I have 2 questions but wanted to use one thread so I didn't clog up the forums with my questions.

first off this is my first thread , I am from a small town in mid - missouri and I just bought a 1996 nissan maxima about a month ago , as a DD , I also have a 1998 civic ek with an ITR motor that is my fun car since its gutted and suspension is set up for auto-x at gateway in ST.louis MO. if you guys ever go to any of those , deffinately hit me up.

anyways , now to the POINT.

I bought my maxima and was in a huge rush at 8:30 at night and I needed a DD BAD. so I ended up picking this up for 2100 , and so far have put 300 in it for fixing iginition switch , changing oil and tranny fluid since the old owner did not know when it was last changed . and a walmart stereo install since the radio was non working , I at least needed a cd player or something.

well I didn't really look the car over well enough in the dark and I dont know how I missed this

heres the album of photos http://s796.photobucket.com/albums/y...xima%20damage/

Is this easily fixable ? if so how much? I would assume I need the following?

hood (little dings all over it)
driver fender(obviously)
and possibly a front bumper?
and a headlight , which I will most likely just upgrade both while I am at it

should I just repaint the front? or since I will most likely be spending 500$ on that should I just go for the whole respray? since I have a key mark on my QP and door dings =(

now to my other question ,

did I get ripped off? I paid 2100 , needed 300 worth of work since the stereo did not work. it still needs 4 brake pads , muffler and LCA bushings I beleive , struts are new but ride is still hella rough.

its a 1996 , not sure of trim level , grey cloth , no roof , spoiler and some brand new enkei 16's that I sold for 400$ so I got my 300 back +100 for brake pads at least. I had some old maxima wheels in the garage anyways so I just threw those on. runs real well AC is like ****ing poland. just cosmetic issues , like the door dings , and clear on trim and spoiler is gone.


whew sorry for the long post , hopefully I wont get flamed for such a long post but eh , I like to be thorough . thanks for reading guys.

 

It runs well, ice cold air... from the images, it's not in overall bad shape - replace the hood (find same color) - see if you can find where under the car is pushed in - as that is why the bumper/grill are not lining up with the hood, and why the lights are askew... A shop may be needed to put it on a frame machine to pull the front into alignment. I think the bumper is able to be saved, the driver fender may be able to flexed back into shape since there are no 'crease dents' in it....

Overall - NO you didn't get ripped off - though if you'd examined better you may have knocked the price down a bit - but over all with it being mechanically sound you did ok.

 

Dont know if you got ripped off or not. Not like you can take the car back and say "Give me my money". How many miles? (I spent 1300 on my 97 with 200K on the od an auto and some issues)

I would probably see about getting another fender (That one may be moveable, but dont know)?

On a side note, I live in St. Peters, MO and dont race but know where Gateway is.
S

 

its only got 118k miles on it and the interior is NICE and smells good and no rips few cig holes but I digress.

the fender has been painted horribly! so I may need a new one.

does it look like the frame is bent? cause thats what I am afraid of.

 

It does look like a bent frame to me, but it's hard to tell until just from pictures. It might be as simple as a pushed-in fender.

 

thats an aftermarket fender bro, no nissan sticker and it was hit in the front drivers side bumper too and thats why it is all f'ed up lookin and sideways like that. i'd question the mileage too after seeing those pics of underneath the hood and you saying you had to change all the fluids. have someone you trust really look it over and make sure nothing else pops up, scan for codes, etc. good luck!!!

 

That fender is a different color compared to the door and the bumper, so the car was hit once before. It could be that the frame piece that runs across the front and has the radiator in it was probably bent in the first accident and was never straightened/replaced. Then the guy bumped into something after the fender was replaced and that dislocated the bumper.

 

I would check the upper raidator support. It was hit from that corner but I don't think it was repaired properly hence why your light and fender is not lining up properly.

 

Dude, are you kidding that Max looks Great considering its a DD!

Just make sure you check your Radiator Core Support. Dont worry about little dings

unless you dont mind spending the money on a DD.

Buy a set of 97-99 Headlights and a GLE Chrome Grill and youll be set!

 

Yeah it does look like the radiator support is bent in some, maybe a nice fender bender after it was repaired before caused this nuisance, but nothing too major from what I see in the pictures you provided, may just need to take the bumper off find the slight hit spot and pull it out, not really hard considering that it may only be your radiator support, nothing really structurally wrong looking, also like said before you may not need to change your bumper, or anything but your lights once you staighten the radiator support. And for the price and miles doesn't seem like a bad find, good luck man on the new DD I hope this helps man.

 

wow thanks for the great responses guys ! I have a local body shop here do all my work , I am trying to go the cheapest route possible , what I plan on doing is going to the local pick n pull , find a hood , fender and 97-99 front bumper , and then take it to the body shop already dissassembled (saves on labor ) ask them to FIT the fenders and hood , after that I am sure I can line up the bumper , and then once its fitted , wait another paycheck take off the fenders and hoods and bumper , and the spoiler , door trim and door handles and have them repaint it . if I can spend 500-600 and stay in that budget I would be pretty happy. do you guys think I should do that or just do a whole respray since the paint is 14 years old?

 

and the mileage is true , its just dirty in there , the guy who had it did not care about it much . but I like fixxer uppers just hate having body work done because I cant do body work myself.

 

X2

 

I agree with Fallen...

Car got 118k on it and u only paid 2100. Trust me: YOU DID NOT GET RIPPED OFF.

I also agree with Maxride (even tho i dont like that guy lol)...the car been in a accident before, thats why its all bent up.

If u got the cash then yeah, clean her up and get the shop to pull frame a lil bit to make her right. Check rad support too but i dont think thats even an issue.

If it was me i wd jus get a rubber hammer, coupla clamps, and a bunch of big guys and pull the frame as best we cd. Make sure everything was bolted up and say F-it. Use the money for somethin else safety related.

Car look good man, jus clean her, mod her, and u be good!!!

 

also I have decently new struts but the car rides like ****. its amazingly smooth on a smooth road or around a corner (unless the road has cracks in it.)

but over small bumps or cracks in the road , its so noisy and bumpy. does this sound like control arm bushings? or maybe my ****ty contitrac continential tires , they are 60 profile so I thought with all that sidewall I would be fine.... but maybe they are ****.

 

idk man...suspension not my thing.

If u have new struts, then its probalby bushings or swar bar links.

 

I haz no sway -bar ROFL.

 

U have no stablizer bar??? U kidding??? yo man replace that lol. It has the links on it and connects to LCA.
FSM pg FA-21

 

I dont have an FSM quite yet , but I will soon , could that be my problem as far as handling goes? I almost want get the front end kit from FCP or whatever for 120 , just for preventative maintenance. I think it would be a good deal . and then I can buy a sway bar from a pick n pull and install it while I am down there.

 

I allways thought sway bars were just "extra" in the suspension department , I never knew it was a necessity.

 

PM sent

 

i was just missing my swaybar mounts and it was a huge difference with new mounts, nevermind missing the whole thing

 

how much would you guys expect to pay at a junkyard for fender , hood , and front bumper?

 

70-100 bucks each part. Depends if u remove the hardware yurself too

 

Zalley, you live in the St. Louis area? PM me and we can hit the yards up. I think Pick N Pull has fenders for 45?
S

 

aw for sure hit me up I found a brand new bumper up there so I am going to STL soon , hit me up with your number , just PM me

 

45? God bless the Lou!!!!

 

is it even worth it to fix or should I just sell it? I think I can pull the frame myself after some thought , and you cant learn without trying , I am gonna take the bull by the horns , not to worry I do have some help with prior experience so I am not in the dark by any means. but what does everyone think? Keep and make it into a WONDERFUL DD with fresh paint , simple front lip and small custom sideskirts (most aftermarktet is too ricey , these are sideskirts from a cobalt sedan that I made fit. ) and a stock engine. with tint and 350z wheels. what do you guys think? I dont care about performance I just want a DD with reliability that doesnt really look like the run of the mill max.

 

yo man, to be honest, i wd try to pull it myself. Make sure everythin nicely bolted down and jus walk away. Try to make it clean as possible, but its still a used car and its in pretty good shape. Jus do what u can and keep it.

 

nothing wrong with run of the mill. 4th gens are sexy. But your plan is nice. I kinda dig the burgundy myself. Just make sure its even all around. I got a '96 too. If you find a nice simple looking front lip, let me know. I haven't really found one I like.

 

did u carfax it does it have a salvage title it could be all fvked up man and have 300k miles next time u buy a car check it out in the day and carfax it bring some 1 that knows about cars if u dont even if its only 2100

 

oh I know about cars ,not an expert but been in the game for 2 almost 3 years , learning as I go , but I just got into a hurry. Too ancy. simple as that.

Ive seen alot of lips in sigs I wouldnt mind having , the front lip I actually want to be kind of aggressive , I want it to look as close to a 240sx as possible I love those frontt ends and the 4th gens reflect that body style I think. I can deff dig the burgundy it just needs the right wheels to set it off.

 

LINK IN MY SIG!

 

dont see a sig?

 

Its in his first initial post in this thread right below mine.