Let me start off by introducing myself officially, some of you have already seen my "first 15 posts" but this is my official first thread. My name is John (19) and I'm from Chicago.

I've wanted a 95+ Maxima for the past 2-3 years now and finally got a Maxima. 93 GXE but its still good, I'm happy. I got the car today for $550, it was $700 but my G/fs dad is a mechanic so I took him to see it and he started pointing out basic stuff to the seller and got him to bring it down to $550 although he asked to reduce to $450 but no luck. The car is in good shape bodywise, little rust is starting to show up as you will see when I post some pics.

The car needs a timing belt and a full tune up cuz it doesnt go over 2000 RPMs and the previous owner didnt do jack maintenance to it as he told us himself. Future father in law mentioned something about a little screw being moved far to one side had the timing screwed up causing it to be rough or something like that.

Monday will be replacing all this for $350
-Drive Belts
-Thermostat
-Water pump
-Timing belt
-all hoses

Week after, Full tune up

Summary: 1993 Pearl/White Maxima GXE (VG30e) Auto, 141 miles, All new tires, New Exhaust, new brakes..(to mention arent they supposed to be 4 disc?? I have 2 disc 2 drums) shocks and struts seem to look/feel new too. All for $550. Deal or not?

 

reasonable price if the car ran right.

you have a GXE without ABS so you have rear drum brakes.

Was this the one from craigslist?

 

If it doesn't go above 2000RPM, I'd check the connection to and/or replace the MAF sensor.

 

I was thinking the same thing.

I would also flush and replace the tranny fluid. The auto trannies are probably the weakest link in any 3rd gen. If you have the money, maybe even look into installing a tranny cooler.

Sounds like you got a pretty decent deal, as long as the tranny holds up. Even if the engine is garbage, you can get a JDM or decent junkyard one for about $300-$800 and it sounds like you have someone willing to help you out.

Good luck with the car and welcome to the .org.

 

Thanks for confirming that, dammit no ABS.. I kinda like ABS. But on the rear windows it sais 4 DISC 4 door sports car or something like that. could it have been that someone changed it or something?

Also, I'm not familiar with craiglist what is that?

 

Yea my FIL was tapping it when the car was on to see if it would somehow work better but it didnt. Changing MAF with the tune up.

I'm gonna be having a lot of new parts under the hood. once I have credit cards paid off I know I'm gonna be working for my car, once its up to date with everything working to its potential I wanna put some perfomance into it perhaps you guys with more experience can recommend specific brand and model parts.

Part I have in mind are:
-CAI or HAI if no CAI available
-Underdrive pulley
-Headers
-Strut tower brace

Thanks to those who replied

 

You sure it says "4 DISC 4 door sports car" on that one sticker? You sure it's not just..



And "craigslist" is www.craigslist.com

 

Yes thats what it says, I must've misread it in the excitement of having a maxipad. well I guess you told me and that sure cleared a lot. thanks

 

No problem. But remember one thing, it will never be a true 4 door sports car until you mod the suspension/engine and mate it to a 5spd tranny. Or just go for the ultimate 4DSC found in the 92-94 SE's. Enjoy.

 

That I absolutely agree on with you. Yesterday I took somewhat of a fast corner and felt some bodyroll an on some bumps, I've had 2 Honda Accords since 2001 a 88 lxi and 89 lx , so I'm used to driving those and their suspension feels a bit stiffer than the maxipad's, I know I'm deninately gonna be getting sports tuned suspension sometime, but for now the tower brace will do. I also want the 5speed tranny but I have to master it before i get it on the maxima. Once I'm financially able I'm probably gonna buy a cheap car to master manual tranny skills then get a swap or perhaps a newer max.

Also I kinda want the 2000 Maxima Se rims for my 3th gen, I think it'd look dope. I also like the rims that aw89maxSE has. not to be a copy cat or anything but hell I would consider getting those anytime

 

I would sell the gxe before sinking money into it...Get the SE you really want!

 

To be honest I didnt have a 3rd gen SE in my head, I just bought this maxima cuz its a maxima and I've been wanting one for 2-3 years. The Maxima I have in mind is 97+SE but other than that any maxima is fine for me. dont get me wrong, I would love an SE but if I cant get it yet I'm ok witht that. Thanks for the advice though.

 

Hey the 95-99 Max's are nice, but to each his own. Check this review out on how they compare our Maxima to the 4th gen. I really like this review since they tell it how it is.

http://www.vmrintl.com/Usedcars/Car%...xima_89-94.htm

Don't know if you knew, but they really cheapened out on those cars compared to the 3rd gen SE's. No independent rear suspension, no limited slip differential, lighter cheaper materials, and a less sophisticated engine, IMO. But if it's the body style your really after go for it. If I can make just one 4th gen admirer a 3rd gen enthusiast, that would surely make my day

Edit: Just look at Jbr8k's sig.. You can't get such beauty out of a 4th gen with just a nice set of rims, IMO.. Just doesn't have the lines/curves for it. The 3rd gen on the other hand has lines and curves in all the right places.

 

I definately agree I love his rims, I just asked my g/f right now if those would look nice on my car since its white..wonder how they would look.

But hey dont get me wrong I love my 3rd gen maxima and I havent even gotten to enjoy it yet as it doesnt go over 2000rpms, tomorrow I will be getting all that crap taken care of I'm a fan of every and any maxima.

You know what actually pissed me off? My friend has a Beretta GT 88 and he talks **** about Maximas being crap and stuff, he's like "I wouldn't have paid all that for that car(550), I wouldnt spend all that on putting new stuff in it(350) either" My g/f got so pissed off cuz he thinks his Retta is the ****. Maybe Maximas should go join the Beretta forum people on one of their "fests" and show them

 

Congrats on your new ride. Strikes me as kind of odd, for not maintaining the car (per the previous owner), that it has new brakes, tires, exhaust. Hopefully the tune-up works wonders as well as the other maintenances you have planned. Good luck.

 

good luck with you new whip

 

So just thought it'd give you guys a lil update. Today about an hour ago I took the maxipad to my FIL's shop for the timing belt ect..and found out finally what the actual cost was gonna be with the parts. Labor was 350 as he said last week, but the parts he just told me today would bring up the total to $650 not my FIL but his boss, he's the rip off. So a friend of ours who rents a room in our house called his mechanic (who has worked on my honda before) and he agreed to change the Timing belt, Thermostat, All drive belts, Water pump, and whatever hoses are in bad shape (which they all seem fine upon basic inspection) for $450 with all new parts and warranty. Taking the car in tomorrow and will be ready on Friday.

Oh and he's also gonna do Full tune-up and oil change and put it on my tab until next week

 

word, well hopefully the tune up and all the work will keep you running good for a long time. I just got all my oil leaks fixed, and today i replaced all my ignition coils, and my car runs brand new. The best part about the work you're getting done is the drive belts, when i got mine replaced it was a joy to drive my car. Enjoy it, and take car of it, you never know, it can be a very very sexy car.

 

happy new car to you!

 

lol dammit man, now that I'm doing all this I dont think I'm gonna have enough for my title transfer and city sticker...unless I ask someone to buy me a suburban city sticker which costs...1/4 the price of chicago. POS city. Anyone in suburbs surrounding chicago can buy me a sticker? I'll pay you the sticker plus a sum for the inconvenience as long as it does not sum up to a chicago sticker.

 

don't try that.
unless you registered the car AND your drivers license is suburban, the city will still give you a ticket.

title transfer = $65
Taxes = $25 unless you bought it from a dealer then you pay 9% of the purchase price
Plates = $78
City sticker = $75

so your total is $243 to get the car registered legally.
of course then there's insurance too.....

unless you need a car in the city it's largely cost in-effective to have

 

.....wow....It costs about 1/4 of that to buy a car here....Title transfer is free, taxes are 9.50% of value stated on title,plates are $31..

 

congrats on the car man. if u need any parts just ask internetautomar for them. for suspension parts talk to Matt93SE and for anything else u need help on just ask us and we will all lend u a hand on improvin' the looks and performance of ur new 3rd gen. take care of that car cuz it will last u a lifetime if u want it to.

 

I got the plates from my old Lumina APV so thats taken care of, just transfer them

I think Plate/title transfer is $80
City sticker $75
and the little sticker that goes on the plate is like 80something
is there something missing? can anyone confirm if the plates sticker cost that much?

Insurance I just add it to my policy, no biggie.

 

Thanks for that helpful information. Parts hmm, would that be new parts or used or both?

 

the plate sticker is the license plate fee. so if you are just transfering the plates there is no additional fee beyond the transfer fee (unless your plates are expired)

 

it will be new parts

 

Yea I have the plates from my old Lumina which was stolen and left at the pound. The plates have the sticker which expired 04-05...so I will have to buy the sticker but the plates can be transfered

 

STOP
don't renew those plates unless you have some sentimental attachment to them.
renewing plates costs exactly the same as getting new plates.
but in your case, you'll be paying a transfer fee (15-25 bux) PLUS the plate fee, which will still expire in april so you'll be out the 5 months that they expired.

 

actually at the moment I'm getting a parts car so I should have some used available in 2 weeks

 

the plates expired in April 05 which was 5 months ago i think. So transfering them to my car would cost the same as new ones?? I thought new ones would be like $144

 

new plates cost the same as renewing them. $78 either way

 

I see... interesting...So I would buy:
City sticker $75
New plates $78
Title transfer $65

Total? $218

lol I'm sorry I did real long time ago so I dont remember it. Do you know if the little rear plate sticker comes with the purchase of the new plates?

 

Congrats on the car. For me since I am notoriously known in the third gen forum for blowing trannies (3 in less than a year and half). Let me give you some advice on the auto tranny. Don't drive it hard, install a tranny cooler, and get a VB upgrade. Heard it saves the tranny. I should have bought one.

 

I'm getting it flushed soon, how much does the tranny cooler run plus installation? Also what is a VB?

 

correct, the little sticker comes with the new plates too.

VB = Valve body, a part internal to the transmission

 

Thanks for the clarification. I heard that if you customize your plates is cost $11 extra as long as you have a number somewhere in there, but if its all letters its more expenesive than 11 extra bucks. Do you know if thats true?

If it does cost 11 extra bucks for customized plates with a at least one number.. can anyone suggest any ideas? I was thinking MAXIPAD ($$) or X32 IARO..

 

this ain't fackin fair... people down in the states can buy cars for a few hundred dollars while here i still need over $4000 to get a 91 GXE. I'm pissed!

 

Move........

 

Oh yea well I'm pissed cuz you Canadians get FAST internet real cheap. I heard broadband there is like 10mbps while we're stuck with basic 3mbps if lucky. I got 4 but still not happy since i had 6mbps

Come buy car here and drive back, I dont know if they will charge you for bringing it in but try it lol Or just move. Being facking pissed isnt good for your health. Hell 4000 here can buy you a damn 96 if you're lucky