Hey guys,

I am in the market for a 5th gen and saw this 2002 SE for sale. The seller is on Facebook. The car has 108k miles. Cloth interior, heated steering wheel, sunroof, new spark plugs, changed rear brakes and rotors, trans flush and coolant flush, changed oil. Tires are fresh as well. Replaced 2 coil packs. Clean title and asking price of $2600 obo. It's located in Monterey Park. What else should I be looking for? The price seems very tempting. I need a reliable daily.

Here's a pic, the owner is sending me more tomorrow. What do you guys think?

 

$2600 for that car at that mileage is an absolute steal. Assuming it's actually in good shape and he's actually done what he said he's done. . .

If it were me, I'd go for it in a heartbeat. Assuming it's actually a clean title and the owner isn't trying to scam you.

But just out of curiosity. . any reason the one picture of it is right next to a tow truck?

 

The doors look like they have no clear coat? Something is up here. Rebuilt title?

 

oil consumption on a 3.5

iacv/ burnt up ecu failure

power steering hose (minor)

 

That car looks like it's been wrecked, the doors don't match the rest of the car.

 

I'm definitely skeptical, $2600 for an '02 SE with 108k miles is unheard of. At least as far as I'm aware of.

 

just putting this out there in general, don't ever go on the assumption just because a car has a clean title means it hasn't been in an accident before, it just means no insurance claims or police reports. Obviously this car has been an accident with the discoloured doors. Another clue is the SE badge is misplaced hinting at a bigger accident or it being rear ended. Other cars may not be that obvious. Anyways for that price I don't think you should go for it, seems iffy. With maximas, you pay what you get for in most cases. Don't cheap out on them. if you can get an OBD & scan for any pending codes that may be there or have been possibly cleared. Just a rule of thumb with buying an used car really. But as for potential problems mentioned above you should also listen for timing chain noises

 

^
It's by a towing truck too

 

I spoke to the seller more on instant message and he owns an automotive repair shop in Monterey Park and that's where the car is. It was their company car so I'm assuming it was used for many purposes. I asked him about the passenger side front and rear doors and he said that the paint is a bit faded. They maintained the car throughout the years and the seller claims that its in good running condition. I asked him why he's selling, he said they have another company car now and they don't need the Maxima anymore. I will stop in and check out the car in person and since it's a shop, I'll ask for a service record, hopefully he has them documented. I will keep you guys posted.

 

Company car equals thrashed car. Yes, good price, but check it out very very carefully, you could be buying a headache.

Old joke:
Q: What's the best off-roader in the world?
A: Rental car!

Replace off-road with any type of abuse you can give a car, and the answer stays the same.

 

idk, the part about the fade on the doors seems like total BS to me & what stockmax mentioned, very true ahahah

 

Yep, I know what you mean stockmax. Check this out....

Me - So this car has never been in any accident? The SE badge on the trunk is in a different location.

Seller - Not that i kno of

Me - it's usually on the same height as the key hole. that one sits lower than the key hole

Seller - Yea im not sure i just fix em amd sell em

Me - OH, i thought its your company car.

Seller - Its a company car i work for them i fix their cars

Me - i figured since your company owns it, you'd know if it's been in an accident. Did your company buy the car new? Do u know how many owners it had before?

Seller - I have no clue it was here when i started working here. I doubt this car is for u i think ur looking for a brand new 2002 maxima lol. My boss told me its clean title and he has the paper work

Me - I'm not looking for a new car otherwise I wouldn't be here talking to you. But I want to make sure that the car wasn't in a bad wreck before. Many people fix cars like this and try to sell it as a clean title car. Just making sure that I don't waste my money on buying a salvage car.

Seller - From what i was told its a clean title i just do mechanical repairs. It could use some work like front and rear engine mounts and driver control arm bushings if ur picky but all in all it runs fine.


LOL, I'm going to keep looking.

 

That's probably a lemon.

It's a company car so they probably did just enough to keep it running, oil changes?. Also it only has 108,000 miles = ~173,000 km which is pretty low, there's probably some kind of costly repair coming up or a intermittent problem which is why the company decided to dump it.

The door maybe due a work related incident (employees usually don't give a sh8t about company car)

 

took a look at US going prices for 5th Gen Maximas, they are a **** ton higher than Canadian prices, well Ontario anyways, so at $2600 this car spells sketch all over it with what I see for Maxima's of similar mileage.
the most a maxima could probably go for in my area is maybe $6000 but it would have to be immaculate and low mileage

 

They cost less to buy in the US AND HAVE A HIGHER RESALE VALUE!?

That makes noo freaken sense -_-"

 

The shop fixes cars and still wants to sell it at that price? I'd pass and if anything I'd be looking for single / 2 owner car with written maintenance history, things must check out. For this one I wouldn't even bother with car report as it smells trouble as is.

 

I smell FISH all over this one, not just any fish but something like a terrible asian carp! Too much shade-ball-ness going on there. I see this kind of thing every single day when I stop by the used car lot that I sell for.

 

I think it just Ontario at this point for some odd reason.... Maxima's in the BC area are going for similar prices as the US.

 

Prices here are kind of shot, if I list mine it'll be for $$$.

 

Used car prices are thru the roof around North VA. For example:

I was offered 7k for my car when it had 90k miles....dude really wanted me to sell it.

Couple of others have asked about selling it too and offered $6k when it was closer to 100k, but no sir the car is worth way more than 6k to me.

 

jesus christ
a decent condition 00-01 Maxima with around 160km would probably max out at 3000-3250 maybeee in Ontario

 

I'm shipping my car to you okay

Then I buy a nicer car here in Ontario where resale value is LOW

 

^^ George, you actually could, I charge a flat 300 bucks to sell a private vehicle for individuals. I do all the work, you just provide access to the car.

I could def sell it for good $$$ around my way, but not sure how good of a car it really is or if you have bunch of issues. Plus yours is from Canada, which is a HUMONGOUS turn-off anywhere outside Canada

In all fairness, my 5th gen is perfectly maintained, fully loaded every option, has every single service record, and thousands in mods. So that said, I think it's worth the 6-7k I was offered (at least in my area lol)

But yeah, location is everything.

 

^
Mine is fully loaded with mods too!!!!! And it has a bigger motor

 

george_ we all know yours is a lemon with tons of issues but that's between us....but if D.Stillwell can sell it for good money perhaps you can buy the Honda or Camary of your dreams ,since these 5gen are clearly not for you

 

 

i want to see this supposed lemon that george_ owns LOL
seems like a reoccurring word I see when people associate with his car

 

If he bought it in Canada it also has metric dash

 

Good point

Yeah, trying to sell a Canadian car in the states is like a 5ft tall man trying to dunk on Shaq. Its basically impossible, unless you're fine with getting very little money.

Then again, selling george's car may really, actually be impossible.

 

Well hold up, selling an AMERICAN car in Canada is the same haha! We don't want each-others stuff, Canadians want Canadian cars and vise-versa... Even if George has a lemon, it's a good looking lemon

My Maxima is stock other than the muffler (axle-over) and the SE rims I put on (it'll come with two sets), everything is pretty well mint condition & it has 89,000 miles.

 

Very true. And the term "good looking lemon" = LOL

 

Jprocs24+george_GLL=Canadiens Triumph

 

Radiator support rots out $700 repair. Too low a price

 

My god. $6-7K? Seriously?

Thats crazy money for a 5th gen.

Whats mods do you have?

Down in the southeastern part of the Old Dominion I see them go for around 3-4 grand for anything with less than 100k miles.
5 & 5.5 gens with more than 100k usually go for around 2500-3K depending on miles, accidents,owners etc.

The manuals never sell here because very few people want a sedan with a stick shift.

If I ever sell mine, I'm coming to NOVA looking for the big Maxima $

 

It sounds crazy but that's what the market dictates. So few are left in great condition now, that any 5th/5.5gen around here in good shape with 100k or less goes for good money ($6-10k for a loaded 5.5).

Now, the car has to be in excellent condition to ask for that kind of money, where only 1-2% of all used cars fall into this category. Very few are out there.

It usually has to be one owner, two at most. Perfect maintenance, all service records, perfect mechanically, clean inside/out, no rust anywhere, interior/exterior in great shape for age, car has to be fully loaded, has to be good color (not gold), etc....

 

It just dawned on me that you are most likely talking dealer prices. I dont think you would find many private sellers asking for that kind of price for a used 5th gen.

As you put it, 1-2% of cars fit into this category. I would think the % of 5th gens out there worth that kind of $ would be even less.

....and whats wrong with gold?

 

Yes Im talking dealer prices 99% of the time. And yeah we're definitely talking a select few cars here that only pop up once in a blue.

Still, I've seen a few 5th gens pull that kind of money private party also. I've had two people offer to buy my car, private sale of course, for $6k.

As for gold, nothing wrong with it just a color that generally most people don't like or want.

 

I wouldn't say that considering four of the eight cars posted in the 2015 5/5.5gen pic thread are sunlit sand....

 

True but thats on the .org

I'm talking about real life car market, it's just a fact that gold cars are valued less.

 

I'm convinced I have the cleanest Maxima for sale in local BC, and I'm rocking the Old-Man-Sand paint job... I'm not a huge fan of "gold" but somehow 2/3 (total) of my cars ended up that colour