looking at an '03 SE. not an option car, but it does have the 6-speed manual transmission. 46k miles on it. theyre asking 14,650, which is $2k less than the kelley blue book.

anything i should check when driving?

 

i just bought an 03' about 2 months ago with 50k miles on it. they're great. mine is a 6speed and i love it. i would just look it up and down make sure everything is good. i know there are some problems that 5.5 gens are notorious for such as maf problems, warped rotors, etc. just do like i did and look it over, drive it, love it, and buy it.

 

Should get a carfax just in case, then you'll get that extra reassurance that no major work or reconstruction has been done under the hood or to the car itself.

 

CarFax doesnt always show accidents..
I would look for oversprays, attempts to blend paint etc...

 

Carfax does not show all... But it will show Major problems.. If the car was in a fender bender that was not reported than you know it won't show up. But a major accident not being reported is unlikely. Do a carfax, just to be on the safe side... or have the dealer do it...

Also do what EastSide says., look it over... Make sure you don't see any overspraying or fading., or just straight up ****ty work.

 

make sure who you buy from too. My wife bought a 2002 celica gts and looked real nice. Come to find out the kid that owned it worked at a dealer ship and hit something pretty good cause he tweaked under the car and the paint didnt match worth a damn. My father found it as hes a mechanic but even major events might not show on carfax. Trust no one!!

 

You might want to work on that price. I bought my 6 speed 2 years ago with 19K miles on it for $16,000. All I have for options is a sunroof. Get the VIN and take it to a dealer and he can tell you what dealer work has been done to it.

 

if its been in a small accident, i wouldn't even worry about it (if you can tell). if its been in a major accident, theres a real good chance that car fax will have it reported. these will be ones you want to watch out for. small accidents with just a panel replaced is no biggie. my grandma backed into my door.... $300 fix. but its just purely cosmetic.

just make sure the car looks like it should (clean and if body work was done, that it looks really close to oem), drives like it should (car pulls hard, clutch grabs well, 3rd gear doesn't have a problem when you floor it), and negotiate a little. i think you can do a little better than that price. no option w/ 46k miles, you can probably negotiate. i've seen cars with just a little more miles, pretty much full option, for about a $1000 cheaper.

 

The first Maxima I looked at was a silver 02 6spd with leather. It was perfect! Low mileage, perfect paint, and in overall nice shape. When looking underneath I noticed some light rust (not common here in AZ), so I asked the dealer for a carfax. Just as I was ready to run numbers, the results showed that the car had hit a deer and been completely reconstructed. Not totalled, but close. The body shop guys were beyond magical, as I couldn't tell anything was changed. But the bad juju from a poor carfax kept me from buying it.

The 02 I bought 2 weeks ago had a perfect carfax, but it's got some battle scars. Owned by a little old lady who only traded it in because her arthritis was making it hard to drive with a manual transmission hehe.

Just look it over completely, you'll still be under the powertrain warranty so should anything major happen, you'll be covered.

 

yea, my dads '00 maxima has a clean title, but has undergone a complete repaint (you can feel the rough texture/hood to grill lineup is off a tad...).

im just curious about the transmission and the engine, thats all.

it still has a powertrain warranty, even after it has been sold, etc.?

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...ag=1&cardist=4


i ran the carfax; there was only one owner and they leased it...that makes me a bit uneasy...because i know how i would drive a lease car...but who knows?
was auctioned off in january of this year. now its here in town.

 

you drive a rented car hard...not a leased one.
with a lease, you have to take care of it and keep the miles low or you have to pay out the @ss when you return it.
my car was a prior lease. i bought it with 37,000 miles on it when every other 02 i found was around 45,000. it was leased through nissan so for the lease to be valid, all the routine maintenance was done at the dealership. all that paperwork was with the car when i bought it.
the best used car to buy is a one owner lease.

 

seems that way from what im seeing.