I'm a pretty happy camper. Last night I secured a 97 SE Maxima, 5 speed, black exterior with black leather, 84k, loaded with every option except heated seats.

I'm thrilled. The A/C is broken and it is most likely the compressor which would mean around a $500 bill. The seller also knew the A/C was out so we adjusted the price accordingly. I'm paying 5800 for the car, and after the A/C fix it will be around 6300. I think I got a hell of a deal.

A few small things to do to it. Needs a new cup holder ($35), the armrest has a tear ($135 from the dealer, maybe cheaper somewhere else), going to need a timing belt as every 5 speed does at around 90k, so that's another $200.

Reguardless of the imperfections I'm really excited about it. I'm going to pick it up on saturday. I'll get a few picks up if I can.

You guys think I did alright?

Congrats. However, you do not need to change the timing belt. It has a chain, not a belt.

sounds like you got a good deal. And maxfanfromohio is right, it's a chain

wow you did even better than me...i have a 97 SE 5-spd with EVERY option...got it with 72K on it for 7000....were good shoppers I suppose...and thats correct, no timing belt to worry about

damn that is a good deal. congrats!

nice a$$ price, ideal max to get, black and black 5 speed, low mileage and a 97

nice a$$ price, ideal max to get, black and black 5 speed, low mileage and a 97

Well thats pretty good news about no timing belt, but a timing chain. I've never heard of that before.

Now that I have a car all the things I want to do to it are beginning to add up. I was hoping you guys could give me some advice.

What is so great about the PIAA 9004 and H3's. Should I pay $150 to get those for my headlights and fog lights or should I save money and get something like the Sylvania Cool Blues for $60. Or what about this $11.99 set on eBay that gives me all four bulbs, http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2424093234

I want a sunroof wind deflector, is courtesyparts.com the best place to buy it for $39.95?

I've read that a Front Strut Tower Brace improves handeling tremendously. Is it really worth it and is courtesyparts.com the best place to buy it for $49.95? The FAQ on the front page says they were popular but stopped selling them, so I was confused when I found it on their site.

Sandeep's Stone Deflector looks cool as hell on custommaxima.com, is that just because it is on a really sweet car, or would it also look good on my black Max. Do these really protect the hood?

Thanks for all the help!

"the armrest has a tear" - I would suggest taking the armrest to a local upholsterer and have them make you a new cover! Mine tore and I replaced it with a nice high quality leather for under $100.

Rusty.

Ya, thats pretty good. Be glad you dont live near ATL where cars are overpriced and demand is high. I got a GXE 96 black 5spd with 69k miles for 6.5k and that is a fair deal around here.

center console, cup holder, armrest, shifter boot... with age they get wonr out. i would advise watching hard on ebay. I replaced center console includes cupholder, armrest and shifter boot. well close to 300 dollars at courtesy nissan.. installed great and looks awesome but what spoiled my party was the next day i saw the same stuff go for 50 dollars on ebay. you bet i was tore up !

anyways great snag ! my old gal is paid for but back in 97 she wasnt close to what you paid. your getting one HAIL of a CAR !

132,000 miles and in tip top shape !!! have fun !

How'd you get such a good deal? In CT I never even saw a basic GXE with more than 100k go for under 6k. Damn, sweet sweet deal

Unrelated but...

I just looked on autotrader. It was a local dealer, kinda small...

I ran a carfax found out it was a woman owned Texas car that has been sitting a while the last 2 years (only 12k miles since 2001). It was traded for a BMW at a dealership that then sold it to this small one. It was listed for 6450 on autotrader, but I got it for 6,500 out the door, tax tag title and emissions included. Also he got all the dings out of it. It came with Yokohama tires that were almost new, and the car inside has that new smell as well. I just test drove it for an hour went back to the dealer and said "ill give u 6.5k" and he said after some number crunching "ok".

So 69k miles, engine in tip top shape, no rust black maxima. I am pretty happy with it, especially since its a 1 owner woman southern car. No shifting problems or anything.

Look at local listings and autotrader. I looked for about a month on both AJC (atlanta paper) and autotrader. Maxima's are easier to find than say a Legend or a 300ZX, so just keep looking.

Anyone have any advice for this?

congrats on the purchase - get some clear corners!

1. Only some makes specialize in using a timing chain. It does have certain advantages over a timing belt, but when it does wear out it is major $$ to replace. Just make sure you service your car regularly.

2. PIAA 9004's will look better than plain halogen. You can get them for around $75 on eBay. Cool Blues are good too. Do NOT get any of those odd brand cheapie bulbs! They're not bright enough and you'd be lucky if they last you more than a year.

3. An FSTB does make a difference--not tremendous, but I'd say "noticeable." Brand is kind of irrelevant, from what I hear. But I bought a Cattman and it looks/works great.

4. If you want to protect the hood, get a nose mask. But that's just a matter of personal preference.

awesome deal. I paid $7000 for my '95 that had about 180k kilometers on it. well worth it though since it came with the VLSD tranny and was in perfect condition.

I think timing chains were put in starting in 95???

i feel like i got raped, my sister's bf got a 98 loaded SE for 8k. there were only like 30k miles on it too. he got it from a friend who moved

I got a '99 SE Automatic with 52K when I bought it in April...sunroof, bose, all the fun stuff except leather and climate control for $11,000... I don't think I did too bad...considering they were asking $14,999 on the window sticker

get the cool blue's i found them for $15 each at my local auto store.
Check my homepage for some pictures.

btw, you got a great deal

Damn Ct really sux for buying cars i guess. I paid $8500 for a 97 Rosewood GXE 5-Spd w/55k miles. That was a good deal 2, the sticker price was $12500.

Now that you have the car and it is a five speed do it up right. Look in the for sale forums here, start by getting a used intake and find a Y-pipe from somewhere.

Great deal you got there!! Welcome to the Org.

Correct. Nissan started timing chains with their new "VQ" series engines. Jeffrey92SE, aka Jeffco/JeffreyMax has major VQ envy. Just thought i'd share that.

And you have "V8 exhaust note" envy


I have boost envy Still impressed with your run against the camaro.

At idle I have no envy. I'm gonna use my girlfriends digicam soon and record my exhaust note for everyone here. At idle it has that raw brum brum brum brum similer to V8's. Otherwise....yes I have V8 exhaust note envy.


Thanks man. It's not everyday you race a 6spd modded Z28 and start to pull at redline. Tuning materials are on their way and a dyno is coming up so once I'm tuned I'll be pulling before redline hopefully. His car sounded meaner though.

I ended up going with sylvania silver stars. I got the pair off of eBay for $25! They retails for $26.99 a piece.

Now I need some H3's. Sylvania doesn't make that size or else I would match them up. Any suggestions.

I was going to mod the engine, but now I'm thinking since I dont race, there is no need to do that. I mean damn, the thing is way to fast for me already. It's going to take me a while to move on from my snail of an explorer.

Coming from an explorer, I can understand your newfound scaredness of speed.

95+ V6 Explorers = 0-60: 9.9 seconds, high 17's in the Quarter@79mph

95-99 Max 5spd's = 0-60: 6.4-6.7 seconds, high 14's-low 15's@90-93mph.


That's like Jeffrey92SE trading in his VE for an LS1 6spd.