JDwyer2821

I have found a 1993 Maxima SE Auto for $995 with 111k miles. Its loaded except leather. The Maxima was hit in the front driver side on the corner. Needs windshield, front Bumper, Grille, 1/4 panel, wheel well splash gaurd, headlight, air bag and the headlight frame and cornerlight frame was smashed in. The Real frame is not crushed and looks like it was just missed. The engine and tranny are still perfect and is so the rest of the max and the door trim is not faded like mine. The thing is that the wheel is pushed back and off centered. The guy said he thinks the tie rod is damaged and maybe the strut assembly needs replacement. Does that sound right? I figure I will try to do the basic stuff and have the body shop replace the radiator support and that area where its damaged. If the cost gets to $$$ I will just ripp the engine out and use it for my little project for my max and then strip it down for selling parts. I am going to offer $850 tommorrow probably. Anything I should look into that I missed?

JDwyer2821

O yeah it's Sapphire Blue

Dan 93 SE

Does the drivers door open correctly? Are the gaps in the quarters similar and equal? If not she may need a frame pull. See if you can get a body man to look at the car and give his assement before buying.If she needs a pull, not all body shops do this, so ask up front.I have ramrodded quite a few rebuilders and have a deal with my bodyman/frame puller. If I am serious about a car he will come and look at it. It has saved me BIG. I once missed a broken transmission that he found. Might even be worth 25 bucks to have them look it over. You can always remove damaged parts, have it pulled if need be, then do the reassembly yourself and finish it at the bodyshop. This repair sounds similar to my wreck 2 years ago. Parts are not very expensive as this is an older car and most 89-94 parts are similar on the front end. Good luck


Dan

noleafclover

sounds like a good car if you plan on doing head light conversion, getting clear corners, custom full bumper body kit, maybe even a lexan(??) windshield...and don't mind having an off-centered ride...
but if you really wanted it just for the engine, you could probably off-set a lot of the price of ir parting it out.

JDwyer2821

The driverside door was hard to open but it seemed like it was the hinge because of the way the hit looked. What is this frame pulling you talk about?? What does it ussual cost? The guy also talk that it was ok if the framed was moved up or down, left or right a tiny bit. He said as long as its not cracked, bent or got crushed the car is worth fixing. He also said that he got a $1400 estimate but thought it was high because he had a place that would sell the nose for $600.
Thanks Dan

PS I am going to use one the 7 oil filters I bought from you to change its oil.

JDwyer2821

Decisions Decisions Whats this Lexan windsshield

noleafclover

i just love when smileys and text come in contact. but anyway, that's what the ?? was for, i might be spelling that wrong, actually i think i know i am. but i think i am close...i think it's basically a real light glass or plastic some people use for the weight reduction.

JDwyer2821

Interesting

keener

a frame pull involves straightening the frame on a special machine. Set up time is usually an hour or two and depending on the damage it could range from 2 to 10 hours for repair. To put it in perspective...my '95 was hit in the rear and the frame was slightly crushed in and out. It took the shop six hours to fix the frame. Good luck......

Dan 93 SE

Frame straightening really varies depending on how bad the hit is. Some bodyshops only do frame straighting, and leave the painting and finer body work to other shops. I am recently finishing up on a Dodge 3/4 ton diesel. She was hit in front right. The frame shop pulled her straight and hung on the fender, bumper and hood, body shop did the paint work. Call around a little bit, you might get someone to take a look before buying. It sounds like a nice car.

noleafclover

a lesson to newbies...i used a SEARCH to find this...
this thread

the post from that thread is i'm talking about is this...

JDwyer2821

Its a great looking max and I really like it. I wish it was manual but still I have a manual already. I liked my auto VG max and I think I will fall in love with a VE auto. I had the guy take a polaroid of the damage so I can get a rough estimate from a fairly cheap and good quility body shop down the street from me. It looks bad in the pic because the fender is taken al the way off for the shot. I am also telling myself and family that I won't modd this max but maybe just a Y-Pipe and CAI.

JDwyer2821

http://www.percyshp.com/speedracwin.html Do I hear GD

noleafclover

and that rolls into just a Y, CAI, rims, stereo, and headlight conversion...which in turn...

i don't hear anything...oh and look, i did spell it right, i guess that really means i was wrong...

JDwyer2821

<-----Me

noleafclover

well i think you know what i meant about the mods...
and then you said do i hear GD, so i said i don't hear anything. i also noticed, at that site, that it is spelled lexan, so i said oh look i spelled it right. then i said i was wrong, because before i said i think i spelled it wrong, but i spelled it right, so i was wrong before...

JDwyer2821

Sorry I am slow right now because I need sleep

Michael

iTrader: (21)

Man I dont know I guess it just depends how much you want to put in it and all. I got one in what sounds like a little better shape (less damage)than that for $800 and I havent gotten by as cheaply as I have wanted to. It is not the major stuff but all the little things that have to be done to bring the car back to new shape.

I still haven't got but maybe 2k(actually a little less)in my car though and that includes a Stillen kit and all new brakes and wheels and tires. If I would have had to pay full price for those things though I would be way over that though.

Another thing to consider is that I am doing all the body work myself and I didnt have to use a frame puller because the damage on my car was only on the outer stuff.

so I guess it all comes down to how much you want to spend and how much time you want to invest. I look at it as a project because I enjoy doing that kind of stuff.

Here is a couple pics of my damage you can go by.

Maxima_Van_WA

It also sounds to me if you are very interested in the engine swap, get the car anyway. You can take everything you need off the wrecked one, then part it out, then possibly sell it to a scrap yard. Myabe even swap out the interior for your faded interior. swapping the few things out (engine, tranny, interior, any other broken/missing pieces on your current car) then selling the rest would probably make it worth your while.