cgalves

Hey guys,

I'm in the market for a sporty car after the untimely demise of my '93 240sx. Because I liked the car so much, I'm looking to remain faithful to Nissan for both reliability and performance. The Maxima and '91-'93 Sentra SE-R are the two cars I am considering getting. One Maxima I have in mind has 150k miles and is owned by a mechanic (arent they all, though ... ). Timing belt replaced, new clutch, short throw shift kit, etc, so most of the questionables in any used car with high mileage hae pretty much been taken care of, except for things such as head gasket, etc. The info I need are the usual 0 - 60 mph tests for a stock '90 Maxima 5 speed, and how reliable the engine is. I realize that 150k miles is nothing for a well maintained car, but I do not want to throw the money away only to see the head gasket blow in the car 3 months after my purchase, especially since a Sentra SE-R I'm looking at costs more or less the same with 40k less miles, but alas no new clutch. Anything in particular I should know about the reliability of the engine, electrical, etc? Toss me a bone here, I really want to buy the car but need some good info before I run into the buy.


Thanks,

Carlos

RMAX54

HI Carlos,
Check out a recent post "3rd gen checklist" by searcing the 3rd generation forum on that phrase- Gives some good things to check. The 1990 doesn't have the VTC stuff though (variable timing cam) to mess with.

Head gaskets not a problem on the Maxima; but critical is the timing belt (60K miles max) - get written verification on when it was changed and 2)If not 5speed, the Automatic transmission (flush and add trasmission Oil Cooler).

Rest of the stuff is what you should do with any used car: get a good mechanic to check it out, and check in issued in the vehicle history with Carfax (www.carfax.com). No guarantees even with a Maxima at 12 years and 150K miles, though. I just lost a manual tranny at 86,000 miles after immaculate care since it was born - a rare fluke, but it happens.
Hope this helps.

Laly

iTrader: (1)

both will be good cars. i have both a maxima VE 5 speed and a 92 sentra SE-R. i really cant decide some days which to drive. i think that the SE-R is way more fun to drive than the max. but the max is still very fun. you will be happy with either choice. i will be selling my max very soon and keeping the se-r as a winter car. i will be buying a 96 chevy impala SS. sometimes i wonder to sell my se-r and keep the max as the winter car. that is how much i like both cars. decisions decisions