Just picked up my 04 Max
I have a 3 day 3,000 mile return policy from the dealer.
I'd say don't worry about looking for problems... some people have their cars for ages and never ran into any issues. Others, well, they weren't so lucky... 
I had no problems at all for the first couple of months, then all of the sudden the struts went bad and my rotors were warped. Some people have had their cars since '03 and never had a problem with either. Some others have had their struts replaced 2-3 times, some have had the car lemoned, etc.
It depends on the car... I'd say drive it like you would any other car and see what happens. Keep an eye out for the annoying internal stuff like rattles or glove box misaligned, etc. But as far as anything that would go bad within 3 days, I'd say you're probably not gonna find it. Anything else will probably be covered by the warranty...
Enjoy the ride...
I had no problems at all for the first couple of months, then all of the sudden the struts went bad and my rotors were warped. Some people have had their cars since '03 and never had a problem with either. Some others have had their struts replaced 2-3 times, some have had the car lemoned, etc.
It depends on the car... I'd say drive it like you would any other car and see what happens. Keep an eye out for the annoying internal stuff like rattles or glove box misaligned, etc. But as far as anything that would go bad within 3 days, I'd say you're probably not gonna find it. Anything else will probably be covered by the warranty...
Enjoy the ride...
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,143
From: a meadow south of Atlanta
For my way of thinking, the problem to absolutely check for is the dreaded 'shimmy'.
Find a fairly flat, fairly deserted, reasonably straight road, hold the steering wheel lightly with the fingertips at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions, and very gradually increase your speed from around 30 MPH to 70 MPH (if safe to do so). If, at any speed, the steering wheel begins vibrating very noticably from side-to-side, I would hesitate to close the deal.
Some here have had success in fixing the shimmy (through various means), others have lessened it to a bearable level, while some can't seem to find any permanent solution.
Find a fairly flat, fairly deserted, reasonably straight road, hold the steering wheel lightly with the fingertips at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions, and very gradually increase your speed from around 30 MPH to 70 MPH (if safe to do so). If, at any speed, the steering wheel begins vibrating very noticably from side-to-side, I would hesitate to close the deal.
Some here have had success in fixing the shimmy (through various means), others have lessened it to a bearable level, while some can't seem to find any permanent solution.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 58
Dropped off the Max
I turned in the Max so the dealer so they could add the Custom Leather, Tint, Chrome Wheels etc...
I told them to check out the Struts, small vibration in the steering wheel @ 70 mph, glove box, hesitation at take off and passing...
Thanks for all the advise!
Willster
I told them to check out the Struts, small vibration in the steering wheel @ 70 mph, glove box, hesitation at take off and passing...
Thanks for all the advise!
Willster
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