my girlfriend's mom is looking for a new car. her honda oddessey is a piece of crap. so she is smartening up and going nissan. its basically between a new 2.5 alty and a used max. i think the max would be a great deal compared to a new alty. how much would we be looking at for a automatic maxima SE? i want to be on the verge of lowballing, but still reasonable. thanks in advance.

 

Well I ve seen used 2002s for as low as 17K. You can easily get into a low mileage 2000-2001 for 12K-16K depending on options,mileage, etc...

 

as for the question asked about a 98 maxima, ill tell you the deal i got in june with my 99 (pretty much same thing as 98)

i got a 99 ES or SE-L in america, for just under 18K Cdn, which is about $11.6k US.
now mine is a 5spd with very low mileage...35k miles.

so expect to pay about 10-12k for an auto 98.

 

wow, you got a real good deal. was it private or dealer?

 

if her choice is between a new 2.5 altima or a 98 max, get the altima, i dought she cares about speed, plus altima will have a warantee, but if for the price of a 2.5 altima you could get a used 2k2, or 2k1 which would be much better than a new altima

 

yeah i was in the market for a GTP, but couldn't find one in good condition.
all the maxima's i saw were in stupid colours IMO, overpriced, and the condition was so-so, however they were all auto, which is what i was looking for, as i never drove stick.

at this dealership i went to, which specializes in higher end european imports (bmw, audi, volvo) the maxima was the cheapest in the dealership (all cars were inside in the showroom).
but the condition looked very good, i liked the colour black, only thing was it was STICK! also the mileage was very low.
but the condition and price of the car were good, so i just went with it and learned to drive stick on my own. stalled 2 times on the way home in a thunder storm, and its been good ever since.

 

i guess those types of dealorships get so many great high ends cars, they forget the real value of a good car. thanks for all the advice folks!