1990 SE
5-speed,vg

I was running parts around town for napa at the time. I saw it at a body shop (Manies Aut body in vermont) that I went to daily. It was for sale at 1800. I got it for $800 and traded my 92 mustang (Broke down several times in a month).
Had a fresh crappy paint job, the inside was covered in mud, oil, and beer, EVERYTHING wear and tear I had to replace. I never saw this car EVER in vermont. I quess being brought up in a world of mustangs blinded me, lol.

 

stupid story because I'm 35!
Mom bought this 92 GXE new, drove it only 110K miles before deciding she wanted a new Nissan Quest last year. SO, she handed the title to me and said "take care of my baby".
2 months later, while driving to work, I choked on coffee behind the wheel, blacked out, and drove right through a tree.
Back on the road now.

 

1992 GXE
Bought 12/2001 w/ ~108xxx odo miles; ~137xxx odo miles now
Paid $4000 to my cell phone guy with an aftermarket HU & FSTB already installed

Since ownership, despite replacing the radiator, water pump, tranny, window regs, hood struts, motor mounts, and soon timing belt, the love affair is still going strong. In my mind, it's already given me $4000 worth of service, especially since 4 people (including myself) have learned to drive in this car .

 

sorry to hear that, but how do you choke on coffee?

 

First had a 87 SAAB900 turbo, killed that, drove the family V6 dodge caravan around, got another SAAB, 92, but stuff kept breaking and them dang scandanavian parts are soo expensive. I wanted either a 97 Prelude, GSR, 240sx, or GTI. But I was having trouble saving for a car while keeping the SAAB running so i could get to work. So i set my sights a little cheaper. I had few requirements. Must have leather, 5-speed manual, and a sunroof and couldnt be older than 92.

I went to test drive a 97 Toyota Celica. It was a very clean car in good condition. I wanted it so the guy promised he would hold it for me. So i went to the Bank and got a cashiers check. Came back and the car was gone. i was so pissed i almost hit the guy. BUT i remembered an ad for this maxima. My sister, mother and I drove over there to look at it. It didnt look like much but it had leather sunroof, and was a 5-speed and 3grand less and i wanted a car bad. The guy kept telling me to test drive it and to open it up on the highway. I didnt even have to get to the highway, the thing had power. Turned around and bargained him down to about $3grand. And it came with the stock wheels and some 16 inch O.Z.'s even if they werent tight.

92 nissan maxima SE 5-speed
$2800
164k to start
194k and rolling

Stillen Kit
18' RIAX 5G'S
E36 Dual Halo projectors
and some go fast goodies. . .T.B.C. . . .

 

Year: 1992 GXE
Purchase price $9900 (Feb 97)
Mileage at purchase 65K miles
Mileage today 168k miles

I bought this car back in February '97 because my '80 Celica was getting really tired and worn out. Plus, I was expecting my daughter to be born in May, so I wanted something practical. I considered Accords at first (wife already had a Camry), but I found that I could find Maximas with a more powerful engine at comparable prices, so that got me interested.

I looked in the Seattle Times for several cars and this was actually the first car that I actually test drove. It was in good condition and ran well so I bought it.

It has served me as my daily driver since then. The most expensive items were the 2 timing belts and exhaust manifold stud replacement. Other than that I just had to take it in for tires, alignment and brakes

Mods are minimal - window tint, Sony CD player/6-disc changer, Infiiniti tweeters, Kenwood 3-ways, some sound deadening in doors, fog lights and the maxima.org sticker.

It has been by far the most reliable and durable car I've owned. I've considered replacing it with a new car recently, but I decided to keep it for at least 4 more years (assuming it keeps running - and it should as it doesn't burn any oil). I religiously flush the transmission every 20K as a preventative measure.

Lots of good memories with this car - I brought my daughter home from the hospital in this car back in 5/97. First time I drove to Canada in 5/01, it was this car also.

 

1991 Red SE 5-spd
164k current: 176k
$1200 in November, 2003


Story: offically paid $400 for the car and $800 parts and labor to make it streetable. i had been looking for something to replace my 89 woody caravan which was using more oil than gas per mile. found it at my long-time mechanic friends shop. i had liked these cars since new, but had never ridden or driven one. my friend first offered to sell me a cutlass sierra, ha! i asked about the maxima instead.

i test drove it that first day to see just what parts needed to abosolutely be fixed. my first impression? the car needed struts, no e-brake, drivers seatback was broken, radio toasted, manifold leak (both sides), y pipe and exhaust, and cords showing on every tire! In spite of all that, the car was a ROCKET! (compared to any other car i've owned). hard to keep on the road, but 85 mph in third gear was a blast!!! still is!

Initially it got the y pipe, (stock), exhaust - cat, exhaust gaskets, and tires. Since then, monroe struts- el cheapo i know, passanger ball joint, rear pads, and during this past summer i had to replace the sending unit in the gas tank. by far cheaper than replacing the fuel pump. oh yes, the saga of the window regulators $30 and the switch panel $45-ish. junk yard for both.

i have done some of the wiring up-dates as per craig brace, thanks craig! corners on with head lamps, great up here in deer country, auto-up window, always ready speed control.

still need to fix the e-brake, need cables, need new speakers and wiring. should have new plugs and wires soon. has a crack in the windshield....
wish list: beyond the above, fog lamps, window tint...this car really screams tint, then real goodies to improve performance. like strut bar, suspension bushings, CAI, UDP,...more power.

I still HATE RED! but i still LOVE MY MAX!!! would only trade it for a Black SE 5spd, or maybe a 5th gen...or maybe the 3.5 would work in the 3rd gen.......

thumbs up to maxima.org!

 

and then on the 9th day, God created the 3rd gen.. standing behind a tree, Vlad (me) spied. then quickly ran up, and drove away. and it was good.

actually i had a 1998 Plymouth Breeze. it was the best car ever, i loved it, until dad decided to sell it to some romanian ***** down the street for 3000 ,when i bought it for like 7000 originally two years before that. I got angry, took dad's keys to his maxima and headed straight to a store to buy **** to fix and mod it to my preference. been happy ever since.

now i need a second car for a family member. any suggestions? im willing to spend about 3 grand. preferably finance it.

 

1994 SE Auto
Bought: 79k
Now: 117k

I got my license some time before I graduated from high school. Back then I was wayy into lowriders and I really wanted an '84 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight or Cutlass Surpreme 4-door. Parents kept telling me it would be too expensive to maintain a car that old and crappy (their words, not mine), not to mention the maintenance that comes with hyraulic suspension. But dammit I wanted one. My parents started looking for a car for me on their own. I told them it had to be a 4-door and that I preferred something American. I had about $2500 saved up at this time. One day, two ads of irresistable nature popped up on the internet. The first was a 91 Lincoln Towncar that had high mileage but already had a set of nice wire wheels on it and it would be exactly $2500 if I payed in cash. I was excited. The second was a 94 Maxima with a whole lot of options, lower mileage, but being sold for considerably more: $5000. My parents said they would pay the other half as my graduation present. A generous offer but I was still more excited about the Lincoln. I called both of the sellers to tell them I was interested. The guy selling the Maxima was available to meet us that day. We met in the parking lot of a Starbucks. When the guy pulled in, my dad pointed it out (I had no idea what a 3rd gen looked like at this point) and I immediately fell in love with the color. It was like melted vanilla ice cream covered the car. I inspected the interior and was like "omg, powered leather seats?!!1" and "W00T? a car phone?!" The Lincoln was losing this battle. Big time. Then came the test drive. Being that I didn't know jack about performance at the time(or have any interest in it, for that matter), the car ran therefore it was good. It wasn't until a year later that I reallized it was fast (after driving my friends' V6 3rd gen Firebird and Camry). We bought it that day and I have had no regrets since. I can't even imagine what my life would be like today if I had bought anything else.

P.S. - Carphone has since been removed, but the wiring, microphone, and antenna are there to stay it seems.

 

good luck finding a decent car for 3k that a bank will finance.
buy a cheap max, and fix it to taste.

 

shopping for my first car in 01 - i originally wanted a 93-97 Camaro Z28 but i started thinking "practically" with gas insurance and all, so began taking a liking to the maximas, particularly the 4th gen at the time. Since price was a little high for the 4th gens i noticed the 3rds... so continuing my shopping i checked out a few VGs and maybe 1 or 2 VEs, i actually wanted an auto since i was rusty at driving stick.

After the whole summer of shopping i still couldnt find a nice one so i was about to settle for a 1st gen altima when i stumbled upon an ad in cars.com of a 92 black VE auto 96k mint cond blah blah. Called up the guy that evening made an appointment to go see it an hour later, went to see it.. done. sold. It was a little on the high side with price ($5850 to be exact) but since this was the cream of the crop with all the ones i looked at, i plunged for it.

pic of it at the guys house:


I remember that the only thing i wanted to do to it was add a sunroof deflector and a hood bra...

...here i am in 05 with 99 rims, 3 sets of tires, 5spd swap, 3 clutches, and an entire engine overhaul



also we bought my blazer primarily to use while my car was down during the motor job and also as a secondary/spare vehicle for the family, but i use it the most

 

First and only max: 92 Superblack SE 5 speed VE loaded. Paid $3500

Why bought: Saw it, fell in love, seemed like a good way to find happiness after marriage broke up.

Lasted: one month. Engine blew the day after it turned past 300,000

Then?: Stored for a year and a half wishing I had the $ to fix it.

Decision? Screw it, I wanted my max back. Put in JDM engine. $650 for engine. $350 clutch, and $500 labor plus other costs you ring up when you leave a car sitting in a garage in Canada....

Result:? No VTC ticking (although just what is that "chain" sound when I accellerate hard?) and damn fast.

Conclusion: I have found happiness ..... may it keep running a long time.

 

1991 White on Black SE
Bought it on March 2003 at 64,000
Now it has 76,000
i love this car

 

i drove the girlfriends 93se and loved it so much i then drove a friends 97 and ended up buying one just like it. 97gle. unfortunatly i love driving the girlfriends up in the mountains (corners better than the 97) but i do love both. ***** i wish i never drove one cuz now i am looking for both a 2gen to fix up and a 4th gen just to have.

 

i got in an accident in my hand me down 89 toyota cressida in 2001; got money from the insurance; my dad liked the maxima; tried to convince my dad to get a 4th gen SE; but my dad ended up buying a 94 GXE in 2002.

It was his money, so he bought the 94 GXE with 66,000 miles for 6,500.

when i graduated high school in 2002 he just gave me the car.

In fall of 2004 i tuned up the max with some eibach springs and tokico shocks. I would like to tune up the maxima more (mainly handling), but college and my djing hobby already kills my money.

 

does anyone else see this too?? go on pimp my ride man!