Since the death of 2k Max, I've been looking around to find either a decent I30/35 or a 2k2/3 Maxima. I did see one today that was an 02 SE Auto 91k miles and going for about 10,900 (I was gonna offer him 10k flat) Runs smooth, clean exterior and interior, carfax looks Clean.. BUT... always a But...

My major concern with this car came about when I opened up the hood and saw some rediculous amounts f corrosion. Now I've seen some corrosion before on all 5th Gens I've looked at. ( Seems to be a design F-up of some sort), But this a bit much, even the strut bolts were all corroded/rust with that white flacky crap.

I ripped up some carpeting to look for mildew, rust on the interior, but no. Everything looked clean and in shape.

It's just that friggin engine bay. The check Engine light was one (Dealer says they just tuned it up and forgot to reset it.. hmmm) The engine did seem to be VERY hot, though the temp gauge was normal. (Mabey I was reading too much into that, but it was a bit much also, not sure if I was just being p-noid.


CLIFFS::
Anyways to sum it up.. The car looks like a decent deal 10K for a 02 with 91k miles, but it has too much white corrosion under the hood but no other signs of flood damage or record of accidents.
Any opinions on this? Take it and rely on the NY Lemon law or just keep it moving and search until I see something else.

(need a Friigin car.. sigh)

 

Dont Buy It!! Look Else Ware Never Jump On The First Car You See Especially If You Have Doubt About The Motor!! Buying A Car Takes Time And Patience !!

 

Ain't that the truth. It's like a 2nd Job.

 

check under the seats....thats one area that most people forget to clean if its a flood car

 

I definately did check under the seats and trunk. Everything looks clean, that's what confuses me. Could have had a front end accident and was sitting outside. Unfortunately, not everything shows up on carfax if it wasn't reported.

 

Some of the white corosion could be caused by cleaning under the hood with the wrong chemicals. If they use a strong degreaser like they use on wheels it will cause a white fuzz all over certain types of metal.

My wife has an 00 and I have an 02. The 02 seems to radiate more heat with the hood up. It could be due to the big aluminum intake manifold compared to the plastic one on the 3.0 cars. It seems to radiate a lot of heat.

Is this car on a lot or from a private seller?

 

I bought my 03 brand new and it has significant corrosion after 70K miles. I think part of the problem is that the hood doesn't seal as tight as it should. This was a result of me adjusting the bumpstops to eliminate the common hood flutter problem at high speeds. Without the adjustment, it looked like the hood would fly off when going 65 MPH or faster.

 

It was from a dealer. I was thinking that it may be the cleaning. That could have also set off the Check engine light. If that were the case, I may regret passing up a good deal later. I'll keep looking for now.
And I agree that These hoods don't seal properly. It sucks looking at a relatively clean 2k-2k3 and seeing rust under the hood.



By the way, any opinions on trying to get a 5.5 Gen from an Auction?