I've been in the market for a 1995-1996 Maxima SE for a long while.
I found a couple nice ones but one in particular:

1996 Nissan MAxima SE
fully loaded, Bose stereo, leather, etc
28 000 miles for 12 500$.

Now, is this just too good to be true? I talked to the guy and he has more than one car and stores this one in the winter. He just got married and his wife can't drive standard so he wants to get rid of it.

I really want to buy so I'm going to check it out with one of my mechanic buddies.

Any suggestions on what I should check out to make sure it's not a coverup for frame damage or a major problem like that.

Thanks

 

Cause maximas have very very crappy resale value.

-Shing

 

I also think the resale of 4th gens has kinda gone down since the 5th gens came out... just kinda the way things go. Just means better deals for us

 

Well actually they're known to have a good resale value.
That's why I find this sale suspicious

 

Oh yeah, you said it was 5 speed, too. I know to most on this forum this adds value (I wish I had 5 speed, I know), but to the general public, don't think that's seen as a plus. Most people want auto so they can talk/eat/apply makeup/read paper/etc. while driving.

Also, if you go to kbb.com (kelly blue book site) and run the numbers, I think you'll find that even with all the options, trade-in value will only be 10k-11k for that car. If you look at it from his point of view, a dealership is probably only going to give him that much if he trades in, so if he can get an extra 1k-2k for it cash, he comes out that much better.

Just my opinion

 

Ya but the thing is I'm from Canada so 12 500$ is about 9000$
Don't forget that this car only has 28000 miles on it.

 

ahhh, sorry about that... I didn't catch the canadian part. In that case, make sure his wife, who didn't know how to drive stick, didn't _try_ to drive stick and destroy the transmission, or something. Also, you guys can buy maximas cheaper than us new up there. I checked some prices on the canadian nissan site, and did the currency conversion, they looked like good deals

Also cool is that if I'm not mistaken, you get the limited slip differential in manuals in canada... only the 20th anniversary max has it down here.

Maybe I need to plan a trip to canada to buy my next max... kinda long way, though

 

the 95-96 maximas aren't that expensive. Most of the 95's have some 70-90K on them--that is the average and the 96's have about 15-25K (miles less). I look at the papers pretty frequently and for that price--it is still pretty fair...sure the car has only 28K on it--but it is almost a 5 year old car--and you figure a car loses about 2K a year in resale value...

why not a 97 or above--sure they are slower but they are safer

 

Ya but the Car is American so I doubt that it has slip differencial.

 

Check out http://www.carfax.com/cfm/promopage1.cfm for a free Vin# Check.I wonder what would be involved buying a car in Canada and exporting it to U.S.A.,I wonder if you would save a lot money? Does anybody know whats involved? because It's only a 5 hour drive from me to Canada I would not mind saving some $$$ and getting VLSD too {in a year or 2}.