As most of you know, I have already gone trough two Maxima's a 1999 SE and a 1994 GXE. I have purchased a 1994 VE just a week ago and I was very excited with it. So yesterday I am driving back home on the Garden State Parkway and I am only doing 55-60mph (nice day, just enjoying the drive). The car is running so smoothly when suddenly I hear a loud clicking noise and just when I am about to pull over on the shoulder to check out what is wrong, something in the engine compartment blows up and there is a massive amount of smoke.
So I get on the shoulder and pop the hood. There is smoke everywhere and most of it is coming from the engine. While I'm still thinking it is something minor and checking the engine, my cousin who is with me, starts running away and tells me that something is on fire. So apparently there was a hole in the oil pan and that oil caught on fire and caught an initial spark which caused the explosion. The engine was on fire and the Fire Dept. managed to get there before the tires began roasting. The mechanic from the State Trooper dept. said that the engine might not have suffered internal damage, but I highly doubt it. I recurred about a mile and half of highway by foot to pick up the pieces of my cross member which literally destroyed and littered the highway. So now I'm just in desperation. I will try to go back to the business I bought the car from for I think it was a lemon and get my money back.
When my girlfriend came to pick me up she told me that 3 Maxima's in less than a year was a little too much and she'd prefer me to get a small Toyota (maybe a Corolla). After spending years defending Maxima's and proving people wrong, I am seriously thinking of giving up on them. I have had many great memories with my Maxima's and I will always cherish them, but I think that is enough bad luck for my taste. So I say thanks to everyone who has helped me during this time. I'll still linger around the forums and help people out, but I don't think there will be another Maxima in my life again.

 

How much did you purchase the VE for again?

 

$1500, but I have already thrown $3000 in it. Plus the guy who sold it to me stated that there was a brand new engine and transmission in her.

 

whoever sold the engine should be responsible then.. obviously they didn't do something right. sounds to me like they didn't torque a rod bearing to spec and it came apart on you and threw the rod through the block.

 

Question: The car was sold to me AS IS. I just purchased the car a week ago. The guy with the Tow Truck told me it was a lemon and to go there and raise some hell. Anyways, even if they give me my $1500 back, I 'll have still lost $3000 and still have to get a car. I'm just very frustrated and I am beginning to think that Maxima's are not for me. They are great cars and very reliable but somehow we just don't mix.

 

what exactly did you spend 3000$ on in the last week

 

New tires, rotors, pads all around. Refilled and changed all of the fluids and ran it through every test available at my mechanic. Serviced the tranny to make sure I wouldn't get any surprises. Insurance and registration. Body work on left fender.

 

That is a tough luck story. Want happened to your 99 and 94? Something major must have happened to your current max-if they did all that servicing and didn't see major leaks or problems from the outside. I still think the Maxima is good, but maybe you should consider a Sentra SE-R from the early to mid nineties, or an early nineties infiniti G20. They seem to be decent little cars that probably cost less than a Maxima to maintain.

 

man thats to bad then you did alot of preventative mantianece which is good but your pretty much screwed now

maybe oyu could sell your car to that one member that wants a good body but is getting the engine rebiult

 

that sucks man, good luck with whatever you do end up buying

 

Talk to D-sta, he has a good mechanic in the NY area. There is also a spare VE sitting in the garage there.

as for a new car, hmmmm
wheelies are good

 

i think i know who owns that spare engine....................................
and how did you know it was there, thats one hell of a commute from Issaquah, WA

 

I don't know what to say about a Maxima catching fire...I don't think I've heard of that one before.

Sorry to hear about your car. That just plain sucks a$$.

chris

 

I'm a maxima *****, what can I say?

Na, Diego told me about it when we were trying to figure out what was up with his car. I was referring to Jasons old engine too (I dont know if there is any special projects going on, except maybe Joe's rebuild).

orrrrr....
I know everything that goes on because of that twin intuition or whatever.

 

OK, the sunlight is out and shiny and I was able to get a good look at the damage. Apparently the engine just ceased, (maybe a piston died, have to check) and that caused some extreme heat to develope in the engine bay which caused the oil to ignite and create a small explosion. Then it tore through the oil pan and that is what was on fire. So the engine only looked like it was on fire but it was the oil. Now, I had to speak to guy I got the car from and I am still negotiating because he obviously sold me a lemon. I might be able to get the car back on the road. The tie rod flew off and defragmentated, and I managed to collect a few pieces that I will keep for memory. I'll keep you guys posted on what happens next.

 

damn, that really sucks. if you want a really similar lookin car to the max, try a 3rd gen camry. They're cheap and don't have any of the numerous small problems that the max has. My friend has one with 190000 miles on it and it runs stronger than my engine. Although the max is still faster......

 

Wow, that's a bummer, but even the best of cars can have issues like that. So the motor and tranny were supposed to be new? That's hard to believe.

 

What type of insurance do you have? They might be able to refund some of your 3 thousand back. As long as it was done at a shop and you have receipts to prove this.

 

Man, I've grenaded engines before, but this is a new one! Sorry to hear about the death of your Max Seyath. Don't give up on them though. This has got to be a freak incident. BTW: A Corolla?

 

Go buy a ford.
You'll be begging to get a max back

 

+1 to that

most of chryslers and chevys line aint far behind

 

well im a nissan guy thru and thru, my next car will be a 95-96 z32 300zx vg30dett 5speed. no doubt, 300hp stock, gotta love that. but this is after the max dies in many years to come.....i found a few nice ones for 17K

 

ugh, screw that. 03 cobra in a few years w00t!
Although for me, I'll probably look at buying a house before another car. (unless I can turn the car to profit )

 

Well, turns out that the guy sold me a lemon. I spoke to my insurance agent who suggested I speak to my lawyer. Once that was done, the negotiation began and it should end tomorrow. If all things go as planned, the guy will pay for a new certified engine to be dropped in by a certified mechanic. If I am lucky enough, I won't have to give up my VE and I might just decide to stick with the Maxima's one more time. I mean, damn! How much more bad luck can I have?

 

Well, turns out that the guy sold me a lemon. I spoke to my insurance agent who suggested I speak to my lawyer. Once that was done, the negotiation began and it should end tomorrow. If all things go as planned, the guy will pay for a new certified engine to be dropped in by a certified mechanic. If I am lucky enough, I won't have to give up my VE and I might just decide to stick with the Maxima's one more time. I mean, damn! How much more bad luck can I have?
And about the corolla....
My girlfriend has a '01 Corolla and she started saying that I should be getting something smaller newer and a little less unlucky than a Maxima. I also have an old school '81 RWD Corolla sitting in my garage with a 4A-EG engine just waiting for me to finish it. So I was seriously considering getting me an '85 hatchback (I'm in love with them!). But I guess I won't have to.

 

now i know that my buddies will hassle me for saying this, but i love my max. i have owned six cars which i have deemed worthy of the term "project", every one up until i bought my maxima were chevys. to defend my american heritage it must be said that chevy builds an excellent performing V8 motor, but all that i have owned reqired serious upkeep and money (gas) to stay on the road. my maxima, other than the body work that i have invested has never missed a day of road time, and i love it. it is number 2 on my list of my favorite cars that i have owned next to my last project, my 91 chevy impala SS clone (RIP ol' smokey)
[ ]

 

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. But a corolla? the corolla of the 80's are great but the newer model, you'll miss the power of your max if you switch over. But I wish you the best with what you decide to do.

 

I heard the 96 TT 5speed only has 280 hp, I think I'd stick with the 95

 

LS-1 6 speed

 

accually i have a friend with an 03 corrolla 5spd. he ran 15.9 bone stock which would be much faster than most maxs on here but im sure the autos are turds

 

Good news! I hope it works out. I've torched TWO motors already.

 

Is that a fidanza on there Jeff? And how did you torch two motors?

 

Yes. But it wasn't bolted on in that pic. ha. I'd rather not say. Kinda embarrassing

 

Ok, so here's the update. The guy is going to take the car back and refund me my $1500. However I'm not going to let hiim take the car away unless he gives me another $800 for the brand new rotors, pads and tires I put on her. Or if he prefers, I'll just take them out with the rims. With the money I will maybe buy another tranny for my '94 GXE (VG auto again! NOOOOOOOO!) or I 'll switch to another car. I'll keep you guys posted on everything!

 

i'm not too good with law stuff but after looking at the new york lemon law site it appears he actually isn't allowed to sell the car as is. it appears he has to give you a 30 day warranty. the site is here http://www.oag.state.ny.us/consumer/...dcarlemon.html if anyone wants to check it out and correct me if i'm wrong.

good luck on everything.

 

Mt.Cookson, I actually checked the site prior. You are right. He had to give me a 30 day guarantee. In addition, he officialy stated that the transmission and the engine were knew and they obviously weren't. Today he should come by and pick up the car. So I guess I'll keep you guys posted on the happenings.

 

Boy Am I glad that we don't have a law like that here.
That law helps in your case, but probably causes more cars to be prematurely junked because the owner is afraid of liability

 

Ok, so here's the update: Today the guy sent a tow truck to pick up the car. He hasn't given me any cash yet because he wants to "inspect the car". It's allright because I still have the title so he can't do ****. When I spoke to him about the brand new tires, brakes and discs I put all around in the car he told me that was my problem. He said that he wasn't going to refund me for it and he is not going to take them out for me. Fine, I guess he didn't know that I've been working for the past 7 years. I told him that if he wanted to act stupid like that I was going to go to the junkyard with my tools and take those *****es apart myself. He laughed and sid that I'm more than welcome to do that. Never underestimate Manuel.... Tomorrow I'm going to get my cash and take out tires, wheels, discs, and pads. If he starts acting like an ******* I'll even take out the new air filter I put in and replace it with the POS that was in the car when I bought it. Well, I guess tomorrow will be a fun day. I'll keep you guys posted on everything. I guess if the VG is going to get back on the road I might just considerd doing the 5sp swap. :-D

 

so is he not going to have the engine replaced? i would think he would be forced to according to the lemon law.

 

dood make him pay for, or replace the engine/tranny/wiring harness/hoses/anything else that was harmed in the fire.