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advice on buying 4th gen

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Old 06-14-2005, 09:45 PM
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advice on buying 4th gen

Hey guys i'm looking at a 97 SE auto right now. White w/ black leather. climate control, bose system, heated seats. 85,111 Miles are on it and he wants $6700

thats the good stuff. Overall car is in decent shape. From what i can see doors have like minor dings nothing noticable unless your face is up on the doors. The rear bumper has paint lost. Minor patches but noticable. the parking brake boot isn't properly inserted. The cup holders looked to be crazy glued back on. Seats have normal wear. no tears.

Engine looks clean, i looked at the car at 9pm since thats when i got off work and he is aviable. I'm a newb when it comes to maxima's, i'm a camry guy so i have no clue what to look out for. I didn't notice if it had ABS or not.

What i need...
I wanna know what are simple fixes. More problem areas to take a look at/ target more. Is average market price for a car in this condition?

PICTURES:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...e/100_0612.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...e/100_0613.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...e/100_0614.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...e/100_0615.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...e/100_0616.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...e/100_0617.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...e/100_0618.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...e/100_0619.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...e/100_0620.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...e/100_0621.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...e/100_0622.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...e/100_0623.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...e/100_0624.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...e/100_0625.jpg
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Old 06-14-2005, 09:53 PM
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Thoguh the miles are decent low, I wouldn't pay that much for a car in that condition. I would pay something along the lines of ~5-5.5k. Not too sure what you like, but I would recommend a 5 speed.
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Old 06-14-2005, 09:55 PM
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Buy my car its fully loaded Pearl white on black leather with 5spd manual tranny the car is mint it comes with 8000K HIDS 7"inch TV Kicker sub 12"inch,compustar alarm pioneer speakers all around with 2 amps 1 on interior speakers and 1 on sub also the capacitor and yellow top battery bought 3 weeks ago so let me know the car is in mintest condition its also hard to find white/blk SEL fully fully loaded with 5spd so let me know or PM me


http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...9/833467_3.jpg
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Old 06-14-2005, 10:00 PM
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i really wanted a 5 spd myslef. but i wont be the only person driving the car. My parents would like to drive the car as well. Thats why i'm going with an auto. The guy started his price off at $7500 and wheeling and dealing i got him down to $6700. I personally feel its a tad on the high side as well
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Old 06-14-2005, 10:01 PM
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Originally Posted by TurTLe*
i really wanted a 5 spd myslef. but i wont be the only person driving the car. My parents would like to drive the car as well. Thats why i'm going with an auto. The guy started his price off at $7500 and wheeling and dealing i got him down to $6700. I personally feel its a tad on the high side as well
Ok if you decide to take 5spd let me know
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Old 06-14-2005, 10:04 PM
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dude dont get it.. the cars in horrible condition.. i would pay at most 5k for it
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Old 06-14-2005, 10:12 PM
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I'm like having horrible luck with finding a 4gen maxima for $5-6k with lower miles
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Old 06-14-2005, 10:16 PM
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www.autotrader.com
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Old 06-14-2005, 10:28 PM
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dont do it man.... u can find better
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Old 06-14-2005, 10:31 PM
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Originally Posted by NmexMAX
I've been all over cars.com and autotrader.com and i just finish this forum's classifieds and my local newspapers as well.
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Old 06-14-2005, 10:34 PM
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In order to find a car you REALLY want, and not settle for something less, it takes time and work. Work meaning a lot of reasearch, even might mean flying out or having the car shipped, or meeting an owner a few hundred miles away ...
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Old 06-14-2005, 10:37 PM
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Please they are all over our area, I bought mine 97 se auto with 110000 miles in the amazing condition for 5 k even. Just keep searching.
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Old 06-14-2005, 10:47 PM
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So far i've been searching for about 2 months. give or take.

I think what i'm looking for is harder to find. i want something in the 70-80k miles SE-L or GLE for $6500 at most. Is this something really hard to ask for?
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Old 06-15-2005, 12:14 AM
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thats too much for that condition
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Old 06-15-2005, 03:31 AM
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how come i cant see the pictures??????? ahhh!!!!
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Old 06-15-2005, 04:20 AM
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youll never find one with 70k-80k, but i got mine with 101k 95 5spd for $3900 and i live in teh same area, i see at least 10 to 15 a day by where i live
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Old 06-15-2005, 04:36 AM
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6700$ its to much. and car is dirty
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Old 06-15-2005, 04:40 AM
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Originally Posted by TurTLe*
So far i've been searching for about 2 months. give or take.

I think what i'm looking for is harder to find. i want something in the 70-80k miles SE-L or GLE for $6500 at most. Is this something really hard to ask for?

actually yes it is......se-l are 99 models only so that really limits ur search....just look for an SE with all the fixings i suggest 97-99, and again finding a low miiage one is superhard because everyone loves their maxima....i jsut bought mine and i paid 7k for a 96k fully loaded 98.....the car is in perfect condition and in buffalo to find a car in great condition is really hard....now i know if i looked around in southern states i prolly could have found one cheaper but i am sure it would need work.....so keep in mind if u want a perfect car its gonna cost u if its got damage the price should reflect it...and i looked for almost 3 yrs to find the perfect 5spd for me....until i found it i settled for a nearly perfect 96 auto.....and thats only because i looked for 6 months to find a 5 spd before i bout the auto and i was sick of looking and i got a good deal on the auto
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Old 06-15-2005, 05:22 AM
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keep looking. you can find something better. keep going around your local dealers.

i'm selling my max, it's a 97 gle with all mods with only 62k mls.
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Old 06-15-2005, 06:56 AM
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It doesn't have ABS looking at the engine bay pics. I don't see the ABS pump on the passenger side near the Windshield washer fill-up nozel.
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Old 06-15-2005, 07:08 AM
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No, the car doesn't appear to have ABS brakes. Does it have a sunroof? The car doesn't appear to be in overly poor shape to me, apart from needing the rear bumber painted.

Tell the owner you have done further research and have been informed his asking price is a way out of line. Pick a lower figure you can live with and tell him that is your final offer and see who blinks first.
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Old 06-15-2005, 07:25 AM
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Dude... chill...take your time... I TOOK 5 months looking and looking and searching and every f*ing day going online until i met her. $4800 87K miles 5spd SE. black leather, sunroof, bose, etc.etc.

take your time...it'll pay off.
 
Old 06-15-2005, 07:29 AM
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i looked for all the fast cheap cars for a long time, about 4 months, when i was giving up, i found my max, definetely better than a sho or a gst/tsi which i was also looking at
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Old 06-15-2005, 08:42 AM
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Don't rush into buying a car. That's the worst thing you can do. You end up ignoring things that will cost you in the long run. Think about it this way; would you purchase the car if time and money wasn't an issue? You'll find something better than that.
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Old 06-15-2005, 08:44 AM
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My bumper looks better than tht and mine is over 10 years old w/ 229k ...
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Old 06-15-2005, 08:55 AM
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cars.com is how i found mine 5 speeds are hard to find seems liek they have alot in ri though go figure
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Old 06-15-2005, 09:35 AM
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Originally Posted by NmexMAX
My bumper looks better than tht and mine is over 10 years old w/ 229k ...
Are you suggesting that is indicative of the overall mechanical condition of the vehicle? Perhaps the previous owner couldn't parallel park, lol!
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Old 06-15-2005, 09:37 AM
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Yeah they must've sucked kinda like --->
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Old 06-15-2005, 10:15 AM
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do they have craigslist in your area?
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Old 06-15-2005, 10:24 AM
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overall you have to be comfortable with the cosmetic flaws in the vehicle. personally $6700 is a tad high, but with 85k on it who knows. well that was my 2 cents, good luck.
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Old 06-15-2005, 11:09 AM
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looks good I guess, except for the scratches
 
Old 06-15-2005, 11:47 AM
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after you wash the car inside and out, youll notice alot more. when youre trying to shine it up in and out and there are defects, youll want them fixed so bad!
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Old 06-15-2005, 12:38 PM
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i'ma pass this on up because the guy wont go lower then $6700.

I had a question tho i thought the ABS module is like on the driver side near the intake hose and pretty close to the master cylinder. Thats where i thought it was on the GLE i saw anyways. And how hard is to remove the driver sear and swap it in with another one.
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Old 06-17-2005, 08:49 PM
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the guy called me back and said he was willing to go 6200$ on the car. I found some other offers in the same price range, overall body of the cars were clean but there were minor issues. 1 had exhaust noises, 1 had door lock and check engine light issues. another had a rebuilt title. which kinda leads me to believe that most maxima's out there normally has aleast 1 or 2 issues that the owner is living with.
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Old 06-18-2005, 04:01 PM
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The price seems a little high...my Uncle just bought a 96 GLE for $7000 Canadian. The condition doesn't seem too great either. Are you willing to travel to buy one? I got mine from 1000 miles away in order to get low mileage and price.
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Old 06-18-2005, 05:41 PM
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1000miles away? you mean from canada? I'm willing to travel no problem but to buy a canadian car, i would need to go thru a lot more issues bringing it back wouldn't i ? i never bought a car from a private party so i dont even know how that goes in terms of paperwork stuff.

but PM an offer and i'll check it out
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Old 06-18-2005, 06:11 PM
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Dude, that car is a POS. If that's an SE, why does it have a chrome grille? It was probably in an accident and the body shop put the wrong grille back on the car. Keep looking man, there are thousands of Max's out there and alot of them are cleaner than that rat trap. Look for a 5 speed too. If you find a 5 speed, tell your parents to keep their corn pickin' hands off it!
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Old 06-18-2005, 06:31 PM
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Looks like it was rear ended at some point and cheaply fixed.
I also find it suspicious that the Power steering fluid is way over the max, prolly has a leak and he added over the max.
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Old 06-18-2005, 07:01 PM
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Originally Posted by TurTLe*
1000miles away? you mean from canada? I'm willing to travel no problem but to buy a canadian car, i would need to go thru a lot more issues bringing it back wouldn't i ? i never bought a car from a private party so i dont even know how that goes in terms of paperwork stuff.

but PM an offer and i'll check it out
I didn't necessarily mean Canada, just travelling in general - somewhere you can find a better deal thats in nicer shape. Its worth it if you plan on keeping the car for a long time. There are a lot of Maxima's in the Toronto area though. I'll PM you a couple of Canadian websites though. There will be more of a hassle bringing it across the border, but my Uncle and my cousin have both imported cars from the US and it wasn't too much trouble...Canada always seems to be more strict with that kind of stuff.
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Old 06-18-2005, 07:22 PM
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Try Carmax, they should have lot of max laying around the lot. I wish we had one here in my area. I miss Chicago...
 


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