I found on Craigslist a 97 maxima gle mint no body damage no rust nothing wrong at all, and it has 63k miles on it!!! My question to you guys is 4 grand worth it for this thing? Helpful responses only please thanks

 

It's a 15 year old car.
What can you buy for $4G's?
That question can only be answered by you.

 

I paid 2700 for my 99 with 140K.

If this car was in the Seattle area, I'd pay 4 grand for it, assuming it's truly in as good condition as stated, and a vehicle inspection proved it.

 

Only driven 4,000 miles a year on average?..

You know the odometer is mechanical and can be rolled back on these, right?

I hope it's awesome and hasn't been tampered with for $4k.

KBB shows a lot less than 3k in perfect condition with no miles.

Resale value has not done well for the Maxima.

 

Some people, like the elderly, really do not drive their cars that much. If it were me, I would give the owner a visit. If they were old, I might believe them. I would also have a mechanic look the car over.

A true 63k car would have most of its life expectancy still ahead of it. Lots of trouble free driving. No or low cost of repair and hassle.

Sure, you could buy a car with 163k on it for half as much, or a car with 263k on it for a quarter as much. But you would spend time and money keeping them going.

There is an old saying.... fresh hay in front of a horse costs more than well-used hay in back of a horse.

Sometimes good stuff is worth paying more for. Lets face it, 4k is not much money.

 

I would also change ALL the fluids as well. if they've been sitting, not used very often, who knows how much protective properties they still have. Coolant, trans, power steering, oil, I'd change all of 'em.

 

Is is worth $4k? Well if it's in the great condition as you say, and the 63k miles mean NO mechanical issues... Then I would say it's worth it. Nothing beats a VQ. But with that said, would I pay $4k for it? I don't think so, not for a 97... You can do so many other things with $4k. Hell, I bought my '01 I30 for $4500. One owner trade in from a Lexus dealer back in Feb 09. Granted, it had 132k on it when I got it, and now has 193k on it, but runs and sounds better than when I got it. Point is, I'd rather take that 4k and look for a good A33 that may have more miles, but was well taken care of.

 

4th gen or nothing.



Edit: obviously I'm kinda biased.

 

I love me my 4th gen, for sure. next car (when this one goes in a decade) will be a Maxima (7th gen) or GT-R (if I can find an extra 80 grand)

 

Can't say I've ever heard that one before. And with that said, do you know how much organic fertilizer goes for? A lot more then hay.... Food for thought.

 

 

I'd buy it since with maxima 4th gen, for each $1000, if you can drive 10M miles worry-free, and no major maintenance, it is a good buy. With 4th gen, 180M seems to be a milestone when parts need replacement. You'll it funny when similar age maxima shows the same issues, like starter, alternator, struts, etc. So, it would be a while, 8-10 years to drive her from 63M to 180M until major maintenance kicks in. You'll save much.

What you'll miss for buying 15yo maxima is modern safety/convenient/styling features. I assume power/weight ratio is not much different with newer max.

 

Thanks for all the responses guys but I'm gonna throw a curveball at you that will change your opinions, I currently have a 97 max also with 185 k on it, I've done all sorts of maintenance on it, did the VC gaskets last weekend, car needs nothing at all just some minor body work. I found a guy that will do the body work for 700 and I wanna plasti dip it black or something sharp. Now the question is do i bite the bullet and keep using my current maxima or do I sell it and get this young buck vq? I feel like since I already did all the major required maintenance on my current car that it'll go forever now! Granted the transmission lets me

 

If it ain't broke (no more...) Then don't fix it. Keep that $4k for reg maintenance, upgrades. Lotta life left I say..

 

97 to 97, with 100K LESS on the new 97? No question. Sell the old one and pick the new one up.


And for the record...Plasti-Dip and the phrase "something sharp" do NOT go together.


Are you actually in the market to get a new car? Or did this just happen to come your way?

 

Well you are like me like you, not in the position of buying, but WTH keep scouting for 4th gen maxima in a local CL. Now poor you, you put yourself into having to make a decision, or might later regret not making such a bold move.

But since you already own one, you do not need a car badly. That means you have bargaining power. Try bargain, but don't be cheap (to old people). You can sell yours for ~ 2G. At the end, with 2G difference you upgrade your car to 8-10 years. If you lower your car, you know that set of low profile tires can empty $1000 out of your pocket easily. So 2G is not much.

At 15 y.o, car value no longer depreciates. If it still runs, it can sell for $1000-$1500.

Now you face the risk, parting what you have your trust in, to jump into a new one, unknown of its history.

Good luck man!

 

 

Thanks for all of the responses, yes I don't NEED a new car but being a maxima enthusiast I am always browsing on the list for any screaming deals, I am gonna pass up the maxima because I have my current one pretty decked out with konig 17 wheels, a very nice sound system, and it's cleanly modded, and the person that knocked plasti dip, if you plasti dip a car with the right color yes It CAN make a car look sharp. It's just as good as getting a paint job except its easier, cheaper, you can do it yourself, and if you don't like it you can just peel it off. So why not? The only thing this thing may need is a new lower radiator support and ill bite the bullet when the time comes and get that done. It hurts to let such a gem go but ill stick with my current max I think

 

I only knocked Plasti-dip for the whole car.

I have plastidipped several parts of my car, and yes it works. But it doesn't peel off easily...and what would it do overtop of paint? Maybe it's because I have yet to see a good looking plasti-dipped car in person

 

If it was me, I would get it only because of the mileage and it is a VQ30 which had no problems but an alternator recall for that year...maybe you can see if the alternator was swapped before it catches fire and the tranny solenoids which had a TSB...lol

 

I live in conn, and i just bought a 98 GLE with 101k miles, i know you hear the story of the old lady who only drove it to church, but i honestly found just that! (prety much) the leather is mint(black) the car was meticulously maintained (beyond my dreams)these people had money for sure, considering the house they had, anyway the exhaust is incredible really like new, documented oil changes every 3 k mobile1, and what made me really freak was the radiator support was replaced(and what a nice job) she even had 3 tranny flushes before 100k! to make a long boring post longer ill get to the point...i paid $3000.00 for it, knock on wood i hope nothing happens, what do u max freaks thing i did ok?

 

That maxima sounds like a great pickup, and if you haven't seen any cars that have been plasti dipped before check out dipmycar.com it'll change your outlook a little

 

HA! truth here!


Cars I have bought for less than 4 grand

1998 Nissan maxima...

1986 Ae86 hatch

1991 S13 hatch

...

I would say its in the eye of the beholder...