After 10 years and a lot of work, I finally decided it was time to part with my Maxima. I had only driven it about 1,000 miles total in the last three years and it was starting to have issues due to sitting. I had to replace some parts and flush the cooling system and I felt like it was neglected.

On Craigslist it had a lot of interest, so I held firm and got my full asking price. Unfortunately, the buyer is not an .org member, but I told him about the site and hopefully he at least goes here if he needs help in the future.

I still have some parts I didn't include and as soon as I get some free time I will round them up and make a for sale thread. I know I have a cut down Pacesetter short throw shifter, an Australian grill (pebble beige), two pipes designed for a cold air intake and a set of fog lights. If anyone is interested, shoot me a PM, I will check back with the site on a regular basis.

I want to thank all of the people that have helped me over the years, especially Jeff92SE, MrGone, Sarin, James92SE, Greeny and anyone that created a step-by-step "how to" like Craig Brace, Matt and Aaron. There are dozens of other folks I enjoy, too, but those guys have really made owning the car easier and gave a lot of quality effort, advice or personally worked on the car (esp. Jeff and MrGone).

 

I'm terribly sorry about your loss . My car is 20 years old, but I see the subtle signs of death. It's painful..

 

This. We all share a passion for these cars, and understand what a sad day it must be watching it go out the driveway for the last time. My employee and I were talking the other day and we both agreed that if Nissan (or any company really) decided to start making new 3rd gens exactly the way they made them in the early 90s that we would buy them new all over again. Such great cars all around - everything you need and nothing you don't. If you don't mind me asking, what type of condition was it in when you sold it (mileage, repairs, etc) and what was your asking price?

 

Noooooo she will live on

 

Congrats on getting it sold, and it's good you got your asking price. Can't blame you for wanting to replace it with what you've said you wanted, if that's still in the books. It was nice to have another active Oregonian in the 3rd gens. I'm sure you'll be a lurker from now on though..

Local buyer?

 

Guy from Hood River, but he said he might be moving to Oklahoma. I had a lot of emails on CL with legit people that actually left numbers and asked questions. One guy was a former .org member from the PDX area, but he never could find someone to drive him out here.

I have a bit of a change of plans on what we are getting to replace the Maxima. I hate to say it, but I am likely getting a Forester, Outback or maybe a Volvo Cross Country wagon. My wife has been putting a lot of wear and tear on the wheelchair van just running errands when my son is at school. She didn't want to drive a manual and she didn't want to damage "my car." Plus, it's something extra for the winter. Kind of a winter beater.

Subarus are overpriced in the NW and I like the Volvos, but I am nervous about transmissions and bevel gear. Would really like another awd BMW wagon, but can't find one anywhere near my price range.

 

sad to see her go after all these years of you having her.

have looked into the E53 X5? E70 are too much but the diesel version is awesome but hard to find due to not much demand on them; at least down here in south florida but not sure upstate. you also have the awd E91 3 series and E61 5 series. happy hunting my friend.

 

What a shame...

 

Damn man...you were one of the fixtures here on Maxima.org and will be missed. Hopefully the new owner will take care of that clean azz Max they just bought from you. If you don't mind saying, what did you get for her??

 

We have a '96 850 T5 with Platinum edition wheels and I can't say anything but good experience/easy to maintain. The v70xc or Volvo cross country is a great vehicle and is excellent in the snow if needed. The v70xc has a 2.4l 20valve w/low pressure turbo & AWD...they do make an R model with AWD but it's rare. The low pressure turbo models make about 190hp, the turbo models make 237hp/240ft-lb and the R makes 247hp-261hp/260ft-lb/300ft-lb(depends on variations). Good luck with search.

 

Dang, that sucks. Sorry you had to sell it. I am not looking forward to the day I have to part with my maxima.

 

 

+1

Am also curious about the condition of 'her' when it was sold: Damage, repairs, problems, mods, upgrades, performance parts, etc etc.

Still blows that you had to part with your Maxima - I feel your pain bro believe me!

 

I sold it for $3200 (full price I listed it on CL for), but I had to replace the left axle, which cost me $150 parts and labor.

I took out my amp and sub. I offered the OEM wheels for an extra $100 to use for snow tires, but he declined.

The car was in very good condition, especially the interior and paint. I included the stock cat (no emissions here) an extra set of OEM headlights, an extra set of stock corners (due the "illegal" smoked AUS corners) and I gave him the stock y-pipe, since the Cattman one had a dent in it. I had a clutch put in less than 1k miles ago.

It did need brakes and ball joints were kind of worn. The PS hose was leaking and a slight oil leak where the cam position sensor is. It had all the mods, though. Eibachs/Tokicos, FSTB, Matt's RSTB, ST rear sway bar, underdrive pulley, GReddy exhaust, pop charger intake, along with that nice s13 steering wheel with cruise and the AE shift ****.

 

Did you throw in your prestigious awards? Or are they hung up on your den wall?

 

You had a good, long run with the car and enjoyed owning it. Hopefully the new owner will enjoy it, as well, and get some pleasure out of driving it.

 

Wow $3k was a good deal for a nice VE 5!

 

I know you were trying to sell it (on and off) for a long time so I'm glad for you that you were able to find her a new home for your asking price. However it always makes me sad to see the older member leave.

 

Are you planning on getting another Maxima (3rd gen or otherwise) now?

 

I am not planning on getting another Maxima in the near future, although I won't say "never." If I did, it would be a VE 5-speed.

I initially bought the Maxima as kind of a "compromise" car. I had a Mustang GT convertible and couldn't drive it in the snow. My wife had to drive me to work or I had to leave her stranded without a rig. At that time, we had a Pathfinder.

The Maxima came with studded snow tires and drove well in the snow. However, maybe 2 years after I got the Maxima, I bought a 4x4 truck, so I didn't really need to compromise. I started modding it and it was more of a garage queen.

However, my son is in a wheelchair and we had to get a wheelchair ramp van (Chrysler T&C). Because it has a lowered floor and heavy equipment in it, it is not something that should be driven in the snow. Plus, if anything happens to it, we are up a creek because it's REALLY hard to find nice ones at a reasonable price. They are well over $50k new.

My wife works at night, so if we get bad weather I have to drive her because she is not comfortable driving my crew cab 2500HD truck, especially at night, in the snow, etc. She was also worried about driving the Maxima because she knew it was kind of "my baby." So, we are going to get an AWD wagon as kind of a winter beater/2nd car. It also takes some of the wear and tear off the van, as she can use the wagon to run errands while my son is in school instead of the van.

Sorry, I am bored tonight while she's at work, so I am writing a lot...

 

Initially, I was trying to sell it to buy something more fun. Preferably RWD. I want a Datsun or a muscle car, but if you read my previous post, I decided on something more practical for now.

 

Yeah, I thought I sold it kind of cheap, but the problem is, not many people know what these cars are and the KBB is like $1200 or something. The market is pretty limited and someone from a long ways away (an .org member) has to factor in nearly an extra $1k for shipping or flying 1-way and driving.

What really gets me is if I had a 92 Civic, Accord or Prelude in the same great condition, similar mods and miles, I probably could have sold it for $4500.

Compared to almost any of those (except swapped for better engine cars), my car was faster, quieter inside, had leather, and every single thing worked except the dome light. ZERO rust, too.

 

 

So, I guess you didn't tell him about the best Maxima awards, or Hemmings article that used your picture without permission. If you wanted that $4,200, I think those would have helped.

 

I almost left the award in the trunk, but I figured it was MY award. The Hemmings are buried in a box in my attic and I wasn't going to look for them.

However, with the recent axle replacement, I left my 36mm socket in the center console, so I guess that goes with the car now. Eventually, he will need to replace the passenger side axle, so it's good to have.

 

Yeah, you've got to keep some mementos. I thought you told me Hemmings sent you a few backorders for stealing your picture, but if you only have one of them, you've got to hang onto it.

Now that your shiny red car is out of the picture, maybe I'll enter my car in that Blue Lake meet next year..

 

sorry to hear this, hope you can find the same joy/passion in your next car!

 

I think he sent me 3 copies, but I don't want to dig them out. The car looks a little different, anyway with the stock wheels and not lowered.

I want to try and go to Blue Lake again if I am around. I would have to drive something else and just check out the rides. They need to just have a "FWD" category. It was kind of silly to have a "best Maxima" and only have a few of them. Most are rwd Datsuns.

I doubt it, but it's all good. Eventually, I will end up with something cool maybe in a decade. I have a son and wife that I love very much and they are my No. 1 priority.

 

Cliff, hope you troll the 4ell out of this place! Good luck man!!

 

Did I thank you for all your hard work? Some of your early posts saved me a lot of money.

 

You sir, are very welcome! Thank you!

 

Sorry to hear, I am sure you found a good home for her. What are you thinking about for your next car?

 

Very cool! I was thinking about 3rdGens a few days ago and lamenting what time does to cars and mods. I remember when I got my first 3rdGen. I adored that car. Of the various ones I have had since then, I have never recaptured the feeling I had with the VG auto and the VE5. I suspect that if I actually drove one again I would be very disappointed so I let them live as memory. Good times for sure.

 

It's sad but you have to think something better is coming up for you. It's been almost 3 yrs since I sold my 92 all fixed up nicely, and now I own an 02 andan 03 both 6-speed. My love for it was big though, I admit I miss it.

 

It's really funny you said that because I thought my 3rd gen was great. Then, I bought a BMW. Although the Maxima is cheaper, a bit faster in a straight line and easier to work on, the stock BMW handled better than my modded Max, had more comfortable seats and felt more "planted."

I am looking for an AWD wagon to replace the BMW. It's kind of a winter beater to be shared between my wife and I. Probably like a 99-ish Forester or Outback or maybe a Passat 4Motion. Nothing really much fun.

 

Now go get yourself a Z31 like most of us 3geners been doing. I'm currently the owner of two.

 

I really want a Datsun 510, but family stuff is more important and I will be getting an AWD wagon of some sort. I am still looking for the right one. We had a nice winter storm a week ago, so they are more in demand.

 

Well looks who's the last to know. Very sad to finally hear about you selling the maxima. I tried to put my best effort into the motor swap to make sure it ran well for years to come. I remember getting the first engine and going "GAH!".

 

I know exactly how you must have felt, I'm actually in the same boat, but wanting to sell for different reasons. I've been seriously considering for the last year or so, and will likely finally put her up for sale this spring.

There is a lot of sentimental value in the car, and it hurts just thinking about selling it, but like yours, I'm feeling like it's being neglected. I would like to free up the parking spot in my garage, as the kids are getting older, our collection of two-wheel vehicles seems to be growing.

Only problem is that no one other than us enthusiasts really knows the value of these cars, so it would be tough to find the right buyer who will treat her as well.

 

Damn I stay gone too long. Luckily I still got mine (neglected though). Sorry to hear the car is gone but at least it still lives on and not totaled like others. I got too much into mine to let it go. As soon as I finish collecting all the parts for my 5spd RB25DET NEO swap into my Z31 I will get off my a$$ and reinstall the left exhaust cam and fire her up. Sad thats the only reason why I haven't driven her in the last year and half. Lol :-(