Hey everyone! I've been reading these boards for a long time, but this is my first post.

Tomorrow (2/16/03) I'm going to look at a 1997 Maxima SE (5sp)! with 87k miles that I found in the want ad's. I ran a vin check at carfax.com and it came back 100% clean. It was even a company vehicled leased for the first 57k miles (they put those on in the first 26 months of the cars life, I think its good that it was a company car, right? It would mean less abuse maybe because of the lease?) The car has everything I want (except leather) and is a really good deal. He's asking $6400 and it's negotiable. I want to put a downpayment on it tomorrow and the rest of the $ next week after I get the loan. This is all assuming I like what I see and drive.

What I really want to know from everyone here is what are some things I should look for on a 97 Maxima with 87k miles? I've read that about 150,000 97's had an alternator recall with specific VINs (dont know which in particular), but that was probably taken care of already. Is there anything 97 SE's might be notoriously known for that I should look out for?? Any help would REALLY be appreciated since I'm looking at it tomorrow AM. I'll check back here everynow and then before I leave tomorrow. Thanks in advance

 

hey what up .... been a while ... are you still in kingston ?

i cant really think of anything besides the 60k maint. make sure it drives right... youll notice more power then your 3rd gen, but thats normal

check for rust and what not, obviously there shouldnt be any ... ask to see the service records from the owner and what not.

as long as the carfax came back clean you should be in good hands.

 

crazy seeing you here! My parents still live around Kingston, I'm up in school in Boston. I'm hoping this car turns out to be the great deal I think it is. I want back in the maxima life! I miss it! Thanks for the post
I'll see you around!

 

ive got a 97 gxe, i got it when it had 82k on it and now it has 102k. jus make sure everything on the inside works and stuff like that. maybe take it by a mechanic and let them look it over for ya to see if they notice anything that you dont.

 

I wish I could take it to a mechanic, but I don't personally know anywhere near where the car is (up in albany NY, on colonie ave if anyone knows the area, I know stillnmax does )

I'll check everything I can possibly think of on the car, inside and out.

I've read posts where people say "I checked the ECU and it gave me an 0505 so everything seems ok". Is that even a possibility for me to do or would I need some extra device?

 

damn, i would have loved to go check it out for you, but im not there anymore ... took a year off.... i hope you got directions, cus honestly ive forgotten alot i know its near wolf road and central ave somewhere .......

there are TSB's on the max but the dealership should take care of that for free if it occurs. but most of it should be taken care of....

good luck with that, hit me up on aim some time.

 

Take it for a test drive. Windows closed, radio off etc. Do you hear whining in the gears? Esepcially 1 and 2? If so, then maybe the tranny has bad bearings. It'll cost $$$ (like $1000) to fix b/c you have to take apart the tranny, and you would usually replace the clutch as well with the tranny open.

If the check engine light is not on, then the ECU has not stored any trouble codes, so everything is good. Sometimes though, the knock sensor may go bad and the ECU won't trigger that unless another problem comes along with it. The KS costs $160 about and its easy to replace yourself .. .well if you have small hands.

Other than that the car should be good to go.

DW

 

Alternator RECALL!

 

That's an awsome deal. I say go for it, it's 5 SPEED!!!
I bought my 95 GXE auto for $6,000 w/ 74k miles. Your getting a 97 SE manual w/ 8X,XXX miles for the same price. I should've waited a little longer to find my dream max: 97-99 SE 5-speed superblack.

 

Sounds to me like you could have a great deal there. Even finding an SE 5-speed can be a pain. And hey, no leather is actually a plus in my book. I hope the car checks out!

If it was a company lease, they should have complete maintenance records. Make sure the 60k tuneup was performed, and see if any persistent problems are on the records. If the CEL is on, all bets are off. Since it's in NY, you might want to check for rust. Be sure to check the underside of the trunk and inside the wheel arches.

Otherwise, I'd say that aside from listening for unusual noises, there's not much else you could find out without a garage handy.

Regarding the alternator recall, I don't have any information about that. But it wouldn't put me off from buying the car, personally, cause you're getting a hard-to-find max with reasonable mileage at a steal of a price.

theLoon