I've been a lurker on this forum for about a year now. I actually have 2 other screen names, but for some reason i can no longer post from them, but that's a different story.

I bought my first Maxima yesterday for $2000, it's my first car actually. A white 1989 Maxima SE. It only 71,500 miles on it, flawless exterior and some minor wear on the interior. It's an auto...I'm not real good at driving a stick yet, but my mom has a G 35 manual, so i Will learn to drive one soon.

As a new maxima owner/ used car owner, what should i look out for, what should i have checked out.

The guy i bought it from said there was a hole in the exhaust pipe, so i get a low rumbling sound in the car. How much does that normally cost to fix? My brother and the guy i bought it from told me it should be fairly cheap.

Only other problem i can say i have with the car is it sticks. The key holes stick (trunk and door locks), and the shifter sticks. Sometimes i have to nudge the the shifter forward to start the car up.

Also what alarm should i get. I don't trust the standard alarm in the car, so i want something better. I willing to spend a couple hundred for something good.

Any recommendations on performance parts or audio equipment? The guy included some cd/mp3 player, but a friend of mine told me it wasn't that good. The speakers sound like something that would be attached to an alarm clock. (bose)

I fell in love with the car yesterday, its the only car i was looking for, and its everything i expected it to be. I have about a grand left over to add and fix miscellaneous crap.

 

Welcome! 3rd gens are great cars as long you maintain them well and care for the few quirks they have.

IMO, get a full tune-up done (plugs, wires, distributor cap/rotor, fuel/air filters, O2 sensor). User named Internetautomar sells parts here on the org. You can PM him.

It is probably your Y-pipe that has a hole. Many folks here have aftermarket pipes from Warpspeed. You may consider getting one of those if you are performance-minded.

"Sticky" issues are normal. Getting a new blank key from the dealership and getting it cut may help.

I have the ultra cool Pioneer 7500mp CD/Mp3 player. That was $300 but you can get other decent ones for about $200. Yes, by all means replace the Bose speakers. I have JBLs all around. Those Bose belong in a dumpster....a really messy one at that.

And FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, don't learn stick on a G35! You will mess the crap out of that poor thing!

Again...welcome!

 

Since you are a 89, 89-91 SE cars has the 160hp SOHC v6 with a timing belt that was standard on the early SE cars, and 89-94 GXE cars. You need to have the timing belt changed every 60K miles. The engine is an interference type and if the belt breaks it will damage the engine. Of course, maybe the previous owner changed it-but you need to know-if in doubt, change it again. While doing that you may need to change water pump, tensioner and possibly cam and crank seals. I'd recommend a tune up with plugs, rotor, cap, wires, coolant. Probably also change your auto tranny fluid/filter-but that can be controversial on an older car. The max is generally reliable, but does have some problems with broken exhaust studs, worn lower control arm bushings and window regulators that fail and cause the window to fall down in it's tracks. Overall, a good car, but does have some things to be aware of. Still, yours sounds to have low mileage, so hopefully these won't show up for a while.

 

If its your Y-pipe that has a hole in it then I can sell you an aftermarket WSP Y-pipe for $150+shipping. It was used for around 4months before I totalled my car. Let me know if you are interested.

And yes, Internetautomart is the guy to go to for any maxima parts. Shoot him a PM or check out his site at: http://internetautomart.com/3rdgen.html
Good luck w/ your max
Cole

 

well, i took it to midas, and i have a crack in the intermiadiate pipe. they were trying to replace that, the muffler and the tailpipes and charge me $321. It looked like it could be welded, but i'm no car expert yet.

 

Dont let them a$$ rape you like that Midas gave me a est. like that once. No way would I pay them that much for something I can do myself and get better parts for half the price. you could have a full new exhaust from the Y-pipe back for around $375 -$400 or so. New WSP Y-pipe- $200+shipping or mine for $150+shipping, keep your cat considering it is still good, go to a custom muffler shop and have them make you a custom B-pipe (cat-back part) $100 maybe??? (depends on the guy) and then find yourself a good muffler $50-$100. Sounds about right to me, but I dont know about the custom made B-pipe as I have never had one done for me, but it seems resonable, maybe even less. I'm sure there are some people on here that have been through this b4 and could give you better information that I have. But thats just my .02

 

I would just get a WSP y-pipe and not even deal with Midas.

The WSP is less restrictive than stock (frees up some horsepower) and the price is much better.

Cole is right about the rest of it. I would just get an aftermarket Y, then have the rest finished off at a custom place. They might charge you like $50 to install the Y if you aren't comfortable doing it yourself (it does not require any welding). Ask some people in your area and shop around, too. There are bound to be better deals to be had than midas.

Anything else that might go wrong, try to check in here and ask questions (I would have said do a search, but the search feature doesn't work).

good luck and welcome

 

Just a reminder....I do have a WSP Y-pipe for sale Its boxed and ready to be shipped. Even comes w/ the o2 sensor

 

I can buy a muffler for the car online and then bring it to Midas or Meineke to have it installed. I'm going to need a whole new exhaust. What about warranties and such. Would I be able to bring it back there if there was a problem.

 

Midas or any muffler place won't give you a warranty on any product unless you get it from them. They may however give you a warranty on the work. Say the welded the muffler on and its started to rust out and leak there within sometime they might fix that for you, but doubtfully. Another thing I hate about those shops, is when you go in there just wanting one thing done they will end up finding other stuff that they recommend needs fixed. Its not too hard to take off your old muffler on put a new one on your own, unless of course the one that is on there now it welded then you will need either torch, saw, or dremel to cut the pipe. Hope some of this helps, GOOD LUCK!!