Hi,
'Looking for a used car again! I didn't go for a 4th or 5th gen. Maxima last time although I bought a $200 1992 once! LOL! It didn't last long and I'm not assessing Maximas on it. I really liked the V6 power though or at least potential of it - only 3 cylinders were firing!

Okay, I am looking at 1998 to 2002 Maximas but the 2001/2002 ones are a bit more expensive. My budget is about $2500 or will be. I might be able to save a bit more but I'm looking at cars costing that right now as my upper limit.

I know that isn't much but Maximas of '98 to '99 (4th gen.?) vintage should be affordable at that and if I'm lucky, maybe a '00 or '01 for my upper limit.

I am wondering a few things:
1) auto or manual - does it matter? I would like 5spd but hard to find
2) repairs - I have the impression most jobs are expensive as the parts are expensive - does anyone think the 'Consumer Reports' page is accurate? Struts/Shocks, Timing Chain and CV Joints are all listed over $1000?!?
3) paint jobs - is the paint in these cars decent? Do I have to worry about whether a car's been re-painted?
4) mileage - most cars in these years are at around 200,000kms or more (likely) - should I care about that? I'm not sure if an engine swap in a Maxima is done often but should I plan for that?

Does it matter about the model, SE, GLE? Those are the only two I'm considering. But, 'hard to find a manual SE. Thus, my question (see #1) about auto and manual. I know driving stick will be more fun but finding manual tranny seems harder - more rare, perhaps. I don't know why. I guess the quest to find a car in really good condition is what is turning out to be hard, for any car! I guess few people really REALLY look after their cars or want to invest in maintaining their car of that age so I'm looking for those dedicated owners who did!

Well, that's all I can think of for now. Also, Maximas of '98 to '02 all need 91 octane, right? What kind of oil?

I called on insurance for a '96 Maxima and it was in between a '96 Camry and '96 Honda (being most expensive). It wasn't bad but I guess '98 to '02 will be more expensive to insure? These aren't on the 'most stolen' list, though, right?

 

1. Tranny choice is up to you, if you can find a manual in your price range and your good with it then by all means go for it. I did.
2. Only things i've had to replace 23K miles in is a starter and battery
3. I don't know if you should worry about a car being re-painted, but the paint on my car is chipped and scratched all to hell...everyone notices when we're close to her.
4. I got mine with 102,000 and now about to hit 125K, I dont think you should worry too much about the mileage

oh yeah i got a 2000 SE 5 Speed last Oct. Paid a bit more than 2500 though.

 

Having experiences with both Gen's, IMO a 4th Gen is plenty more reliable and give less headaches than a 5th. Now as far as a 5.5gen goes, someone else will have to chime in. Good luck.

 

1. Well, out of 10 cars, I'd say 7 are auto tranny and maybe 3 are manual. I'm hoping for a manual myself although if I can't find any in sufficient condition... :-(
2. that is to be expected. Sounds good. I was concerned about some of the other repairs I've read with Maximas, the more expensive ones.
3. Well, my theory is if there's a paint problem, rust or dings/dents, the driver probably didn't take care of the car or neglected it. Although, it's not universal... I just thought the chances are... plus, I just wanted something in really good shape.
4. Yeah, that was the last thing I was worried about. Unless, it's way over 300,000 or something. Since the cars are older, they are likely to be high mileage.

Thanks for your feedback!

Hmmm... well, for the most part, they (4th gen.) will be more affordable so good to know. 4th gen. is '95 to '99, right?

 

2500 is your budget? Buy the best 4th gen manual you can. 5 spd SE.

Done.

 

4th Gen
-WAY better turning radius
-Better power-to-weight, unless you get a 3.5
-Very reliable engine, but known issues with CV boots, starters and alternators.
the 3.0 is awesomely smooth, and in both my 4th gen cars the oil looks clean even after 3000 miles.
-Most are pretty aged with high miles
-If you get a 4th gen DOUBLE CHECK the lower radiator support if the car came from snow country, they ALL rust out there in northern states and it is a difficult repair unless you are a professional welder. This is probably the biggest complaint from 4th gen owners

5th Gen
-Smoother, heavier, more luxuries, funky but more updated styling. I personally think a well-kept 4th gen is a better looking car.
-More power (with the 3.5), and if you get the 6MT, better mileage
-More complicated stuff that can go wrong than the 4th gen
-I like the freeway ride in the 5th gen better than the 4th.
-Stock wheels in the 5th gen way nicer looking than 4th gen


Overall I think a 4th gen will be less $$ and probably easier to maintain. If you find one with 100,000 miles or less, go for it.

Realize that all of these cars are pretty old, and you will no doubt be putting money into maintenance. I spent $5000 on an 85,000 mile 2002, knowing I was (and already have) going to put $1600 into a new clutch, brakes at all 4 corners, repaired leaking steering box, and two new tires. So I'm into this car for $7k, which is a bunch for a 9 year old Nissan. Hopefully it lasts another 100k miles until I push it over into its grave....

Hey, one more thought; if you can find a decent 2002 or 2003 Altima with the 3.5, it is a pretty awesome car. But on those, watch out for snow-country cars, the passenger side footwell does a Flintsone-moblie floor treatment and rusts all the way through.

 

5th gen... nuff said...

 

For $2500, you're not going to find anything in the 5th gen market. Maybe a really crappy high-mileage 2000.

I see this two ways:

A. Start shopping for 4th gens. Try to find one with lower miles in decent shape. Again, for 2500, you're going to be finding most of the cars in your price range are older 4th gens rather than say a 1999 model.

B. Start saving your money and wait. This is the better option.

Frankly, $2500 is not a responsible car-shopping budget. You're just not going to find anything good for that kind of money. It's either going to be in crappy shape, high mileage, or in need of work. You very well could end up spending $2500 more on maintenance and issues soon after buying the car for $2500. Do the smart thing and save up your money. Have some patience and don't let buying a car be an impulse purchase. Set your budget, be selective, and wait for the right one to come along before pulling the trigger.

 

I agree totally you won't find anything worthwhile for $2500. I recently bought my son a car and our budget was $4k. We looked at a 98 Mustang with 160k miles, a 98 Maxima with 150k, a 00 Galant with 140k and finally a 98 Accord with 124k miles. I wanted to get him the Maxima but he chose the Accord because it had the least miles. Bottom line, if you're patient and save some more money you can get a real decent car that doesn't need a lot of work for $4k or $5k dollars.

 

Hey, some of you guys are discouraging me! That's not fair! lol! No, seriously, you are probably right. But, I have no car right now and it really sucks! I need my vehicle!

I hope to have more than $2500 but I'm just being realistic... something always comes up.

I was shopping for '02 Maximas some yrs ago but I decided to buy an older car in which I didn't have to finance. '02 Maximas were about 10 to 13 grand then.

The last few cars were, ironically, not foreign or Japanese so I want to go with Honda/Toyota/Nissan this time. Also, I compromised and bought cars in only decent condition or worse. I hope to get something with a good exterior this time and as mechanically sound as possible but I realize cars this old will have repairs and issues. I hope to have the money for that when it comes.

As for some of these issues, I thank everyone for bringing it to my attention. That helps a lot when I go check out cars. I know it will help to have more money but it kills me to have no car. My last car, a Saturn, has/had a blown head gasket. It's not worth fixing so I now walk or take the bus.

I love the smoothness of V6 engines. I owned a Topaz, Intrepid and '92 Maxima at one time. I like having the extra power. Therefore, my search started with Accords w/ 2.2L I4 and led to Camrys w/ V6 and now, Maximas! I thought the age of these vehicles would mean they're probably all relatively decent with only somewhat more costly maintenance for the Maximas. I guess you get the good with some drawbacks but those are financial rather than performance.

I've been in Accords and Camrys, not a lot but some. I have yet to test drive a Maxima in the year ranges I'm looking for yet. Other than the probability of slightly more cost for maintenance and needing 91 to 94 octane, I don't see any other drawbacks.

 

Hey, what do you guys think of the carsurvey review site? It seems relatively balanced to me and people describe what they like as well as what goes wrong. So, it's not just people complaining all the time. There's also some good pointers like taking the car to a local mechanic rather than the dealer.

'Seems like O2 sensors, MAF sensors and ignition coils being major culprits, at least for '00 and '01 years? I was wondering how the '98 compares to the '00 and '01 years.

I know or I should say I am familiar with a couple of mechanics locally that only work on imports and I would take the car there. They might be more familiar with Maximas?

Of course, I'd try to fix whatever I could, myself, if it's doable and not a major repair. Replacing a coil and inspecting parts should be something I can do. The factory service manuals should help as well? The reviews also have comments of what often goes wrong and what to do. I think coming up with the cash for a good vehicle will be the hard part like some have said here: $2500 is low but I'll see what that might get me.