whats up, im new here and new to maximas. i just bought a 91 max with 146k miles on it for $500.00. the only problems i know of so far are that i need a new muffler and i think my driver side cv joint is messed up, other then that is seems to run good. but im wondering if its worth it to hook it up. like do these cars last? are parts expensive? what are some good sites to find performance parts?

 

Check the stickies for performance parts, these cars definitely last and parts arent really too bad at all. Internetautomart.com is a good place to get parts to fix your car up and get the OEM parts you need, and sometimes some other cool things. But yeah give us some more info about your car so we can be excited about it with you.

 

Oh definitely dude. That car seems fine to fix up from what youve listed so far, and dependin on the overall condition and options, it sounds like not too bad of a deal either. Just look at some threads and gain some knowledge on what to look out for and whatnot.
Your always gonna have "issues" with a used car but VGs are tanks in my opinion and the car in general looks nice, let alone a clean one with some nice mods.

Congrats on the purchase and welcome to the ORG. Good luck wit it and keep checkin up here on the forums for advice and help and whatnot.

 

That mileage. like new! Junkyards full, lots cheap part in US (alas, I envy that situation). And then, internetautomator.

Before sinking money (need$ tuneup ? ) check this for rust:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=347576

If all ok, compression ok, autobox ? oil red, non slipping, start figuring out what to do. If not ok, just squeeze the lemon.

Btw. For city, maxima is NOT the cheapest mpg.

for VGE check out: http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/748507/1

 

yes it is worth fixing up, if you take good care of it, you can easily get 150,000 miles out of it. it beats a car note.

 

Its not the muffler. I bought my 91 thinking the muffler needed replacing, it turned out to be the y-pipe. Get a warpspeed y-pipe which is your cheapest bet.

 

okay, i have the same question. My pops had one for about 2-3 yrs now and he just gave it to me; i recently insured/registered it in my name. i was thinkin of it as a very temporary thing while i immediately save money and look to buy another car. but he's tellin me to hold off on it for a lil while and put a little money into it.

im thinkin about painting it black.....it's grey now (the front bumper is a darker grey than the rest of the car) and the body is still pretty good with a couple minor scratches/dents. As far as running, it has trouble starting sometimes (i have to pump the acc to help it) and it sometimes idles low (around 500 rpms) when i'm stopped at a light. all in all it still runs pretty well; the transmission is still pretty good. other little things it needs are struts, a new horn. now here's the kicker, the mileage is really high....192K. Now, is THIS worth fixing up and holding on to for another year or so?

 

I would guess 8/10 3rd gens that end up in the junkyard without major accident damage is either because of too much rust, or their auto trannies have died. But overall, these drivetrains are ridiculously durable, and if your car has no rust (be sure to look at that link above), you should definitely keep it. Build quality is superior, and the look is timeless.

 

I hate my maxima.

 

LOL I guess that makes two of us.

j/k

Maximas last for sure, and it sounds like yours was an absolute steal at $500 bucks. I had an 87 SE 5 speed that was still pulling like an Ox north of 227 thousand miles, so with the proper care, they'll last just as long as any Toyota or Honda, bar none.

Certain repairs can be costly. The one repair I always warn people about on 89-94 Maximas is injectors. They are easily the most obvious achilles' heel of these Maximas. Others here can also vouch for this. Internetautomart.com will definitely help you out with these if you need them. With luck yours has had a good set put in. Do you have any records with the car?

Overall, Maximas will last as long as you need them to.

 

There is very easy solution out: no need to carryon THAT hatred. Ripe for honda?

 

wuts up man - i have a 91 maxi- i love it man i bought it about 2 or 3 years ago- my family are long time owners of maximas - had a 84 - a 90- a 91 and (2) 96 maximas in my house- lets not get me started on my cusins and friends-LOL- anyway - parts arent that expensive - like they said and these cars last man - just keep up on ure maint...
good luck - man -

 

I would think that it definitely is worth fixing up...of course depending on the overall condition as it stands now. But you got it for $500.00 and the cv shaft and muffler are the only things going wrong...then I still think you got a deal. Like everyone else on here have been saying...as long as you take care of it by keeping up on standard maintenance...the car will last probably forever! I got a 91 with 127,000 and it still runs GREAT ( I cant say like new, cause I never drove one new...but i would assume its like new) I dont know too much about cars, but EVERYONE tells me and I mean EVERYONE (even non-Nissan fans) say that the maximas will last 200,000m + as long as you take care of it.
I can tell you tho...even tho there really is no comparison between these 2 cars..they dont even fall into any category together...but I went to Cali a few weeks ago and was forced into renting a 2005 Chevy Aveo (ugh), but still it is a 2005!!! - my 1991 max would have blown that **** away...literally. It really made me appreciate my Maxine a lot more than I already do.

 

you got your car for a good price. i paid 800 for a 94 se with 115,xxx and the only thing it needed right off was a spindle and hub and some shocks. you cant beat 500

 

definately worth fixing up. ya my header pipe is effed up, dam that sounds like a HEMI!! LOL dude you see maximas with 220,000 miles and still running strong, i saw a maxima with 445,000 miles engine rebuilt once tranny once i was amazed!!!

 

Hmm, I think you misunderstood. I don't really hate my Max.

 

your car only has 192,000 it won't hurt to put some money into it, its cheape than buying a new car.

 

I acquired a 1990 Texas Maxima last April for the paltry sum of $1550. I have done the folowing to it, AFTER driving it 969 miles in 12 hours and 50 minutes (clock time):
Tires-Firestone LH30 215HR60 15 tires- $287
Struts-Monroe SensaTrac fronts- $ 90
Ball joints- $ 58
Tie Rod ends- $ 32
Front Disc Pads- $ 34
Install all this crap- $100
Blapunkt Indianapolis CD player- $ 98
Speakers (Kenwood/Pioneer)- $165
Wax/wash and detail,- $ 90
Drive 9000 miles in 11months 0
FunFactor Priceless
I see 3rd gens in the u-pull -it lot with motors and trannies still in them, but seldom under 250k-300k miles, and even got a glimpse of one with 488k on the clock. (Not a misprint- Four hundred eighty eight thou miles) It was really rough and not much left to "strip"...
Is it worth it? How much fun can you have driving a 4 door sedan?

 

Almost every study shows that it's cheaper to buy almost any used car, fix it, drive the sucker into the ground than it is to own a new car. I love nice and flashy things, but no need to drop $30k into a car. $500 + $1k in work is fine. If you can get away with a couple of hundered bucks your doing pretty sweet. And the car was made in Japan = the engine will run forever unless you don't take care of it.