lawrencel715

Sup guys, I'm new here to the forums. I have a quick question I'm hoping I can get feedback on. There's this 01 white gxe maxima with 80000 miles selling for $10900. I'm thinking this is a great deal since blue book has it listed at about $12500 even with the relatively high milage. The pictures of the car looks clean and nothing seems to be wrong with it. I'll get a closer look this weekend hopefully. So if everything is fine with the car, how good of a buy do you guys think this is?

pruizgarcia

iTrader: (1)

Here's my two cents. Do a CarFAx check to get a history of the car. If you are satisfied with that check to see if the owner has kept maintenance receipts and repair receipts for work done on the car (TSB's, recall, problems he has had, what parts have already been replaced, etc). This will give you an idea how well they have kept the car. Ask questions, and inspect the car carefully, I mean brakes, cv boots, suspension, noises, coolant color/smell, oil color/smell. If you are in no hurry you can even do an oil analysis test (Blackstone) to give you an idea of the condition of the internal parts. Also, if you know a good mechanic, have him look at it. Another thing to consider is how many miles do you plan to drive a year. If you are going to put a lot of miles, I would consider a vehicle with less mileage. I am sure other members will hit on what I have missed.

Pedro

SEmy2K2go

iTrader: (10)

Is this car for sale by the owner or is it at a dealership? If its on a lot, you could have their service deptartment or mechanic that they use to recondition their cars go over it. Other than that, I think alot has already been covered by pruizgarcia. Good luck. Let us know what you find out.

ToYLeT902

iTrader: (12)

only buy a maxima if your going to drive it till it dies on you. Otherwise you'll only get less than half of what you paid for the car no matter what condition

soundmike

iTrader: (24)

My advice? Skip Carfax - they're utterly unreliable as far as keeping tabs on exactly what's happened to the vehicle. There have been numerous news articles about how Carfax isn't exactly what everyone thinks it to be.

Aside from that, i've seen numerous vehicles - personally - that looks like it came from a junkyard and fixed up but Carfax would still report it as a good buy with no negative records.

If you still go through Carfax, at least get your own mechanic to check out the vehicle. Any competent mech should be able to see if repairs were made, if the frame was repaired or if there's any issue with the vehicle.

lawrencel715

Alright, well thanks for the help guys. I'll be seeing the car this weekend. The guy says the 80k miles came from freeway, and kept the car maintained. Let's hope that is really the case. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

† ErV †

Any articles to support that? Considering all the info processed, even a .0001% error margin would result in "utterly unreliable" results. Besides, carfax uses public sources for their information. Insurance companies, DMV etc.. Not like they interrogate each owner.

soundmike

iTrader: (24)

I can't search right now, but check out some of the news sites online. There has been several articles about this already. In fact, there's also been a lawsuit filed against Carfax in one of the states for the same exact reasons.

Althought Carfax checks public records for the information, not everything that happens to your car is recorded - this is where Carfax's "guarantee" is misleading and has caused a lot of problems for people who trusted Carfax's reports.

SkoorbMax

"only buy a maxima if your going to drive it till it dies on you. Otherwise you'll only get less than half of what you paid for the car no matter what condition " True that! They make great cars to buy used from the buyer's perspective.

The price on this car seems ok. Although carfax is not going to be right all the time it costs $20 or so for a single VIN check and I'd _so strongly urge_ anybody to do a VIN check prior to spending thousands of dollars on a vehicle. Although carfax won't be always right for the most part it is, and it's sure as hell better than nothing! There is another company - I can't remember the name - that gives VIN checks as well.

Also, pay a nissan mechanic at a dealer (one not related to who you're buying the car from) to give the car a thorough inspection. I did this when I bought my used max last year. $60 and he did a full check of everything and signed off on a sheet. I found the money well worth it, especially since the seller didn't even make me pay for it in the end

lawrencel715

Well, I took a look at this car yesterday, and it was pretty good. The exterior is very clean, with no noticeable scratches. There were no leaks, and the engine seemed to be fine. The only thing I didn't like was the crappy interior. The seats are tan cloth and just looks cheap - much crappier than the 03 max se i took to see the 01 =\. However, I was able to lower the price down from 10900 to 10000, which I think is a decent deal.

Also, the guy said the system was a bose system, but I couldn't tell if the speakers were bose or not. Is there anyway I can tell if they are or not? Did it come stock in the 01 max?

BG2K

As far as I know, Bose only comes standard in the GLE, which also comes w/leather. I wasn't sure if you meant GLE, but then noticed the cloth. If it has Bose, it will have a "subwoofer" in the rear deck that says BOSE. Also I think that all cars with Bose also have digital HVAC controls instead of sliders. I dont know about Cali, but here in Mass, the bluebook from kelly blue book is Very High, and cars typically sell for thousands under this #.(I'm a dealer)

SkoorbMax

Bose should have the sub. I didn't know that the GXE could have a bose system? My 00 SE has it and it says Bose on the cd player and then also on the sub in the trunk. the rear speaker grills also say bose AFAIK.

"I think that all cars with Bose also have digital HVAC controls instead of sliders." Not sure what HVAC stands for

$10k sounds like a good price for that car.

soundmike

iTrader: (24)

I'm starting to think you're not the real Skoorb tsk tsk tsk...

Anyway, HVAC stands for Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning. Most of the time it's also used to describe the Automatic Climate Controls.

wild willy

iTrader: (10)

He is so right^ listen to him!! I personally ran 3 Carfax's on vehicles I knew were in significant accidents...All 3 came back clean

lawrencel715

Alright, hours after I saw the car when I got home, I said I'll offer 9500. 2 days later, he agrees to it =)))). I'm taking it to the mechanic this saturday, and if it's good, it's mine. Not a bad price for an 01 max.