I figure I would start a thread of how you ended up with your 3rd gen, what year it is, how many miles it had when you bought it and how much you paid for it and a brief description of how you found it or ended up with it.

Year: 1991 SE
Mileage: 138k
Price paid: $1,325
Story: I was living in NJ last year and I owned my '02 RSX-S for a little over a year and saw I put 16k on it already. I knew the winter was ahead and was in the market for a 240sx 5spd for a daily/winter car. I walked past this '91 black max that was for sale in my apt complex, I always assumed it was an auto so I paid no attention. One day I walked by it and saw the 5spd, I immediately consulted here on the org and called the guy to check it out. I ended up buying it a week later.

The Bose sysem was all blown, so I replaced it with an Alpine MP3, JL components, and all new speaker wiring.

I took it to get inspected in PA, knowing there needed some work, $800, new front brakes, y-pipe and oil change later, it passed inspection and emissions. 2 months later a front strut seized on my way to my mechanic for an oil change, the max drove down the road like I had 3 wheel motion. $400 later that day all was said and done.

Late winter came which is when I started worry about all the other small maint. items: fuel filter, spark plugs, O2 sensor, cleaned MAF sensor, cleaned throttle body. I was still only getting 250 miles per tank. So I yanked some injectors from a gxe in the yard with 89k and installed those with my father. I also took care of the knock sensor and now it runs better than my old Buick did with 100k on it.

Next month I am changing the clutch, rear main seal, ball joints and control arm bushings. My friends and roommate hate this car, but **** them, I love this car, they just don't understand.

 

1991 SE auto.
147k on it when i bought it, now its got 179K
bought it for $2001 from my grandparents.

Well when my grandpa first bought this car it only had 60 thousand miles on it about 6-7 years ago. A doctor in town owned before him. Then my grandpa decided to drive it all over the country for work and trips. I loved it as soon as they bought it.

although i love this max and have put in a lot of time and money into it, ill never buy a car from my grandparents again. The exhaust broke in half the day i bought it (sounded like i was in the pits at a track it was so loud), there was a bad gas leak under the hood when i got it(had to take off the intake manifold for that), it has bad struts( soon to be lowerd), and the blose radio only worked on saturdays and every other tuesday(thats fixed now)..
This is my daily driver and i plan on keeping it til it dies and then rebuilding it after that. i dont think i ever want to get rid of it.

 

I stole mine....

 

1989GXE, 170k? when I got it (died at almost 190), paid $4000 (back in late 97 this was a pretty good price)
It was my second car after an 86 Civic that I got for cheap. A couple guys on my soccer team had 3rd gens and I really liked them and could afford them so I started looking around and found that one. It was sand grey with burgandy leather and tinted windows and looked pretty nice IMO. Auto tranny died but by then I knew I wanted a VE5 after being on some other, older maxima sites


1993SE, 114k (now 170k), $6000ish? (back in 99, not great price, but not bad)
Had been looking around for a black VE5 with leather and found this one for sale locally. It had some problems, but I really wanted it so I bought it right then with cash. I've fixed and changed a couple things on it since then.

I've learned a lot on these cars (mainly the VE) since then. I didn't even change my own oil on the GXE (I did install a CD player and foglights on the GXE though).

 

Year: 1994 Ti
Mileage: 94,000KMS (58408Miles)
Price Paid: $10990 Australian Dollars
Story: I was living in Sydney and owned a 2003 Nissan Maxima ST-R. The repayments for my Maxima were too high and as Im traveling overseas this year and want to save thought I need to go back to a 3rd Gen Maxima. I have own 2 in the past and loved them. Also part of me missed driving a 3rd gen. My friend has one also and I used to drive his all the time made me want another one even more. So I looked and looked and looked for a really nice one and found the one I got now in a dealership in the inter west of Sydney. Low Kms and the colour I always wanted.....

 

Ricer.....

Year: 1990 GXE
Mileage when I received it: 200k
Current Mileage: 236k
Price I got it for: $0
Price if I were to trade it in: $200
Using a POS and turning it into a work of art (in progress): Priceless

My father had to sell his 5 speed 1994 F150 since he broke his hip and the doctor told him that the constant moving for the clutch will knock his joint back out. That was supposed to be my first car. My father had turned it into a beast and I believe with a few mods that truck could have ran low 14's. Back on topic though. My sister had been the second owner of my max and she drove it up to CT and didn't feel like the ride back so my father gave her 1500 for it and he drove it for a year and a half until his settlement came in. He then bought a 5.7L Dodge Ram 1500 gave me the max some 31k miles after he drove it. I hated the max at first and thought that it was a waste. I wanted a cough....cough Civic. After I found this site things changed and I had my first race with a Civic when my tranny began slipping and I beat the hell out of it. I fell in love instantly. I think it's the VG so my next car will have a VG engine just different platform. I considered a 240sx but I love these engines too much.

 

1992 max SE 120k 3 cylinder
my friend had 2 cars that were up for grabs:
... 1993 altima non-running, valve cover off no clue as to the problem title MIA
... 1992 maxima 3 cylinder runs, has title

he was going to keep the max for his g/f but she was given a 95 j30 so instead I bought the max in july of 03 with the intention of reselling it. it sat on the lot (not fixed yet) until september when one of my uncle's customers needed a car. we were going to sell the car for $2k after fixing the injectors.
well he fixed the injectors and I had to drop my cherokee off to have some work done, so I took the max so I'd have a car to drive. Needless to say the customer never got the max, and I'm still driving it. the cherokee I sold for $900 taking a $600 loss.
I do miss having 4wd though.

 

First one: 1992 VE 5-speed, black leather, roof, ABS, pebble beige (gold). I bought it in 95 for something like $13k and it had 50k on it. Drove it to 160k and traded it in two years later. That's right -- I averaged almost 60k miles a year for two years. No VTC tick, I babied it, ran like a dream and the only problem was the slave cylinder went out. I have a picture of it, but no scanner.

My brother liked it so much in 97 he bought basically the same car. By late 2002, he had two cars and decided he didn't need the Maxima. Plus, he was in grad school and needed money, while the Maxima needed some work. I told him to give me until spring to sell my Mustang GT convertible and I would buy it from him.

Maxima #2 (current car):

Year: 1992 Aztec Red VE 5-speed.
Price: $2500 bought in spring 2003.
Current mileage: 150k.

When I bought it, it needed some stuff. The cruise didn't work, the clutch pedal bracket was broken and it had an exhaust leak. I fixed those three things, then decided this car would be my fun car. I have only driven it 1600 miles a year since I bought it early in 02. I have since had a JDM engine put in (thanks a lot to Jeff92SE), fidanza flywheel and ACT clutch (thanks to MrGone), Cattman y-pipe, Jeff92SE built CAI, GReddy exhaust (to be installed), UDP (to be installed) complete stereo system, s13 steering wheel, 13 lb 17-inch Centerline rims and an AE shift ****. I will probably need a tranny soon, but with all of the abuse this car has seen, that is somewhat understandable.

 

90---saw it for sale traded my buick and piece of junk blazer plus some network parts and work.

93SE---saw it for sale on the board because it was wrecked. Went to DC and got it for $800. Fixed the qurter and fender but then decided I wanted to customize it and never finished. I am close now though. Just need the money for paint.

92SE 5 speed---A good friend of mine bought the car for $300 from a local place that was going to crush it because the motor was blown. $500 for his spare motor (he had a VE auto he was parting out). Craig and I went down to FL and the 3 of us did the motor swap, VTC rebuild, exhaust stud replacement, knock sensor replacement and general clean up and seal replacements. Total cost around $1200 (including parts for KS etc.) for a great driving and running car with all the major things taken care of. Craig and David worked their butts off doing this also. I will owe them for that for a long long time not to mention I will owe David for the great price as well...I will make it up with some nice paint jobs or something .

 

1989 se
210,000 when I got it
214,000 now
paid $1,000 for it

I was living with some friends of mine. I was buying a 96 neon off of them. it was my first car. well things got bad and I moved out and when I did they told me that they were not going to sign the car over into my name and I had no proof that I paid for it so I had to give it back .

I ended up moving in with my mom and getting a job working for toyota making the B pillars for the toyota vans (cant spell the name lol) I had to walk to work every day. it was about 3 miles away. my mom had a maxima once when I was little and she LOVED it till the timing belt broke lol.

I found my maxima listed in the local paper. I went and looked at it and when I got my first check from toyota I gave they guy that had my max all of it for the down payment. every red cent that I made working for toyota went into buying this car. I got paid every week and I would cash my check and then give it to they guy for payment on my maxima. I worked there for a month (it was a temp job) and my last check was JUST enough to pay for the rest of the car and the tax and licens. I think I had $10 left over from my last check.

I was soo proud of myself for actually sticking through everything and paying cash for my car.

 

91 se
60k wen family got it
120k now
paid 10k including repairs in 95

My parents used to have a dodge spirit. on mothers day my brother decided to send his friends home wen it was raining so he got into an accident and totalled the car. tboned the front and estimate was almost 7k. he was 16 at the time and no insurance coverage on him. parents ended up buying the maxima at their mechanic. orginially was supposed to be around 8500 but alotta repairs/maintenance had to be done ie]spoiler was cracked, timing belt, full tune up,and some other small stuff. now my dad drives a towncar, brother drives a rx300 and the maxima is ALL MINE !

 

First car:



Year: 1992 SE auto
Miles: 108,000
Price: $3800 (in March 2001)

Story: I was working at a dot.com over winter break, and had decided I wanted my own car (my sister and I shared a beater at the time). I had always loved Maximas (my best friend's first car was a 1st gen and it seemed so cool at the time), and especially 3rd gens (when I was 16 a guy who worked with me at the catering company I worked for bought a black on black VE 5-speed and I always rode with him when we drove to job sites and it just blew me away). So, I searched for a good two months before I found one up in Hicksville, NH. It had a salvage title, but the guy told me the story of how a plow had come and scraped the entire driver's side of the car, ruining all the body panels and totalling it. He already had a parts car, so he swapped in new panels and gave the car a new paint job. I bought it for $3800. I drove it until July 2003, which brings me to.....

Second car:



Year: 1992 SE 5-speed
Miles: 67,000
Price: $2900 (July 2003)

Story: My friend was selling his 3000GT VR4 and wanted to buy a cheap, reliable car in the meantime just to get around. I looked for VG 5-speeds for him because the engines are more bulletproof and because they would be cheaper. I stumbled upon the black VE5 in autotrader, and the low miles piqued my interest. I called the dealer, and asked if it was a stick shift. He said yes. So it being the summer and we were bored, we drove 30 min down to look at the car (I didn't even know how to drive stick at that point, my friend drove the car during the test drive). We get to the lot and it is obvious that the VE is the nicest car on the lot. The slimeball salesman / owner tells me it is a trade-in from the local Subaru dealership and that he had just posted it in Autotrader the day before. It is MINT. We take it for a spin, I drive home and convince my parents to let me buy it and put it on their credit card so I can float the debt for a month while I try and sell the white car. I come back the very next day and buy her, and have my friend drive her home. I transfer most of my mods over from the white car and sell the white car for $2800 (w/ 136k by then), giving me a black on black VE 5-speed for a net $100 + title + reg fees.

 

first 3g...white 90 se autotragic (bought apr 01) (RIP 8/13/03)
117,000 miles
$5000

once of my gfs bro's had a white 91 gxe...with eibachs...and 2 10s...i instantly fell in love with the car...i started lookin for a max shortly there after...ended up finding a few...all of them sold right before i went to check em out...then i saw the 90 auto in the classifieds...went to check it out...mechanic said it was all good...paid $5000 in cash

8/13/03...while i was making a left into a parking lot, my friend came flying around a blind turn doin about 65-70 on his 04 cbr 600rr and hit the front drivers side of my car...ripped the bumper in half...cracked the bumper reinforcement...both headlights and corner lights flew off...cracked radiator...tried to save her...but there was frame damage...i got blamed..my friend got $55000...and bought a new 350z...havent talked to him since

2nd 3g...white 89 5spd (bought may 04)
220,000 miles
$1000

saw it on ebay..lost the first auction for it...it was relisted with a buy it now for $1000 so i bought it...picked it up the following week...came with 6 spoke white 17s

hit a pothole like 2 weeks after i got it...cracked my a rim and seperated the front passenger wheel well from the unibody...fixed that..then blew the engine when the tensioner pulley broke off...took the engine from my 90 and put it in

 

89SE
pd: $0
Miles: 208k
acquired: 3/2003

Mine was a hand me down. current mileage now is 240k.
i already had my engine replaced (i think i got dupe on this), The tranny rebuild (i think i got duped on this too). I replaced the struts, antenna, tires, fog lights, o2 sensors, LH rear light, front grille, gauge clusters. Added an FSB, an HAI.

future work: replace rack & pinion, replace bushings, rear suspension work, and many more!

OT: i'm glad i found this website, i learned a lot of stuff regarding my max. if i get a bonus here at work, i will donate...

 

I wanted one. So I bought one.

 

1992 SE Auto
Bought it 12/97
Had 125k on it

I worked hard through high school and sold alot of drugs. I saved up around $3500 and walked into the car dealer and told them I wanted a 4 door with some ***** and I will not take a 4 cylinder. They showed me this shiny black 4 door and I hopped inside and fell in love with the interior, they popped the hood and the heads were huge, I said "lets drive it". I hit the gas and back in 97 it was the fastest thing I had driven. So I bought it for $11k. Drove it and modded it until I wanted to go even faster and had it converted to a 5-speed in 2002. Now it has 290k on it and I it is sitting in the garage while I do some stuff to it.

1997 SE 5 Speed

It belonged to a good friend and .org member. I had always thought it was the cleanest 4th gen I had seen inside and out. I told him IF I ever owned a 4th gen it would be that one. Well, in 2003 he told me $4k takes it as is with everything, SOLD.

 

1993 Maxima
0 miles now it has 111,000 ish I put 10,000 or so on it
$22,000 ish

Story: Back in 1993 I was 6 and we went to the Nissan dealership to look for a new car for my mom with ABS. My parents wanted a car with ABS that wasn't a luxury car (ABS was new at the time). So the dealer sold us the GXE. I remember sitting in the dealership while they talked finance and I was eating ice cream sandwhiches and popcorn. We took the car home and to this day I still remember the new car smell damn fresh leather is good.For the most part my mom drove it to work and to Houston. We kept the car in the garage until I started driving and it had to stay outside but it sits under a street light safe. My parents have had the car since and after I turned 16 and went totaled my parets 88 Corrolla they gave me the Maxima. I have always loved the car and will never love another like it. I just love how it looks interior and exterior. Sorry for the sappy story but car have been apart of my family for 11 years. It turns 12 in June

 

LOL In 93 I was 3 years out of high school and married. I did actually look at Maximas back then because they had some special leases. I passed though because I had a decent car and didnt want a car note.

 

Paid--$0 (It was a hand-me-down)
Originally leased in 1992, bought off the lease 3 years later.
My dad was a traveling salesman at the time, so he put a lot of miles on it.....about 170000 by 1999. He bought a used Lexus SC300 5-speed and hasn't looked back on it since. He now drives an 03 TL. He had leased a 90 SE 5-speed before the 92 SE auto that I have, and he always to this day raves about the 3rd gear on it and how much better it was than the 92. So that makes me feel so much better about it now.....currently I have 187000 miles on it.

 

price paid: $1
miles at the time: 222XXX

My uncle had order the new 350z the first year they came out and was looking for someone to sell his maxima to but wanted someone who would take care of it. after refusing to sell it to several kids who wanted to buy it he reluctantly called me and asked if I would like to fly out to San Jose and drive it back home to North West Indiana. Of course i said yes and then it became a family trip. to make a long story short the first night we drove to Vegas and on the way there my mom drives the car(fully loaded with luguage and 4 people) at 105 mph for several miles and then tells me that it may not be a good idea for me to have a car this powerful. In the end however i did get to keep my max.

 

Here is why I driving a 3rd gen:

Before:


After:



Basically I tree fell on the car during a storm. With the money left over from the insurance claim, I used it to purchase my 93.

 

lets see. where to start. My very first maxima was an 89 GXE, i had about 130k miles, it was automatic, I loved the car but it had some issues i couldn't live with. The AC didnt work and even though my dad was a car mechanic; I couldn't afford the new part at the time not to mention a few other things bothered me; especially the fact it was an automatic. I got the car for free cause it was kinda like a present for my first car.

well, one day my dad told me he had a great deal for me, he wanted me to get a nissan hardbody pickup truck because they are great reliable trucks that last forever. he threw in the fact that the AC worked awsome and it was a manual. well me not knowing what i was getting into, i told him sure. AHHCK! iT WAS SO SLOW. I hated myself for agreeing to that for the longest time. eventually I slowly moved myself over to a faster car not much but faster. a 94 cavalier. well i thought to myself, i'll never ever get another maxima at this rate. well turns out my uncle in New York just about had it with his 92se maxima; fully loaded (original owner). he drove it through a huge puddle and seized the engine.

he said i could have the car; it just cost me 1100 dollars to have shipped out to arizona, and a new engine cost me 700 dollars. my uncle kept this car in very good shape, it has 153k miles on it, but the engine we're putting in only has 50k. I guess my dream has finally come true, lucky me

 

Black 93 SE Auto -
Family Car, but I was the only one driving so it was pretty much mine. Wrecked on 8/3/02 . Just had some small things done (stereo, fog lights, carbon fiber gauge bezel, nokya pedals, blah blah blah).

White 92 SE 5spd -
Purchased July of 03 (IIRC) for $1400 plus $50 for the tow home. Had a 3" hole in the bell housing. Have about $5500 into it since then :-/

Black 92 SE 5spd -
Purchased November of 04 for $336 plus about $175 in towing. Haven't had time to tinker with

 

Damn. Thats messed up. So after driving the Accord around, how does it feel to own a 3rd gen? Difference? Good, bad?

Anyway, I got my four door sports car at 84K as a present from my family almost 2 yrs ago for $3400. It was my first car. The car was owned by a mechanic who took care of it really well. The car was perfect. Almost new. It came with some interesting features that the previose owner put such as a cool complete Pioneer system with 6X9's in the front. Some advanced big lookin AMP in the trunk and a sub half the size of the trunk. 12-CD changer was also included under the passenger seat. It also had some custom exterior lights such as a pair of good quality foggers and some blinding lights in the grill(LOL). With a push of a button I could out blind anybody who dared high beam me. To make a happy story short, Im at 115K and only about 20% of the things I mentioned are in service. My biggest mistake was racing. I crashed the car so many times, Im surprised Im still alive. And worst of all, after only a week of owning the car, I told my friend to race cause I was tired of doing it for the day, and he crashed it on the highway doing about a 100mph into some guys rear end who was doing 50. After some expensive/extensive repairs, car ran great until tranny died at 100K. Then ran great some more till injector failure at 102K . Thats not mentioning anti-freeze, PS, and brake fluid leaks. Left rear caliper is done for. "Very reliable car if raced".. Yeah right I ruined such a beautiful car because of my childish ways. Now that I understand my mistakes, I have a messed up car and no money. Once I get a job, it will be beautiful once more.

 

I didn't/still don't have enough money to get a better car so I settled

 

First car: 1987 Nissan Maxima, my Dad and I shared pretty much. I use to take it to school when in junior year of high school. Good car, it was auto and poor thing got abused real bad. But it never left me anywhere nor did it need anything crazy as service wise. That car was bulletproof.

Second Car: My brother bought the 1992 VE 5-speed in October of 2000 with 71,700 miles. Gave it to me in the summer of 2001. I drove it during my senior year of high school and it was nice, the bose, 5-speed and power. I was top dog in high school with this car. Everyone liked it even teachers from what I can remember. I started modding little by little and pretty much ended up with a really good car. Its had its problems with the hesitation but with the change of the knock sensor and harness, all is well. I can't complain and the only thing I can say its been one of best cars I've owned. I still have it and drive it everyday. Today it reads 99,200 miles. Car still pulls to 120 with ease. Just a good car. Needs a little work here and there that will get done shortly but nothing serious just maintenance. Great car.

Third Car: 1995 BMW m3, just got it not too long ago. I love it, sorry the max is a good car just not an m3.

 

1992 SE 5 speed
210k KM
$8500(?) Cdn 3+ years ago

At the time I was working and making decent money, and the hand me down car I was driving was getting old and rusty. I decided I wanted to get myself a car, something I'd want to keep long-term. Being practical-minded (most of the time) and liking the friend-carrying ability of 4 doors (I've never owned/driven a 2 door now that I think about it...) I knew rear seat comfort was important. On the other hand, I also wanted something with a gutsy engine with a manual transmission, having been raised on 4-bangers ranging from "responsive" to "anemic", and I also found that my cornering style was often beyond the abilities of the car being driven. Combining the attributes of practicality and sportiness I was drawn to the Maxima SE... once I found out about it. It was in my price range, the engine was powerful with a stickshift, it looked great (to me), and the car was luxurious besides. I also remembered that a friend's family used to have a 2nd Gen '86 Maxima, and I remember being impressed by its comfort, torquey V6, and fairly good handling.

To make a long story short, VE 5 speeds were really hard to find here, but in the end I bought my car with high milage, some interior/paint defects, and a non-descript colour because its mechanicals were in good shape, and the car had regular, documented oil changes for most of its life. The VTCs were silent, the exhaust studs had already been changed, and the windows all worked. Bonus! And all thanks to the knowledge of the Maxima.org 3rd Gen forum veterans too.

While it has a few minor annoyances and more problems as it ages, I still have NEVER regretted the purchase. I plan on driving it until you can't replace or repair things on it anymore.

 

Well I heard that they were fast but I did not know the diffrance between the Vg and the ve then. Well I got a 93 gxe black in color. I drove it home with 102,000 on it. This june will be two years and I have 178,000 on it now. It has been a good car I have had to do little things to it the auto tranny was removed at 155,000 and a 5speed was put in by me. The auto was slipping a little. Well when I drove the car I was like what the hell this is not fast. But then I drove a ve and then I was like ok now i see. But end the end Im Glad I got THE VG because of all the prblems that the ve have with the vtc. MY vg is still strong after about 10,000 miles of boost and does not use any oil.I boosted the car making me 1 of the 3 boosted vg 3rd gen on here.

 

1990 GXE
Automatic
118,000 miles
price paid: $900
repair cost so far: ~500-600

got the car as a real steal in july 04. my brother went and looked at it and it was such a good deal that he told the guy to follow him home so he could write a check for him. then cause i needed a car i got it. very fun car. changed the airfilter, the sparkplugs (dont ever get bosch double platinum plugs..pos) and the wires immediatley. The oil was blacker than black...and the plugs were all original, except one...ive put 6000 miles on it, ive changed the oil 4 times, and its already black again, on 1000 miles! argh! i hate people who dont take care of their cars... the driver door's lower hinge pin is shot, so it doesnt close right, and the blower switch is broken, so no fan or heat. otherwise, the car is in great shape, except for a big dent i put in it. but it was a real steal at 900. i am thinking about buying my friend's 93 SE 5 speed, ill let you know if i do...

 

First Maxima: 1992 Black VE-5
Mileage: 145k
Paid: $3200

Story: Back in 2003 I was looking to buy my own car(had been driving around my bro's 1994 Sentra) I started off looking for a Sentra SE-R or something with rims. My Dad, friends, and I searched autotrader, the want ad digest, and every car lot in the area to find something acceptable but I always called too late, or it wasn't worth what they wanted. We found a car lot, an hour and a half away, that had potenial. When we pulled in there was a black maxima sitting there with rims for $3950. I wasn't too interested in the car (I mean come on it's 4 door... and it only 15's on it... American Racing...) until the guy told me about the 190 ponies and I test drove it. It was in great shape and we talked the guy down to $3200 and bought it. I loved this car but I wrecked it at 152k.

Second Maxima: 1992 White VE-5
Mileage:140k
Paid:$2000

I found this car at the same dealership that sold me the black maxima. My friend was in the market for a car and we went down to see what the dealership had for him. He had 2 maximas the ve-5 and a gxe that he sold that day. He had $3500 writen on the car but when I was talking to him he said it had an engine problem that the local Nissan $tealership couldnt figure out and I test drove it and told him I could fix it (thanks to the org...bad coil packs). He told me I could take it home for $2000... but I already had a max... I didn't need 2... Not a full week after looking at this car I wrecked my black maxima. I called him up and he still had the car and his offer was still good. I swapped in coil packs in from the wrecked maxima and was good to go. After driving this car from october to may it started to rust hardcore and I wanted another black max...white wasnt doing anything for me ... so I started to look for a new maxima... Found one, and sold this one for $1500 to a 16yo that loves it... wonder if he found the org yet...

Third Maxima - 1994 Black VE-5
Mileage:127k
Paid: $3000

Found this one on cars.com in Rhode Island, they wanted $3900 but the car had been forsale for 6 months and they were willing to make a deal. My dad and I borrowed a truck and we drove down, looked at the car (It was in great shape, cone filter, strut bar), made a deal ($3000 cash), rented a uhaul trailer, loaded it up and made it home by 10pm... that was a long day...

So, I haven't made any great deals on Maximas but I've had 3 great cars . My uncle keeps on telling me that for the $6700 I've spent on "those rice burners" I could have had a pretty slick ride... like a 60's Mustang... so I offered him that for his 68 shelby gt350 but he just walked away.

 

Both have its good and bad sides. Suprisingly, you'd think that an older 3rd gen would feel crappier than a new design Accord, but it doesn't. I could make a list of pros and cons, but that would just attract Honda fanboi's to the site.

 

oh please do, i love these sort of lists

 

94 GXE
92K miles in 2002
$4500

In 1998 I was driving an old 82 Volvo that was dying piece by piece. Picked up the wife at work and was driving by a Nissan dealer and decided to stop & look at used cars. Wife fell in love with a 97 Max and she drove it home and I still had the Volvo. Financing is great stuff. When in with $10 between the 2 of us and left with a car and $10. But couldn't afford another car for me, so I ended up with her 87 Buick.

Did not like that Buick at all, but loved the Max that the wife always drove. So 4 years later (2002) the Buick is dying and I go looking for a Maxima for me. In the process I discovered that the 3rd gen is more comfortable than the 4th gen, so I got a 3rd gen.

These 2 Nissans are not the first for me. I had a 1972, a 1978 and a 1980 Datsun 510 and loved them.

 

Year: 1990 SE 5 spd
Mileage when bought: 147,047
Current mileage: 169,998
Paid: $600
Story: My dad had a '90 GXE and I really liked that car. One day after a little searching around AutoTrader.com I found a my '90 SE for $600. The next day, I called and we ended up getting it that day. It had the window sticker in the glove compartment. New, the car had been just over $19,000.The guy that had been driving it had ben in an accident so it was in need in of a hood, grill, left headlight, sunroof, and winshield. After getting all that from junk yards (poor high school students dont have enough money to buy anything new) it was driveable. The spoiler had already fallen off and had the holes covered with electrical tape. But as soon as I started driving it I noticed some noise coming from the transsmission. Some bearing needed to be changed out. Since that, there has not been anything to done to it. Overall for the car and repairs I paid around $1,400.... exept two weeks ago hit a pothole and made a hole in my oil pan.... changed it last week now it's good as new.

 

I wouldn't own ANY 3rd gens without this org. Now I have three. Almost dumped my first one because of dying, hesitation problems that even good shops couldn't pin down. Found this org and started READING and asking questions and fixing things. Kept the first one, bought a second and then a third. They are so fun to drive.

 

First max: Super white 92 GXE, black leather, loaded
Bought March 00 with 63K miles and totaled Sep 03 at 117K miles.
Paid too much for it.

Second max: Super black 92 SE, 5spd, gray tweed cloth
Bought Oct 03 with 130K miles and now around 140K miles. Paid $3000 ttl.
Insurance company gave me a list of cars similar to mine, and so I found this Max from that list. It was listed for $5900, but I talked them down because it had a few things wrong with it that I could fix for cheap--window regulators, air bag fuse, broken radio, some dents, bad tint, etc. I hope this one doesn't suffer the same fate as my last because this car rocks.

 

1993 Nissan Maxima SE, Traded 1986 Monte Carlo SS and 1979 Monte Carlo for it. It drove nice for weeks after that I replaced the clutch (now less then 500 miles on the clutch), MAF sensor, bought new struts never got a chance to put it on, gave it complete tune up, got the exchaust fixed, used BOSE head unit purchased, replaced TPS, and a new CV joint. Now all its does is sit on my driveway waiting to be sold to good home. It does need engine work. I know i can get an new engine for it for $250 but don't have time to install it. Anyone looking to buy it well heres you chance. OK well i will do the math for you i am selling it for $500+ $250 for the engine(I could get it if you want) plus $350 to install it so basically $500+250+$350= $1100 you can have this car running. Anyone intrested please PM. I hate seeing it like this.



Additional pics

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/...%20SE/?start=0

I hate seeing it like this. $500 you can have it. BTW i know who can do the engine work the same day.
PM ME

 

Year bought: Bought both in 2002
Years: Silver 1989 GXE ---> Black 1989 SE
Mileage when bought: 200,000(GXE) 148,XXX(SE)
Mileage now: 205,XXX
Money: Paid $1200 for first one (gxe) with 200,000k on it. Paid $2,200 for 2nd one (se)

Story: I was looking around for cars my junior year of high school ('02) and I didn't want anything too ricey cuz that was the thing to do at that time. Saw some maximas on autotrader that looked nice and weren't too expensive and decided to get one. First one I bought had 200k on it(mostly highway miles) and the struts were blown. Later that year I was rearended with some girls in my car, they were ok thankfully, but my car was totalled and so I got some insurance money and like the maxima so much I bought another one, my lovely back 89 se

 

Bought in Oct 03
1991 GXE Black with grey cloth Int
Paid CAD$4800 (Thx to "My-old-man financing") i'm still SLOWLY paying for this.
KMs when bought 198,000km
KMs now 225,000km

I've been out of high school for a few years at that time but i was kinda lost and didn't know what to do with my life, until i finally decided to catch up with my life and got a job and registered for school. I saw a busy life coming with school and work at the same time so i needed a car for convienience..

I was out one day with family when we decided to go look for a car for me. A family friend runs a auto mechanic shop and she suggested us to go take a look at this dealership she deals with. i was just looking around and didn't really have a particular car in mind, the salesman told me to go take a look at the black maxima that was sitting in the middle of a while buncha other cars.. i got the key, jumped in, and the interior felt really comfortable.. and i looked at the dash panel and wow.. dude! Auto Climate control... and i thought it couldn't get much more fancier than that..

so i decided to take it for a test drive, and my cousin who was there wanted to come along, and so did 2 of my uncles.. so the 5 of us (don't forget the salesman himself) climbed in and we took it for a spin.. i didn't even have to go 1/2 down on the pedal and the torquey engine just pulls us with sure and steady power. and the cornering was stable.. A/C was freezing and it has all the toys i like (power windows/locks etc.)

the problems it had was worn out tires and breaks, clicking C/V joint, and timing belt, water pump due for replacement. but it was a far better car than the stupid civic or corolla i had in mind.. so i gave the nod to buy it.

all of my friends have told me my car was really comfortable, and rear passenger seat comfort is awsome. my max makes me so proud of it, and i keep it clean as often as i can.. and i started to add some small mods on it...

last year around this time of year i had a crash. it was raining really heavily, i had the old worn out tires from when i bought the car still on it, i was being cheap and thought it could hold out for a while longer... and i went too fast around the curve to get off a bridge, i slipped and flew over a curb and the rear right wheel smacked against it, bent lower control arm, ripped the shock apart, the whole wheel with the disc brakes came off the car. and the frame bent upwards on that corner as well, making the doors and trunk on the right side really difficult to open at times. i got the wheel fixed for CAD$2300 and an alignment was done to it, but i have yet to summon up the money to repair the frame.

 

i paid 3k for my 89 back in 2001 from my best friend,(the trans was rebuilt, but it went 2 times before i decided to have someone else rebuild it, and that cost me 1500 bucks) i talked him into shaving the handles, did the work less actually shaving them. he went away for the summer and i babysat the car..................shaved the handles, put the gs300 lights in replaced the front bumper, and when he came back i told him he couldnt have it back
i paid 100 bucks for my 93 a year ago hit in the front.put in about 500 bucks and it is better than new