I am considering buying a 97 Altima GXE w/105K miles off a neighbor for around $1500. The engine has had a tune-up and passed smog even prior to that. The body and interior are near perfect and the A/C and power all work great. It has a slight front end vibration on the freeway, but the tires are old and starting to rot after sitting for most of the last year. I expect new tires and maybe an alignment will take care of that.

Also, he said that the engine does stall from idle sometimes. I have been dealing with almost the same issue on my 95 Maxima and had to replace the IACV, MAFS, and TPS. All three tested bad and am okay with the swapping out process I went through since I didn't waste money replacing "good" parts. The Maxima remained drivable and I used it daily throughout the whole period of trying to fix it.

Can I expect to solve that the same way on the Altima as I did on the Maxima? The TB has already been cleaned, but the the current owner says it still dies sometimes. The whole thing sounds so much like my Maxima, that I am tempted to dive in. Any input is appreciated. I do like the car and I think it is a good deal as long as the problems are not bigger than I believe they are.

If the only real issue is the stalling and such, and he's been keeping up with the regular maintence, that it would certianly seem like something to go after if you want - fixing the idle is usually pretty simple (you never know, could be a PCV, camshaft sensor, etc... - all pretty cheap)...

what do the maintenance records tell you?

I'll do a pre-buy eval if you wish. hit me off line (email) for details.

Buy it. Grest cars