miccar

Hello,

I am considering purchasing a 2005 Maxima SE with 29,000 one owner miles. The car was owned by an older gentleman who traded it in for a Mazda. The car drives well and looks new. The dealer is asking $11,000 for the car. I would like to purchase the car, but am worried about all the transmission issues I have read about online. Is there anything I can do to prevent the tranny from failing that doesn't cost an arm and a leg? Should I just forget about buying the Maxima? Thank you.

NIKV69

Price is kind of high. I would offer $9000 and go no higher than $10000. I would drive it and as long as it shifts smooth you should be fine. Tranny issues are overblown. It's a great car just change the transmission fluid every 30,000.

miccar

Thanks for the reply, but with all the complaints listed here do you really think the transmission issue is that large a problem?

Scramblinman

I don't think that the transmission issue is overblown. It's a known problem across several manufacturers and models. It is highly likely that at some point, the valve body WILL have to be rebuilt or replaced. I would recommend budgeting for it.

That being said, with only 29,000 miles on it, you've probably got several years or more of typical driving before the valve body issue manifests itself. I would not let that the transmission issue alone discourage me from buying the car, but it is something to be aware of. I would definitely drain and refill the transmission fluid every 25-30k miles and have plans to address the issue when it comes.

My biggest concern with that low mileage would be that the car wasn't seriously damaged, salvaged and reconstructed.

Otherwise, our Maxima has been a pretty decent car for us.

miccar

The car has never been damaged and was owned by an older gentleman. It doesn't have leather, navigation or the power passenger seat or the Bose system. It does have everything else plus the sky roof. It is a very nice car, but they want $11.9k. The most I would pay is $10.5k plus of course the $400 document fees. I suppose I will buy an extended warranty if they decide to accept my offer, so I don't have any costly out of pocket repair suprises.