theshawn

iTrader: (1)

A question for y'all if I may.

I'm going to look at a 03 SE tomorrow that has 107500 miles on it. It looks like it's in good shape but I won't know till I get there. It's one owner (local) and I checked it out on AutoCheck and the woman I spoke with wasn't lying. They're asking $9k for it. It's gray/gray int, auto, moonroof, etc. No leather or heated seats. Garaged. New tires/brakes.

Mine is a 99 SEL with 51k on it. It's in great shape, runs fine and is loaded with every option. I would sell it if I bought this other one.

Am I stupid to even consider moving up to a 3.5 with more miles when I have a perfectly good 4th with low miles?? One of my best friends has an 03' and I love the way it drives vs. mine. It's not night and day but it's definitely a difference.

Am I crazy or would you rather have your 3.5 with higher miles too?? Any suggestions on what to check for when I drive it?

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

Keep the 4th gen and buy the the 03. I would not sell the 4th gen...

The Law

iTrader: (39)

don't sell your 4th gen espeically with that low miles

theshawn

iTrader: (1)

I thought of that. I'll take your answer as a no, you wouldn't trade up if you had the choice? Financially I could afford to own both, but that also wouldn't be the most fiscally responsible thing to do. Plus my ex would then know I'm making more money and....be difficult.

The Law

iTrader: (39)

o that sucks, well with that kind of mileage on the 03, i wouldnt try finding a different 03, and get it with a 6spd, i regret not taking the chance to get a 03 6spd instead

1996blackmax

iTrader: (2)

I also would say keep both... but I see your point. If you really want an 03, look for one with less mileage as stated.

LA02MAX

iTrader: (3)

keep the 4th gen...99 SE-L's are nice, and with that low miles (lower than my '02) and the dependability of the 3.0 over the 3.5, i would keep the 3.0....

misiek

iTrader: (2)

i love how the 4th gen looks and with all you said u have in it with such great mileage i would say keep looking for a better deal.... not thats its a bad deal but i would hate to let go of the 4th gen or just hide the 03 from ur ex for a while

theshawn

iTrader: (1)

Damm, these weren't the answers I was hoping for. lol

You all were supposed to back up my impulse buying emotion and say to go for it and that the 3.5 is worth it.

Well, if it turns out to be in great shape and runs sweet I may just have to figure out how to snow the ex somehow and own both.

Thanks for your opinions.

The Law

iTrader: (39)

if you really want to just have one car, then id say go for the 3.5, but look for a 03 with less miles cause driving a car with more miles than your 10 year old 4th gen isnt very worth it

gephelps

I would say keep the 4th. I am an impulsive buyer as well, so usually I can give good advice, but don't always follow it.

If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have gotten leather. There are a bunch of changes between the generations, but it really depends on how you use the car. If it is your dd, I don't think the extra power is worth it. My sis has a 98 and it is a really solid car. That is her only car and she really wishes the back seats would fold down like mine, but I have a pickup if I wanted to haul something so it is a moot point for me.

Logically however it goes something like this:
Current: Low miles, loaded, you know all the problems, how it was maintained, how you treat it, cost pretty low.

New hotness: A bit more power, twice as many miles, higher insurance, unknown upkeep, less options, HID, new look.

New tires for me isn't a huge selling factor. Typically someone buys the cheapest thing they can find just to say they are new. If you show up and it has generals or some other mess would you really want to be driving around on them? I'm not saying the car hasn't been maintained, but I would give it a very thorough look over. Just because carfax and the like don't report issues doesn't mean it hasn't been in an accident or anything. Overall, I think you are better of sticking with what you have. Sorry.

zagzig

Yeah, you probably won't get your money out of the 4th gen and the 03 has higher miles than what I would go for. Just keep looking. I found my 02 SE with 49K miles with the meridian package for 12,700 from a private owner. I think I got a little lucky, but you just have to keep your eyes open.

theshawn

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the opinions everyone.

If it's in great shape and there are no red flags, and I can negotiate a sweet deal then I might go for it. Otherwise I'll just wait. It's certainly not a NEED, just a want.

I know in my head that buying a high mileage car can be iffy, but seeing an 03' for possibly less than 9k was too intriguing to pass up a test drive and look see.

We'll see if I'm strong enough.

maxspeed96CT

iTrader: (9)

miles are just a number to me, it depends more how the car was maintained and taken car of.

I went from a 99, to a 3.5 , and the 3.5 just has alot more power, other than that the ride is the same i guess, ithink this one is alil bigger than my 99 to.


If your 4th gen has such low miles, you shouldn't have a problem selling it,



but that is a difficult choise you got there...

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

The A33B has shyt loads more tq...

shysmax

Dude, u want something REAL fun? If u don't mind losing the interior space, sell the '99 and get an older WRX, chances are by now, used, u'll get one modded too with at least 300whp. It depends what u like, I imagine u're more interested in performance rather than clear corner lights and rims, etc. IF u gotta own 1 car, I'd look at RWD or AWD. Just a thought... Good luck with your decision!

00Max00

Exactly what I want to say.

maxspeed96CT

iTrader: (9)

wrx is slow even with mods, they are only fast if you launch them , and after a few launches they are garenteed to break (ive seen it happen and its pritty funny)

I can run with a sti's on the highway wit my 3.5, why trade up the realiable stong nissan motor for a subaru....

rmd0311

iTrader: (4)

I think that while a cars mileage will not dictate its life it will dictate its price. I would never buy a 100k+ mile car. ****, I have a hard time buying cars with 70k+.

I would stay with the 99. That is a very nice car, a friend has the same one SE-L in white with the Frost leather. It's very nice.

carsarecool

iTrader: (1)

Think of what you have, in terms of type of vehicle and mileage. I'm not too sure what the L model has extra, i know it means limited and was only built on 99 SE's, plus you do have damn low miles for that year. Are they low cause you hardly drive, or did you find it with even lower not too long ago?

Think of it this way, if you do a lot of driving, say 2 years from now you'll either have a 99 with 80-85,000 miles, which STILL is not bad, or you'll have an 03 with almost 140k. I dunno if that bothers you or not, it's really not a big deal for a maxima though. IMO your miles are a good selling point for the 99. I think age has more of an effect on a car and parts wear than miles. I've had two cars both bought with lower miles (45k and 55k) and put about 30k a year on them, they were newer cars though and I didnt run into any non-maintenance problems.

shysmax

Hmmm... I'd like to see timeslips and or dynos of your car please? I find it very hard to believe you can hang with sti's which are mid to low 13 second cars stock. This is irrelevant to this thread, so we can take it to PM if you like. Thanks. I really am interested in your 3.5 setup that allows u to hang with modded WRX's or STI's. SC? NOS? BPU? PLMK. Tks.

ShysMax

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

NNAAAWWWSs y0!

theshawn

iTrader: (1)

Well I went to see/drive it yesterday. I pretty much knew just looking at the exterior and then the interior I wasn't going to buy it. And when I popped open the hood the engine looked older than mine. Exterior paint was obviously not taken care of (Made me doubt it was garaged all the time) , the hood was ****, all kinds of nicks and dings, small pin sized rust spots on hood/door pillars, etc. The interior wasn't clean, crap around all the crevices and it just didn't look like I was hoping for a woman driven car. The car itself drove great, trans shifted like butter and the tq and power are nice compared to mine, but they're asking less than book for a reason.

I came to my senses. Again, thanks for all the input. You basically confirmed what I already knew in my head, but my heart wants a 3.5. Someday.

fyi to carsarecool, bought mine with 34.6k miles in Jan 05. Obviously old local idiots traded it in, on a buick . Their stupidity, my gain. I paid high retail for it tho.