Matty D

I will soon be looking to purchase a cheap daily driver and have become interested in the idea of a Nissan Maxima. (3rd or 4th Gen.)

I have an 87 300ZX Turbo as a summer toy / never ending project. I have become more familiar with Nissan since this purchase and am quite pleased.

I was thinking of ideas for what may be a cheap and reliable daily driver, yet decent to drive. A Peppy Engine would be a big bonus for me.

I checked around and used Maxima's are abundant within my price range. (LOW lol...)

I wanted to get some opinions from Maxima Owners :attention

I am 24 and fairly knowledgeable with cars. I am very mechanically inclined. Any work my cars need I do myself. (Except one AUTO Tranny Rebuild).

I am thinking of an initial Purchase of $3000. I Just started College and am not driving (thought I do have some cash banked and will be working and able to afford to drive).


Perhaps I should not have wrote a NOVEL, but I figured better too much info then not enough

Opinions on buying a $3000 Maxima? Good Choice? Are they reasonable durable (not needing frequent or pricey repairs?)

Anything specific to a Maxima to watch out for / look for when purchasing a 3rd / 4th gen?

Pro's and Cons?

Thanks in advance for the help

jcalabria

I had a '95 from new thru 158k miles and the only non-scheduled work it ever needed was a starter, a knock sensor and the Clarion/Bose head unit was a POS. I did change the CV axles at 130k and it really needed new struts when I sold it, but I consider those normal wear items. I sold it for $2500 - throw in some new struts and I could easily see that car going another 75-100k miles.

I picked up a '96 with 105k miles about 4 years ago... it was immaculate, looked right out of the showroom. It became my son's college car and now has 160k miles on it. I put new KYB struts in it at 130k miles and it needs new CV axles now. Other than a ding it picked up in the RR door and a horribly worn steering wheel, it still looks and drives like new.

A friend has a '92 SE 5-speed with 231k miles. The body is a little rough but it runs like new. He's dealing with a leaking water pump right now, but those are normal wear items, too.

If they are maintained, Maximas are easily 200k cars. If you can find a 3G or 4G on the low 100k mileage range you'll end up with a car only halfway thru its life for just a few thousand $$$. Problem is finding one... most are near or over the 200k mile already. Low mileage 4.5G are still around, but probably would be more $$$ than your looking to lay out.

You gotta shop for the right one, but the Max is a great car in general for what you are looking to do. Look around the org... I'm sure you'll get a generally positive feel for the Maxima along with some honest info on where the few trouble spots might be.

CoolMax

iTrader: (7)

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=510318

silver slug

yeah, get a fourth gen! I had previously had one with virtually 0 problems (just had to switch out the window switch). My mom has one and my little sister has one (both '98s) and they haven't had any issues either, except my sister just had to replace her starter but she's getting high on mileage so it's to be expected.

Nameth

I like my 6th Gen.. (7 posts shy of being able to ask my question)