So, I'm hoping to try to pick up a 2004ish maxima (MTX), and before I start shopping, I was wondering if anyone had any quick tips on what to look for when checking/test driving the car.

I've already been lurking the forums for the past month or so, and have searched through some threads that sort-of answers my question as well, and they've so far been helpful but:

I need specifics, in terms of what to look for and what to stress-test when checking a potential car.

What I mean is details, for example, should I open and shut the glove box a few hundred times to see if the hinges hold up, etc..

What specific/prevalent/hidden problem areas should i be looking for?
Of course, everyone and their momma's cars are going to be in "EXCELLENT" condition according to their ad, but I need to know problem areas to look out for.

I've been pretty lucky/good with my used car purchases in the past, but I have been burned also. And it wasn't because i didnt thoroughly test/check the car, but because the car already faced inherent problem(s) which plagued that model and I just got caught holding the hot potato.

So, sort of two mostly-intersecting questions:
1.) What are the tell-tale signs that I'm holding the hot potato for this gen maximas (I'm not naive to think that any car doesnt face inherent issues, so I think it's safe to assume EVERY model of EVERY year has some things that just simply go boom, and would like to know if there is any signs to check for impending doom)
2.) What are some tips/pointers on how to really stress test this car, if i find one I may want to buy, to look for problem areas?


[Unrelated Rant] I hate how infuriatingly difficult it is to find manual cars these days... Automatics are for grandmas ffs. [/Unrelated Rant]

 

You will love the manny tranny.

I say do a cold start to see if timing tensioner chain/guides make a rattling sound. FYI Noise eventually goes away once oil circulates warm around engine and sometimes doesn't make cold start sounds so be aware of that.

If you can get a long enough drive in try to ride clutch and do a lot of shifting to see if you lose clutch pressure. This happened to me on 2 occasion during hot summer and heavy traffic. (But is an issue people have discussed on here before)

Axle seals
Besides that just the basics ac/heat, lights, no leaks.

 

Thanks for the reply!

Sucks, because I thought the point of timing chains were supposed to be that they were lifetime (or at least what the industry deems as "lifetime"). Will definitely stay on the look out for that, thanks for the tip.

Was the culprit for the clutch issues ever found? Is it just a wearing clutch that would show those symptoms, or some other maintenance needed (fluid flush, master and/or slave cylinder replacement, etc)?

And what's the word 'round these parts on the chronic, catastrophic engine failures due to pre-cat failures? A clogged cat is bad on any car, post or pre-cat inclusive, but some of these newer exhaust designs cause broken-down cat material to be sucked up by the engine (due to its close proximity), and you prolly know the rest. It's like the goddeng boogie man for us Mazda6 guys, is that at all a prevalent issue for the 3.5s?

 

85% of VQ35DE engine will have a rattle on cold start so trying to find one for a good price is like finding a needle in a hay stack. My advice is stay away from the 5spd automatic, get a 4spd if automatic is your thing but if you're like me who went for and automatic and seen the elite 6spd and fell in love then the 6spd is the best bang for your buck. The tranny won't give you any issues because it's strong as hell but if you did find one for a reasonable price you could always do the tensioner guides and the tensioners to have a piece of mind. Any other thing is no big costly job.

Most the the users will persue you to go for a 5th or even lower because it's too big and heavy but as long as you don't have the common tensioner issues you should be good to go.