I just wanted to hear everyone's take on this possibility: I talked to a guy today who has a 1998 Black GXE Maxima 5-speed for sale here in town with 80,000 miles on it - he's asking $6900, although he said he'd be willing to bargain. I'm going to go look at it tomorrow. He said he has all the records on it, and the "major 60K mile service" was done at 60K (does that include timing belt?). If it is in as good of condition as he says it is, what would be a fair price? - I was thinking around $6,300-6,500 range.

Also, are there are any major problems that I should watch out for when I go to look at it tomorrow.

Thanks in advance.

Jeremy

 

hmm, there no timing belt on the max, its a timing chain...

If your not sure exactly what you should look for, take it to a mechanic, or friend who knows stuff about cars...always good to have a second opinion...



Eric

 

welcome to the org 91 max. thats not a bad price at all. but thoroughly check everything out. keep us updated on how it goes when u go look at it

 

listen to the trannie...80K might be the start of bad bearings, mine starte going at 93K, it all depends how it was driven

 

Okay, so I went and met the guy to see the car today. Turns out he's a dealer that buys and sells cars. Anyway, he got it at an auction not too long ago. It appeared to be in pretty good condition, although there was minor (I mean MINOR) hail damage on the hood and on the roof of the car. Also, it needs new tires, but that would just give me an excuse to buy new rims and tires right away. He told me that if I bought it as is right now, he would take $5800 for it. What do you guys think?...My only problem is that I've got to sell my current Max. Anyone interested?...I'll post it in the For Sale Forums...

Thanks.

Jeremy

 

imho I don't like the idea of a vehicle purchased at auction--those are the bottom of the barrel. Cars that a Nissan dealer would not carry on their lot (and why wouldn't they they make more on used cars than new) would be sold at auction for the 2nd and 3rd tier used car shady dealers. Wow, from one extreme to another. The dude that said he got ripped off paid 16 grand 2 years ago, and now you can get one for 5800 (98 GXE).

As far as this 98 goes, there are lots to check out, but it'd probably bore the forum to death to list them all. So in short I'd check the tranny for leaks (5-spd), alternator for recall replacement, front and side air bags, tears in boots CV + struts, all brakes, make sure the EVAP (canister, boost sensor $$$, vent control valve) was REPLACED (why pay $400+ to do the repair that's inevitable at 60-80k), look for 60k major service, both parking brake cables for replacement, brake fluid flush, etc. Good luck but I'd say steer clear.

 

actually, i've seen quite a few....QUITE a few on nissan dealer lots that were purchased from auction.....a month's worth of carfax allows a lot of car checks, i know at least 9 dealers in the philly area that had more than one max purchased from auction so....it does happen....the shady dealers mainly get their cars from auction, i can only remember one car that i carfax'd from a shady dealer during my search that DIDNT come up from an auction but, at least in my experiences, nissan dealers and shady dealers alike will get cars from auction, that's why the money to carfax when you're really in the market to buy is money well spent (and you can help out others while you have the access to, to help them make more informed decisions)

 

Seems awfully cheap, especially from a dealer. Raises a red flag in my book, but if you take it to a knowledgeable mechanic or even two and run a carfax I guess you can only be so safe.

 

Ya have a mechanic look at it. I did that when I bought my camry with a salvage title - it ran great for me up to 90,000 miles when I sold it. Long as there are no funny noises, feelings, or anything that catches a mechanics eye, you'll probly be ok buying it

 

Thanks for everyone's help, but I think I've talked myself out of it. I called my insurance company today, and my insurance alone is going to go up $800 a year (I'm a 17 year-old kid). Also, with everything else I would want to do to the car right away (rims/tires, window tint, stereo, etc.), I just can't afford it.

Thanks for your help, but maybe in another year or so!

Jeremy.

 

i would take it for $5500 if u could get it for that much. i got a car that was auctioned and its absolutely perfect, no body work was done on it, and it drives excellent u can see it in my sig