I bought my 93 VE-5 with 168k miles for $800 already lowered on sprint springs, with a fart can, blown struts, slight crack in the windshield and some body damage. I can tell the previous owners didnt take care of the car at all. Most likely ran the **** out of it actually. He thought it was smart to remove the spoiler and put sealant into the holes to prevent leaking, theres a tan gxe driver door on it, and needs a fender and rear quarter dent fixed.
Ive already replaced struts, control arms, ball joints and tie rod ends and im now moving on to the body and suspension, but im unsure if I want to even continue putting money into the car buying aftermarket parts for it etc.

The car has 171k on it now and runs good considering the past this car has had. Do you guys think its even worth putting anymore money into? These cars are rare especially a TK3 blue one like mine, but I just dont see myself getting even a fraction of my money back when I sell it. Any suggestions?

 

Have pics of it?

 

Ill have to take some tomorrow, im at work now bored so I thought Id get some advice.
Have plans on getting a 2.5" exhaust done and front and rear aftermarket anti sway bars. But with 171k on it, its pretty late in its life to start modding it ya know?

 

lol.
you have a ve-5, 171k is broke in.
the question would definitely have better responses with pics, though.
if the body is as bad as I am hearing you say, probably not.

 

Is it really worth what...your time and money. That depends on why you bought it in the first place. I knew I was going to be throwing money into mine with no hope of recouping a penny of it, it's my project car/ daily drive. If I just needed a car and wasn't particularly interested in a VE-5 then I would say no it wasn't worth it.

 

Lol oh trust me, I know its just broken in. But too a buyer 171k is a lot, especially to someone who knows nothing about maximas or what a VE engine is, or why a Maxima is faster than their _____ (insert 4 cylinder or v6 car).

The body isnt THAT bad, the quarter panel dent isnt terrible but yeah ill get some pics tomorrow

 

This thinking has always perplexed me. But first of all, if you do anything car related based on re-sale value whats the point of owning any car, ever? Even with a brand new car you're basically throwing 80% of your money away (in that you won't recoup it at resale 15 years down the line). If you're buying a new car just to sell it in 5-6 years you're also blowing money and would be better off just perpetually leasing.

So, what exactly is wrong with dropping a couple grand on an older car and making it essentially a brand new car...? How is spending a few grand for another 10 years of driving a bad idea as opposed to losing $15-25k on a new car over that same 10 years (and then to just be in the same boat)?

My '89 Civic is literally basically a completely brand new car for about $5k total in it. Same with my blue VE aside from the bodywork/paint (this summer - should wind up about $6k total investment). And soon to be with my black VE. I dont plan on selling any of them. So I think you can tell where I stand on this issue

 

James is completely right.

With only a few exceptions (muscle cars, some exotics, rare old imports, etc) cars are a TERRIBLE investment. You will never get your money back out of them. You buy a car and you either pay a lot for a new one or you buy an older car and start putting money into to keep it reliable.

It all boils down to how much you like the car and if it is really something you want to own.

If you add it up, you will not get your money back out of it if you decide to sell it. Just enjoy owning it and expect to spend money that you will never get back.

 

yea i got a great idea for yea...
sell her to me

 

I understand all of your views and agree with them. I never expected to put $3k in and get all of my money back. Im only asking if its worth it based on the mileage and previous owner history. I love this car 100% more than my VG max i owned before, regardless of the problems it has. My point is, im only 20 and this is only my 2nd car ever owning. Im not ready to just put all of my money into 1 car and keep it forever, once again, im only 20.
But all of the answers that ive recieved so far I expected. Of course its gonna be worth it to you guys, its the maxima forum! Lol

 

Trade plus cash on your end and you gotta deal! Lol

 

My TK3 is my baby and she will never be sold for any amount of money. I started wrenching on maxima's at 20 and turn 29 this month. For a true enthusiast money is just money the real value is the love and dedication you have for your car. Believe me all the money ima be putting into my maxima can never be gained back but I will never sell her or the rims or engine. Its an investment into a passion only few have for these old beauties.

 

lol 171k miles isnt even broken in, i still cant believe how people freak out when their car hits 200,000km.

 

I know this car has had the shxt ran out of it. Theres a fart can welded on the stock piping... But with 171k im sure the VTCs are getting weak. Im not freaking out im just being precautious.

 

Precautious. LOL!

I put over 5 g into my vg max and never regretted a cent even though I had to sell it later for just 3. It was the driving pleasure from which I derived my value. Oh and that motor had 245k on it.

 

so i had a more ghetto exhaust than that before, i had a resonator in place of a muffler welded onto the stock piping lol. now ive got a proper full exhaust w/no cat converter i pieced together myself

i just need a new engine in a bit but i'm going to try to cut a deal with my boss and get it done at work, a lot easier than doing it at home

 

You're comparing the reliability of a VG engine to a VE. If it was my VG i wouldnt care if it had 300k.

 

 

 

 

Sorry for the huge pics. But you can see all of the problems it has. I have a fender (its black). But the previous owner thought it was smart to paint the taillight reflector and its cracked. If anyone has an SE reflector ill buy it.

 

My old 91 Maxima

 

if you want to fix up the centerpiece, just wrap it in carbon fiber wrap, thats what i did



looks good though, you can always just paint that door

 

i got a ve se center piece

 

PM sent

 

Body isn't that bad, it just needs a fender and might as well get a new door. No use in doing body work on a panel thar you cab just replace. The rear panel behind the wheel well isn't bad at all though. You can actually push alot of that out by hand if you remove the trunk liner you can access the area there.

Look how fantastic the "good" side looks.. Isn't that enough incentive there? The car isn't as in bad shape as you seem to think it is

 

yeah you can get the rear quarter panel dents out with a dent puller, you drill a small hole and put the dent puller in and pull and it looks like the dent was never there, then just Bondo/paint over the hole

a guy hit my passenger rear door and part of the quarter panel, bodyshop estimate was $1500 and when i was fixing my rust, it took 5 minutes to do you cant even tell he hit me

sorry if i missed it but is that a custom grille? or the European model one?

 

Just looks like a mesh grill to me

 

In my opinion i think thats alot of work. You have to replace 2 fenders, possibly a front bumper and a door. Then you would have to kill the rust and pull all the dents out n fill the trunk. After that paint which would be hard to match if your not painting the whole car. Might as well find another body or another VE n swap in all the stuff... just imo

off topic: how big are the holes for the spoilers? I might remove mines a put on a lip spoiler and cover them and the other ones would have some nice stainless bolts.

 

at least try to just pull the trunk carpet wall and there is tons of access

you can push that dent out by hand

and try to get the factory scissor jack in there by the frame rail with a small block of wood
or something to keep the crease body line defined ,harder to explainthan to look and try

i have gotten one like this out on my old white 92 gxe,after collecting a check of course!

 

also, last time i pounded out dents i forgot to heat up the paint first
or wait for a hot day so the paint would not crack

 

Thanks for all the advice so far guys

The good side is what makes me want to keep the car and finish it. I dont have any body work skills though so all of the paintwork and dent/bondo work ill have to pay to fix. I tend to stay in the fast lane on the highway just so nobody can see the bad side of the car LOL

^This is why im contemplating selling it. As far as the size of the trunk holes im not sure. Im leaning towards finding a black GXE trunk and calling it a day... Not to mention I need new headlights (passenger side bracket is broken so its pushed back some if you look closely. Driver side light isnt sealed good and is foggy on the inside of the glass)

Yeah its just a poorly painted mesh grille lol

 

Keep her, she's under 200 thou which is good for these Maxima's if you know them. A lot of that body work is minor set backs and you got the VE 5spd or what?.

 

Yeah VE-5 w/vlsd