ok well im 18 just got my license last month and i'm really looking to buy a 4th gen max,i've seen a lot on craigsist and nearly all of them have over 100,000 miles on them,now would the engine be strong enough to go beyond 100,000 miles? i know their japanese cars and they have great realiability,also what are some good mods or accessories i should look into which will enhance the maximas performance? thanks

 

well i just bought a 4th gen 2 weeks ago with 123,000 mi and the motor is very strong and the body is in good shape, no rust. as far as mods go other members can help you with that. go and test drive and check em out i think youll be surprised.

 

i was happy with my first max.....
i bought it with 135xxx miles and it was strong as hell. i snapped 4 cv axles in one year launching it hard....you wont be disappointed

r.i.p.

 

yeah,most maximas i seen don't have the SE rims,i love the way they look on them

 

John has 294k on his 4th gen, I've got 183k on my I30, I had 150k on my 96s.

 

They are really nice strong cars and from what i have seen, pretty easy to mod.

 

They'll last forever if you maintain them properly.

For your first power mod, I'd probably recommend a ypipe.

Read the stickies please in all the various forums (4th gen, All Motor, Nitrous, Turbo and Supercharged , Suspension and Handling forums), as they explain what mods are out there for the max, what they do, and the gains you can expect from them.

 

173k on mine and still running strong. I prob only put in less then $400-500 dollars in actual repairs in 2 years. Which is not too bad for a car that is 10 years old with that many miles imo

 

Purchased my 1996 Maxima SE with 177k miles. I paid 2700 for the car, and personally I think she was worth every dime. The engine begs to be driven, although I'm having suspension problems.

 

whats a y-pipe do exactly? i mean i can do most of the work on my own car since i went to an high school which specialized in auto mechanics and such

 

I have 125K miles on my '97 SE 5-spd, it only had 36.5K when I bought it in '00. The guy that sold it to me was buying a new '00 Maxima. He said he had BWM's before the '97 and is now hooked on Maximas because of the value (cost to performance, bang for the buck). I have had no problems with my engine other than replacing a water pump and two sensors, and just replaced the two belts for the first time last month. Uses NO oil, but I am always on schedule with service intervals. It is such a sweet, smooth engine. The VQ engine has won design awards year after year since '95, its inception, and is still winning them (Wards Automotive Journal this year, for one).

 

a y pipe removes the two front catalytic converters, which allows the exhaust to flow with less restriction.


and about high mileage, these cars are basically one of THE MOST reliable cars that have ever existed in the history of cars.
the VQ30 engine (the 4th gen maxima engine) was on wards "top ten most reliable engines" for 11 years straight.

these are the three maximas ive owned:

1) 1993 SE - beat the **** out of it for 226,000 miles then sold it to someone who is still driving it today; i imagine hes around 250,000 now.

2) 1996 GLE - bought at 141,000 and it drove like a champ (until it got wrecked three weeks later)

3) 1997 GLE - bought at 41,000. i expect at least another decade of driving out of this thing.

 

go buy the maxima and never look back. i looked back only because at heart i'm a subaru guy. but i had my max for a year and put 25k miles on her. and i too snapped both cv shafts twice launching her! you will not be dissapointed very powerful and look awesome for the money just get some suspension first that is something i never did which i wish i would have

 

About to pass to 130k on mine, still running quite nice

 

I had a 96 I30 with 237k miles on it engine ran stron until it was totaled last month. Had a 00' maxima with over 100K, loved it but sold it for a BMW. Now i just bought a 97 se 5MT two weeks ago and so far it seems to be right on par with my other nissans. Definitley good value for the money!

 

Same here except mine is GLE. Car is great and also mine gets good MPG. I think my next car will be something with VQ in it again

 

i just sold my 95 SE with 196,xxx miles last week. ran real strong. only problem i had was the harmonic balancer (crank pulley) but the guy i bought it from told me it was bad. owned it for a yr. now ill have an 05 maxima if the dealer finally finishes with it tommorow.

 

These engines aren't even broken in at 100k! The Maxima is a very reliable, efficient car that'll blow Hondas (and most other cars) off the road, and they can be had at very reasonable prices nowadays. I found mine just shy of 140k miles, in near-pristine condition for $4000. Basically, if you can find a better deal on a car, get it. But you'll be looking a long time.

 

ill sell u my 4th gen its in great shape...motor only has like 50k on it tops..

 

wow you guys snapping axles really must be terrible drivers unless your cars are heavily modified on slicks or something wheel hop FTL!!!!!

 

really? mind pm'ing me some pics and price info and such

 

oh ok,i'll definately look into the y-pipes then,another question,sorry for all the questions lol but this is gonna be my first car and i just wanna get things right,or close to it,now i'm going to install a system in it once i get it,now would the car's alternator be strong enough to handle the power or would i have to look into replacing it?

 

I guess it really depends on what you plan to install in the car. If you plan to go all out like car-show caliber audio or whatever, then getting a new alt might be a decent investment.

If you just plan to add an amp, pair of subs, new head unit and speakers, you'll be fine on the stock alternator. For what it's worth, I have two 10" MTX subs in my car with a 850w amp, and I have had no problems with alternator output, dimming lights or anything of that matter. In fact, I don't think the alt in this car was ever changed, and it is a 95! (keeping fingers crossed)

Congrats (in advance). You're going to love the car when you do get it. I bought mine in 2005 @ 125k, I have ~141k now & I still love it more & more after every trip! The mod bug is going to hit you pretty bad, just a quick warning; Pretty sure you'll be back soon enough with a MEVI install or 00VI install thread (those are upgraded intake manifolds that are good for a pretty large amount of power in the upper RPM range. "00VI" is from the 2000 or 2001 maxima) But let's not get ahead of ourselves One step at a time, right! Get the car, start with the Y pipe and go from there

 

^^ lol yeah i just wanna get sum subs,new head unit and speakers,nothing over the top but just enough to bump and set off car alarms

 

I don't think I've ever seen a thread of someone having an engine issue.

Something that hasn't been brought up in this thread - lower radiator core support rust.

When you're shopping, stick your head under the front bumper. There's a large metal support there. It's the most common rust spot on the 4th gen, and costs hundreds to replace. picture - http://forums.maxima.org/4480406-post5.html

In the Northeast, this is most likely going to be an issue.

The motor itself, the VQ30DE, is pretty tough. If you do end up with a problem, it's probably going to be in an accessory or something - I've had to replace my starter, alternator, battery, and fuel pump. ~142,000 miles, original owner '97 SE here.

 

Great point nalc.

If your lower radiator support looks like this:



Or even worse, like THIS:


You should probably look around a little more before deciding on that car

Being that you're buying it in the NY area, it most likely will not be perfect. But just be sure to check it out for major or potential problems.

 

I have 167K on mine and it still runs like a champ. I did get beat by a 325i the other day though and made me want to buy a 2002 Maxima. Bah. =o/

 

woww crime im suprised thats still holding together!!

 

^^ luckily, that's not my car. That picture belongs to tavarish, that was taken of his parts car that he had a while ago. My support did look like the first picture though. My support was replaced in '06 and they guys used a cheap one, and like a year later the crossmember started to rip it exactly like in the pic . Eventually it ripped completely off & there were clunking and popping noises galore. I took it back to them and they charged $200 to weld in a piece of metal so that it cold bolt up properly again .

 

damn,well i do plan on bringing a mechanic with me just to be on the safe side,and the roads here in nyc are pretty rough on the underneath of cars :/

 

btw are HID's legal in nyc? i mean they have to be,i seen so many of them on cars here

 

Retrofitted HIDs on a car that was not originally offered with them is not in compliance with FMVSS106

 

so its illegal then right? i mena if i put them on will i get pulled over?

 

Most likely, unless you do a projector retrofit. It's dangerous to blind other people on the road.

 

and whats a projector retrofit exactly,i know alot of people with regular hid's but don't they go by some sort of wattage?

 

should't have to woory about mileage on the car but use common sense (rust,leaking fluids,etc)before purchasing the car. Good Luck

 

A projector retrofit is when you take the projectors (a part of the headlight that focuses all the light and "projects" it forward and down) and install them into your headlights. Not a direct fit, mind you, but it can be done with great success, just search for "retrofit" on this forum.

Not sure about the wattage....I was under the impression that it was 35w or 50w depending on your bulb. But I could be wrong

 

The stock housing is designed to focus ways in certain ways, which is fine for a low-power stock Halogen bulb.

However, if you just throw a HID bulb in there, the extra brightness goes all over the place. The beam is crappy, and a lot of light goes up, blinding the cars in front of you.

A projector is a type of housing that focuses HIDs properly, with a stepped cutoff.

When people talk about a projector retro, that means that they go out and buy a set of projectors from another car, then cut up the stock 4th gen housing to install them. There's usually 1-2 in the For Sale section... they usually run in the $400-500 range, since they require a lot of custom work to build.

Around here, it's kinda useless, since there are so many streetlights and stuff that you don't need bright headlights. If you were living in the suburbs, though, it would be nice.

 

i bought mine 7 years ago with 60k and have 120k now. this thing keeps going strong.

 

Even projectors are technically in violation of FMVSS106. Any non-original lighting is in violation of it. The ruling only came down recently, enforcement has barely started on it.