HI,

i saw this beauty today....a 2002 SE (leather, sun/moon roof, dark blue) with 34,000 miles.

The dealer is selling for 19K and willing to go down to 17.8K. I would have to finance (i am a new buyer) with new credit (gradually being built), and awaiting further terms, and I may end up paying about $350 per month for this car. But i just want to find out if the MSRP is reasonable, before i go shopping for favorable loan terms.

thanks - Noela

 

FWIW we bought our 2000 SE 5spd for $15,500 when the dealer was asking 19,900 on July 31st 2002

 

17.8 is probably a fair price, for a loaded, well maintained, private owner car-especially if in a high resale market. I think 2002 Models sold new for just a small discount. But 2003s really needed some large for Nissan rebates to move out the door. The 2002s and 2003s had poor resale for a couple of years-partly due to the rebates on the 2003s and partly due to the large number of SE maximas in rental car fleets-Most of them were being sold at 1 year of age with 20-30K miles for ~17-18K dollars. But, those cars are mostly sold now, and the market is beginning to appreciate the 255 hp Maximas-so resale has held somewhat steady over the last year or so. Most of those rentals were base SE models, cloth seats, and only option of Sunroof. Leather and Bose cars are probably private owner cars. Some of those former rentals seem to show up at used Nissan or Infiniti dealers for ~20K dollars. The Maxima is great, but the HID headlights had trouble with being stolen in the Metro cities in the Northeast-(you can convert to nonHID 2000-01 style if needed) and the 17 inch tires don't grip in the snow so budget snow tires if you live where it snows. Something to think about. Overall, it is a great car, and I would hope to own one some day. So that is the story of the Maxima resale. I'd look at I30, I35, Altima V6, Maxima, Camry V6 and Accord V6 and pick the best value, on the local used car market. Check the local papers, and autotrader.com to find some real world pricing. Also run this price by the 5th gen forum crowd by posting there, if you haven't.

 

Ummm, ask this in the 5th gen section maybe?

 

MaximamixaM, you might be right there..i pulled the carfax report last night, and this car was titled as a rental car fleet, then sold to an individual within a month - it has had two owners within the last two years. I think it was the base SE, with the leather upgrade option... so it has a leather seats, sunroof. anyhow, the dealer is still insisting on 17.8. KBB and Edmunds.com price it around 19k.

anyhow, thanks for the info

 

see if it has Bose, otherwise it might be aftermarket leather. Personally it might be ok, but at this point I'd make sure it was a private owner car, because some used private owner cars are now showing up-it used to only be those used rentals. I'd also look for a 2002 Altima SE-the interior isn't as nice, but it's a great car also.

 

yes, it has the BOSE, and i there was an beige SE on the lot, which had the same leather. I pulled the carfax info yesterday, and though the car was bought as a rental fleet, it was owned by two private individuals...carfax will not report their names. ithe odometor records were accurate - in september the car had 31K, and now it has 34K.

anyhow, after much bargaining, the dealer finally decided to settle on 17.5 - given that i have no or little credit, financing was going to be an issue, but the dealer is able to get me bank financing for 60months@8.7% APR. with this the total payment is about 360 (inclusive). Given my circumstances, do you think this is a good deal....carmax was offering me a 1999 Infinity I30 with 90k miles for $11999 @15.9% APR for 54 months, and the monthly payment was going to be about the same, ie $360.

thanks - Noela

 

I think it is a good price for a low mileage, good condition, no damage private owner car. I'd have a private mechanic inspect it before buying, to make sure there wasn't any previous wrecks. I'd also call banks for their lending rates.

 

yep, i was thinking of having a private mechanic take a look at it - though the carfax report indicates no wrecks...etc ..should this be trusted?

thanks - Noela

 

I don't trust carfax any further than I can throw them

 

Seems like a decent price. Being a rental I'd be worried though. Also carfax won't show all the damage. Only damage that's warrants a change in the title. ie.. salvage/theft/total loss-rebuild etc..... So if the car was worth $28k in 2002 and it received $15k in damage, it won't show on the carfax as it's not considered a total. Also most if not all minor accidents/repairs won't show on carfax either.

I'd check what the rental fleets were selling their maximas for.