the maxima. But it took the abuse. It's only been in the shop twice in the past year - once because the spindle needed to be replaced, and once because one of the halfshafts came unbolted and the car didn't move (although I thought it was the transmission).
Other people here know more about these cars than I do, I don't want to part with this car because it's been so good to me. Does it seem like these repairs are worth it, for the way it runs, or is it something that indicates future impending problems? It'd help me if I could get the opinions of other Maxima owners. I'd like to be able to fix it and have a good running car again. But I don't know if it's worth it. It's like these little things keep going wrong with it.
Dan
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1988 Nissan Maxima SE:
SHIFT_immortality
02-24-2003, 10:09 AM
#2
Re: The Maxima/Supersentra
Well here is the thing you must contend with. If you do the investent in the car, you probably won't get that money back....and because of that, you'll probably be the last owner of the car. Quite honestly, I say go ahead and do it. It's nice to have a car that not everyone else has. Plus these cars do last when you do things right. It's really up to you.
Sarin
Sarin
02-24-2003, 10:15 AM
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Well, I'm sort of in the same boat that you are in. The thing is, my car only has 120K on it, and I've owned it for 3 years now and got it with only 60K miles on the odometer.
However, despite the reasonable care that I've taken of the car, a lot of things are busted or about to fail. I've got to replace my CV boots, the exhaust downpipe, wheel bearings, and my front tires, and that's just to get it to pass inspection. My armrest is busted off of my driver's side door panel, the weatherstripping is torn around the window allowing air and water in, my shifter bushing is bad, my idler pulley and drive belts need replacing, and my transmission sticks in first gear when it's cold. Oh, and I need new spark plugs, wires, and an O2 sensor. Well, that's all the stuff that I know that I need so far, there's probably more stuff broken that I don't know about.
Did I mention that I've already sunk nearly $3000 in this car?
Well, despite all of those problems, I'm going ahead and fixing most of the major stuff and keeping the car. It really doesn't matter how many miles the car has, once you're over that 100K mile mark, things will start to break left and right. Yes, it is true that the engine on these cars is amazingly reliable. Knock on wood, I haven't had a problem with it at all. It's all of the little parts, especially front end parts and the transmission that need a lot of attention.
And even after I get all of the parts fixed, I know without fail that more stuff is going to break. Eventually I'm going to have to replace the tranny, engine and transmission mounts, water pump, steering rack, sensors, etc, etc....
So, it's totally up to you, but if you're thinking about replacing it with another car that has over 100K on it, plan on replacing parts on that car too. The only way you're going to get out of it is if you get a brand new car, then you're pretty much guaranteed 100K relatively trouble free miles.
In my opinion, as long as you don't have to rebuild the engine, in the long run you'll probably save money by fixing your current car. A good brand new car costs over $20000, which you'll never spend in repair bills on your Max. And a used car with 50K miles will run close to $10000, and you're only going to get about 50K good miles out of it anyway, not worth the money in my opinion. And forget about getting a car with over 100K unless you like sinking money into fixing stuff.
When you are ready to get another car, get one that's only slightly used, with a couple thousand miles on it. You'll save a lot of money over brand new, even though the car is practically brand new. You'll get 100K good miles out of it, then you can trade it in for another one and get some money for it.
-C-
However, despite the reasonable care that I've taken of the car, a lot of things are busted or about to fail. I've got to replace my CV boots, the exhaust downpipe, wheel bearings, and my front tires, and that's just to get it to pass inspection. My armrest is busted off of my driver's side door panel, the weatherstripping is torn around the window allowing air and water in, my shifter bushing is bad, my idler pulley and drive belts need replacing, and my transmission sticks in first gear when it's cold. Oh, and I need new spark plugs, wires, and an O2 sensor. Well, that's all the stuff that I know that I need so far, there's probably more stuff broken that I don't know about.
Did I mention that I've already sunk nearly $3000 in this car?
Well, despite all of those problems, I'm going ahead and fixing most of the major stuff and keeping the car. It really doesn't matter how many miles the car has, once you're over that 100K mile mark, things will start to break left and right. Yes, it is true that the engine on these cars is amazingly reliable. Knock on wood, I haven't had a problem with it at all. It's all of the little parts, especially front end parts and the transmission that need a lot of attention.
And even after I get all of the parts fixed, I know without fail that more stuff is going to break. Eventually I'm going to have to replace the tranny, engine and transmission mounts, water pump, steering rack, sensors, etc, etc....
So, it's totally up to you, but if you're thinking about replacing it with another car that has over 100K on it, plan on replacing parts on that car too. The only way you're going to get out of it is if you get a brand new car, then you're pretty much guaranteed 100K relatively trouble free miles.
In my opinion, as long as you don't have to rebuild the engine, in the long run you'll probably save money by fixing your current car. A good brand new car costs over $20000, which you'll never spend in repair bills on your Max. And a used car with 50K miles will run close to $10000, and you're only going to get about 50K good miles out of it anyway, not worth the money in my opinion. And forget about getting a car with over 100K unless you like sinking money into fixing stuff.
When you are ready to get another car, get one that's only slightly used, with a couple thousand miles on it. You'll save a lot of money over brand new, even though the car is practically brand new. You'll get 100K good miles out of it, then you can trade it in for another one and get some money for it.
-C-