GAWD, I'VE DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN !!!

finding this baby was no easy task. new orleans, a relatively small (500k) and poor city with THE WORST ROADS IN THE COUNTRY (it IS, after all, built on top of a swamp) is the WORST place in the world to look for a used car. and i just get sick of salesmen telling me "8,000" for a 6,500 dollar car. so i had to resort to the web, with a few ground rules:

- NO snow cars (i've lived in NYC);
- NO car buying blind no matter how cool it sounded (duh):
- gotta be close enough to new orleans that it won't take me 3 days to get it home (no CA cars);
- NO autotrader.com - more dealers asking 8,000 for one with 135,000 on it.

i knew EXACTLY what i wanted - a 95 SE (96 if i could swing it) w/80K miles or less, auto, sunroof, ABS, and hopefully leather. everything else seemed to be standard on the SE. AND AT THIS POINT I CAN'T STRESS HOW MUCH I'VE LEARNED ABOUT MY MAX FROM THIS BOARD...MANY THANKS EVERYONE!!!

the 1st one i saw on ebay was black on black leather in houston w/93k. i followed bidding to get an idea of pricing...5400...okay, this might be the way to go. the next one was in tampa - 63 freakin K miles, no leather but ultra-clean. had it inspected - it was A1. start in bidding and some rat-bastaad bids one frickin dollar more than me 20 seconds before the end of the auction. LOSER!!!

my wife says "there'll be another one tomorrow, honey" as only wifes can do. she was RIGHT! an excellent 95 w/80K!!! i shot and I SCORED - 5900 smackaroos!!!

flew yesterday to jacksonville, FL to pick it up - a straight 540 mile shakedown cruise home down I-10 awaited me. dealer had topped off the tank so, given the legendary mileage of the maxima, i was set till the hotel.

let me tell you (as if i need to), this is one of the most solidly built, solid performing, comfortable cars i've ever driven. it BLOWS the DOORS off the 95 ES300 we had years ago - well, maybe not QUITE as quiet, but not far behind. it smokes the GTI VR6 i had before this. aand while not (again) as quiet or luxurious as my wife's GS300, it compares VERY favorably with it. power to spare, 27 mpg at 80 mph, excellent ergonomics, maybe the best handling front driver i've ever driven...the list is endless.

today, i stopped in pensacola, florida to soak up some beach, then had lunch with a buddy in naval flight school. he saw it and said "that's a 95?"... it drove flawlessly on the last leg home, and when i hit LOUISIANA (you can tell, because all of a sudden the roads SUCK), the tight structure of my max took the the bumps/uneven pavement in stride. when i pulled into my driveway, my neighbors were out front. they checked it out - i said "let's go for a drive". they said "man, this car feels like it was cut from one pice of steel". they drive large Benz sedans. enough said.

i will have LOTS more questions over the next few years, and the kirin ichibans (japanese beers) are starting to kick in. so i will end this with the following simple statement...

MAN, AM I GLAD I DIDN'T GET A CAMRY !!!

 

congrat! now slap some mods on

 

i bet you just MIGHT have a suggestion or two, huh.

thanks, i'm really digging the car.

 

congrats!! make sure your first mod is a GOOD security system, cuz the stock ones SUCK

 

I agree, I would be completely lost without all of the help and contributions on this board...KUDOS to you all !!

 

I second that notion...get an alarm, then a ypipe, then a rsb...Congrats on the car, I had a 95 se 5spd, but it was totalled. Now I have 98 se 5spd. It took me a year to find this car!!!

 

make sure you get some dc's asap.then an intake. one mod will slowly lead to another, and another, and another..... sounds like a nice buy...I see a 5spd conversion in your future....

 

this is actually the first auto i've ever had. my GTI was a stick and it was fine, but i've gotten spoiled driving the wife's lexus. and not being...ahem...a kid anymore (my 20s are long gone), i'm just tired of dealing with the stick IN THE CITY (we live IN new orleans). too much stop and go... the max has plenty of juice for an auto. it'll top out 30 mph higher than i'll ever drive it.

as for alarms, i know the stock system is just doors. so i porbably need window and motion coverage. any suggetions? and what will it run?

 

Congrads on your purchase. I got my 98 se 6 days ago with only 24k miles on it. I know just how you feel

 

i wouldnt say get an alarm, but i think if you can get an engine immobilizer cheaper, go that route. d/c's are definitely a plus. Congrats on your purchase

 

what the h3ll is a d/c? thanks for the congrats.

 

Diamond Clears. Clear bumper signals is what they are.

 

Welcome aboard!!

Diamond Cut Clear Corners (aka d/c)...you can get them cheap on ebay!!A must for any Max.

 

even my WIFE thinks they look better! considerng altezzas also.

the d/c makes the car look 100% better.

 

wait and go for custommaxima's 95-96 red clears, SOOO MUCH better than Altezzas IMHO
and welcome my friend

 

any pics? current altezzas on sale for 119...maybe that's why, huh?

 

yeah congrats my friend and autotrader.com does indeed suck !

 

I second that!!! but is it possible to purchase a car in the US and bring it over to Canada? (probably) but how much will it cost to do that? just woundering.

 

i have no idea of how much it will cost my friend