the reason why im asking this is that everyone around me thinks ALL/most used cars arent realiable, and I just decide to look for another maxima instead of something expensive.

some people i know who bought used cars.

92 civic costed around 5000$, he spend 3000$ on repairs then decides to sell it and get a brand new bmw.

89-90 camry wagon cost 3000$, repairs 1000$, more problems but he does not have the money and time to fix it.

95-96 eclipse - 13000? around... broke down.. too many problems

early 90 audi forgot which one. cost around 3000, stop working after like a week.

95 E class bought it for 20,000$ , spend around 4k fixing ...

96 eclipse, 16000$, spend about few hundreds

all of them asked for a mechanic to inspect the car, and it ran fine, but then after a few weeks, problems started to appear.

They also think that manual transmission tend to break down more often cause the drive may break down the transmission when learning how to shift.


so how many of you bought used maximas? have problems? how many miles when u bought it?

wat about other cars ? I always thought civics have less problems

 

bought my '95 SE w/50k miles. Engine was in GREAT condition, as well as the interior. The exterior had a few dings.

Overall for a 7-year old car it is in superb condition and feels like new!

 

my dad: '89 caravan(axles went bad twice, engine crapped out, just a bad car, 4cyl was too weak for that heavy *** thing)...bought used for $5000, about equal or slightly more in repairs

me: 91 Maimxa no unusual probs(except bad tranny, common for early 3rd gens)-$2000 one time fix *knock on wood* bought used in '99 for $6k

my friend: '86 Accord(only thing that broke was the radiator and a bad clutch) over 275,000 miles on it currently and still running strong!! he bought it used for $1800, paid under $4-500 for repairs...my vote for most reliable car I've ever seen!

but then there is his other car '95 Eclipse GST(aka the "Debt Inducing Money Pit"), engine blew(before mods), "repaired" for $2k....crankshaft is still bad, new/used engine will cost him $2k plus install! his tranny is also acting up now....all in all he's spent(or will be) close to $4k++ in repairs on this car he bought for $8k one year ago! but when the SOB is working, its damn fast!!!

all in all used cars aren't bad, its totally dependent on the car...as for my 91 GXE, aside from usual maintenece its pretty much still holding its own at 12 years of age! *knock on wood*

 

had a 95 grand prix, paid about 11k and had nuthin but problems. prob about 5k in repairs in the 3 years i ownen it.
bought a 99 gxe back in april and so far not a problem at all

 

got my 96 maxima in 98 with 20K miles
once the o2 sensor broke, dont rememebr how much, the axles broke after about 60K, but other than that runs good
right now it has 104K miles, needs new engine mounts, but that is because i drive it like i stole it all the time lol it is an auto

 

I sold a 89 Prelude SI 5 speed with 170,000 on it. The guy who baught it from me lives around the block. I sold him the car in 99 when I got my new Mamima. He's got almost 200,000 on it and he's never had any problems with the car. I have to give Honda credit here, they build excellent cars! I've owned 3 of them. This is my first Nissan. I'm a very happy with Nissan so far. Lets see how this car does when the mileage gets up into 100,000 or so.

 

Bought mine in May 2001, and I have had no problems. But then again, I've only put ~3000 on it, and it now has 67,000.



*edit*

Car I had previosly was a 1984 Pontiac Parisienne 305 5.0L V8. I bought it with just over 100K, and sold it with 170K, still running great.

Bought it for $2000
Sold it for $760 Cash

 

i bought a 97 jetta with like 25k miles on it for $15000 then in 6 mos I spent 3k on probs with it. I later traded it in for my i30. now im selling my i30 and gettin a max...

 

I bought my first max in 1990, it was a 90 max gxe with 18,000 miles. Never had a problem with the car until 178,000 miles tranny died. My 95 max was a program car and it had 9000 miles on it and I put over 160,000 trouble free miles on it. I had more minor problems with my 2k max se than any other car I have owned. But that will still not prevent me from buying nissan cars. After all of the abuse the first 2 maximas endured I am still amazed they ran for such a length of time without failure.

 

Bought my 97 in November 01 not a problem yet, just had to change tires and i need some new brake pads. Sister's 94 Jetta bought in 1997 had so many problems about $5k in repairs and the POS is in the garage again cause the manual tranny crapped out on her.

 

I got my 99 GLE in August '01 and it has 65k miles on it. It runs great and even better since it was just repaired from a car accident. Old woman collided right into me. I only have to get new brake pads and tires. Thats it! KNOCK ON WOOD

 

i got a huge pay check one week from working 12 hour days during thanksgiving, with the over time i got 500 bucks. My friend and i went on bargain news and hunted for cars in our area. We found a bunch but the first one we were led to was from a guy who called us back on my cell phone. It was a 92 saturn SL1 and he was asking 1000, standard no dents good shape, few problems of course but runs, and 161000 miles. I went there smacked the 500 cash on the hood of the car told him it was my only offer. He took it cause he was movin and wanted to get rid of the car. I have had it for a month and it has not failed me yet, however the clutch in this car is going also. but i fugre 200-300 bucks fix it up and sell it for 1000 in the spring. Fun for those snowy days, keep the max in the warm garage. baby passed emissions with 10-15% alcohol in the tank!

 

I had a 81 200SX, bought it for $400, spent almost $4500 in over three years of ownership. Sold it for $395.

I had a 87 Prelude, bought it for $2800, kept it for over two years and after $3000+ in repairs, sold it for $1300 w/ 146k miles.

In Oct 1998 I bought by 95 GXE. I bought it for $9000 with 62k miles I kept it for almost two years and had about $800 worth of repairs, but because of my extended warranty, it only cost me a $50 copayment. Sold it with 89k miles for $8500 (Trade in).

In Aug 2000 I bought by 99SE for $19,000 with 32k miles. No repairs thus far (knock on fake wood).

 

Got my '97 Max SE w/ a lil less that 29k on it in 99. I'm at 93k+ and haven't had any problems. I guess I was lucky.

 

I got my 1995 GLE used in 1998 with 52k miles then. I have over 152k miles on it now, and had replaced the O2 Sensor back at 54k miles and recently at 140k miles, the starter. Other than new hydraulics to hold the hood up, the car runs fine.

 

i got my 96 max in the summer of 99 with 46,000 on it. 2 and a half years and 30,000 miles later i havent had a single problem that wasnt my fault (dents and such) no mechanical things needed to be fixed. had to replace the orginial breaks this past year but thats not unexpected. my mom used to have a Mazda MPV. she got it brand new in 92 i think and had 6 sets of breaks in the 3 years she had it. i cant imagine how a used one of those is running now, if at all.

 

Bought my 97 GXE in 98 with 29k on it. The car has 67k on it now and I've replaced nothing other than wear items. No problems.