Alright guys, here's the deal. My brother works at Carmax and they just pulled in a '99 Maxima 5 speed for $1,700. As soon as he heard about this he gave me a call and I told him to put a hold on it. I'm probably going to be looking at it by the end of the week and I was wondering if there's anything mechanical I should be keeping an eye out for at approx. 155,000 miles.

Thanks in advance-

 

Coils, knock sensor will likely need to be replaced if they're original. If it's ever been up on a hoist (I hope to god it has at some point), check the parking brake cables on the trailing arms, they tend to get caught up when idiots lift the car by the trailing arms.

Search around the org, there's a bunch of threads about what to look for in a used Max.

 

Just the usual stuff that fails such as the alternator, coil packs, knock sensor, sticking calipers, hood struts, shocks. Thats a great price for a 99, I sold my 97 with 148k miles for $4500, if it's sound jump on it.

 

For $1700 you can't expect the world. However, I would be most concerned with the body rather than mechanical. Bodywork is so expensive.

 

Wow thanks for the instant replies guys. I know there was a recall on alternators back then, so I'm hoping it's been done at least somewhat recently. Also, $1,700 is a price that Carmax gave the selling customer when they came in and wanted to get rid of it. I'm not exactly sure how they come up with the pricing but about a month ago my brother bought a '95 Legend with 86k for $2000. Not bad if you consider all it needed was a speed sensor(which he lovingly had me replace)....thanks again and keep the feedback coming!

 

I think thats a great deal, and the general maintenance requirements and tune up that pretty much everyone is going to recommend will be outweighed. I say go check it out and see what condition it's in, also get an OBD2 scan and check for CEL's. Look for any obvious problems or things that suggest that it's been in an accident or abused.

Eitherway sounds like a great deal id try and ****** it up.

 

Buy it.....I'm sure it doesn't burn oil yet either at 155K.

 

If the body is in good shape. Buy it. Mechanical is much easier and less costly to do.

 

For $1700 it's worth the gamble i think. If it was a dud, you could part it out for way more i'm sure.