I'm looking forward to buying my first car during the spring. I have about a $5,000 budget and I've finalized my choice down to a Nissan Maxima 4rth Gen (preferably 95) SE or GXE 5-Speed. Only problem is that every Maxima I look at is either expensive with very low miles or in my range with very high mileage(90,000+). For some reason there seems to be very few in between wich leads me to believe that Maxima's are very reliable cars and are not sold until driven to dust. My question is how many of you Maxima owners have high mileage on your cars and how many engine problems have you run into if any. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated...Thanx

 

i bought a 95 SE almost 3 years ago with 80k miles...it now has 204k rough miles on it, i keep telling myself i'll just wait for it to die and ill get a new car , but it hasnt yet...i've had to replace the auto tranny at 160k miles , water pump at the same time...and drive axles about once a year....

 

I own two 95 Maxima since new. An SE and GXE, both with manual transmission. The SE has 191,000 miles, the GXE 110,000 miles. Both are extremely reliable. The only thing that's not normal is the rear Oxygen Sensor that fails prematurely at around 100,000 miles. But that part is non-functional, so replacement is purely optional.

For $5,000 you should not have any problem finding a good to excellent 95 Maxima with less than 90,000 miles. And by the way, 90,000 is really nothing. Properly maintained, this car lasts 200,000 miles easily.

Sam

 

Man 201k miles on it with just the tranny replace,drive axels,and water pumps. Thats nothing to me, I have a whole line of mechanics at my disposal. Hehe oxygen sensor, yeah like you really need that! And if you say so 200,000 miles. I won't beat on it and I'll probably end up replacing a majority of the OEM parts so I guess . Then again whats the point in having a 3.0L DOHC 6-cylinder engine if you can't have a lil fun in it.. Thanx guys, really great help.

 

After you buy it just maintain the car (use NGK plugs) and you'll be fine. The engine won't be a problem, but the clutch might (for a 5 speed) and maybe the suspension. You'll have the replace the O2 sensors and maybe the knock sensor. Check in to the Chicago thread when you buy it http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=260806

After you buy the car, get a y-pipe first since it'll give you more HP and better MPG (it'll pay for itself after a while since you'll be saving some gas money every time you fillup)

 

my last max had 250 before i sold it and only had to do a regular tranny rebuild and stuff like that, and its still running.

 

Treat it like you treat your girlfriend and it will be good to you. oil change ever 2500 w/93 octane. Take a look at the FAQ's and you'll be alright. Hope to see you on the org more often. Welcome.

 

I have only had mine a little while, I bought it and it had about 90,204 miles on it. 3,000 miles later and it still purrs like a kitten. Haven't run into any problems yet, and knowing Nissan I doubt that will be for a long time if at all. Not exactly the same car but my mom had a 1985 200SX for 11 years/280,000 miles before she traded it in and it still worked great. And the newer they get, the better they're made--if that makes sense.

 

Does the y-pipe really help gas mileage, i thought it took it away, cause more air is moving through the exhaust??? I hope it does...
BTW i got my 96 SE 5-speed black on black with 100,000 miles on it, fully loaded with every option but heated seats in mint condition for 6,000 so im sure you can get something good for 5000

 

With 5k You Could Buy An Se Every Option, Including Leather!! Best Advice Is "have Patience!!!!" Take Your Time, Do Alot Of Searching.. You Will Get Your Dream Car. Good Luck.

 

almost 90k, still running great. I'd knock on wood, but I don't think I have to. anything under 100k and your maxima is still a baby.

good luck shopping.

 

it's like any other car.....if it was taken care of, then yeah, it'll be reliable. If the last owner(s) beat the **** outta it, then it will poop on you and laugh.

 

It does since it removes the pre-cats The pre-cats are there to keep your emissions down until the cat it heated up. That's why when you drive the car cold, your MPG is terrible (car runs rich). I get like 14-16 MPG during the winter and like 16-18 MPG during the summer. I'm hoping for a 20+ MPG after I use Sea Foam and get the new y-pipe with new O2 sensors (almost at 103k miles).

You probably won't get higher MPG if you keep going WOT

 

I'm up to 115K on my 99 Max and I haven't had to do anything to it but regular maintenance. I have done a bit of performance mods, and I drive the car hard as he!!. Get the 95 or 96 so you can do all the better mods. These cars will run forever if you treat it good. 93/94 Octane all the time, and Mobil 1 synthetic. You can easily add oil and tranny(auto) coolers to prolong the life of teh car.

 

93 Octane eh? Thats like premium gas(the good stuff). Also very very very expensive. Meh, I'v been working jobs all damn year to save up for this car I suppose a lil rich gas won't hurt. As for Y-pipes I was looking forward to buying those anyways. I know the O sensor knocks out fairly quick. My best friend has a 4rth gen and his O sensor went at about 30k when he first bought it. Whats up with that? Is Nissan cheaping out on us or what?

 

im 140k and myfriend rafel is 200k and still running strong adn still modding. Im ona budegt to and i was when i bought my maxima.

 

121k.. still runs great..cept clutch oem clutch is starting to slip..knock sensor went bad 3k ago.

she starts hard on cold days, starter is starting to go i guess

found strut bearings crushed when i did my suspension at 93k.

no other problems besides that.

4th gens were made in japan.. awesome quality.

 

I work at nissan and 4th gens are the cars you usually don't see there. But 5th gens and all year altimas are all over the place. O2 sensors, ****en trannies and **** like that. I've driven like 3 4th gen maximas that still run like champ with 200,000+ miles.

 

i got mine with 89,000 have 93,000 now no problems so far. runs like new.
runs better than some way newer cars just have it checked out before you buy
it

 

Just one thought you might want to consider- If you are going to want to race it- the 96 is 100 pounds lighter than the 95 if I am not mistaken...