I'm a potential buyer looking into buying a 3rd Gen VE Maxima. Problem is, the local car dealers ...ahem,small-town- stealerships, have limited selection and sh!tty prices....I live in Carbondale, Illinois,to go to school, so we have exacty three car dealers ....and one mom-and -pop operation run out of a former gas station.

And absolutely NONE of these "reputable" businesses have a 3rd gen period, and only two have ANY Maxes (both late-model 5th-gens) at all. The nearest " real" stealership is 3 hours away in St. Louis metro area...

So, ebay is looking real good right now for buying a 3rd gen SE. Have any of yall had ANY experience with Ebay, positive or negative( including part sales also.) and what should I, as a buyer, be looking into before bidding ?

Thanks.

 

Some can be good, if possible check it out first. I bought a 90 GXE on ebay for $380. Said it needed a tranny. Turns out it had more rust than described, needs some exaust work, tranny, and needed a passanger axle (which has now been replaced) Atleast I got him to knock $80 off the price because i was so pissed about the misrepresentation.

 

I'd stay away from buying a car on ebay unless you are either getting way cheap or have inspected it first

 

There really is a wealth of information on eBay's own site that will help you determine what to look for in a seller. Just go to the Buyer section of the site. Right off the bat though, you can look at an auction page to determine a seller's positive feedback count, read feedback left from other buyers, etc...
Ask questions of a seller, know the hidden fees involved, make sure you are seeing the whole picture. If something seems rather shady chances are it is. When an auction is fully documented with all of the warts exposed in full color, you can get a good idea of a seller's integrity.
Having said that though, without the ability to inspect a car firsthand, I probably wouldn't bid. However, there are 3rd party services that will inspect the vehicle for a fee on your behalf.
Again, use eBay's site to guide you through the process.

 

Hey, I know a good bargain GXE on ebay!

Just needs tranny!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=4588386908

Peoria, IL is about 3.5 to 4 hours from you. I bet the car could make it.

 

Generally, I would stay away from ebay, since you usually can't inspect the cars first hand.

With the exception of pretty high end cars and dealerships, I feel like someone is likely desperate to get rid of the car, seeing as it is going to cost them $80 to sell it on ebay. If they aren't as desperate they just list it in Autotrader for half that or the local paper or the local Craigslist.

You are probably going to be better off doing the following.

1) Check Craigslist, get the newspaper, autotrader and thrifty ads (nickel ads, whatever) from the nearest large city near you. For you that looks like St Louis at about 2 hours away.

2) Find maybe 4-5 potentially good cars in your price range.

3) Call on several of them and check availability on a day you have off (usually Saturday or Sunday are best). Map out the best ones in a way you can get to them and explain to the owners or dealerships that you are from out of town and might be looking at a few cars.

4) Grab a buddy and offer to buy lunch and pay for gas and make it a day trip.

5) Go home happy.*

*At least at first. Buying used cars are a gamble, even if it's from someone you know. Anything can happen at any time and there are no guarantees.

 

there's a VE A/t on fleabay right now in st louis going for $500

 

We have bought 3 Maximas off Ebay and they all worked out great and the price was great. I got my 92 SE for $305, well worth it. We had a 96 SE that was totaled 3 weeks after bringing it from CT. Our current 99 came from Dallas and it was a great price and the car was perfect. I bought a beater Camry with no reverse or 5th for $51 and drove it home from across town, got a used tranny for $78 shipped (Ebay) did the brakes, drove it for a year, 32 mpg, and sold it for $500. I bought my beater truck for $177 and just had to do a head gasket. However, We got an NX2 that was painted pretty and had nice rims, paid a premium price and got SCRUED big time. The seller was a straight crook and shafted others as well. He disappeared from Ebay shortly thereafter. There are a lot of good folks on Ebay but there are some sharks out there too. Do your homework and pay attention to feedback. If you are looking for a nicer car, maybe get it inspected. Contact the seller beforehand and maybe make an agreement to inspect the car before the deal is final. Some sellers will put in there listing that if the car s not what was described they won't make you commit. If you're buying a beater or a project, you may get what you pay for. It can be a crapshoot. Good Luck!

 

At prices like that, it is worth the gamble just in parts.

I think since you are a mechanic and have a shop, you have a lot more wiggle room, as long as the price is right.

IMO, for an 18 year-old to buy a car off ebay as his primary driver is much more of a gamble. I know you can get good deals and you can get totally hosed, too.

 

This will be my primary car for, hopefully, only one year, until my pops finishes paying off the family 4th gen and passes it to me.....

then, its MOD TIME for the '95 SE

Until then, I'm outta luck on transit, so I figure, If I'm gonnna buy a used car, a Max VE SE 3rd gen is a good pick. Besides, I like the styling, and the performance of the VE , so's the logic behind picking the Max.......

 

Hit craigslist.org and check your nearest local cities. Trust me there is one somewhere.

 

Well,

When I wrecked my VG, I went on a nationwide search for a VE 5-speed. (I live in Houston). I used autotrader.com, and searched 92-94 maximas by distance from my zip code. It worked well. I was looking for a 5-speed SE, but I just looked for 92-94 maxima, and sifted through the GXE VGs to find my current car.

I found 2 in (ironically) Chicago, IL (and the surrounding area). One was a private owner (black on black with 127K, $2800) and the other was at a dealership on Cicero (black on tan, 89K, $3000) caught a one-way flight, rented a car, checked them both out, and bought one, returned the rental car and drove it back to Houston. The guy was asking $3200, but I got him to agree to knock off $200 (to pay for my flight), if I came and got it.

I spend $3000 on my car 3 years ago, it had 89K, and ended up needing a MAF Sensor, and a clutch, spark plugs, and other minor things, but I've been pleased with it since then.

 

I don't look too hard, they kinda find me.

still looking (kinda) for another VE A/T so I can sell off my VE5 and still have a VE.
already got a VG coming in the future, maybe I'll fix that and rol with it until I find a VE A/T.

 

i bought both of my 3rd gens on ebay...one turned out great (my black SE) and one was PRISTINE inside, and a little rusty on the outside.....runs good though. Good deals on both, but MAKE SURE that the seller has a good rating, or AT LEAST good communication, and make sure everything checks out.
I am pleased with my ebaying, ive bought most of my parts there too

 

Good point. And we did have a bad experience off Ebay and it was for an 18 yr old. There is no way I could have gone wrong on some of those deals. I have sunk a couple of grand in the 92 but I think I could get my money back if I decide to sell it, especially with the mods. I don't have a full blown shop right now but I am working towards that. I basically work out of my garage and back yard, I just have to duck and dodge the city *****. Right now I work for the airlines to pay bills and have insurance. My auto stuff is on the side to pay for my little expansions and for the toys...maybe one day

 

I got my '92 SE 5 speed w/124K miles from a local non profit organization (somebody donated my car) for $1575. It has a crack in the front bomper cover, I just changed the knock sensor and VTC's (that took my whole weekend, what a pain in the **s), and the bearing in my tranny is making noise. I used to buy cars from insurance auto auctions (I had a wrecker's license), so it's not really all that cheap for me, but I do live in Seattle, so around hear to get a 3rd gen w/under 200K miles you'd have to pay over $3000 (w/exeptions). I spent about $400 on parts, including a water pump ($56), rebuilt VTC's ($185), knock sensor ($68), O2 sensor ($35), all hoses, spark plugs, etc. I did all the work myself, so even if I spent another $500 on the bearings and the bumper cover, it would still be under $3K, which is what I was expecting to pay. But if I could go back, I wouldn't buy it, unless it was around $500. I couldn't take it for a test drive, or anything, so I had to trust the seller, which said nothing about the VTC's clicking and the bearings making noise. I think they deserve the bad feedback I'm about to give them.