Hi. I've been away from this site for a while due to school, family, etc...

I bought a 96 SE two years ago and I absolutely love it (wife's car).

Well, she wrecked it this morning (light, no injuries, but damaged bumper, hood, lights). So.. we're thinking about replacing it with a 5th gen.

Here's what I found locally, and I wanted your opinions on whether or not it is worth what he's asking:

2000 NISSAN MAXIMA SE - silver/gray leather, auto, all power, Bose cd, sunroof, new tires, garaged, 70,375 miles, Excellent Care, $11,500 firm

This guy leased the car then bought it, so he's the only owner. The CARFAX shows that it was involved in one accident, but it sounds minor (Accident Reported; Involving a rear impact with a bicycle; Minor/Moderate damage reported)


What do you think? Edmunds puts the value at ~$12,200, and this is $700 below that. I am going to look at the car this afternoon, so I'll have a better idea of the condition then.

 

Sounds like a good deal to me. But remember, everyone's asking price is usualy higher than what they're willing to sell it for so you may be able to get it for cheaper. Just make sure you take it to a mechanic.

 

sounds good, offer 11,000 on the spot and see if you get a bite, if not, its still a good deal a bicycle!!!! LOL

garaged is huge too! new tires as well, looks almost too good...

 

11,000 ????? no wayyy. ive found 2000 maxima's easily for 9500, but this car seems to be in good condition and all , offer 10 i bet youll get the car for 10,500 EASY !

 

Where in the world do people find deals like $9500 for cars like this? I have no luck finding decent cars for less than edmunds/kbb prices. When I've tried to deal with stealerships, they always want several thousand over book, and don't seem to care what it says. I guess it's just my luck.

I spoke with the owner's wife and she says he's set on the price. Well, the car as priced (I'm gonna try to get it for 11K flat) is still under edmunds price.

 

Sounds like a descent deal, especially if the owner took care of the car.
Either way Good Luck.

 

Sound too high; check NADA.com....Most places use this pricing over edmunds.com. Plus NADA prices are typically less than edmunds.
Edmunds favors the seller - NADA favors the buyers and banks

 

Setup a meet with check/cash in hand. Usually when the seller see the payment and it's ready to be handed over. They usually become flexiable all of sudden

 

well i paid 11,200 for a 5spd 2000 with 73k in mint condition 6 months ago. 11500 is a bit much but there is a lot to consider...is it really mint and taken good care of? if thats the case then offer 11 and its fair to both parties. 10500 would be more of a good price for you. keep in mind that car by galves (dealers book) is only worth about 9K! and would cost about 12900 at a dealer! 10500 is a good realistic number. you can always find something wrong with it and negotiate from there. MENTION GALVES VALUE!!!

 

I say start negotiating at $9,500-$10,000... then work your way up.... you may **** em off... but you're the one who has the cash....

 

Well, here's the values:
Edmunds: $12,223 private party, $10,400 trade in
NADA: $12,050 (trade in) http://www2.nadaguides.com/uv/viewre...wPr=1&wPg=2032 *NADA doesn't seem to be cheaper than Edmunds, in fact their trade-in value is almost 2000 above Edmunds'.

I just got back from driving the car, and man this thing is flawless. Not one single mark on it inside or out! I was surprised at just how nice it was. Also, it does have the automatic climate control, which is really nice.

So, with having seen the car I can say that I'm probably going to offer him $11K and see what he says. I'm thinking that I will probably give him the $500 difference if he demands it (well, maybe).

 

Yeah, you might be able to get an even better deal. I got a suprisingly good deal when I got mine about 1 month ago. 2002 SE, 48k miles, spotless inside and two small dings outside, mechanically fine, for $13,750. (the dealer was tired, wanted to go home)

So if you push, it's possible. The guy selling might be weak, you should start out at 10,000.

 

Too high. Start at 10.

Go to Autotrader.com btw for good deals.

 

Well, I'm not sure the guy's weak. His house is amazing, his wife has an Acura SUV (very nearly new by the look of it), and I'm not sure what he's driving, but the Maxima has already been replaced and they don't seem to mind if it doesn't sell anytime soon.

I'm not entirely sure I'm going to get this one though. I really like the dark blue Maximas, or the Charcoal. This color is about 4th down on my list.

Our 96 SE is still driveable and we can keep that while we look for a 5th gen that we really like.

Thanks for the opinions guys.
Jamie

 

Thanks, that's where I found this one.

 

It doesn't matter... who cares about him? Its YOU that matters... why waste a grand if he might actually sell it to ya for $10000? Do ya know how many mods you can do with $1000? I'm telling ya... just start low at around 10 or even a lil less and he'll work his way up if he cares... if not, you'll save yourself some major dough....

 

Besides, if your 96 SE works fine and you don't even like the color... then all the more you shouldn't pay $11,500 for it... you can even tell him you don't like the color, and therefore you value it less... if you're the only serious buyer and he likes you, he just give in... you always have to try to get the price down first, with any reason you can...

 

i dont know 70k for a 2k, sounds a lil high, look it up on kbb.com and see how much its going for.

 

Well, my wife and I are going to wait for a little while. Partly due to the price (I don't think is outrageous, it's still below what edmunds and NADA price it at). Partly because of the miles, we'd like something closer to 50K.

As for mods, well this is my wife's car and mods just ain't happening. I'm picking up my Tacoma tomorrow, and that's where the mods will go.

Thanks for everyone's opinions, I really appreciate the many responses. This board has always been helpful for me and I'm sure there are many more people out there who appreciate it.

Jamie

 

All the best!