can anyone tell me if there are any differences between a 5spd max and one that was converted?

ive been having trouble finding a 5 spd max with the colors/optionsmiles/price i want. this weekend i travel to new zealand for 3 weeks then i come back home for a few days and in that time i need to buy a car to get me to school. since i cant find the right 5 spd i was thinking either buy any car to get me to school then wait till summer and find my max 5 spd or buy an auto max and convert it.

what would you guys do?

whats the drop in resale value on a converted car

how much does a conversion cost (ive seen posts saying around 1500) for total of parts and labor?

where do the trannies come from (used or new from other manufacturers?) can a six speed be used and are there any benefits of doing this on a 4th gen?

will a nissan dealership do the convo and how much?

thanks

 

I'm in the exact same situation as you are right now, except I already have an auto max...There is basically no way in hell that I will find the car I'm looking for, so my only option really is the conversion....I'll try to help answer a few of your questions tho..

Drop in resale value will be pretty heavy...I'd say a few grand...NO ONE would want to buy a converted car IMO..

Conversion can cost anywhere from 800-2000 for parts, and anywhere from 500-1500 for labor....just gotta shop around i guess.

If you go for the conversion, your best bet is getting a 5spd LSD tranny out of an I30 or from a canadian Maxima....you can get them new OEM from Nissan, but they will cost ya.

No 6spd.

Highly doubt a Nissan dealer will do it...

And to answer the question about the diff btwn a 5spd max and conversion, I would think the 5spd would be alot more reliable....Something is just more liable to go wrong on a conveted max, but if done right, I'm assuming it would be just as good, if not better (because of the LSD)

 

i would recommend trying to look for a 5spd rather than converting an auto.
just like jamsan said, i would be concerned about the reliability, and also the extra funds needed for a conversion.
remember an auto is already more expensive than a 5spd, then your spending money again for the conversion.

its weird, but i was looking for an auto max, and the only one i could find in good condition and at a good price was a 5spd...lol
so thats what i went with.

i say keep on looking for the 5spd, and if completely necessary for transportation needs, get a cheap beater right now temporarily.

 

How would they ever know it was converted? Assuming it was done right, and you pretended like it came like that from the factory.

You think they would bother to decode every letter/number of the VIN? I dunno, I'm just wondering about this.

 

carfax tells you everything

 

Carfax! VIN!

 

If converted properly, its pretty hard to tell that it used to be an auto max. If done properly, I see no reason why reliability would be any different than a regular 5spd max. It has been about 10 months for me, and I had to rebuild the 5spd once b/c of the bearings. Ever since then, I have had no problems with the tranny. I have no cel light after swapping the ecu's, though I still haven't managed to wire my reverse lights. Be prepared, it is alot of long and sometimes extremely frustrating work. I'd say do it as a last resort, unless you're doing it yourself.