Well today I was driving by and spotted a 3rd generation maxima for sale for $1000. I went and checked it out and it has a 5speed. Its an 89 model and I believe it is an SE because it has a spoiler, white face gauges, and a sunroof. I am thinking about buying this driving it some back and forth to work and selling it later on down the road. Are there any things I should look out for when buying this 3rd gen? If I do purchase this car the first thing I would like to do to it is slam it with some coilovers. Do they make coilovers for 3rd gens? What about a short throw shifter? Would you guys consider this car if it were you? Please help a 4th gen guy out

 

no coilovers available, not even custom job yet, it's still being worked on by the masters in this forum.

short throw shifter is available.

Things to check out for, but is not limited to:

rust in the rear fender well, both of them
rust in the fuel filler neck
broken exhaust stud
dead cylinder(s) due to failure of fuel injector
belt conditions, and timing belt replacement proof
leaking sunroof
master/slave cylinder leak test
brake booster unit
and the regular stuff

you forgot to mention the mileage, and how it felt when you test drove it.

 

Little stuff- windows working/not, usually simple solder job or resonable dealership parts.
clock- quick solder job
bose- speakers not all working, usually fail in a driver door to pass door to rear type circle.

Thats about it. Id check all the fluids of course, and the front crank seal, the 89 5 speed I just got has a terrible leak there.

~Alex

 

i got a black 92 se.its an automatic though. the details of the car are in the for sale forums. make me an offer. send a pm if intrested

 

- read the rust recall threads

 

ask about belts when they have been changed on it.

 

on the timing belt. Go for it man....I did! I love having my 3rd gen to run around in.

 

I didnt get to test drive it yesterday. But I plan to today. I will let you know more about it this afternoon. Thanks

 

hey man,

go for it, your going to love the feel of the IRS on sharp turn corners,

 

Well I went back today to try and find out more about the car. Here is what I found out: The car has just over 200,xxx miles. The clutch has been changed out at 180,xxx miles. I did notice more dings and dents on it today. The paint is really sad looking. The A/C fan only seems to work on the 4th speed. The engine seems to run fine. I didnt get to test drive it because the right rear tire went flat. The best deal the guy would give me on the car is $950. Im I getting into something here that I will regret later? I really want this car to sell back and make something on it after I give it some TLC. Im still not really sure if it is an SE? I know that it has a sunroof, spoiler, and white face gauges? What should I do?

 

sunroof, spoiler, white face gauges and 5spd mostly likly a SE since gxe's arent 5spds unless converted.

ac fan is just blower resistor. pretty cheap fix.
flat tire 50 bucks?
paint? thats an iffy for me. but a retouch could be roughly 200 or more
taht guy is on crack with 950 maybe if he fixed the tire and blower resistor...but id have to drive it first before making any decision.

 

With 200k, there's almost no way you could make any $ on it.

 

as jeff pointed out any car with 200k on it rarely sells for over $1k
Buy it if you like it, otherwise keep looking

 

Ok thanks for the advice everyone I think I am going to pass on it. Maybe I will find something better. Like a 240sx