dark blue and it has, no leather, no fogs, no heated seats, no moonroof, no spoiler. it has the painted 02 wheels and the tires on it are from pep boys. no leaks, ac blows cold, stereo is eh, it has the painted splash guards, and out the door they want $5,370.00. it has inspection good till 5/14, and the brakes were just done. i wanted the leather, and fogs, and moonroof, do i sacrifice all the options for low mileage and good price?? i really wanted the leather at least, can you still get fogs and a moonroof oem other than used? and is this price right? go lower? thanks

 

That doesn't sound like an SE to me. That's more like a GXE. Fog lamps and rear spoiler were both standard on the SE, unless they were removed. If so, look for signs of an accident. There's a possibility the car was wrecked and those items were not replaced. If the Carfax checks out, the price is not so bad, if you can live without the features it lacks.

 

It's not an SE.

No fogs, no spoiler, no SE...

 

i know it has no accidents, saw the carfax. 1 title owner, it has to be a gxe then, i know the difference as i have a 95 gle allready. i looked at it in the dark, musta misread the sub model. like i said, want to get at least the leather seats, ( used i know ) do they still make the fogs new for an 02? i'm guessing no.

 

If leather is a must, you can have that installed at a shop. I know of katzkin (katzkin.com), but I'm sure there are cheaper options. On the fog lamps, I recently replaced both on my SE (one of them was broken), and I got them from rockauto.com for around $48 each. They have glass lenses like the OEM and look exactly the same. They are made by TYC. Now, if that car is a GXE, you may have to wire it for fog lamps and replace the turn signal switch. That's where the fog lamp switch is.

 

No options = 2 grand lol
I don't care if it was 1k, it isn't worth it.

 

You can find an SE around here with options for that price. Granted, the low mileage is nice, but it's your money.

 

I did this same sacrafice in my old jetta. I went with low mileage base model good price vs fully loaded high mileage. I learned my lesson ill never do that again. throughout the entire ownership of that car i kept trying to add all the features and options i was missing. Like double din radios and sport cloth interior i replaced seats and panels and gauge clusters and pedals and shift ***** and rims it never ended. In the end i had a lookalike but it wasnt the fully loaded GLI edition i wanted. Just my experience.

now that i bought a maxima i bought a 03 6 speed manual with HLSD its also a titanium edition with the meridian package aka fully loaded everything and everywhere. I am now happy.

Just wait it out and keep searching you'll get everything you want just be patient

 

Yep, after having one, there's no way I'd buy another with anything less.

 

Yeah I wouldn't want a 5.5 gen with an auto. I drove one and didn't like it.

However, if I found an older 4th or 3rd gen beater for cheap, i'd get one with either transmission.

 

that's the other question i had, are the auto's in the 5th gens as reliable as the 4th gens?? my 250,000 mile 95 had 1 trans swap and that was 85,000 ago, did 1 fluid exchange since then. drives like a dream.

 

As far as I've seen, yes, if not more reliable (shift solenoids don't fail).

Buddy hit 192k before he sold his. Another has one with 158k-ish (both shift like new). I see tons of them for sale (b/c high miles/damaged) on CL with near 200k or above. They outlive the 3.5s since people don't remove the cats lol.

 

That sounds really, really high for what you're getting. I paid $4500 for mine in one of the highest cost of living states in the union. Mine had 59k with every option available. I would pass in a heart beat.

 

Please do not take any of this the wrong way. Certainly with time and money you could convert a GXE into a SE but you don't sound like someone who enjoys tinkering (they would have known the difference in models). So I agree with the guy who recommends waiting and finding the car you want.
For some people a car is just a way to get from A to B but for others it is the ride that counts. You seem to be in the ride category, as many of us are, so then you will likely pay more in the long wrong making the car into what you want.
If you can get a really good deal AND know how much it time and $$ it will take to convert to what you want then go for it - otherwise wait.

 

sounds like a good retail dealer price to me. I always go with the lowest mileage I can afford. Usually, more miles = more wear and tear = more crap to break down.

 

in my area, this is a good price for a low mileage maxima. he's even willing to throw in all the records that came with it and told me where it was serviced. no dealers in my area (pa) ever do that. not saying i'm buying this, but i'm at least going to check it oit.

 

funny thing is, the guy told me it's going to auction. i know, always a hesitation when you hear that. but, best case scenario, i go to the auction and get it for 3,000 instead their asking price. it's not a nissan dealership, it's like honda or hyundai.

 

There ya go. I would try that then.

 

Dude, you're in Pennsylvania. That price is ridiculously high for that car, certain parts of PA are easily one of the best on the entire east coast and probably most of the country for car prices and that's fact.

A good price on the particular car you're looking at is around $3000-4000 (closer to $3000). We just bought an 02' 5.5 gen 6MT Titanium w/ meridian and 68k miles for my girl just a few days ago, private seller, all records came with car, impeccable condition, $6800 price as we agreed to make it the same # as the mileage even though he was firm at $7k.

Guess where the car came from? Lancaster, PA. Don't buy a bare bones GXE for that price, you'll regret it for as long as you have the car. It's all about waiting it out and finding the right car, it'll come around but you have to catch the moment because these cars don't last, so when it pops up you have to go see it ASAP and if all checks out and the car is good then you should be ready to buy right away. Look around dude, you can find a nice 5.5 gen in your area. Look in the country towns though, not Philly or anywhere close to Philly/Pittsburgh. Good luck, and don't go for that other car, wait it out and you'll be glad you did.

 

this area sucks for 5th gens in good condition. this one looks clean and low miles and was just traded in like saturday. i'm still going to check it out, it's worth it imo cause it might go dirt cheap at auction and i would hate to pass it up if it did. grant you, if it has 1 issue with motor or trans i'll run away from it.

 

Find a 6 speed SE with the options you want and call it a day.

 

This.

 

This

 

i don't drive stick....

 

My brother is a weird individual that has purchases a vehicle every three or four years. While they might not seem strange, he's exclusively purchased vehicles in other states and then pays a car shipper to haul to down to him. This avenue presents a greater risk, but he's never been burned on a deal to date. He requests exhaustive records and photos (under the hood, beneath, interior, exterior close-ups) from the seller (a few have been at dealerships). If the seller wants to make the sale, they will play along. If the seller feels it is too much of a hassle, then you get to move on.

I asked him why he does this. His answer was simple. The cost of the shipping is far less than settling for what is available locally. He gets a high end car for thousands less (his current ride is a Mercedes C63 AMG).

If that option seems a little far out, you could always check the surrounding states and make a day trip for what could potentially be the exact car you've always wanted. Regardless, do yourself a favor and find a friend with a manual and get a lesson. I've taught a dozen friends and several family members how to drive a stick shift. My 01 SE has a 5 speed manual. My 00 Silverado has a 5 speed manual with a V8 (yum). My VTX has a 5 speed manual. It's something I'm unwilling to give up (and sadly will not be able to upgrade to a Maxima beyond the early sixth gen Maximas).

 

I would pass on it, or go cheaper like 4k, but yeah wait till the Auction xand see what happens...

 

unfortunately the auction is farther away then i thought, and after seeing it in daylight i realized it is an se, fogs and spoiler, no codes, but some good amount of rust on right rear quarter, and the body needs a good amount of work. here's pics next to an extremely clean 4th gen.

 

Jeez, car lots are the devil.