I've had my 4th gen for 3 years now and I'm trying to move up to a 5.5 gen. I hope I posted this in the right place...I test drove a 03 Silver w/6spd trans and over 90K miles on it...I know high miles, but it looks spotless. They want 13,900 for it. I'm trying to get it down to 12K. It occasionally had the 3rd gear crunch Ive heard about...Should I worry? Also the clutch grabs pretty high. Is that normal? The clutch grabbing high is my biggest concern. It grabs lower on my 97.

Any thoughts are appreciated!

 

That price seems a little steep to me. I just picked up an 02 GLE with 78k for $9500. Certified.

 

I think even 12k is a little bit high. I got my 02 Maxima GLE with front side airbags and moonroof, only had 66k miles on it. It cost me 12k.

 

I just bought my 03 SE fully loaded w/ 65K for $11,900 from a dealer. I think you should get that car for cheaper than I got mine since it has 90K

 

mine was from dealer too.

 

In different locations throughout the nation, the price of cars varies but that does seem steep to me

 

Thats a good price. Problem is I have been looking for an 02/03 6spd for months and you never see them for sale around here, so my patients have been pushed a little. If I wait too long, my trade-in could start having problems...It's a 98 Jeep w/5.9 V8. It is a pain to keep on the road without having problems with it. I'm playing russian rullet by hanging on to it. It's always something with that thing.

Do clutches usually grab a little high on the 5.5 gens?

Thank you for the comments so far!

 

Yeah, that price seems quite high. Even as difficult as it is finding exactly what you want, don't throw away money on something that is over-priced.

 

it seems like the 6speeds are more expensive than auto. but yea its a little steep. but someone will eventually buy it at that price, since 6speeds are kinda rare. for an 03 the prices really cant go any lower. how much cheaper are these cars gonna get? 12k would be a good price.

 

Assuming the Maxima is pretty well loaded...KBB retail is $14,160
wholesale is $10,450. The dealer probably paid $2K less than that at the auction.
Work the deal.

My '02 6-speed clutch does grab a little high. Nothing to be concerned about. Make sure you get a complete AutoCheck or CarFax from that dealer.

 

<--03 6spd FS with 55k miles modded for 14,5 gray lustre

 

I paid $12,500 for mine with 66k every option besides NAV and the TE package, 13,900 is a bit steep for 90k miles I think your idea of getting them down to $12k even is a good price. My clutch grabs high too, coming from my truck before it where the clutch grabbed abnormally low it was weird getting used to, but perfectly normal.

 

Thanks for the comments people! I think I could do the deal for 12K and the money I want for the trade in. It is an 03 and buying it for $12k I could still sleep at night. Ill need to do a carfax or something because the front license plate is all bent up and that makes me wonder a bit.

 

you wont have to worry about the 3rd gear crunch...its usually off and on for people. swap out the gear fluid, get new bushings and maybe a short throw shifter and 3rd gear will feel better. In reality its only a handful of people who have had bad 3rd gear problems

 

I felt it once while downshifting, it wasn't real bad but it got my attention and I immediatly thought of the 3rd gear thread from the org. I even said out loud "3rd gear crunch" and the salesman was like "huh"?

I'm about to head back over there, I hate dealerships more than anything except the dentist.

 

Too Much for an '03 if you talk right you can get an '04 for that price. You ever heard the saying "My mama told me you better shop around"

 

Yea that seems a bit high, I got a 02 SE with 73K on her for 13,600 and that too was from a dealer.

 

Where have you been looking? I bought my 03 TE 5 speed with 39k for $15,500 back in Mar of this yr. I checked everywhere and actually found two, one black and one sterling mist in Sandy Springs MD. Check out cars.com or carmax, I'm sure you can find what you want at one of those sites for a whole lot less and with way less miles. I would pay no more than 9500 for an 03 with that many miles, especially with the issues it may have that you haven't discovered yet.

 

This coming from my experience as a car salesmen on the nissan and acura lots...more than likely if retail is 14,160 and they want 13,900, they are not buried in the car, so they probably have some room to wiggle. That being said, they have KBB also and will know that they are already below retail, if they havent had the car on the lot long, there not going to want to sell it way back of book. If you really want the car...and not willing to wait...anything under 13 should be acceptable.

Have you already got your trade appraised? If not go get that done before anything else. Always get your trade appraisal before talking numbers, because they will toast you on your trade.

 

Cars.com- I dont want to travel around hundreds of miles with a trade in so I have to shop locally. Theres usually only a couple 6spds in our area if that.






I got nowhere with them today. Brought the trade in over, but that didn't help. They like to go by 'price difference' when working with a trade. They cant fool me with that bs. My number is set and they won't come near it. I wanted 5k for my rare 1998 5.9 Jeep GC, and wanted to buy the car for 12k. I'm within 1800 from reaching the deal but they won't give me more than 4200 for the jeep and they still want about 13k for the car. From what I heard they have had the car on the lot for awhile and probobly will for longer. What I don't get is that the snow season is coming and they want to hang onto a 93,000 mile 'summer' car and not want to take in the 100,000 mile great condition SUV 'snow eater' lol

 

ya just keep at them ... i had a similar issue where they would have a decent price on the trade in and after an hour i would finally get them to the price and they lose the sheet to the trade in and want to give me less ..... after 3 visits i got exactly what i wanted....

 

I ended up buying it Friday...It's in the shop this week under their warranty for the third gear grind. They are going to overhaul the tranny. 3rd gear grinded everytime I shifted after I bought it.

 

Bought my 03 6SPD with 56K miles for 13K out the door. My clutch engages about halfway between the floor and "top".