a buddy of mine is looking to get a 4th gen. the guy selling it said it needs a battery and a starter to get it running. any idea what else it could need to get it running if these arent the problems?

 

how can we tell if we don't have any info? it could be a ton of stuff that needs to be done (which I doubt).

 

its a 96 SE 5 speed with 203k miles. body wise it could use a new hood but nothing too major.
here are some pics:

 

Does the car have power?

 

he hasnt gone to look at it yet. he wanted me to ask the maxima lovers about the possibilities before he drove an hour to go get/look at it. he did say that the guy selling it said when they tried to crank it it just clicked (sign of a dead battery) and he had a mechanic look at it and he said it was a starter too. but as we all know mechanics arent always truthful...

 

Yes that is true some mechanics will tell you anything to get your money... took my maxima to one and told me several things 4 different times

 

he has wanted a maxima for as long as i've known him. he is selling his honda so he can get this car. he isn't working at the time due to the crappy economy and will not have alot of money to do anything to this car until he finds another job. so does anybody know how much a battery and starter would run? doesnt even have to be new. he just wants to drive a maxima and can you blame him

 

The starter takes all of 30 minutes to change, and should cost between $100 and $200 depending on where you get it from. From what you describe, if they have tried boosting the car, and they are just getting a single audible click from under the hood, the starter needs to be replaced

 

He is smart selling his honda for a maxima. If the starter doesnt do it i would keep serching around for another one. I wouldnt waste my time on it personally well that depends how much hes getting it for.

 

Its not running to begin with but how much is he getting it for??

 

1500 obo and he will get obo

 

I cant post threads how do you?

 

thats the other thing. he is selling his car to a friend of his next friday and he wont have a car until he gets another so he was hoping to buy this max and get the battery and starter and hopefully have some money left over to get springs and maybe an intake.

 

if it is the starter it took me about 15 mins to change mine. very easy to do. there are only 2 bolts that hold it in. they are like 14 and 17 mm or something like that. it takes longer to take the air intake off than it takes to take the starter off.

 

I would try to jump it or bump start it in second. If it wont start bumping it, dont buy it.

No money lost.

 

I agree with that too.

 

If all it needs are a battery and starter, those surely would have been already changed (especially since they are relatively cheap and easy to replace) in order to sell the car in the first place. Sounds suspicious to me.

 

he said the guy doesn't know anything about cars and is gonna loose money selling it for this less and doesnt wanna loose anymore.

any other ideas on what it could be if these aren't the problems?

 

did anyone mention ignition switch? if not I am. it is known to have failed before. also the clutch safety button thing that lets you start the car. Don't quote me on any of that

 

how difficult is it to install an ignition switch?

 

If the ignition switch was bad, he wouldn't be getting the click from under the hood.

 

starter is like 140ish plus core charge. battery is average 60 bucks.. so your looking at 200$ to replace that. id say offer the guy 1200 cash.. put the 200-250 into the parts and try that.. maximas are cheap and easy to fix for the most part.. if its not the starter or battery see if the CEL is on and go from there..

 

good idea.

I guess I might of been wrong with the ignition switch. I was throwing out there all that I could think of that would cause the car not to start.

 

ok. so more than likely it is the starter? or possibly a bad ground?

this is Ritz' friend that is probably gonna get it.

 

my honda was the same way. i dont know why but whenever i used to think about fixing a maxima i thought it would be expensive for some reason. buyer for my car fell through so i have a little bit more time to find a maxima. i would prefer a 4th but will settle for a 92+ SE 3rd gen.