My buddy let me borrow his wifes 2k2 SE 6spd with 112k for a week so I can make sure I really want to buy the thing. Here is what I found...

Front rotors warped, slight pulsing at lower speeds
No traction control
No ABS
Exhaust may need new hangers, knocks against underbody at slow speeds
Suspension is showing its age
Sunroof cracked open by itself while driving? Hows that?
Am/fm/cd/cassete player sucks, left front door speaker blown
Left front fender replaced, right front fender slightly dented
Looks like water or something leaked into trunk area. Spare tire well was very wet and rusty looking residue all over
His kids destroyed the cloth interior, stains and crap caked on everything, needs detailing
The thing is FAST

You all think its worth $3k?? KBB trade in my area for "Fair" condition is $2.5k

For a 5.5 6spd... 3k is more than a steal... ull probebly upgrade some of the things u listed anyways

I also think 3k is a good deal.

The only thing I am bothered about is you saying "No ABS"

That's one thing I would figure out what the problem is and get a cost to fix before buying.

Otherwise if the tranny feels good I think everything else can be remedied.

Good Luck

3k sounds like a pretty good deal. I swapped my rotors, speakers and head unit as soon as i bought my maxima even though they worked fine i just wanted to upgrade from oem. All of that cost's about $600 depending on how crazy you go

exhaust hangers are cheep

I would look around the internet to see if you can find a leather swap, if you can find one locally it shouldnt cost you more than $400-500

no abs is worrisome. that being said i bough a subaru that didnt have abs and i was concerned about it in the winter and i must say i kind of like having full control of the brakes and not being limited by when the abs kicks in, you just have to remember not to slam on them and expect to be able to steer, you have to feel the car and the pedal. There is a reason race cars don't have abs

Honestly, as long as the car is mechanically sound i would jump all over it. 6 speeds are hard to come by, especially that cheep, you can always fix it up as you go.

My '96 Max SE 5spd didn't have ABS, I figured this didn't have it either. Are anti lock brakes standard on ALL 5 gen Max's?

I am almost positive it is, there is one way to figure it out... lock em up (or look under the hood haha)

I didn't look under the hood.. but the driveway into my complex was snow covered today and I locked 'em up no problem. Car started to skid sideways so I figured no ABS.

It certainly is on a 5.5 SE.
No TC on the MT, auto only.

you should also see a yellow abs light come on when you start the car and come off after like 5 seconds.

only way i can explain locking them up and skidding as the abs doesnt work under 5 mph. so either you were going pretty slow or there may be an issue with them

Depends how fast you were going too. If you were just crawling along when you locked 'em up-that's normal. You've got to be doing 10 mph or so b4 the abs will kick in.

I was going pretty slow down the driveway, that may be why I was able to lock them. Will also check for the yellow light when starting tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the advice everyone... as always this board RULES!

Bro, that's a complete steal, a 6 speed maxima with those miles usually go for 6-7grand. I would definitely jump on that asap. ABS is standard on every 5th gen, and if the ABS light is not on, it's unlikely their is a problem with the ABS. Just some armor all, a leather swap, and your good. I bought a 2000 maxima cloth interior, i purchased leather panels, and seats for $400 and i have no regrets.

Now all I gotta do is convince the wife to learn how to drive a stick... the car is for her. For the record... the car is not in mint condition, F+R bumpers have some scratches and paint peel, but rest of body is OK. Burns around 1qt or oil every 4-5k from what he told me.

Damn thats a good deal.

1qt isn't bad for that many miles. Granted some may not burn any but many others, including other makes and models, burn more at less mileage than that..

Uh...then maybe SHE'S the one who should be test driving it, and not you.

jump all over that price. been building honda's for years and was kinda iffy about buying a maxima. But, I got a good deal on it figured what the hell, if I dont like it I can sell it and it was one of the smartest things I have ever done. Love the car. Great gas millage, easily fit the family and still fast as hell. With what you have listed as far as problems you could easily fix and still be way under book value

She cant drive a stick... I am sending her to driving school to learn how to drive one if she decides she wants it. Right now she is on the fence, we will see what she says by the end of the week.

Ahhh...ok.
Why not buy an automatic?

Because I can buy ANY automatic at full retail. This 6spd just happens to be a "steal". If she doesn't want it, maybe I will just buy to resell and make a few bucks.

$3k + $3k to fix everything (assuming that is what it takes) is still a decent deal for a 5.5 gen with a 6 speed.

I wish I had a manual.

If you lock up all 4 tires at any speed abs will not work. Abs compares the wheel speed of all the tires and if any are stopped and others are moving it kicks in. If the abs light is not on while you are driving then It is working fine

agree.
any slow speed or in a sideways slide, abs wont work.

Looks like the wife is shooting it down. She really wants an automatic.. looks like she will be getting a used Altima or something similar. I really would LOVE to keep this as a side/project car, but I really don't have the time for it right now. This car is fun and FAST.. would suck the headlights outta my 325i. Looks like I will be giving it back this Saturday... sux.
If and when my buddy is ready to sell (prolly closer to retail $), I will post here. Thanks again for all the advice.

I just bought basically the same car, with no issues though and 143k miles for $7300. perfect mechanical shape, 60 year old one owner, and a STACK of receipts including a muffler and 02 sensors in the last year. so I would say yes, good deal. mine is loaded too, everything but nav

I was a little worried when I bought mine a couple years ago with 113k on it, but I am a couple miles away from 167,000 and so far, so good. I've replaced a thermostat, radiator, 2 O2s, precats (with used ones), starter and a wheel bearing/hub which is most likely due to improper reassembly by the last person to work on the brakes, bearings or axle.

Considering the mileage, age of the car (06/01 build date) and that I drive 2000+ miles a month, the car has been pretty reliable.

yeah, I am planning on 300k as a goal. only real issue is it has a decent amount of stone chips on the front and a TINY bit of rust on drivers side rear fender lip. barely surface rust so I will get it touched up and repaired in the spring and not have to worry about it later when it gets worse and expensive. learned the hard way with my last car. should have fixed the rust, the car went another 150k miles after I sold it to a local guy I knew. o well

Giving it back tonight... totally bummed out. Was really looking forward to having a blast with the thing. Reality F-n sux......

I would see if you can somehow check this. My 2k2 HLSD 6spd with 125k miles was burning a quart every 500 miles by the time I traded in. It's more of a pain than you realize...



EDIT*** Nevermind, finished reading the thread.

Me too. The only thing I miss about my Maxima is the gearbox. I had to go automatic for the wife's sake also. Sucks when we're out and all our friends start drinking and I have to stay sober because she can't drive my car.


Not going to lie though, paddle shifters in manual sport mode definitely help the issue... and it's nice to be able to just throw it into automatic when traffic gets heavy.

Where are you located. I can't believe that there is not at least one Orger out there in your area who wouldn't give their eyeteeth for that car.

Heck, I have a 15 year old and I would buy it for him and fix it for the next 9 months and he could drive.

Then we'd have father and son 02 6 speeds.

lmao^^

Located in parsippany, NJ. My buddy said he wants to get $5k+ for it. It doesn't need too much work, just little stuff here and there. Email me at zxex@yahoo.com if interested.

Going to post in Classified section.

Even 5K is a good price. I don't think he'll have a problem offloading it. It would be nice to see a fellow orger get it so that we can hopefully follow the progress.

I agree, I paid more for mine and thought I did well

totally a steal of a price. id buy it for 5k even and have another max