Whats going on guys...

I'm looking into getting a '02 SE 6spd with a sunroof and 48000 miles. The car is black with a gray interior and it's going for $7700.

The car seems to drive well, acceleration and shifts are smooth (i've never driven one before though). Idle is smooth also... The leather shifter is a little warn (starting to tear). One of the radio buttons is missing and the A/C (cold to hot ****). Interior is very clean, the cloth has no stains, same with the rugs. The trunk bottom is messed up (as if there was a spill or something).

Engine is clean on the outside (washed of course), the 20in rims are pretty scuffed (I would get rid of the instantly).

The only mechanical flaw I noticed is a load groan when the wheel is turned all the way to the left (not to the right though). What could that be?

Carfax checks out, the exterior paint is still good but it has some scratches here and there (making it hard to believe that it was ever repainted).

Is there anything I should be looking for?! The price is making me really paranoid.

We're taking it to dealership tomorrow for a 128 inspection.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

$7700? Yea I would be very suspicious...thats an $11000 car if not a little more. If the seller is the original owner then I assume its legit and just wants to get rid of it asap. If thats the case then you lucked out big =)

 

At that price and mileage, I'd be a bit worried too. It would go for an easy $12,000 in the Dallas area.

Could just be the person has money problems and needs some fast cash. I had a friend sell his twin turbo Z06 to some guy who sold it at a loss a few months later because he owed money to the IRS.

 

I forgot to mention that the ABS light is on, any thoughts?

Thanks for the speedy replies! Much appreciated

 

Very very suspicious price. its just to low. car defenitly had hidden problems, get the abs light and all that checked out by a mechanic, as the mechanic to check ou the frame, look under the carpet of the car make sure it wasnt in a flood look for rusting etc.

 

You never know, just make sure its not one of those. "You send me money order and I will ship it" things. If it all checks out fine, I wouldn't see a reason not to get it. Be SURE to check carfax though.

 

just check it out.... and get a pre purchase inspection by a trusty mech.... and if he checks things out.... go for it

if its not checked out... find out how much it would cost to fix... and make the decision on whether you want to buy or not.

 

good luck i would run carfax asap

 

the price is unbelievable! in ny are thats easy 11 grand for that baby. either the odo is rolled off, or there some seriously hidden problams which you proly get when you get it home for ab8 2 weeks but also could be the owner having money problams just get it checked out. and hopefully you found a good buy. GOOD LUCK BRO!

 

how's the condition of the rest of the interior? any rips or anything? the fact that they guy managed to break 2 control ***** and rip the leather shifter cover in 48,000 miles would have me uneasy.. usually, by looking at the condition of the interior, you can get a good indication of how well the rest of the car was maintained.. on checking under the trunk carpet for rust and getting rid of the 20's asap.. they look ridiculous on a maxima, and might have something to do with that loud groaning noise

 

The price is unbelievable because the car has been beat, from what you have described I wouldn't be surprised the SES light pops on soon cause he just cleared the codes. Stay away go somewhere else

the Phrase: "you get what you paid for."

If you really want it that bad knock the price even more, you can check the Coilpacks and MAF for the grey/pink/green dots.

 

First I would check the fluids. I have a ABS light that came on and I was just low on fluid. It also could be low power steering fluid with the groan. Just a thought I would still get it checked out by mechanic.

 

Things that sound too good to be true almost always are....

 

Ask the guy why hes selling it for that price.

 

Check the title and make sure it isn't a salvage title or that it was last registered in New Orleans in 2005. I used to detail cars occasionally for a girl whose Dad owned a wrecking yard. She'd buy the most repairable cars in the yard, have cheap body work done to them, I'd detail them, then she'd sell them and act as if she'd owned the car for a while. Pretty shady and I ended up not doing any more details for her because she was so damn cheap and expected me to fix all the crap the body shop messed up on (swirls, overspray, etc) but not charge her more.

 

Way too shady.

It may have been involved in an accident and fixed without the insurance company knowing. It also could have the milage turned back.

Be careful that after you buy it no CEL's come up saying MAF, o2's, EVAP....Make sure that it has the CEL bulb.

Be careful, but like everyone else said, it may be a good deal because the seller needs it gone and thats it.

 

I saw a BMW 645I a guy at work was trying to buy. The guy was asking $29k for it and emailed back some BS response about giving him western union money order and he would "ship" it over to him. Make sure its legit.

 

Definately do your homework on this deal.Have your mechanic check it out top to bottom cuz at that price and from what you've explained,it sounds fishy.

 

I think we've determined here that you shouldn't buy this car and destiny will find you and you'll find the right car soon enough

 

sounds like the right car to me...

If the car checks out okay and everything is legitimate get it. Even if there is something wrong with the car you should be able to afford getting it fixed with the amount of money you saved.

 

thats what I would do, sometimes all the car needs is some lovin' and the owners just don't want to deal with it for one reason or another, I am sure the seller knows how much the car is worth, but most likely he's been trying to sell it for a while and now just needs the cash.

Whatever you do, have someone look at it.

 

Thanks for all the input guys!

Ended up buying it for $7300 with some altima rims on the side (and thus the new username, I used my friends initially).

I'd like to do some basic fixing up over the next few days . Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

Looks like its already lowered, or did you already do that?

Paint the grille black.

 

go with Cattman Exhaust Header, Y-Pipe i believe GEN 1 or Gen 2 Headers is the one everyone is liking with the headers not sure if you can find them though look around on here for some to pop up. get a berk intake. and you should be good to go. those are things i would do performance wise.

 

No we haven't.

Take the car to a good mechanic and let him give it a look over. Check for damage and run a scan on the codes. Will cost a few bucks but will tell you if this is a diamond in the rough.

 

well its been a few days any updates from the OP

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...6&postcount=22

 

^ thank you, Sorry was looking for the OP's username on the left while scrolling, but as I read he has a new UN

 

Plugs, fluid changes, etc. I'd drive it a month or two before modding it to make sure no hidden issues pop up.

 

Looks nice from the one picture, are those SE-R wheels?

 

^no they're not..ser wheels don't come in 20s..I think those rims look terrible on a max-I don't like the way the car sits on them..

The SE-R wheels are in secondtonone317's sig which is 4 posts up from yours..

 

I thought they looked big but the spoke design looked similar to the SE-R wheels...how do you know they are 20's?

 

This thing is so powerful

I was thinking more along the lines of what Scotwax was saying, other than changinge the fluids, replacing the plugs, any other recommended services?

It's going to the mechanic tomorrow at 8:30am for a check up. Service Engine Soon light JUST came on 10 min ago, hopefully nothing crazy...

I hate the rims by the way. I would love to get some stock 17s on there

Also, maybe this is related to the Service light, but even before the light came on, the car occasionally idles a little rough at long stops. When I got the dealership said it needs 3 new motor mounts, but I figure the symptoms would be more consistent if it was the bad mounts (I can post the question in the newbie thread if it's more appropriate there)

thanks guys

 

I'd clear the headlights and do the umnitza angel eyes if that is your thing. I ordered my set of them today!

 

so is this still a time sensitive emergency thread

nice color...black everything (00-01 SE tails, grill, sidemarkers, window trim)

 

you know i used to like to 5th gen tails better than the 5.5th gen, but after having an 01 for almost 2 years, my taste changed

 

on a black car, the blacked out tails are a must

 

wow.. i dont feel like reading through the whole thread again buit didnt somebody say something about an SES light popping up soon after you got it? lol

well i would wait to see what the mechanic says tomorrow at 8:30 about that SES light, then go from there about anything that needs to be done to it.. but no matter what the SES light is, i would say have all the plugs and fluids changed.. and it already needs 3 new motor mounts?? holy hell.. how many miles does this car have? i'll probably find out after i post this message and scroll up to read your first post...

EDIT: yup.. found out 3 new motor mounts in 48,000 miles? i'm no expert, but that seems too soon.. maybe it was beated on too hard.. or somebody didnt know how to drive and shook things around alot with jerky upshifts and downshifts.. man.. people who can't drive manual cars suck

 

Yea... a few things definitely didn't make too much sense. I bought it knowing I'd probably have to put some money into it. I was a little skeptical of the dealer anyway, didn't seem like he knew what he was talking about... I'll update after the check up tomorrow. Pray that she comes out clean

 

idk, the deal is too good to be true. just make sure everything is ok with the car.