Hi all. I am looking to buy my first car (i've had a boring Camry hand-me-down before) and I can only afford a Maxima with high mileage, but I want a Maxima because I know it rocks. I'm thinking about buying a 95 Maxima 5 speed with about 100k miles. I want to know whether this is a bad idea. Will it cost me a lot of money to pay for things that will break? I've heard that Maxima transmissions have to be replace d at about 120k miles. Is this true? I'd appreciate it if people will tell me what they thought of buying a Maxima with 100k miles. Is it reliable? Can I expect to not have to shovel money into the car? I don't want a money pit. I'ma starving student. Please advise. Thanks a lot!

 

as far as nissan goes... they have a reputation for reliability.

i haven't actually owned a nissan with that many miles, but i can tell you from experiance what you should consider:

1. who was the previous driver(s) of the car. if it was some older guy who took care of it and maintained it then it might last you a few years... if it was driven by a younger guy who drove it harder then you may be looking at a transmission job.

2. if possible find a mechanic you can trust and offer to pay him 50 bucks or something (some may even do it for free if you do enough business with them otherwise) to put it up on their hoist and check it out. they can usually tell what will need to be replaced in the near future and this will give you a good estimate of what kind of money you'll have to put into it. obviously run the vin# through carfax but that can only tell you so much.

hope this helps...
-mike

 

Make sure to run a carfax to get the car's history.

Check the tranny. Drive the car around with windows closed, AC off, Radio off. Hear any whining of the gears, in 2nd 3rd ,4th, 5th?? Gear whine in 1st and reverse is normal. If you hear more than that, then forget about it, or negotiate a price reduction of about $1500 to re-build the tranny and replace bearings and clutch since the tranny will be open. The only other concern major I would think is the alternator. That may soon need replacing as well. With the car started and idling in neutral, do you hear a whine? Probably the alternator. Costs about $323 from Nissan and when you return the old one, you get $75 back.

I think anything you might come across would be minor maintenance stuff, plugs, filters etc.


DW

 

My max has 178,000 miles and and counting and my tranny is fine. I don't think you should have a problem but you should definetly use carfax to make sure the car is o.k.

 

I was a Camry driver too and I just got a 1995 Maxima SE 5-spd. I've been having so much fun with this car! You will not regret the move at all! My Maxima had 65,000 miles when I bought it though.

Were you by any chance on any of the Toyota or Camry forums?

 

Max's are VERY RELIABLE.
160k, original tranny.

Problems to expect:
you'll need a new clutch
o2 sensors
starter
maybe CV boots.

Just typical maintance, you should have no major issues.

 

I have a friend that has a 96 with over 100k on. Its a 5-sp. No issues with it at all. His O2's went out about 2 weeks ago and that was it. Everything is still original. He told me his seemed to get stronger at like 80k. So take that for what its worth.

 

I bought my max under similar mileage, and vouch for the same problems/things to expect.

 

Thanks a lot everyone for your insights. I am a little worried about buying a car with 100k miles but what's been written here has really helped me. As they say, knowledge is power. From what i get from reading the posts, I shouldn't have a horrific experience- assuming I check the history of the car and test drive it while looking for problems mentioned in replies. Hopefully, I'll be a proud Maxima owner within the week!

 

Advance congratulations on the new Max...you won't be sorry.

Everyone here has valid points. I would definitely take it to a local shop to have an initial inspection done before you purchase it. The 75 dollars you spend will be worth it if they find problems. Call around to your local import shops for details. The first Max I looked at had compression problems that would not have been cheap to fix. But my 96 GLE is close to rolling 100k and still going strong!!

Good luck

 

I have had my max for a year and i love it. (95 SE) My home boy has a 92 with over 300,000 miles on it with no problems. Get it!!!!!!!!!

 

my max has over 80 and is running great But all these guys are right, run a carfax and try to find out who drove the car previously. my girlfriends uncle has a max with over 200k and is still going strong. they are very reliable, and chances are if someone beat on the car before, the clutch and trans would have been replaced way before 100k.
good luck!!!

 

Expect to pay for a new AC Compressor, Starter, upper strut mount bushings, a window regulator, replacement struts/shocks and the normal wear n' tear items during the next three years (battery, tires, belts, hoses, plugs, filters ) you own the car. Otherwise these are 200,000 mile cars on tranny and engine. These are excellent second cars and you'll appreciate the sedan aspects as well.