Dark-V

iTrader: (3)

Okay, I've found a 2002 Maxima SE 6-speed with tan cloth interior.
Right now I have a 2004 Sentra SE-R Spec V.

I know, it is a good upgrade, but the Max has 82,000 miles on it.
The price for the Maxima is $11,000 and I will be getting around $9k or $10k for mine.

1: Is that a good price for this Maxima? I do think so because it KBB retails for about $13,000.

2: Has anyone dyed the cloth and/or painted the interior? I'm currently unable to find a black leather within my price range in MA.

3: What would be common problems I'd encounter with a 2002 Maxima with 82k on the odo?

I'm almost dead set on getting a 2000-2003 Maxima, with 02/03 being preffered. But my budget is whats limiting me.

Thanks again

pbn85

iTrader: (8)

I have tan cloth and its mad comfy man. But leather is always good =P. 82k is a bit high for the year. Make sure the owner has ALL maintanence records indicating what was done. I say get the car for $10 only providing it is well maintained. $13 is retail but if you get it from a private seller, it should be much lower than 13k. Common problems would be the 3rd gear grind. Its kind of rare but still does happen. Make sure 3rd gear goes in fine. Ask if the tranny was replaced. I wouldnt worry too much about the 3rd gear problem though.

Another common problem is the oil burning for the VQ35DE Maximas 02-03. Ask the owner how often oil is changed or added. Theres really no remedy for that except to just refill every so often. Just keep checking the level periodically.

Other than that you have a great car. Try to get it for 10k. About possibly switching out the interior, you should really only get black leather if everything else in the car is black (including dash, headliner etc). In your case since you already have tan cloth seats, you probably have matching headliner and dash. Your best off switching for tan leather seats so everything matches. Black would just look "off" IMO. Good luck

Rydicule

on the 10k

criddle20

Is the this the maxima you were talking about?
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=218024928

I'm pretty new to the Maximas as well and looking thru some of these threads they seem to be pretty reliable for the most part. I saw 1 thread that said the Grey Lustre color SE is about impossible to find with the black leather and HLSD/6sp. Well it looks like you found a grey lustre with 6sp, no leather and not HLSD. HLSDs can be spotted by the stock aluminum pedal covers, which that car is lacking.
I just got an 02 Sterling Mist SE with Leather/6sp/HLSD with 73k miles for a little more than that. My car has 18in aftermarket BBS wheels and some other small mods (springs/FSTB/RSB/Cold Air Intake/tint). So, I would say you are probably at mid to upper end of the price range considering the car looks completely stock.
A guy in Ohio is selling a Sterling Mist SE with 88.5k miles for $10,000 with the same options as the car I linked above.
That car is right here... http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=215585644

Dark-V

iTrader: (3)

criddle, yeah thats the exact car I'm talking about.

Instead of swapping out with leather, I was thinking about getting some plastic, vinyl and fabric dyes and just dye the whole interior.

Might be an idea.

Me and Zero2sixtyZ are going to check it out today and talk to them about what they can give me for my car. Who knows...

Keep the opinions coming!

criddle20

I have a slight 3rd gear grind that is more noticable when the car is cold. No biggie tho.

criddle20

Here is a link to the thread where SLVRMAXX discussed his notchy shifting and 3rd gear grind with others...
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....58751&t=496676

pbn85

iTrader: (8)

keep searching man. I made a poll in the 5th gen section with many many responses about the 3rd gear thing.

Rydicule

I'll give you this advice. I live in CT, pretty close to you, so pricing should be similar, if anything CT more expensive. I bought my car last August, so the time shouldn't be too much a factor either.

I have a 2002 grey lustre 6 speed SE with black leather interior, Bose system, automatic climate control, HLSD, memory seats, heated steering wheel/seats, power one touch sunroof, spoiler, and every other option less Navigation. I paid 15k out the door. That was with $1,700 negative equity on my trade in, so we're down to $13,300 out the door. It had 71,900 miles on it. This makes the price on the car just under 12,000.

In light of that, I think you should say $11,000 out the door would be a fair deal with the dealer. That's the asking price, but they pick up the tax, conveyance fee, registration fee, etc. That'll bring the price of the car just under 10,000. Should be fair.

Rydicule

Print out the online advertisement and take it to the dealer with you. A lot of times the sticker price on the car is higher than the online advertised price, and if you tell them that they will be like "Well, that's some mistake, this is the price."

If you bring them the online advertisement and tell them that's the car you want to look at before they show it to you, then they have to stick by that price and negotiate from there.

criddle20

excellent advice

IloveVQ

iTrader: (1)

I have the cloth interior in my max and i think its cool. i like it more than leather because its not always hot in summer and cold in winter. If your just hung up on the cloth i would get the car because the cloth is actually sorta nice IMO.
Just my .02

DOHCtorJT

iTrader: (3)

$10999 is a good deal for a dealer price, and that's the starting spot! Carfax it before you go! I walked away from a couple 2k2 maxima's just because of bad carfax (remember it was an expensive car new, so it took a lot to total it). FWIW, I paid $13k for an identical car with 51k miles in Tungsten blue a little over a month ago. Sticker was $16999, which I laughed at. Online price was $14500.

Frost cloth interior is awesome. Cloth doesn't mean cheap in the maxima's case! It's not the cloth you're used to, that's for sure. Then again I hate leather...

Don't forget to check the tag on the firewall, Last digit H = LSD, A = Open Diff.

boondoxmax

iTrader: (1)

Keeping looking. Don't just limit yourself to MA. I drove to Newport, RI to buy my 6 speed loaded except navi. Even has HLSD. It was about 45-50 mins from where I used to live in Hyde Park

Dark-V

iTrader: (3)

Okay, I think I've found something else, it's still an 02 Maxima, however, Tungsten Blue, black heated leather and heated steering wheel... Only about $400 more than the other one, and 3000 more miles...

Blue, 2002 Maxima SE 6-speed w/ Leather seats

I think I might check this one out too.

E55AMG2

iTrader: (4)

The cloth seats are more supportive/grippy than the leather seats.

Dark-V

iTrader: (3)

But the heated leather seats and steering wheel are pretty tempting now... since it's 13 degrees with one badass wind chill.

Rydicule

Tell me about it... sheesh. The heated seats I will tell you don't offer too much relief, they don't actually heat up unless you're sitting on them (so you can't just let the car run for 5 minutes and expect to sit down on a toasty seat). Also, with that many miles, the heated seat on the driver side probably is substantially worn down so that it will take a good 10-15 minutes of driving before you even feel the effect.

The heated steering wheel, on the other hand, I absolutely love.

Dark-V

iTrader: (3)

So a little update, went over and checked out the Grey Luster last night with Zero2sixtyZ and it was disappointing. No sunroof. The past 2 cars I have owned have had sunroofs, so I need one in the Maxima since this will be the car that I want to keep for a long time.

So, the last Maxima I have found was the Tungsten Blue one with 85k on the odo for $11,399. I am actually going there RIGHT after work to talk about it, check it out and drive it. This is the last one I have found that suits my requirements.

Hopefully everything goes well, might need to stock up on a couple spare MAFs.


Anything specific to look at when I check it out? I have the carfax, one owner, no accidents and looking through it, everything seems good.

E55AMG2

iTrader: (4)

No sunroof = Lower CG = better handling. You will need all the help you can get with the stock 5.5 suspension.

Dark-V

iTrader: (3)

I'd rather have the sun... that kind of difference, isnt a big deal to me

bladerunr

iTrader: (14)

Get the VIN's of each car and run to the nearest dealer and he can tell you what's been done to the car under warranty.

criddle20

That blue is hot!
I wish I could have found a blue one in my area that I liked...
Oh well... I have Sterling Mist and I can't complain about it.
Good luck today with the test drive...
Taking the VIN # to the dealer is a great idea... I wish I would have thought about that.

Dark-V

iTrader: (3)

Where would said tag be? I'm looking at the Midnight Blue '02 Maxima w/ leather and 6-speed right after work (in one hour)

99BlackMaxMS

iTrader: (85)

Pop the hood and it will be tagged right to the firewall. The midnight blue is nice. I think that you could talk him down to 10500 then it would be a deal. If I had the extra $$ I would of bought a 5.5 gen. Still nice car. Have fun while its 10 degrees w/ the friggin wind. Make sure you let the car warm up before you unleash it.

DOHCtorJT

iTrader: (3)

That's not tungsten blue, this is:



Super rare color for a 6spd SE.

Dark-V

iTrader: (3)

Yeah I realized that. Still, I'd prefer Midnight Blue more, it's darker.
But I went there and they were pretty stiff on the price. I think 11,399 is a decent price for a semi small car lot (less than 50 cars) They were nice people, not aggressive like a lot of the sales people.

They said they could give me $9k for mine, and they'd stay at their price. I'll also look into what kind of warranty I can get for it too.

They would also mess with the numbers they tell the bank so they can get a loan big enough to cover my upside downness. (which is like $6k)

I know I know, the Spec V was a dumb move on my part. But I'm trying to right that wrong with the maxima, which ISN'T going to break apart and eat itself alive....

STILLENGLE

Yea Its always good to fight with the salesman you always want the best price for the car. its always good to look at more of the same car so you can do a comparsion. that way it would be much easier come your final dicesion on buying the car you want.

zero2sixtyZ

iTrader: (30)

It's a Majestic Blue. Spec-V was a dumb move. Theres someone selling an 06 in Other For Sale I think...

Maxima570

iTrader: (1)

I'm asking $11,500 for mine on here, $11,900 in the paper. It has every option except nav and hlsd. If you're interested, you won't find one cleaner


http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=512536

zero2sixtyZ

iTrader: (30)

He needs to trade, otherwise I had already shown him your car. Good luck with your sale nevertheless.

Dark-V

iTrader: (3)

I actually have been looking around.

02 Silver SE w/ 65k on it, for $12,500 (Guys won't budge and gave me a crap price/warranty on it. Fully loaded w/out Navi)
02 Grey Luster SE w/ ~60k on it, for 12,999 (Sold when I called)
02 Grey Luster SE w/ 82k on it, for 10,999 (no sunroof and beige interior)
02 Majestic Blue w/ 86k on it, for 11,399 (everything minus the Navi.)

All 6 speeds.

I've been looking, and the last place I went to with the majestic blue seemed to be the only good place that wanted to work the numbers to get me the car. I do need to trade in since I need some place that will give me a bigger loan to compensate my loss.

I'll keep this thread updated, gotta wash and clean my car, and on Saturday I'm going to go down to look at the Max while they look at my specV