Just got at 91 Maxima from my grandmother. It has 92 thou miles, 4dr, V6, Very very nice condition. And I think she got it detailed and new front tires before she sent it up to me. I'll be 17 in a 3 more weeks and I have some money to spend. I might be getting a system from my cousin's old car. So I don't think I need auto system input. But rather other stuff. Like, what would you suggest I'd look into? I'm not too knowledgable about cars; so where's a good place to start? Any good sites? I have up to 2 grand to put into it. But I'm very certain I don't want to put that much into it. It's only a 91 and it's my first car. Maybe a paint job? Rims? Thanks

(I'm new so I hope I did this whole thing properly; if not, please put it in a different forum area admin.)

 

what r u lookin' into: speed, looks, handling, etc...

for handling get some mods from Matt. he has crazy stuff to make our suspensions stiffer. for speed i'll leave that to the experts to tell u about it. and for the looks it depends whats ur taste on how u want ur car to look like. just browse through cardomain.com and look at some 3rd gens in there so that u can get ideas.

good luck,
Rick

 

Because you don't have a lot to spend, r young, and need an image concious, solid reliable ride, I would suggest you put your money towards:
Lowering springs and new struts
Allignment
New (or used even) rims
Clear cornering lights
Stillen front lip
and maybe tint if you want it

Then, unless you know when the timing belt was last changed - have the timing belt, tensioner & possibly the water pump changed.
After that, do yourself a favour and remove the driver side trunk panel. Then inspect the strut tower and rear wheel-well for signs of terminal cancer. If you see some, have it fixed - properly.

Everyone will tell you something different tho - so go with your own personal preference. I've just listed the most common mods to make the Max look sooooo much better. And besides rusted-out rear wheel-wells/seatbelt mounts, and the timing belt, our cars are pretty reliable.

 

The same tension I have with my son every time he has gotten a "new" car...modding it vs. spending what money there is to assure that it's in good running condition and will be reliable.

I can't add much to this list...except maybe a tune-up, fuel filter, cooling system flush, tranny service, etc. After that, a good paint job would help make you feel pretty good about your ride.

My conservative nature leans toward using your money to fix the necessary things. IF you have any money left over, THEN worry about modding it. But then, I'm an old fart so what do I know...

 

also while ur checkin' some stuff on ur car before spendin' all ur money go ahead and check ur window regulators cuz those will go out but they only cost u about $50-$70 each. that right there is another common problem on our cars and there r more things to add on the list so that u can check on them as well. have fun.

 

not sure if you have the GXE or the SE, if you got lots o' chrome, then you are a GXE, if so you may want to upgrade to some SE parts... give me a holler i can hook you up with parts.

Brian

 

I probally have a se.

What are "window regulators" :-/

About how much is a good local paint job? Not even sure what color I'd want.

How much and where could I get New (or used even) rims? Is online shipping for them gonna be a lot?

How much are tints?

I think my car looks like an old person's car; probally b/c it was. So I'm not really worry about speed. I dunno guys, I just think it looks too old; it needs some life

 

your best bet is not to worry about the paint. detail it or take it to a detail shop but dont repaint. First just a good quality respray would cost you well over 1k maybe even into your 2k that you have. Second...changing colors will definitely cost you into or more than you have. Dont worry about the paint unless its in really bad shape.

 

Window regulators are the motors in each door that make the window go up and down - they tend to fail on some of our cars - although I've never had that problem (yet).
I would imagine your car is a GXE considering your grandma owned it b4 you.
If you want to get rid of that old person car look, then put lowering springs and rims on it. You can find good tire/wheel (rims) packages on-line, at the wreckers (sometimes), in your local paper, in Auto Trader (sometimes) or at your local performance shop. Just be sure to get the correct bolt pattern & dimensions, back-spacing and hub diameter before ordering/buying any wheels. Lowering and wheels is the best and quickest way to change the attitude of your ride (imo).
Paint will probably be too much for your budget - unless you get one of those advertised cut-rate jobs - NOT RECOMMENDED!! So just forget about getting it painted for now, as a half-decent job would take your entire budget in one shot.

 

Ok, I though paint job were 500 and lower. Guess that's the ads you see and it comes out 1/2 a$$. How much would it cost to buy and have it professionally installed rims and lowering?

 

Also, I saw this in my Crutchfield mag, http://www.crutchfield.com/S-vzMSCP0...cs&i=070XD7500 How does that rack up against others in its price range?

 

as overpriced.

 

I hear that! Crutchfield thinks all their crap is made of gold.

 

I know I can get it for 20 bucks cheaper and get free installation. I know there **** is over priced. But sub 20 bucks off of that unit, is that a good cd player?

 

Dual is an elcheapo generic brand, you may as well get a panasonic or jensen. At least they've been around for a while.
Heck I can sell you a pyle unit for less than that

 

I went to a local stereo place and purchased a kenwood (cd player and being installed) for $300.

 

you have to get everything in working order first, then put what you want into it. The route I went, being 17 myself, is stereo system, rims, and now lowering springs/struts. A good place for new rims is www.discounttiredirect.com . Thats where I got mine...$1100 with tires mounted and balanced and free shipping. It all depends on what you want....performance? If you have an automatic, either convert to 5-spd or forget about performance (me, I'm just goin for looks). In terms of looks, there's plenty available, clear corners, springs, rims, body kits, etc.

 

there is those places in the back of super street that have 17's with tires for 399 with free shipping. YOu may want to look into them for rims. As far as styling goes, get a stillen front lip,se spoiler and a tint (btw what color is this car?) If its a black car get a really dark tint like 10-15%. I wouldnt advise 5% because you can not see out of the car at night. Get a GOOD system, not some bargain basement crap from bestbuy for 200 with amp. Spend some decent money and you will be much happier. If you have the bose stereo, have some place install the headunit because its a pita to rewire the speakers, you will also need new speakers i believe because the boses are 1ohm resistance and no head units can do that low of a resistance. If you wanna talk ever hit me up on instant messanger and i could possible be able to help you out. my screen name is kikcaffine