I've owned American cars most of my life and this is the first foreign car I've bought and I've noticed the parts on my maxima are crazy, crazy expensive. Like literally 5 times the price of american parts. Is this just for this 4th generation maxima or are all maxima parts expensive? Do HOnda's, Toyota's, etc, cost that much in parts?

 

Idk what parts you are talking about, or where you are getting them from, but Maxima parts arent really expensive at all. As far as manufacturers, it all depends on what car you get, parts for a sports cars will generally be more expensive than parts for an economy car. That goes for Japanese cars, American cars, German cars, British cars, Italian cars, Korean cars, every type of car. We also have options to get discounted OEM parts, contact Dave B. at South Point Nissan, he gives discounts to org members, or go to Courtesy Nissan's website.

OT: what is the A4 in "1997 Nissan Maxima SE(A4)"?

 

In my experience Maxima parts are cheaper than equivalent parts for domestic cars. Not sure where you're finding them significantly more expensive. What parts are you referring to in particular?

 

What car parts are you referring to exactly? If you go straight to the dealer for everything, then yes, you'll be paying a lot more than necessary.

 

Maybe he walked into a stealership looking to buy a new MAF, only to find out its costs more than the average monthly car payment.

 

Well he should know that he can buy an OEM used one on ebay for like $30, or buy one on here for around the same price lol.

 

Of course, I mentioned the MAF as an example of a very exorbitantly overpriced new part.

 

I know lol, I answered it to demonstrate a few places he could get high priced parts for cheap

 

I think maybe a variant to 4AT?

 

oh ok, makes sense now lol

 

**** maxima parts are cheap you just need to know where to look......

 

replacement parts are okay in price. mods are pretty expensive...... the support and demand is limited, so if and when someone makes parts, it comes out a pretty penny. cattman headers for example, qualit stuff for top dollar !

 

:matt93se:

 

Not really that expensive IMO..Just got to do more searching for better prices is all..

 

u guys have to be kidding, right? Just bought an alternator for my maxima OEM, $450, when on my domestic they are about $80, then a starter on my car cost me $600 to get put on, the part cost about $100 anywhere else. GOt an evap solenoid control valve that's about the size of my pinky for $106 from Oreiley's I put on myself and priced MAF's and no matter where u look $572! Are u guys drunk? THis is not a joke! This is calling parts stores, all different mechanics, no dealerships involved. THese are the facts, not opinions. If u guys think i'm getting, grab a phone book in Oklahoma and call any parts store u want and see if i'm exageratting. I know this is a MAxima club and u guys try to sugarcoat things to make it look better, but this car is costing me an arm and a leg and now I have a chugging problem that i've already invested almost $1000 into and it still isn't fixed and noone can help!

 

why are you going to the dealer for these parts? of course they are so much more there. they sell a damn muffler for hundreds of bucks. you gotta be out your mind to skip autozone electrical parts with LIFETIME warranty and pay 4x the price at dealer.

no one on this board buys mafs for $600. used mafs are continously sold here on the board for $40 or less, ebay OEM used for < $40 and new aftermarkets for <$70..... and there are tons of people on this org that junk maximas in their backyards and sell the parts for cheap on this board. sorry man looks like you got a car that hasnt been taken care of and you're not using the right resources.

 

k, your once again misunderstanding me? WHo's going to Dealers for parts? Not me. These are calling around parts places, like oreiley's etc. Call Oreillly's right now and ask how much a MAF cost for a 97 SE. It's $572! ALso is it really safe to buy a used MAF that has a MAF Sensor in it that u have no idea if it's working better than yours? CErtain parts aren't safe to buy used, especially without a warranty. My car was very well taken care of and I haven't had a problem with it for 5 years, now the thing bucks, chugs, and stalls almost all the time and all the parts people thought it might be, I have replaced and still nothing is fixed!

 

Seriously? A4=4 Speed automatic transmission, just like on every other car club message board i've been in. a5, means 5 speed automatic, mtx=manual transaxle, m5 means 5 speed manual, m6 means 6 speed manual. You've seriously never seen these abbreviations posted on car message boards before? I thought this was pretty common lingo

 

why dont you do what we all do and just order your own parts online? clearly thats what were tryin to suggest to you. so shut the **** up with the parts stores already.

 

try owning an audi.

 

Honestly I've never heard of these abbreviations before either, an I've apart of boards for a while now. Not even in the off-road community have I seen these sorry but there new to me an prolly most of us.

 

this is an example of you getting screwed not the norm. $600?!?!? man they saw you coming. i purchased a starter i believe it was $60-$80 for the part, with a lifetime warrantee!

i put it on myself, took me 20 min. even if the shop charged you $100 for the part and 1hr @100/hr it should have cost you $200. best price for someone else to do it would be geting the part yourself ($60) _ 1/2hr labor ($50) = $110!!! so you shoulda paid $110 - $200.

this is not "us" sugar coating anything. This is your fault! these cars have one of the lower failure rates/cost of ownership for what you get. find me a german car that is cheaper to maintain... or an American car that gives you this level of amenities and reliability. if you want even higher reliability you need to buy a corolla (and loose out of the features and power of these cars) but for you to say that an American car would in anyway even come close to what these have to offer is just ridiculous.

 

You quoted a OEM alternator. That's dealer, and new.
...and then you compared that to a parts store $60 alternator, which is rebuilt, and probably poorly at that.

Rockauto.com has new alts for your car for $142, starters from ~$100, and MAF's from ~$230.

Honestly, sounds like you're pissed that your car isn't fixed....but it's YOU that is taking the "parts counter guy" diagnosis and then spending money.

What codes are you showing?
Buy a cheap code reader FIRST!

 

Nissan replacement parts > honda replacement parts. but as the maxima gets older the prices will drop. compressor for the maxima ranges from $200-$600 (reman-new)

 

I have to say between my civic an my max prices are comparable to each other, some are higher an lower depending on what it is.

Also lovin the fact that he's gettin attitude with everyone when he hears what he doesn't want to hear, you did ask a question an everyone is giving honest answers if you don't like it then that's your bad!

 

Nobody puts new OEM parts on their 10-15 year old car.

Maxima alternator $153
http://www.amazon.com/Denso-2103137-...6848073&sr=8-4

Maxima Starter $185.
http://www.amazon.com/Denso-2803126-.../dp/B000C5WDCG



I paid about $90 for my starter remanufactured by Bosch. If you look around you can even do better than these prices.

 

ok, u guys are right, I am talking out of anger because i've put a lot of money into my car right now and my car still runs like crap and before that for 5 years it drove like silk and was awesome! Here's the problem, all the mechanics I have called in Oklahoma said Nissans don't take aftermarket parts well, is that not true? So far u guys have been quoting me aftermarket parts for a nissan, not OEM. U guys also say i'm an idiot for taking my car to local mechanics when I have no clue how to do this stuff myself because i'm about as mechanical as a 3 year old girl. U say buy online? Where do u guys go to buy parts online? Obviously i'm uneducated on where to find Nissan parts for a good price because there is no way in the world i would of spent $450 to replace a knock sensor, $600 to replace a starter, and $105 to replaced the evap solenoid control valve all without fixing my problem if I had a cheaper alternative.
Here's what my car does. It throws these code P0443, P0445 and P0450. The problem is in drive, and neutral, my rpm's stay around 1k, in Drive, Reverse, any other gear they drop below 500rpms and the car stalls. It also chug and buck when i have on cruise control too, it just drive horribly right now!

 

www.courtesyparts.com
DAVEB, member on here.

Also, from being on here and living and sleeping 4th and 5th gen Maximas (pretty much the same car) you sorta get the "know how" as to which parts you should replace with OEM and which w/ Autopart stores.

MAF's not to exceed 60$, new or used.
Alternators, NTE 160$.
Knock Sensors, NTE 120$.
Water pumps, NTE 180$.


Best advice, find a local mechanic, as in a .org member.

Post in the local forum area.

But honestly, if you have 2 functional hands, half a brain, a small assortment of medium sized metric sockets, you could work on and essentially take apart a Maxima.

Also, around here 4AT, 5AT, 5MT, 6MT is what we use to determine tranny "codes".

 

wow the prices u paid for these items u would think u had a bmw or benz damn remind me never go lookin for part in oklahoma damn dat hurt my wallet and it wasnt even me who purchased them

 

that was including labor right?
most of the people on this forum dont pay that "extended" price

 

That's what this board is here for. Searching and asking questions will reveal how to do pretty much anything you want to do to your car maintenance-wise. If a part sounds too expensive, it probably is. Like some folks have said before, courtesyparts.com for Nissan parts and rockauto.com for other OE parts are pretty consistently cheaper than what you're going to find at your local dealer and parts store respectively. The only exceptions are inexpensive items where shipping eats up the difference in price.

As for trouble with aftermarket parts on Nissans, that's generally BS. Almost all aftermarket parts work just fine, but some manufacturers get it wrong when they make things that have to be really precise. The example that I've experienced is wheel bearings. National bearings have an ID that's too small for the Nissan hub, so you have to go all Nissan. They're not very expensive, though.

You can search around the org and find lots of opinions on which parts are better to replace with genuine Nissan and which are fine with off brands. The knock sensor is one that most of us agree cheaper is better. Alternators and starters, as someone mentioned, you can get relatively cheap at AutoZone with a lifetime warranty, which is good since those wear out eventually in any car.

Finally, regarding the problem at hand, it looks like you're still having an evap problem. I don't have a lot of experience in this area as it's one system that hasn't had any problems yet on my car. What I can tell you is that the part you replaced was probably fine, and there's almost certainly one bad part throwing all 3 codes. Try searching and see what you can find.

 

who the heck calls parts stores these days bro? honestly, it takes 30 seconds to visit their site and find pricing. there are TONS of local stores and their online prices are sometimes cheaper than in store, not to mention almost all have some sort of a coupon code to use during checkout. even then most people still buy on amazon/ebay cuz its a lot cheaper..

and you said for $600? they have it on their website for as low as $220
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/se...ima&vi=1211465

you can get them new on ebay for $60, autozone for $200 or less.... almost all autoparts stores carry starters for less than $150 and alternators for less than $200. I dont know who charged you $600 for a starter........ and you bet your **** i would first buy a used maf and try it out before i purchase a new one for $600. use a maf cleaner spray to clean it up and see if your symptoms go away.

you still dont make any sense because you are paying top dollar to your mechanics for labor and purchasing parts at crazy prices...

 

wow, that's a lot of info, thanks guys for your help. I guess I wont give up on my nissan yet, because before this problem, It was probably the best car I've ever owned. Just hope I find a cure for this problem without getting hosed. I'm at a point right now where I have to take it to someone to find out what the problem is because everything that people on this forum have suggested', i've replaced and/or did without any fix to the problem. SO I don't know how i'm not gonna get hosed again by a mechanic.

 

Stop taking your car to mechanics. I never take my car to a mechanic, unless its something major that i dont feel like doing myself (clutch/engine swap). Start by doing basic maintenance yourself and build your confidence. Move up to changing your brakes yourself and with confidence you'll find that things like alternator/starter/knock sensor are EASY.

Instead of shelling out an insane $500 on labor for starter swap, put that money towards a nice jack/stands, tool box and an OBD 2 code scanner (or you can manually pull the codes with a screw driver, read the stickies).

Buy a repair manual such as hynes or chiltons, or even better yet, download 97 maxima FACTORY SERVICE MANUAL from google. this is a repair manual made by factory that techs used in the dealer, it has STEP by STEP procedures to fix EVERYTHING.

pull your codes yourself and use one of these 3 manuals to guide you through fixing the issues.

working on the car is much like a puzzle. unbolt a bunch of screws, take part out, replace, bolt back. follow directions in the manuals and its super easy. just requires confidence and patience.... you wont break anything or kill anyone. and if for whatever reason you mess up half way or feel like it aint your thang, either put it back together and take it to your mechanic or just pay $50 to a tow truck and tow it to your mechanic.......

soon you'll be amazed at what you can do !

 

how are you just figuring out now that the org has a lot of good info if you ask? you have been a member since 2008.

 

Ebay knock sensors from ebay $20.00. KS code are almost always BS ghost codes. Check all your hoses with a propane torch or carb cleaner, in the engine compartment and at the canister. Check wiring. I havent looked up your codes, but it sounds like your missing on some cylinders to me. Search for misfire troubleshooting. the evap codes might be unrelated to the poor running.

 

Damn didnt know people still bought car parts for such outrageous amounts. I have enough parts laying around to build 2 maximas lol.

 

With this forum you should be able'd to build and repair any Maxima.

Also look in my Signature please and you will find the Factory Service Manual [98 FSM!]

Just calm down and Search if you have any questions. Also Before performing Any Work Feel Free to post a thread on here and ask any questions you don't have an answer to. We will be glad to give you advice~!

Ryan

 

On the forums i've been on 4AT=4 Speed Auto Transmission, 5AT=5 Speed Auto Transmission, etc, 5MT= 5 Speed Manual Transmission, 6MT= 6 Speed Manual Transmission, etc. The only place i've ever seen MTX is on a Ford forum. Honestly when you put A4 up there, I thought you thought the chassis code was A4 lol. M5= BMW M5, M6= BMW M6, A4= Audi A4.

 

Rockauto.com
amazon.com
ebay.com

also advanceauto.com has some good coupons at times if you search around, my fav one I just used to buy new CV axles is code "BIG35" is 35$ off $85 or more for any parts shipped to your door. And free shipping over 75$