Hello All,

I recently became the owner of a 2000 Maxima and had some questions.

First off, let me give you some details about the car:

It's a 2000 SE model with 34,700 miles on it and I paid $14,800. It's had one owner since new (he bought it in August 1999 for $29,640), the color is Sterling Mist and it has 16" sport wheels with nearly all the options (leather, heated seats, side airbags, wood trim, Bose, etc.)- the car does not have traction control.

Anyway, the first owner had the Maxima maintained regularly by the dealer, and he gave me all the service records and the original window sticker.

Here's a quick rundown on the major repairs:

22,140 miles (August 2001):
Front brake pads and rotors replaced

31,650 miles (June 2002):
Battery - dealer log says it was "weak".
Starter - dealer log says it was "noisy".
Rear brake pads replaced - rotors resurfaced and calipers serviced

Now my questions:

1. Should I be concerned with the ignition coils going bad since it had a "starting problem" before?

2. If I take it to a dealer before 36,0000 miles are on it, will they replace the ignition coils under warranty?

3. What other mechanical areas should I be concerned about repairing?

4. Don't laugh - according to the sticker, the Maxima has heated side mirrors, but I can't seem to find where the switch is to turn them on (to the point where I would swear the car doesn't have them) Can anyone tell me how to turn them on/off?

In closing, the Maxima drives great and is truly and awesome vehicle. In fact, it's the nicest car I've ever owned, and since it is also a present for my wife's birthday, I want to keep it in outstanding condition.

Thanks in advance!



~KK

 

Heated mirrors are activated when you turn on the rear defrost. Congratulations you paid a great price as well. I bought a 2000 SE with same options as yours plus traction control with 45K for 14,200 I already own a 95 and my wife loves her new car, especially since she likes to race other cars off the line.

 

dmplus,

I am still amazed that we got such a good deal on our car, but it was a from a very nice private owner, who had just bought himself a Mercedes SLK and wanted to sell.

Thanks for the tip on the mirrors! I was feeling pretty stupid when I was trying to tell my wife how to turn them on, LOL!



~KK

 

guys you are so lucky where did you get those kind of deals? my friend just got a fully loaded 1999 SE 5 spd 38K miles for 14,400.

 

Y2KMaxGXE-R,

I live in Frederick, MD but had to drive to McLean, VA (near the Washington D.C. area) to purchase my Maxima.

The previous owner was a VERY nice lawyer (probably in his late 40's) with no kids and had just bought himself a new SLK. He was asking $16,000 for the Maxima.

Anyway, my wife and I are a little younger (we're both 27), and we only had a budget of $15,000 to spend on a "new" car before taxes, titling, etc. I'm active duty Navy, so I got pre-approved for a loan and had the money ready to buy that day.

After seeing and driving the Maxima, we told him what our price point was and he and his wife kindly accepted our bid.

It was such a nice experience, compared to the 2 dealers in this area who lied to us and said certain cars were in stock just to get us to drive 50 miles to their dealer and then try and "interest" us in something else!


I always have preferred to buy from private sellers even if the cars need a little more work.


~KK

 

KombatKing, I live in Owings Mills, only 50 miles from you. Buying from a private owner has its own pros and cons. It is certainly to the best to find a seller who doesn't really care about $2000 (wealthy enough) and someone who is professional and mature that the car is not "worn out" in those short few years. Best of luck to you and let the car serve you well years to come!

 

I think I have you all beat. I got a 2001 SE 5 spd,17 in. tires w/ the six spoke alloys, fully loaded w/leather. Only options I don't have are TCS and heated seats. The car only had 2788 miles on it, and i paid $18,800! The only question I have is my Max has plaques on the door that say SE Limited. I have never seen this before and the dealer was clueless. Anyone seen a SE "Limited" before?

 

as far as I know they stopped making the SEL's (SE Limited) in 99. Someone probably put that badging on the car themselves for some reason since there never was a SEL 2000 2001 (if you rule out the Anniversary Ed.) 2002 or 2003, but I imagine they will make a 03 Limited around the end of the model year before they introduce the 2K4's so they can move the ones on the lot before the all new ones come out.

 

In all honesty, you need to understand that you have a SE that someone decided to put badges on. You do not have any special top secret rare limited SE. Hey you got a great deal, but it's just an SE.

 

congrats and welcome to the 2k club!

we may not have the 3.5 and some of the gadgets of the newer 5th gens, but our TSB list is shorter... which is what i really care about!

i have 56k on mine - i bought it new with 6 miles on it - and it's been nothing but a complete pleasure to drive. i think your wife will have a great time in it!

when she gets used to the power, maybe by then we'll have a supercharger available, and you can spice it up a little for her!

 

Hey, congratulations on the purchase...

to answer some of your questions...

If yours is a 2001, make sure you check out underneath the rear driver's side wheel well and make sure that you have a protector for your fuel line going to the fuel door. If you see a bare line, then go to the dealer and have the fuel filler splash guard put on so that it doesn't get worn down from road salt and dirt and stuff. Should be under warranty.

Also, I've talked to a bunch of other 2001 Maxima owners, and the starting problem is not unique to you, it seems to be a fairly common thing. It happens I live with it, every now and then I take it to Nissan, and they tell me nothing is wrong (and this is two different dealerships)

good luck with your max, and don't waste all your cash modding your car like I did.

 

We live by a guy who typically buys for other used dealers and it typically kind enough to sell to the public but he doesnt really negotiate (since his main customers are other dealers) we were looking for a loaded 2000 maxima with under 50K miles for 14K pretty much near impossible, but this one came up on his lot at 14,800 so I expressed interest and they said they dont move on prices, they said maybe 100 bucks, but after a couple days they said they'd do 14,200, and that was close enough for me. Especially since all other comparible maximas were about 17,000 to 19,000. Very different from other dealers. He could care less if he sold a car to the public he moves over a hundered cars a month through his small operation. In fact he's got a few 2002 se's for around 16K righ now.