I am about to get a 1997 maxima from a friend of my dads for 2500(i think he is giving it to me cheaper then the bluebook price, not sure). Well yeah, I just plan make it look good and keep the condition good until i have money to put into it. I was going to get a eibach lowering kit later on. Also tint the windows sometime.

Okay, if you could answer some questions I would appreciate it. I haven't seen the car in person yet, but my dad says its black, with black leather seats, a sunroof, and claims its fully loaded. I asked him what color the gauges were and he thinks it was white(i'll let you know when i find out for sure) What model do you think this is?

Also, there is one problem. He says the odometer is broken. Is this a big problem and how much will it be for it to be fixed. Also will it start back at 0?

Thanks everyone

 

It's probably an SE. If the exterior door handles are chrome then it's a GLE.

 

If it has white gauges it should be a SE..any other options like spoiler, fog lights, etc. that you know of?

 

leather usually means its a GLE unless the owner isntalled leather seats, but hte white gauges should be SE so look at the car first and tell us whats on it.

 

leather does not mean its a GLE. The SE had the option of the leather seat package, like I do.

SE comes with fogs and spoiler with white SE gauges, with all of the door handles being the same color as the car.

Post some pictures when you get the chance to.

 

This should help.....straight from the stickies.

http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...90&postcount=3

 

it is an SE.

GLEs did not come with sunroofs standard.

 

As far as the odomoter goes, you can grab a used replacement here on maxima.org as a new one would cost some bucks from the dealership.

 

as long as the guages/service lights work i wouldnt bother replacing the cluster.
knowing exactly how many miles are your car is relatively meaningless. if it was taken car of, a maxima will run the same at 40k that it will at 140k.

plus you could always CARFAX it. you will not only find out the trim (GLE, GXE, SE...) but also the last recorded mileage. from there you could guess (miles + [years since X 12,000]) and figure out about how used the engine is.

 

here, i posted this in another thread like 10 lines down.
bit more explination

GLE and GXE have black guage faces. SE are white. that is a surefire way to tell right there.

as far as sunroofs and spoilers go, the original purchaser of the car at the dealership can add that stuff to GXEs or GLEs. the SEs usually have it standard.
GLEs DO NOT come with sunroofs, nor do GXEs.
you can tell if a spoiler was factory added on a GLE because it will not only have the rear window center brake light, but also the brake light on the spoiler itself (two rear central braking lights).

leather is standard in GLEs. SEs can have leather.
ive never seen a GXE with leather.


this is getting complicated. just put up pictures of the interior and exterior. it will be easier to tell then.

or run the VIN...............

 

The misinformation in this thread is staggering...

 

like what?

 

right? my gle has a sunroof.

really there is no point in knowing the trim. if its loaded then you will get all the options whether an se or gle.

 

yea. my 96 GLE had a sunroof AND a spoiler. and a third interior brake light in addition to the brake light on the spoiler. my 97 also has a sunroof, but no spoiler.

when i bought it from the original owners, i asked about those items and they said that they paid extra at the dealership the day they ordered the car.

 

but whos to say that the buyer of this car didn't do the same? like i said, it really doesn't matter. as long as the car is in good condition and you get the options you want the letters mean nothing.

 

Off of the top of my head...
My GLE came from the factory with a sunroof and a spoiler. No rear-window light in the rear deck. SE models don't "usually" have sunroofs. GLE models were more likely to have them than were SEs.

 

yeah my SE came with a sunroof, spoiler, foglights, white gauge cluster, leather, no speed limiter. so.... with an auto trans

 

ROCKART, even after I posted a link w/ all the info about GLE's, GXE's, and SE's, you continue to spew misinformation.

 

i beg to differ since my gle came with a sunroof. and i know for sure it isnt an SE.

 

you are talking about the information in the stickies that refer to trim on maximas?

becuase i went to buy my first car with that knowledge (the 96 GLE) and assumed it was an SE becuase of the spoiler and door handles. also my friend has a 98 or 99 GLE with no sunroof.
then, when i was looking for 5th gens in the past months, i heard from a variety of people that 5th gen GLEs do not come with sunroof standard.

but yes, in the future i will be more selective about information i present as fact.

 

Sounds like the previous owner of your car added the spoiler. It should not have both the third interior brake light if you have a spoiler.

 

"GLEs DO NOT come with sunroofs, nor do GXEs.
you can tell if a spoiler was factory added on a GLE because it will not only have the rear window center brake light, but also the brake light on the spoiler itself (two rear central braking lights). "


uhhh...mine does

 

yea. so did mine. but i was told by the owners (original owners) that they had specifically requested it at the time of the inital purchase.

 

I guess everyone missed post #2?

 

if u really want to know the stickies is the best place to find out but the way u describe it it sounds like an se i have an se wit the white gauges sunroof the door handles are the same color as the car Bose head unit & speakers spoiler fog lights leather seats but not all se have the bose or the leather seats so i think u should check out the stickies best bet

 

Thanks for all the replies. I'll fill you in once I actually get the car :P. I'll probally have more questions then aswell

 

I didn't think GXEs had leather and my GXE came with leather. I VIN checked it from Nissan and it shows that it came with leather on mine.

 

I don't get how you're getting that leather is part of the VIN.

See link.

http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...73&postcount=4

And see the link I posted above too.....

 

The last 6 digits is the vehicle's production number. It can also pull up what options your vehicle came with from the factory.

You would need someone from the Nissan dealer to do it.

 

yeah this is thread is full of bad info

My (canadian G X E ) has a Sunroof, no spoiler, no fogs, has heated seats and heated mirrors, has ABS brakes and no leather

Options were available with different packages

PS: i also have the low washer fluid sensor for $hits and giggles

 

Take-home message:

Many options were just that: Options. STANDARD amenities were different for each trim level. See the stickies for the standard inclusions. If something was not an option from the factory, it often was an option from the dealership.

/thread.