So I have two Maximas, an 89 and a turbo 92.

The 89 has hit hard times in the past year, so much so that I don't know what to do with her anymore.
It's a base 89 SE model with all the standard options of that year, and 200K on the original motor and 5spd tranny.

KBB - Retail - Perfect condition
Excellent $1,540
Good $1,270
Fair $925
NADA - TOTAL PRICE - $1,125 - $1,925* - $2,475

But as we all know these cars don't pull much more than $800 even in decent condition.

Problems:
Bad motor mounts, exhaust, alignment (all wheels) bald tires, sh1ty shifter linkage, I find more rust everyday (rocker panels) paint has more scratches and pits than Edward James Olmos' face, and the engine's crank/pulley wobbles.

Good stuff:
Still gets decent MPG, and I switched to Regular vs Prem gas a few months back and she seems to like it better. Starts up every day like a fraking champ (90% of the time it takes less than a full crank to start!) new rear brakes, front in great shape, clean history, no wrecks, two owner, still drives a lot like the maxima I fell in love with.
She cost almost nothing in taxes, and actually saves me money having a second car on my insurance, so she adds to my wallet just sitting there in the parking lot.

My original plan was to buy the Gold max and have the black max as a parts car/backup, well she is fine as a backup, but in hindsight she is a **** poor parts car. Little to nothing is transferable between these two cars. Most of the interior wont transfer over (leather vs cloth, Bose single din vs. double din, airbag vs. no airbag, etc..)

So do I keep her, sell her, or get rid of her when my Gold max gets fixed?

1. I'd like to keep her, cause the gold maxima will more or less always have problems that will force me to have a backup car.
2. I'd also like to sell her so I can invest that into the other car, but I don't think she is street legal/road worthy (not just talking about the punched out cat mod either)
3. Or just get rid of her. But what do you do with cars this old and in this bad of a shape. I don’t have a front lawn to retire her to (it's a Kentucky thing )

Pics of car when she was in decent shape and current shape.






Thanks guys.

 

I'd probably sell and use the money on your Tan One. Problems on the 89 don't seem TOO bad, besides motor mounts and rust. It'd work as a good first car at the least. And If the buyer wanted to go performance... exhaust wouldn't be a huge deal. If it's just the shifter linkage bushing, that's like a $3 fix. Either way, it would probably be easier to just have some cash in pocket, and only maintain one vehicle. Also...

Do you have any more pics with the newer (4th gen maybe?) 5 Spoke SE rims? I'm thinking about getting some, but want to see what they'd look like on a third gen before I splurged. The best I could do for now was this:


________
Diy Vaporizer Light Bulb
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Jailbroken

 

From the previous owner:


I think they look better on lighter shades of paint.

It was a GREAT 1st Maxima. In fact I have been lucky to drive two very reliable cars. My first one was an 84 Pontiac Sunbird 2000 wagon with the OLD iron duke engine. Top speed 55MPH with interior noise/vibration/harshness approaching a viper in re-entry. But it would start up every day and even though it was rusting out, the metal was THICK so it could have lasted another 6 years easy.

I tell you what though, that 92 is like a different car compared to the 89. Hard to believe what a couple years and less miles makes.

 

I would just keep it as a spare car. You know whats wrong with it, and what uve done to it..And like you said, reg/fees are almost nothing..just my 2 cents

 

Dude I have tried to destroy this car. I have never seen a car handle this kind of abuse. Even after 8 years of hard driving she is still willing to give it her all.

Honestly! Can you drive these VG's into the ground?

 

I would sell it. I ahd a 92 for a winter beater then parts car. I got a few offers to buy it after the rear window got smashed by hail. There are a lot of people out there who know how reliable 3rd gens can be. Why let it rot away when you can get some coin from it now? Tell any buyer what you know is wrong and see what you can get.

 

Sell or part it out then use that money to fix the gold max.. $0.02

 

So if i were to do that, what do you do with the hulk after its gutted?

 

Donate the shell for a tax right-off, A bone yard will give you a couple of bucks to haul it away.

You can also ask the guys on the org. who have gone that route..

 

I took two gutted shells to the scrap yard and got ~$50 each for them. When I say gutted I mean gutted. No doors, hood trunk, suspensin, interior, quarter panels...nothing but a shell. You have to have a trailer and a means to get them up on that trailer though. Luckily I have the use of my dads tractor and trailer.

 

just keep it til all the bugs are worked out of the VE-t.
then sell it off piece by piece, if you can leave a rolling chassis you'll have no problem dumping it a yard