I recently found a 1997 maxima se for $5000obo. It is black with black leather, power everything, sunroof, heated seats. As far as I know it has every option. The only thing is it needs 1 front axel, the ses light pops off and on and the abs light is on. It is a 5 speed with 93k on it. Do you think it is worth the price? I figure the ses light is on for maybe a O2 sensor but I have no idea. I am not sure about the abs but does anyone know of any abs problems? It does have new struts and brakes. He said he has gone thru a lot of brakes and the abs light came on 1 week after doing them. Please let me know what you think. I think I am going to look at the car tomorrow but it is a little more than an hour away and I don't want to take a ride down there for nothing.

Here is the ad

1997 NISSAN MAXIMA, 93K mi, 1997 Nissan Maxima Black on Black leather, 93K miles, 5-speed, Heated-seats, Bose, Moonroof, rear spolier, new tires and struts. $5,000 OBO, $5,000

 

carfax it, it might have gotten into an accident

 

I agree. Carfax it, then go check it out. Make sure they haven't done anything retarded to it. Check for excessive bottoming out, check for leaks, check the oil level after the car has sat level for a 10 minutes with engine off, etc... if it looks good, get it!.

 

I like or best offers.

My guess is 4,500 would be his best offer. I would go under that and not go any more.

 

looks like a good price to me. Not very high miles and loaded seems well worth 5k.

 

What about the problems with it? How much do you think everything will cost me to fix?

 

It seems like a fair price given the mileage and options.

Do you know how to diagnose the SES/CEL?? There's a how-to in the stickies that will show you. It would be a good idea to pull codes from the ECU while you're there tomorrow. You'll need internet access again in order to look them up thoug. If you find out what's triggering the ses you can use it to negotiate price.

 

The ABS light could mean an expensive repair. Try and use that in your negotiating.

 

I could always take the bulb out for the abs if it was to expensive right? Honestly I hate abs brakes but I would rather have everything working.

 

If you don't need the ABS you don't have to bother fixing it, but it's a negotiating point that it COULD cost you that much to fix, so it should be deducted from the price.

 

If something is wrong with the abs definitely find out what it costs. The abs went out on one of my cars to the tune of 2500 dollars. Let the dealer look into it and get their diagnosis, he may have already got the estimate and now is trying to unload it on some poor sucker. DO NOT take his word that it just came on.

 

sounds like a good price to me, I just paid $4,000 for mine, it has pretty much the same options, but no leather.....and 150,000 miles. Other than the miles, it looks and smells new, and runs like a dream.

 

carfax. check the A/C too, make sure it blows, in addition to the other nonsense. Got no ABS on mine. A $2500 fix sounds horrible.

 

$4500-5000 range probably

 

Make sure that you don't hear any abnormal spinning noises when your foot is off the clutch. When I brought my Maxima I noticed the noise, but didn't know better and the guy BS me telling me that a little noise is normal, but for 3600 for a 98 SE in great condition I couldn't ask for more. Anyway I think that it's ackward having to pay 5000 for a car that you know definitely has some sensor problems that may be costly especially the ABS. Where are you located? Because some inspection stations in NY don't allow you car to pass inspection if there are check lights on. It would suck having to get pissed off later knowing that you paid 5k for a car giving you headaches. I would take the advice of other people on this forum and ask if you can bring it to a mechanic or just keep on looking for another deal.

 

FOR THE ABS, once it was on my car when I took it to the shop. I was like oh ****, the engine started why didn't it come off? Then a crazy idea came of just activating it... so I did, and by the time I was home, it was off for good and hasn't came back.

 

When I was looking for my car, I used a service called Car Checkers. For a hundred bucks, they sent out an ASE Certified Master Technician to the location of the car and did a full diagnostic check on it. He gave me a breakdown of everything that needed to be repaired or changed soon, along with the amount of money it would cost to do so. He also appraised the car, giving me a good idea of what it was really worth, making the bargaining process with the seller that much easier.


To see if you have similar services in your area, look in the yellow pages and look under automobile appraisers or automobile diagnostic services.


As a side note: Because of using this service, I avoided buying a huge POS. The first Max I looked at was stunning inside and out, at least to my non mechanically inclined eyes, but when I had the Car Checker guy look at it just to make sure, he found a ton of problems with it. Problems that would have sunk me financially for sure. It was the best hundred bucks I've ever spent!