I'm thinking of getting a '97 maxima. I am thinking of either GLX or SE. Any tips on what to look out for? What's a good price/mileage? Also, what's the max mileage on this thing?

Thanks a lot.

 

It's either one of these 5: GXE, GLE, ES, SE, or SE-L. Price is always subjective to condition and options. You shouldn't pay over 10,000 unless it had low miles (under 50k), and you should read the FAQs above the thread - you will know what to look for a little better.
-Cyrus

 

Right. GXE. My bad.

 

You so shouldn't have asked that question. Seriously though, it depends on what your preference is and where you live.
-Cyrus

 

97...yea, between 97-99.5, i would get either 97 or 99 SE-L...the 98 looks exactly the same besides a few minor mods and u probably gonna pay a lot more for the year...only thing i like about 97 is the headllights and change in front. Other than that, i'm happy with my 95.

I say whatever u think is a good price, post it on this forum and tell us what u getting for it. There are too many experienced people here to let u know if its a bad deal and more than enough to show u how to get a better deal....

 

For the 1997 year you can ONLY get a GXE, GLE or SE....the ES was a 99 year option for Canadians and the SE-L was something for 1999-1/2.

 

get a stick, only if you can drive stick. to ask if stick is better, it sounds like you don't know how to drive it. get SE w/ the 5 star rims. as far as the price, go to kbb.com and see what they say. i just did a search on there, and i found that an excellent condition 97 maxima se w/65000 on it and all the options is $10,590.

 

Thanks for the input so far guys. Answering maximamoose, yes I can drive stick. In fact I learned to drive using stick.

The reason I asked is because I read somewhere that sometimes the automatic transmission has problems. So I'm not sure in Maxima whether it's better to get manual or matic.

 

sometimes it's hard to find the options you want with the tranny you want hehe. Oh well, right? 95-96 have different front/rear bumpers from 97-99. Lots of 99's have CA emissions, which can be tricky when getting into exhaust mods. I personally wouldn't get any kind of used car with over 100k miles on it, but Maximas are kinda pricey, so the lower the mileage, the higher the price. At least it's not like buyinig an Accord or Civic. Even with 100k+ on the drivetrain, you're still paying out the bum...for nothing really.

 

Dood, definetly get a manny tranny if you can find one. If you learned to drive on a stick, then you know how much more fun it is than an auto. The autos weigh more and put less power to the ground than the manuals. 5-spds are hard to come by...at least here in my area. I spent like 6 mos. looking for just the right car, and finally I found her!

 

in my opinion, in maxima, it's always better to get 5 spd. less power in the autos

 

Actually, the auto's weigh more than the manual trannys

 

Oops, that's what I meant to say, but I confused myself...