zubi23

Hey Guys,

So I bought a 99 SE Max about a year ago and now it has about 110k miles. I have been putting a lot of money into the car for random problems. First it was the brakes which wasn't a big deal, and then the calipers, then the exhaust... which all wasn't too bad. But recently, I had to change out my axles and ball joints which cost me $550. So for about a year I put in around 1000 dollars. Still my car is pretty much f*cked. The guy I bought it from lowered the car and that has been putting more stress on the suspension and things like the ball joints. Anytime I drive I hear a squeaky noise from the tires on every rotation even if I'm going 2 mph. - I think it may have something to do with my tires being old and dry rotted. And I also have a problem with the sway bar according to my mechanic.

I bought for around 3800 with 90k miles.

Do you guys think I should sell it?!?

nissanfreak

iTrader: (4)

Thats totally up to you man. I have owned my 99 for 10 years and the only things I have changed were: waterpump, axels, wheel bearing, brakes of course, rear caliper, knock sensor, starter, and thats about it. She still runs strong and is alot of fun to drive to this day. Did you change the rear calipers? Mine was stuck and it would make a squeaking noise. At 90k your 4th gen is just starting its life. Fix or upgrade the suspension and I promise she will be there for you.

J_MAxxX

Keep it bro...

zubi23

how much would a new suspension cost me? I'm not going to do it myself so im not sure. the guy I bought it from put in new shocks. For some reason tho the car is REALLY low. I put in new brakes, new axles, ball joints already. The engine is in good shape tho. The noises from the shocks and or struts or sway bar are annoying as hell. I also need new tires.

nissanfreak

iTrader: (4)

It might be the bushing at the top of the strut/shocks, or just worn out bushings elsewhere in the suspension. I have a set oem se springs and shocks that I took off my car when it had around 50k. I upgraded to the tokico illumina suspension awhile back.

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

at that mileage you gotta lot of years to come. there's guys in here that will help you install your suspension and save you money. post in the regional and im sure someone will help you.

max1008

1 year = $1,000.00 that's chump change. And the things you have replaced are either known issues with max (calipers) or your normal wear at this mileage plus from a $3800/13 year old car. I would say keep it if you are going to go with a car around the same mileage. At least now you know the wear and tear items are in good shape.
Is your car still lowered???If so those axles will break again much sooner unless you went with quality stuff. I hear everyone speaking very highly of Raxles.

Phromethius

Keep it like stated above, $1,000 per year is roughly equivalent to an 84 dollar car payment.

yeah it's usually in lump sums but it is still way cheaper than a new car. I have a 96 with 223k miles on it and it is still crankin and running like a champ. There is a lot of info on here that will enable you to maximize your maxima :] OR just simply keeping it running like a lot of us do as a daily driver.

Stonelove670

+1 on what everyone said. Give her a fully tune up and you should be good to go for long time.

infinimax96

260,000 on my 97 SE. If you don't want to replace axles as often revert it back to stock suspension. These cars are amazing though. They run forever, their fun to drive and very practical. IMO they are worth every penny.

max_dreamer

iTrader: (2)

sounds to me like most of your issues are the stock parts problems that we all get, and then the few attributed to being lowered. If you get some new suspension like TIEN or Tokico springs n shocks, then your ball joints and axles wont die so quickly. Do you know what you are lowered on (color of spring or shock may be of assistance), or if he just cut the stock springs and threw OEM replacement shocks on it?

Oh, and if you havent already... Get ready for coil packs to go bad... They are infamous on 99's...

carsnwomen91

people are often afraid of buying used cars because they have to put money into them... well duh, **** is old then you gotta replace it plus you didn't pay for a new or newer car so you have to take on that responsibility. either way, whatever you got (new, newer or used) you still gotta pay to play!

As for the coil packs, you don't have to worry too much. good used OEM coils on here go for about $30 each. takes less than 3 mins to replace a coil pack

i'd say you have about another $1000 to spend (struts, springs (if you're getting new ones that aren't so low) and tires) until she's back to normal... you're also at that kind of mileage where certain things just wear out and need to be replaced. once you replace the needed parts the car lasts for a really long time, especially if you said that the car is in good cosmetic condition.

up to you though... the purchase price was steep imo but if you like the car then keep it. mine makes me happy

Product_Of_Korea

iTrader: (8)

1k in a year is nothing..... But as i always say, everything else around the car will fall apart except for the engine. With 110k the car is still breaking in...... Yeah sh*t will fall apart but thats what one would expect with a 10+ year car. FWIW i have 210k and it runs just as well as the 97 i bought with 70k on the clock

Jason1979a

Keep it man, I have a 99 with 217k on it. I am having some of the same issues. Just look at it this way, new car payment $200min a month or just fix what is broke when you need to. Might be more at that moment but not something you have to pay every month. Also if you get lifetime warranty parts and you can do the labor yourself, it does not cost you anything. These cars will go forever. Had a 89 with 318k when I got rid of her because I thought the timing belt was shot, Sold it to a buddy and he fixed the tensioner and drove it for another year and sold it for a grand. You also have a wealth of knowledge from the wonderful forum. Just keep it and she will do you right.

Trini Boom

iTrader: (5)

Keep the car boss. Unless you don't have the time to fix your car and need it for daily use and its your only car in the household.

Timm80

Absolutely keep it. Maximas and Nissans in general are such solid well built cars. If you take care of and don't beat the crap out of your maxima you should see 300k without any engine, transmission, or major problems. Maximas are also VERY easy to work on as well. This translates into less time your mechanic will spend working on it, which means less money out of your pocket for labor costs. In regards to your comments about your car squeaking a lot, heres something you can do on your own that may solve the problem; theres a product called ATP AT-205, its a chemical that rejuvinates rubber. Buy some, put it in a spray bottle, and crawl underneath your car and spray all your rubber bushings and boots. Ball joint, tie rod, axel boots. Control arm, sway bar, strut bushings. Hopefully none of these are completely warn out and the AT-205 will help stop the squeaking.

felorojas14

iTrader: (4)

Keep it. Unless your going to buy new, any used cars you buy will need maintance work. VQ engines have a great reputation when it comes to reliability and longevity...

T_Behr904

Fix it up.

Chris Alexander

Nah dont get rid of it thats minimal problems. Alot of cars made around that time of 99 fall apart. I had a 98 Contour everything and anything went wrong with that car. Now I got the 06 Max and feel alot better, but coming off a 93 maxima way before so keep it.

Quickywd01

iTrader: (16)

It's hard to beat what you've got, prove me wrong.

zubi23

Here's the thing: I just recently changed my axles and ball joints and now when i'm driving the steering wheel shakes when accelerating from 0 - 40mph. I don't know why it shakes but its been doing that after I've changed the axles. I took it back to the mechanic and he said its a combination of wheels, torque, problems with the sway bar, and since the car is lowered.

The shaking is really annoying and it still makes this random squeaky noise coming from the tires ( probably from my sway bar ). I don't know how much changing a sway bar costs & i was thinking of unlowering the car because my mechanic said that's having an effect on the struts and shocks and suspension, but then i would probably have to swap the shocks and struts...

any ideas?

Chris Alexander

zubi23 Our 93 Maxima was the same situation until we changed the axles at 270,000 miles we changed them and got a shake that we could never get rid of that essentially ruined the whole car

maxinout93

I would say keep it also. Maximas are great cars, and i have had three of them over the years. Ive also had chevys and fords but the quality and dependability jus was not there, there was always something to immideatly fix right after the other. A 1987 max was the first reliable car that i ever owned and it put the ford to shame. Then i bought a 1993 max drove everywhere in it. I now have a 1995 max. The reliability keeps me in the nissan family. Any used car will need some type of work sooner or later, and if you do the work yourself u will save lots of money and feel good knowing that you kno how to work on your own car. With the help of this forum i learned alot about working on my own car that otherwise i would have spent alot of unessessary money on Simple repairs.

Chris Alexander

The 93 we had for 19 years you just knew that car wasn't gonna ever give out it was solid. then before I went back to a Maxima the Contour I drove for 8 yrs it wasn't the same you felt a big difference in Nissan vs Ford.

zubi23

what do you mean it ruined your car?

Slo4Do

You keep saying that you have sway bar problems, but never give any details on what exactly the problem is. It's an old car that mostly has minimal problems due to the stock components being worn out, so more than likely your "sway bar" problem is worn out bushings/end links. Those don't cost much and you keep mentioning that the car is lowered, but you're not saying what spring/strut combo you have either. Look up in your fender well and see what color springs you have and see if you can see what manufacturer made your struts. You can't get much help w/ your problem if you don't put in a little work to see what can be done to get rid of your problems. Besides all the noises that you hear when you drive, how's the ride quality? Like everyone else mentioned, you may be riding on a crappy suspension and need to buy a new spring/strut combo.

Chris Alexander

in drive above 30MPH there was a shake so bad in the steering and a shudder thru out the body of the car that it was no longer drive able. We tried everything but couldnt fix it. It started after we had the Axles replaced. I miss the 93 Max to this day but my uncle has a red 04 SE, parents just parked 06 SE and got a 2011 535i and I have my own personal 06SL the one seen above.

Chris Alexander

There was a shudder thru out the body and bad steering wheel vibration Above 30mph. It got so bad that our 93 was undrivable. All after we replaced the Axles it started. I miss that car to this day but my uncle has an 04SE, parents parked their 06SE and just bought a 2011 535i and I have my own personal 06Sl as seen above.

maxinout93

Ive heard that sometimes the afermarket or reman cv axles made for some cars are not exactly equivalent to the oe or brand new ones.