So I'd like to start by saying thanks to this forum for giving me the confidence to pull the trigger on a great deal that presented itself! Thanks to all the great information on here, I know that this car will last me a long time!

A few years ago, I asked my friend's parents (who are in their 70's) to let me know when they decided to sell their 2002 Maxima GLE. The reason I wanted it is because they are the original owners, only put about 5K miles on it per year, and take it to the same dealership 2 times a year for an oil change and a full "tune up" where anything the dealer recommends gets fixed or replaced!

So last month my friend let me know that they were about to buy a new car and wanted to give me first refusal, just like I asked for! After some negotiations, I got an insane deal on this amazing car! It's a GLE and literally has absolutely every option available! It also was factory undercoated and is completely rust free with only 56K miles!

Here's some pics after picking it up today and giving it a good bath inside and out. Once I get a chance I'll get some better pictures up.




Upgrade Plan:
5 Wire Grounding Kit (on order)
Unplug electronic motor mount
20% tint
Attempt a clear Plati-dip bra with glossifier (want to protect the perfect paint)
No fouler on O2 sensor (bank 1 sensor 2, bank 2 sensor 2, or both??)

 

No need for an anti fouler on any sensor/bank with only 56k you lucky fool!

 

damn i am super jealous!!!

 

I figured I'd throw one on to make sure I don't get an SES. Which one do I put it on if I decide to do it?

Yeah, I'm still pinching myself because I never thought they'd actually sell it!

 

Wow...that's awesome!

 

Cong! My 2000 SE with 120k mi cost me 2800 from a Craigslist private seller. That's a great deal too. Oh forgot to mention it has an alpine audio system the seller installed just 2 years before he sold the car in 2009

 

How much did you pay for the car? finding a 5th gen with that low mileage is rare indeed, no less then 10k I imagine?

 

Decide NOT to do it. Spend your money and energy on something worthwhile. NWP spacers come to mind....A lot more money, but a lot more gain.

 

Nice pick up but how much did you spend?

 

If you get rid of the cats now the engine will outlive you

Don't put the antifoulers on b/c then you won't know if the cats are dying if you keep them in there. Not that they will throw a code anyway...

 

Welcome to the club, nice find, especially a clean max with that low mileage.

 

Alright, I wasn't going to post the price because of just how crazy a deal it was, but I got it for what the dealer was going to give them on a trade in (Hyundai Dealer)......$5,750!

Now, don't flame me because you think this will drop the value of your cars. This was a special arrangement that should not reflect the true value of the car. If I were to sell it right now, I would probably ask $9K and have no problems getting it. I also have the original sales documents as well as every receipt from when the car was serviced!!

So, for now I won't put in anti foulers. I hopefully won't have a problem because the car doesn't consume any oil between changes which means the cats shouldn't plug up.

Now for the engine mount, do I really need to unplug it with the RPM's over 1K or can I just unplug it when it's turned off? I would just like to avoid it leaking and frying my ECU.

As for mods, this is my daily driver so stock is the plan. I want to try and extract as many MPG's from it as possible, and if HP increases along the way then that would be great!

 

That is a really good deal, especially if its been well taken care of!

 

Damn that's awesome mileage. If I found another Max with mileage like that I'd probably get it.

Oh and welcome!

 

Welcome. Car look really clean. And do not put the non foulers. You do not need them. Most of us run our maximas to 200k or more and if exhaust is stock never touch it.

 

Uh correct me if i'm wrong.. The ECU would not fry because of stock motor mounts.. The ECU doesn't even control the mounts.. right? Start with suspension upgrades.. Stillen rear and front strut bars and progress rear sway bar, then go for motor parts as $ becomes available at your disposal.. Also, the torsion beam bushings in back WILL go bad at around 100k miles from everything I gather on forums. These are stock things that could be replaced or upgraded/modded. The back torsion beam bushings are a b1tch to do unless you can find a knowledged shop or a friend that knows what their doing.. or you can pay nissan 1200 dollars to replace the rear beam for you.. (maybe if I was a baller! No playboy bunnies around my house son!)

 

The ecu DOES control the electronic motor mounts, there is a possibilty of it frying the ecu and idle air control vavle (IACV) if it goes bad for some unknown reason,its well documented on this site. So if your cars running great first thing i would do is disconnect those electric mounts and enjoy it great buy.

P.s. I dont think u should worry about the rear bushings i got 210k and mines looked 90% good when i checked

 

You beat me to the reply! I researched on this forum for about a month before buying the car and yes, the engine mount can and will fry your ECU. Yoshimitsu, if you haven't yet, you might want to unplug yours. For the torsion beam bushings, I haven't seen anything about that. Can you post a link of a post that sums up the issue and fix?

DjHackStyle, did you unplug yours with the engine off or while above 1000 rpm? Also, I thought in 2002 there was only one electronic mount on the front of the engine?

As for upgrades, there won't be any. I have a mint condition '93 MR2 Turbo that I just bought last year. I will be using all extra cash to upgrade and maintain it since it's my weekend cruiser and amature race car (SCCA AutoX and Road Racing).

 

I dont have an auto so im not totally familiar with the setup im just aware of the issue

 

congrats on a great find! that maxima looks like it's in show room condition

 

Really nice find and I sure love that mileage! Congrats.
Those rare finds are still out there. I was able to pick up a very well maintained 2003 SE, Titanium Edition, a month ago, from an original owner, with 84k miles.

 

nice deal LOL i thought i got a good deal when i got a 2002 max GLE with 128k for
4k lol

 

I know you won't and its understandable...but If I just locked that deal down i would do all bolton power mods available except cams etc and let that engine finish breaking in with all the mods intact. Would be a strong runner!

 

IACV on an 02-03 w/ TBW? First I've heard of it.

And to the OP, why antifoulers? I wouldn't since I fail to see the point.

 

Okay so if the motor mounts are messed up, they can FRY THE IACV...didn't know that, what would be a symptom that the IACV is fried..

NICE CAR BRO, and I thought I got a deal on my 01 AE 114k $3500

 

Man, all of you are making me feel like I got a crappy deal on my Max. $3k for my 02 GLE with 164K.

 

02-03 does not have an IACV due to the TBW, so you don't need to worry about that for the year you have.

00-01 is a different story.

 

Congrats on your low mileage purchase. Take good care of you Maxima, and your Maxima will be a reliable car for a long time.

 

Your car doesnt burn oil cause the cats are not plugged. The cats can plug because the care burns oil. Its like a chicken before the egg thing vice versa. I would say gut the PRE cats. And throw in antifoulers IF you need them. Leave the main cat alone just my 0.02 $

 

On a car this new? Headers all the way...brand new and shiny...

 

WOW. Excellent find and negotiating!
I like white on nissans/infinitis.

 

Great deal Mich ! Hold on to this one for a while !

 

******* Nice Find, and Congrats, **** is Showroom....

 

Wow, I didn't realize there was this much activity on this thread in the last couple of days!

I just sold my other DD ('03 Mazda 6i) so this is now my dedicated DD. The heated seats and steering wheel have been AWESOME in this cold weather. The funny thing is, I went snowboarding Saturday and it got up to 47 degrees by the end of the day! I ended up opening the sunroof on the way home and it was fantastic!

The power this car has is very surprising. It definitely rides much softer and has a big car feel to it compared to my Mazda6, but when I need to pass somebody or get in front of a semi when getting on the highway, the VQ35 definitely kicks ***!!

I unplugged the front motor mount, which I fought with for a while until I remembered that if you push in, squeeze, then pull out, those types of clips come apart easily! I also installed the 5 wire grounding kit. It was really easy to do and so far has resulted in silky smooth up and down shifts and about a 1mpg gain in fuel mileage. I also covered the fog lights with 40mm Clear Lamin-X. It was really easy to remove the fog lights and do and will hopefully keep them from getting damaged.

As for modding, the engine will stay completely stock as well as the exterior. The only thing I will be doing soon is tinting the windows, 20% all around. I also bought a kit from Dr. Colorchip to touch up the few chips the car currently has. I'm going to try and stay ahead of the chips so that it doesn't get too bad.

I don't think I'm going to worry about gutting the cats or putting in antifoulers until I actually have an issue with them. Since the car doesn't leak or burn any oil, hopefully I won't have any problems for a while.

Honestly, it's a blessing and curse to have this car. It looks like it could have just rolled off the show room floor, but that just means I have to be that much more careful with it. I am very **** about my cars both maintenance wise and appearance wise so I love having such a nice car to drive around, but it drives me crazy when I wash it and then it snows/rains/whatever and it gets filthy again. Either way, I plan to keep this car a long time and it is my goal to keep it looking the same as it does now except the odometer will have at least a 3 in front of it!

 

Just curious, how much did you pick up that car for? I bought an 03 SE TE with 84K miles, from the original owner, back in 07. I paid $11K, 5+ years ago.

 

There's a lot of truth spoken here. My headers went on with 39k.


I'm curious if you've actually read the entire thread.

 

I haven't researched much, but what are the best headers for the money. Also, what all is involved in upgrading them, is there a write up anywhere?


I was going to reply back with the same comment but I think he wanted to know how much Nelsito65 paid for his Max.

 

MichIndOh, as others have said, congrats on the new Maxima. I also seek out this type find. I didn't get anywhere near the value for the dollar that you got, but I have a 2002 GLE that now has a little over 40k miles that had a similar usage history. I bought it at a dealership about 2.5 years ago, but it was a one owner by an older couple and had not been driven much. The wife drove the Maxima, and her husband bought her a new car as a gift for their 60th anniversary. When I got my car, it had just under 19k miles.
I'm a little jealous you got a white one. Mine is "Desert Sand Metallic" which is OK, but would not have been my first choice in color. All in all, I have had good service out of mine.
My only required maintenance outside normal wear items has been having to replace the passengers front wheel bearing & hub a couple weeks ago, and the relay in the Subwoofer needing a resolder.

 

Very nice! Yours is still really low mileage! I agree, the pearl white is a major reason why I was drawn to it.

 

I'm curious if you read closely enough to realize who my question was for.

Actually, I already know that answer, and I'm really not curious about that at all.