First of all, I would like to say hello to everyone in the 4th gen forum

Now to the question:

My friend is going to purchase a vehicle soon, and he has found one that is a 97
not sure if it is GXE, SE, or GLE but it does have powered leather seat, sunroof, and about 70k on the odo., it also is an automatic.

What I would like to know is are there any common problem dealing with body, engine, tranny, and suspension?

Also, what is a fair price for the car, factoring in the fact that my friend is not trying to lowball and are willing to give the guy a little bit of breathing room.

This car is from a private seller by the way.

 

look at the door handles if they are chrome then your looking at a GXE/GLE. it they are the same color as the car its an SE.

GLE has everything climate control and BOSE. GXE has like nothing.

From my experience on a 97 with 70k pending on what trim option and condition. most of the time $5 is a good price to give for the car. Normally what i really do is i take a look at what they are asking and know off aleast $1000. sometimes $1500-1750 and start from there. in the end you might be $1000 off of his opening offer.

 

check on KBB. Tell him listen, this is what trade in value is, and this is what private party value is. Good deal is Between private n trade in. Ok deal is private party value. Bad deal is between dealership and private party value. all depends on how much you like the car. if you're willing to pay over private party value. then go for it. otherwise, try to find a car that is below private party or even below trade in value..

 

bump, and any other thoughts?

 

Body=no
engine=alternator, KS, 02 sensors
tranny=varies
suspension=no

 

thanks you

 

an auto 97 with 70k and like no options... i wouldnt buy the car at all, but if i had to i woudnt pay more then 4-5g's.

 

differential bearing defect!

 

only in 95-96 buddy.

 

There is a recent thread re: a 1997 Maxima similar to what you are looking at. The best the guy could negotiate was $6,500. The consensus given the mileage (slightly above yours) was that it was a fair price, but say $6,250 would be better. I think $4 to $5K is on the low side if the car is clean. You didn't mention whether the car had Bose. Does it?

At 70K there won't be any problems with the car. Try to get a maintenance history, ensure the car hasn't been in an accident of any consequence, determine whether it has the 60K service. I suspect at 70K that it has new tires by now, is that correct?

 

Really? I have a 98 with bad bearings.....manual transmissions have this problem all throughout the 4th gen and possibly 2k-2k1 too.

 

This car happens to be an automatic!

 

So the autos have this problem too? Stickies only list this problem associated with 5 spds.

 

No the automatics do not have a differential bearing problem. The problem is specific to 5-speeds, in particular 1995 and 1996 models. My 95SE was built for the Canadian market and has a limited-slip differential. I have not experienced the dreaded differential bearing problem and suspect I will not. My car is just turning 59K, however.

 

Common repairs: CV joints, O2 sensors, alternator, Knock sensor, blown struts. The BOSE headunits tend to die in those cars that have the "premium" sound system.

Generallly speaking, maximas tend to go for a very long time without any serious repairs needed. I have 130,000 miles and here's what my car has seen done to it (from myself and maintenance record of previous owner):

I've had each CV joint go bad at least once in 130k miles (just buy a remanufactured axle for $70). Oxygen sensors go bad with time (buy from oxygen sensors.com for pretty cheap). My alternator died recently (it was factory original). My BOSE headunit died 2 years ago (common problem). Oh, and the parking brake cables on these cars tend to sieze up when they get older (just replaced the cable recently).

The rest is just regular maintenance, such as brake pads, rotors, struts (every 3-5 years typically) etc.

The VQ engines tend to be rock solid. As for the auto trannies, well, most people on this forum are on their original auto trannies and doing just fine. Obviously some people have not been that lucky, but they are pretty darn solid. Good luck with your purchase!

 

Thank you for all of your input, my friend bought the car after seeing it.

The car is a 97 GXE, 40k miles, 1 owner with all maintenance done by dealer, and the owner was an 70 something years old lady.

Pearl white in color, leather interior, power seat, security package with 3 remotes, the car is practically brand new, cv boots still flexible and have that new rubber look, engine still shines, nothing oxidated over yet.

he paid 7g, and figured that it was a fair price for a car in that condition.

 

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

7k is kind of high for private party, but about what you'd expect to pay from a dealer for a 97 with that low mileage. Tell him "good luck" with the car. He should get himself a screenname and browse the forums. he might learn something. Or more likely these days, he'll be flamed for no reason by grumpy people who can't seem to remember when they were a newbie too! Ha ha.