masupra

Hey all my first post in this wonderful forum
My girlfriend is interested in a 97 GXE 125K. The owner asks for 5000. I am wondering what common problems do these cars have at this mileage, what questions we should ask, and what to look for when doing the check. It'll be great if you can kindly give me a link about how to do each check since I am not familiar with Maxima at all.
How about the reliability of this car at 125K? This will be the car for my girlfriend and I hope it to be relatively trouble free. I can do simple works myself such as radiator, ball joints, o2 sensor, struts, etc... but I can't do engine swap, headgasket, tranny...
I am sure these have been discussed for millions of times and I'd love to use the search feature if anyone could let me know the link for a mirror site. Thanks in advance!

s0ber

iTrader: (7)

Auto or 5spd? Check the ECU for codes(in the FAQ) and find out about the timing chain, seems we have a problem with a rattling timing chain and the tensionor would need to be replaced... Not cheap if you pay for the labor...

Brudaddy

iTrader: (2)

yeah, those faq's can tell you the most stuff.
I would just look under the car for oil leaks or tranny leaks. (if they have powerwashed it, it might be to hide that....I worked at a dealership, and that is why they detail it like they do.)

Listen for how it shifts(if auto), and feel how tight the clutch is when you shift (if 5spd.) If it slips a little when shifting in automatic, I would watch out for that one. But you probably already knew that one.

Our Knock sensors are known to go out around 100k. Also, sometimes, the O2's like you said. Plus, coil packs are sometimes the cause of small misfires in the engine that cause a hesitation. However, those are not too hard to replace, but just beware.

I would say that $5k is a little high for those kind of miles and it being a GXE. See the following:


1997 Nissan Maxima 4 Dr GXE Sedan
Trade-In------ Private Party-------- Dealer Retail
National Base Price $4,741 $5,847 $7,198
Optional Equipment $183 $228 $314
Automatic 4-Speed Transmission $183 $228 $314
Color Adjustment
White $-10 $-12 $-15
Regional Adjustment
for Zip Code 39042 $-82 $-101 $-124
Mileage Adjustment
125,000 miles $-1,471 $-1,471 $-1,471
Condition Adjustment
Clean $0 $0 $0
Total $3,361---- $4,491------ $5,902

I got this off of www.edmunds.com. They are a pretty good judge of what it needs to be sold for. Full dealer retail would be $5902, and I would not let them make you pay that. It should be somewhere between the full dealer retail and the trade in value of the car...whatever you can agree upon.

FYI

masupra

Thanks for the quick response. How can I check the timing chain, by listening? Yeah I also felt the price is a bit high plus the seller is the second owner.

s0ber

iTrader: (7)

Pretty much, grab a silicon hose, put one end in your ear and put the other one on the timing chain cover... Listen for any weird rattling... Its usally louder so if you dont hear it already I dont think you would need to worry about it.

masupra

Back from seeing the car. The owner is a house wife who barely drove the car. The body has some paint chips, the front bumper has a lot scratches. The inside of the car is kinda dirty, but no stains and it didn't appear to be smoked in.
The A/C is not cold, although the owner said it was ice cold last summer. The heater is very hot, so I think no air bubbles or blockage in the coolant circulation.
In the engein bay, there are a lot oil stain on the front side of the intake manifold, which I suspect is from oil out of the leaking valve cover gasket. Didn't see oil leaking from the top otherwise.
I started the car cold, and put my ear close to the timing chain area and didn't hear any rattling. I didn't use a hose tho 'cause I didn't find one. But no rattling after a cold start should mean the timing chain/guide is ok, right? Oh just wanna make sure, the timing cover is the alumnium cover on the passenger side is that right?
When driving the car, there was some slight clanking noise from the driver side front wheel area over small bumps. I suspect it's a bad ball joint.
The steering felt a bit loose, and it pulls to one side slightly.
The 'service engine soon' light is on, I am not sure what it means on a gen4 maxima. Is it just a service indicator that turns on when a certain number miles is logged, or is it the same thing as 'check engine' light on other cars?
The seller said she only used regular gas (87), will this harm the engine?
The automatic shifts smoothly, the engine is very powerful. Since I rarely drive automatic car, I don't know how to feel for 'slipping'. Does a slipping automatic tranny give a very obvious feeling that something is wrong? That car just felt normal.
The ATF is still red and no buring smell. But I found some fluid at where the engine and tranny meets. Is there any way I can tell whether it's the tranny, the rear main seal, or just the oil that got out of the valve cover made its way down?
The brake felt very good.
I just got a call from the seller, she said she might get the price down to 4000. I have the feeling it can be even a couple hundreds lower. I would expect the car to last five years and to 160K with no major repairs till my girlfriend graduates. Is this reasonable? Is 4000 a good deal for the car with all the things above? I would appreciate any input from the experts on this board and fellow forum members. Thank you very much.

Maciek

Offer 3500 cash and if you get it for that - it's a great deal. Mine has 137,000 and it feels great, so you should get to the 160,000 without major issues.
Maximas are a great bang for the buck when it comes to power, interior room, looks, and reliability. Sounds like you are pretty knowlegable in the basic mechanix, so she'll be allright.