After driving my car for a while and helping me work on it for the past few months, my friend is trading in his 00 Blazer and getting a max. We found a Black 97 5spd, loaded besides heated seats. Has 132k miles. We're going down in a few hours to check it out and buy it if everything works out as planned.

My question is this; what are the major issues with 97 5spd maximas around 130k miles? I will check the CV boots and will scan the computer, but i would like to know what else i can check so he doesn't get screwed over. Please respond ASAP, its pretty urgent. I know threads about this have been made but i can't find any.

 

mines a 97, gaytomatic, 127k+miles

common problems to my knowledge:
KS of course, faulty coilpacks, cv-joints, torn cv boots, brake squeals....

i mean, by that time, your really sopose to do another tuneup anyways

 

pretty much the same as all maximas of the 4th gen...not much K....O2 Sensors...ur checking CVs...coilpacks are more 99 but do fail on others

 

The main problem is that they beg you for a 3.5 swap .

 

Allright, an ECU scan should reveal any o2 and KS, correct? Anything else would be nice, i dont want to recomend my friend a car that will break down on him, so i want to check everything possible. We're bringing a hydraulic jack to jack up the car and check for leaks. A little oil on the tranny isn't a problem, right?

 

Test it after a good drive, and yes a little from the tranny isnt horrid, mine leaks a tiny bit, but i emphasise tiny, very tiny

 

I believe some of the '97s were affected by an alternator recall.

Here: http://www.internetautoguide.com/aut...ima/index.html

 

I LOVE THAT RECALL, FREE ALTERNATOR AT 80k, Sounds good to me...

 

you can calm it down by adding boost

 

As long as you see no symptom of play in the axle. None, nada, zip. Any wiggle at all in the part that's stuck into the tranny is sign of tranny rebuild.

It would be ideal to also drain a tiny amount of oil to look for flecks of metal. If it hasn't been rebuilt, by 130k I'll bet it at least has advanced bearing wear.

Dave

 

Theft.....

 

Make sure the tranni is not make any bearing nose. If there is a clicking noise that GOES AWAY WHEN THE CLUTCH IS DEPRESSED that is an 800 dollar problem.

 

carfax it.. doesnt always tell you all the facts but better than nothing right

 

Other common problems are the evaporator cannister, and the purge solenoid. You might also want to check the rear brake calipers as well for seizing.

 

Mechanically the car seemed to be almost all fine, tranny didnt make any weird noises. Only problem was that the starter seemed like it was going, because after the car started, the starter kept spinning for another split second, resulting in noise for that split second.
Cosmetically though the car wasn't in good condition....fender was dented a bit, scratches on a bunch of areas, and it seems like the guy ran over some wet white paint or something, resulting in white paint marks looking like splashes on the bottom of the fenders/doors/back end.

They wanted 5900 for it, but we would bring the price down...only problem is that they wanted to give my friend $3500 trade in for his 00 Blazer in showroom condition, 90k miles. Dont know if he's gonna go through with the deal or not, that trade in seems insulting.

 

ok that might mean that it grinds against the fly wheel... honestly i wouldnt buy it...

 

$5900 is high for a 132K mile '97 with some paint and body damage. I was thinking I would be lucky to get $4000 for mine with 97K miles. Sounds like you are going through a dealer? Work on those guys a bit. That price is a choker. I doubt they paid mush more than $2500 for it.

 

I think $5900 is way too much.

I would think it should be under 5K at least.

Offer 4

 

How about we offer them like 3500, expecting to raise the price to like 4000...they offer us crappy trade in, we offer them crappy price FOR THEM on the maxi...still seems high for a car in that condition, the leather on the driver's seat is splitting in so many places, ripped in the back, and the armrest is ripped...the only reason why he's still looking at it i guess is because its so rare to find a 5spd maxi around our area.

 

Yeah offer him that. 5spd maxi's are pretty rare, but don't act like you think that way. I bet the book value is not even that high- $5900

 

thats about it.

 

When I bought my 02 Max the dealer told me that less than 5% of Maximas are made with manual transmissions. I don't kow if that was true for 4th gens, but one thing I do know is that if manuals were as easy to sell as autos, they would make way more than 5% of their cars that way. In the used market it has to be an even harder sell. He will take $4K for that car, maybe even less. He will be able to sell a Blazer much faster than a manual Maxima even though used SUVs are hard to sell right now with gas prices the way they are. Keep in mind that the majority of people who want manual transmissions want small economy cars, Jeeps or 2-seat sports cars.

 

There are TWENTY TWO blazer's in his body style for sale within TEN MILES of my zip code alone, that number doubles when i consider within 30 miles of my zip, and he said some of them have been there 6+ months...nobody wants a small domestic SUV with relatively bad gas mileage...sucks for him, looks like he'll have to take a hit on it to upgrade to a maxima, but i agree with you, the dealer SHOULD take 4k for that maxima considering the condition of it. If not, he's a tard and will never sell that thing.

 

Do dealers still perform this recall?

 

ouch that price hurts..

 

Sounds just like my maxima. minor body damage, black/black, perfect interior and heated seats though, 5spd, Extra engine he was about to swap out. Got it for 2700. No go on price and trade in .

 

Yes they do, if your vin falls under the affected grouping. I just had mine done a couple weeks ago.

Now $5900 is ridiculous. I just bought my max last year for $5000. It came lowered with other minor cosmetic mods and minor performance mods and had 99k for mileage. The interior was in mint condition and the paint was about as good as 10 year old paint can be. Defenitely don't go above $5000, I'd say $4000 would even be a little high.

 

I agree with Wetzelman1, I'd offer him 3500 and walk if he wants more. Consider how much you'll have to put into the car just to get it up to standard.

 

if it's ok mechanicly, it's boarderline, but your friend will get screwed financially i'm telling u now. Cause he'll have to sell for cheap, buy a car for more and fix it up. Fixing leather...$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, paint $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$(trust me i'm crying cause i can't afford it, $3500) It adds up, i bought my 99 for $6500(cdn) with 190000kms blk/blk and needs repairs, not many, but it needs them and now i fixed it, but i have to wait at least a yr to do what i want and that sux. The car keeps getting older and older....forget it don't buy it

 

If his Blazer's runnin fine, I'd keep lookin.

 

werd i would not get that car.. keep looking man.. i had to see about 25 maximas before i bought the one i have now...

 

i got my 1998 GXE for 5 grand with 120,000 miles on it, in EXCELLENT CONDITION. no dings or scratches, only interior flaw is torn center cover, soon to be replaced with redline goods center consol boot.
for me, i wasnt shoping for any type of car in particular. i was just looking for a new car, i test drove a few accords and a 5th gen maxima, a mazda 626, a toyota camry, and a merc cougar, and an eclipse. of all the cars i test drove, im glad i ended up with the maxima, stylish roomy, and still fast as hell.

 

Oh wow you guys really got your cars cheap, great finds! I got my 99 with 74k miles last september for 7k, it was in perfect condition but a barebone GXE. He's going to try to trade in the Blazer at a different dealership and use the money to buy that maxima. Seems like he really wants it even considering the condition that its in, i'll tell him that he shouldnt pay over 4500 for that thing, even 4500 is too much. Thanks for the replies!

 

yeah seriously. I got mine over 3 years ago, and i paid 10k for it, and that was a really good price around here. There were close to none for sale. Now im stuck owing more on it, than its worth. haha. But i love the car, so it doesnt bother me too much.

 

Whys it sitting so high?