Hi guys, ok

So I have been talking to this seller for about 2 weeks now about his really in nice body condition limited edition gold Maxima. Now it is fully loaded with the works, spoiler, sun, leather you name it . Now, He never told me it had a few problems on the phone or on email, but when I went to see him it has a few.

First the car has 128,000 miles. That is one of the only things that were somewhat high was just miles, but it sounds fine for the price he was trying to sell it for. It is a rare dark baby blue color that he says he has never found yet.

When I went see him, of course he was really cool and really professional and than he told me it may have a few problems right when I went to see the car. I was still willing to buy it with the probelms it had cause he was selling it for $6 grand, and cause I am still did not have that much he lowered it to $5500. Than he told me these probelms when I got there...

1. It still had an original clutch he claimed, and he said the clutch may be going but he is gonna get it checked out this week and he was gonna let me know, HE said if the clutch is bad, He will drop the car down to $5000, (Cause that is all I have in cash)

Would that be a good deal? OR are clutches really expensive for a shop to do? I would do it myself, but I lack the tools and lift I once did when I was a mechanic 2 years ago. I know I can get a clutch kit for $150, if I get the cheap crap with advanced auto. Plus it is gonna be a pain in the *** to do and I have to work a lot, so I rather have a shop do it. I just don't know how much they will do it for or if they will let me buy my own parts for them to put it in.

2. Brakes could be less than 50-75% wear. So I would have to replace the pads and rotors most likely, but I will see what happens with that, once he gets them mic-ed out.

3.Inside the wood panel is cracked and sun damaged, So I would need to get that repaired or replaced. He said there is a site that will sell a kit for $50.

4.No stereo or any speakers, cause he wants to sell those for 2 grand(Navi). So I said I will just put mine in, No biggie at all.

5.I think he said it had a small crack on the front lower bumper. <<<<<<*Edit* My mistake, It had a cracked fog Lens.

6.Leather was fine but just has the small stress wrinkles in it you see over time.

7. HE has some-kind of wooden **** in there for the shifter, I did not like, cause it was higher than the stock one, So I asked for the stock one, and he said he will be glad to give that to me with some fog lights.

8. O yea and he lowered the car down I believe 1.7" with H&R springs, It looked really hot all lowered. I just hope he replaced the bushings on the the suspension so I don't have probelms.

So what do you think? Do you think If I can get it for 5 g's it is a good deal for a standard? With some of the probelms? He has been the only owner and he said other than those problems the car has been fine and he took really nice car of it. Also, I should ask him for maintenance slips right? If I can get that of course... lol

I will find out this week what the status is on it when he takes it to the shop for them to check it all out and I am gonna go down and get the title and pay for it. And I will be happy has a ****...

 

You were a mechanic and don't know these answers?

 

He's asking to much imo. The car is hooked up, obviously it was his intension to go fast on it. I think that it's not the OEM clutch and that's it been abused somewhat. I'm actually wondering how he's going to check the clutch...try and lower the price. Tell him 4k make so stuff up about the car and the fact that it has cracks, mess up leather, etc etc. most likely you can leave with the car for around 4-4.5k. I wouldn't pay a penny more. Just my .02 Good Luck with the deal.

 

Price man, That is what I am asking. I never owned a nissian before nor do I know all the prices of them to see if it is a great deal or not with some of the problems.

I can do the brakes no problem by myself, It is just the clutch is the only part.

 

The body is in really nice condition though. The leather looked from fine with no tears or anything.

 

I offered $4800 cash and he would not bite. He did say when he takes it to the shop though he will see if he will lower the price if need be.

BTW the clutch did feel rather sloppy to me,

 

Look for a 97 or 98 with lower mileage that hasn't been beat on.

 

I agree. This sounds like a car that has had some modifications. It's been lowered, plus the wood panelling (which wasn't a factory option as fas as I know). While 128,000 miles is not really a big deal for a Maxima, you would do better looking for a lower mileage car. By the same token, since you RE a mechanic, you can probably buy it and fix it over time. You don't say what you used to work on, but it's seems to be a typical FWD clutch job. With careful shopping and research, you should be able to get it the way you want.

 

make sure u carfax it bro... it will tell you stuff you really want to konw.....

 

If it's really fully loaded, with ABS (check, don't take his word for it) and the cold weather package (heated seats, mirrors etc) then 5k is a good deal. The clutch is a $400 job. Everything else is minor (except the stereo and speakers, that's an expense and time consuming to reinstall)

Does he have the stock speakers and deck to give you? If so, then 5k is ok.

How about maintanence records? No maintenance records, no deal IMO.

I say go for it, but after you run a carfax on it like the ^^^^ said. Trust no one....

Wave $4800 CASH in his face. Cash talks.

 

f it's really fully loaded, with ABS (check, don't take his word for it) and the cold weather package (heated seats, mirrors etc) then 5k is a good deal. The clutch is a $400 job. Everything else is minor (except the stereo and speakers, that's an expense and time consuming to reinstall)

Does he have the stock speakers and deck to give you? If so, then 5k is ok.

How about maintanence records? No maintenance records, no deal IMO.

I say go for it, but after you run a carfax on it like the ^^^^ said. Trust no one....

Yes. He is the weather pack, With heated seats and all. I am pretty sure it has ABS in it, It also came with the 17" premium rims.

Also, He had it all checked out my a mech today and the clutch is gone, He said he kept his word and said he will sell it for $5000.

I could care less about the Bose stereo it had, I will put my own stuff in there. Also.

I will ask him when I go see him again about the mentain record slips.

Well that is lower than I thought, $400 for a clutch job? Now is that a Nissian dealership you think? Or most shops? Cause I may just poke around, And should I buy the Advanced Auto clutch pack for $150?

I have used Carfax before, It is pretty good, but really pricey for a one time use, Since I really don't want to bother.

 

I also don't know if it has been beat on, He is the only owner and he is pretty well off, And in his late 20's.

 

Wave $4800 CASH in his face. Cash talks
true that
And in his late 20's.
beaten for sure

 

[QUOTE=DARQ MXYes. He is the weather pack, With heated seats and all. I am pretty sure it has ABS in it, It also came with the 17" premium rims.
[/QUOTE]

4th gens only came with 15's or 16's, no 17" rims, so they're aftermarket. The clutch isn't that bad of a job, you can do it in a day in your driveway, with only a handful of sockets, a torque wrench, and a large breaker bar or an impact (electric works just fine for the axle nuts).

The Advance Auto clutch isn't terrible, but you can definitely get better for not much more money. Look into a 5th gen clutch setup, seems to be the hot thing around here.

Personally, I think that $5k isn't too bad, but it does have quite a few miles on it (my '95 just rolled onto 90k). If I had $5k cash kicking around, I'd pick it up for a daily driver, but if I was looking for something to have some fun with, I'd rather go for a 95-96 for price, then drop in a 3.5.

 

WTF.....its not pricey at all....much more cost effective then the problems a salvaged car will bring....Unlimited checks is 25 bucks....you can check every car out there....just ask for the VIN and do it....

If you dont, I vote ban for stupidity

 

O great. Ok, well he just got the Car back from the shop and everything checked out fine except the Clutch and now the ABS module.

How much are the ABS modules? Aprox? I am gonna need the ABS for the winter anyway.

 

its a 99 dude, SE limited (cool floormats and emblem on outside, haha) fairly loaded... i believe all SE limited's were ABS, Leather, Bose : fully loaded... $5000 IS A GREAT DEAL AS LONG AS THE CARFAX IS CLEAN.

check the CV joints, check to make sure there isnt a ghost code ( pull the codes regardless of whether or not the light is on) check the filters, how does the motor sound? any exhaust leaks? tire wear/ quality?

come on meng!

 

check the nissan dealer for the ABS module, for my 99 Volvo T6 it ran me $2500 installed. Also, thats a part that you don't see failing a lot, mine went in the Volvo because I stupidly put DOT 3 in a DOT 4 system when I had the car in Germany and it ruined the unit. Get a 5th Gen clutch and have a shop put it in who offers some kind of warranty.

 

ABS is beyond expensive. And apparently no one noticed that he said it came on Premium 17" wheels stock....Since when on a 99???

 

I personally would look around, that seems like a whole bunch of cake to be spending on something with that much mileage. Take your time, shop around. I would hate for you to get stuck w/ somebody's headache.

 

Now the ABS module is bad???

IMO, I'd run like hell. The mileage is high and you only know a few of the problems. More problems are surfacing, and will surface. Since he put on aftermarket rims, you lost the cool and rare 99 SEL rims. If you still want it, spend the $25 for peace of mind. I believe Carfax also has a "one time" deal for $10 too. Don't be a cheap bastard Spend $10 now or possibly hundreds, even thousands later. Or, Paypal me $3 and I'll do it for ya. I have an open account right now.

And when I said $400 for a clutch job, that was the average cost from visiting 5 local shops back when I had my clutch done 6 months ago.

Let us know the outcome. Good luck.

 

Ok, I just called him a minute ago, and if it is the ABS main module and it really expensive he said he will drop the car down to $4800 if it comes to that.

SO we got the ABS module $?
And a new clutch Aprox $400

And he was willing to sell it for $6000 in the beginning.

 

Thanks wizard, Sure, I don't mind doing that, however I need to get the VIN from him first and than I will let you know... thanks

 

I payed $3000 for mine

 

$5000 is a good price for the car. just make sure everything else is working fine. Ask if the ignition coils were changed. It's a problem with 99's.

 

ABS module? do you mean the actual sensors? if it's the sensor's those things are an arm and a leg.. it's $500 CDN just for one sensor! (~$440 U.S.)

 

I was hoping it was just a sensor, Cause the sensors are cheap($40) acording to advanced auto. Well the wheel sensor anyway.

But I just talked to the guy today and he said he went to nissian and they said it will cost $1400 for Nissan to do the job and replace it. but he said Nissan is gonna overcharge anyway and make it like that.

So what should I do guys? He said he will give me the car for $4800 now?

I don't know if he will go lower, He already has been this honest over telling me how much it costs to replace the clutch and the ABS module at nissan already and dropped the car well over a $1200 grand.

 

Well, Freaking FANTASTIC news.

The part is $1150 quoted by Nissan @ parts dept. And than the clutch, So we are looking at a Car that was being sold for $6000 and He already got it down to $4800 but I doubt he will go any less.

I think this would be fine if I bought the car for $3000 as is. What do you think about that? I would think it would be worth it by than, Cause I already got to put $2000 grand of **** in it. So He should sell it for 3G's.

Not to mention it will not pass inspection and the ABS actuator is a safety part.

 

Hey LTU_max, What was wrong with the car and how many miles were on it?

 

it was salvaged and he repaired it.

 

O, ok... That makes sense

 

He will not go lower than $4800. He said the extra $2000 I have to put into it for work should compensate for the mods he did.

All I saw for mods was...

H&R Springs
fog lights
Windows being tint.
*edit add* A cold air intake...

O and he put a new battery and alternator in it.

 

Window tint? Fog lights? H&R Springs? Please. We're talking less than $1000 in the real world. Plus, even if he bought everything new (ok, tint excluded since it would be hard to get that used) they are not new parts anymore. No matter how much you spend on mods to a car, you almost never get the money back out.

The new battery and alternator would have to be on the car anyway for anyone to drive it. Those aren't mods, those are maintenance items. Sure, they should be taken into account when pricing a car (if they haven't been changed, you should lower the price) but they shouldn't ADD value to a car's overall price. Try to sell a car with a bad battery or bad alternator and see what happens... the price will drop dramatically. It's like telling someone you changed the oil with Mobil 1 every 3K miles at $30 a change and then trying to get an extra $2K out of your car... it ain't gonna happen.

You're looking at about $2000 worth of repairs if my counting is right, and that's just to get it driving and passing inspection (ABS system, new brakes, and new clutch) not to mention you've already said it needs some interior / exterior work done (interior panels cracked, crack in the bumper, no stereo or speakers, leather starting to show it's age) and it has 128K miles. So, in all, to get the car looking and driving right, you're well over $2500 plus labor for some of the work.

If he was asking $6000 and went down to $4800 with those few things you mentioned, he should be willing to drop to $4000 or less if he really wants to sell it. If not, he'll wait for someone who doesn't realize how much money needs to be spent to buy it.

If you really want it, pay him for it and be warned that you have a mountain of work in your future. If you can wait, wait. Another car will come along in better shape, with fewer miles, and that will probably be just as cheap or cheaper. Plus, you can save up more money for it.

Just my two pennies. Take it for what its worth.

 

^Thanks Barc for the soild post

argh man, What bad luck I am having... I just checked around shops to see how much a clutch kit would be. And they are saying $1100 installed. Because it is Nissan and FWD.

So I don't know what to do now, Seems like everything is about to fall apart with the car....

So we have The clutch... for $1100 and than the ABS modular for $1400 installed. Now your right Barc it is getting to $2500 of parts and labor. O and this is Excluding getting it on the road, brakes and inspection.

 

O and he put on Clear corners.

 

I am sure the car would make someone a good one provided they could live with the little things being wrong like pieces of the interior and what-not but a clutch is something you can't drive without. The ABS module is something that you shouldn't drive without. Were I the person selling it, I would just tell folks what it has wrong and let them determine the price ("or best offer" type of thing).

I'm with Wizard's post ("I'd run like hell") and would advise you to keep looking. If they aren't willing to drop the price, move on. I've dealt with other people's headaches before and it is never fun. I've learned from that the hard way; ask anyone who has and they'll tell you the same. Unless you can get it for dirt cheap, it just isn't worth it, and even then you will probably wish you had just waited and bought something else. It took me 6 months of searching to find my car but I'm glad I waited. You'll find what you want, you just may have to wait longer than you wanted.

 

Yea, I been looing for 3 months extensively all over...Sites like C-list, Ads like Want-ads...

And I came across a lot of nice ones, but a lot of them were to pricey. One thing that really pisses me off, IS some people charging 7-9 grand for a Maxima with miles 100k and up that is in the Gen 4 years all over most sites like C-list. I think that is a crime if you are private party and it has no really good mods on it.

 

I have a lot of people wanted to sell me their maximas also. Some for cheaper some for around the same price.

This one lady emailed me about selling her Maxima that needed $1200 worth of work for $2900 or b/o. It did not sound too bad, but I told her I would email her later.