I'm looking for thoughts/advice because repair costs for the car have been stacking up and it makes me doubt whether I should keep fixing it but on the other hand I don't know what else I would get that I could be confident was better from a reliability and cost perspective. I don't have 10 or 20k to spend and I refuse to drive automatic.

The car is a 97 stick shift with 156k miles.
The major work I have in the car (over the 8 years 56k miles I have owned it) is

• radiator
• starter (multiple)
• alternator (multiple)
• power steering pump
• power steering lines
• engine reseal (oil pan gaskets, valve cover gaskets etc)
• transmission rebuilt including new clutch etc.
• new coils (multiple sets)
• electrical wiring issues from mice nesting and chewing
• maf
• precats

The alternator and power steering lines were the most recent earlier this year for $1.5k. Last year was the last set of coils for around $1k.

The latest issue is sudden significant leak of gear oil from the transmission. When they started looking at it though they noticed coolant leaking from multiple places so it needs a complete service in that area (has never had yet) of water pump, thermostat, hoses etc for $1.5k, then the power steering pump which was new about 6 years ago is leaking again, and still not sure what is going on with the transmission yet so that is more $$$ on top.

So I'm wondering if i get these latest things fixed what else is there to fail? About the whole car will have been reworked except the engine. This totally does not make sense from the perspective of the value of the car but I need a car to drive and I cannot afford something else that is much better than a junker anyway so should i fix this one again? Any thoughts welcome.

 

Add up what you paid for the car + all of the $$ put into it for needed repairs and include the cost of upgrades/modifications you’ve done.

Don’t include costs associated with routine maintenance.

Divide your total costs by the number of months you’ve owned the car … that’s your monthly car payment equivalent.

Then decide if you can buy anything new/newer/newish for that monthly cost.

I bought my ‘99 brand new in MAR of 1999.

Adding up what I paid for the car brand new + my needed repairs and my, just cuz I wanted to upgrades and mods over the past almost 27 years now, my payment equivalent comes to about $109.00/month.

There ain’t no way I can better that.

 

If you aren't battling rust then keep fixing it.
Sunk cost fallacy. You already spent the money and is irrelevant to whatever you choose going forward.

 

A bottom-line, for me anyway, is that these are ‘damn good cars’. There’s nothing manufactured in the last 15 to maybe 20 years that compare. This generation Maxima was fully manufactured and imported from Japan, which is a rarity in and of itself. Not to mention the fact that they’ve become some of those “now there’s something you don’t see every day” attractions.

I’m neither kidding nor am I bragging when I tell you that not a time goes by when I’ve got mine out that someone doesn’t approach me with a comment or a question. And I don’t know about you but I take great pride and satisfaction in keeping my, coming up on 27 year old Nissan in good condition.

I’m trying to encourage you, you’re getting that, right?

 

Yes very much, and that's part of why I chose this car in this first place so it's good to hear and that the costs make sense when looked at that way. My monthly payment equivalent is $130 now and with these additional repairs would probably end up around $150 until more time passed. I wish mine looked nicer and as nice as yours (the paint clear is about gone and the seats are worn) but that can be improved at some point in the future.

No rust so I just need to keep it running which definitely sounds like the plan. If possible I'd want to still be driving it in 10+ years. For being almost 30 years old now it is still a nice smooth, quite driver as much or better than the modern cars I ride in.

 

If the transaxle leak is at the axle half then I think it may be a worn carrier bearing? I think mine had that a few years back. Could just be the seal though.

 

As far as worn seats go … unless and until you replace or reupholster I personally recommend these: https://www.iggee.com/

I’ve got a set and have had them for a number of years. They’re pretty darn nice and durable.

As far as your clear coat issue goes … I use this stuff frequently and routinely:

If you’re interested in this stuff’s use, PM me and I’d be happy to explain my process and my results.

 

Sounds like the MECHANICS in LA can afford to live like the Movie Stars with those prices.

Now I understand bigger jobs like rebuilding a transmission being more complicated and intimidating....

But remove the mechanics (Time to Learn and DO!) and I bet those prices spent would have been 1/4 to 1/3 the price. You can always come here and find videos on how to do most everything these days.

The money saved? That's a LOT of quality TOOLS so you can keep a lot more of your hard earned money for the rest of your life.

Just Sayin'.

 

Thanks @Turbobink, I am interested and will be sending a pm.

I actually have done a lot of the work myself over time but in the last few years have moved where i don't have a garage or a suitable space outside so it's just not an option right now. Some of the multiple replacements I listed were the result of me being cheap putting in junkyard or no name parts which quickly failed and has not been continuing since the shop has been putting in good parts.

I wanted to update about the actual repairs this time. The transmission oil leak was the boots/seals around the shift linkage rods which had basically disintegrated and was fairly inexpensive to fix The expensive part was basically the whole cooling system minus the radiator but at least it's done now before it failed catastrophically and should be good for another 150k miles.