I'm giving some serious thought to this, what should I look out for? And what's a reasonable price?

zerothread?id=106555

lol, you had to post in the Others section to get his attention, that's a littl emessed up

ANyways, I love those rims. I want them for my Q45. Then it would be an even prettier lawn orniment

oh, pretty. So you're obviously looking for another car, whether it be a Max or a Pathy or 4-Runner.... are you looking for a new daily driver or something for fun?

Rex, if you don't buy that I'll personally find you and kill you twice.

That's in beautiful shape, has slightly below average miles, and a good price.The stock 15 inch rims are nice enough...I'd take it for 2k with them over 25 with the '02's--they don't really fit the car like the sawblades do.$2-3k is a great price range for a well-maintained third gen. Around my area, you'd pay more like $4200, but they're more sought after here I guess.

I'm not familiar with the VE30DE...but I am familiar with the rest of the third gen. Not a whole lot to watch out for--it was an excellent car. Careful looking under the hood, it most likely needs new hydraulics (that hold the hood up) which can be had for cheap at Kmart. Shocks are also probably shot if they haven't been replaced up till now, but being a .org guy, he's probably taken care of that already. Also, if it's got the standard tape deck (doesn't sound like it does) the display is probably dead...happened to every one I've ever seen. The thing still works, but you have no idea what station you're on.You asked the seller about timing belts. VE30DE uses chains.

There's never been any problems with mine over the 12 years I've had it...aside from the tranny going out at 185k. But mine's auto, so I'm not sure about the lifespan of the 5sp. You're probably fine for a long time to come. Only other problem with mine was the manifold studs, but that's got the VE and mine's VG so you shouldn't have that issue either.

That car is twice what you'll find on most car lots today, and far better looking. There are not many better deals out there than third gen maxes, simply because they're indestructible. They're also fun as hell to drive. IRS, man!

DAMMIT! Four months ago I needed a new third gen for under $3k and couldn't find one ANYWHERE. Since I paid for the s*** trans work on my car, I've found FOUR without even looking.

gabossie wrote:oh, pretty. So you're obviously looking for another car, whether it be a Max or a Pathy or 4-Runner.... are you looking for a new daily driver or something for fun?

Yeah, I'd like something for winter use (FWD or 4WD), that I could hand off to my oldest son in about 3-4 years. Obviously, the 350 swapped 4runner wouldn't be a candidate for that, but it is a sweet idea .

My concern is he's only had it since "last summer" and that means I need to know more about how the last guy treated it. It's too far away to go "look at", it's a long distance decision.

This one's closer to me, and they're asking $3200 (95, 5spd, 132k), it just has 2 rust spots . It'll be near the top of my price range, and I really wanted leather.



Ugly, but looks to be surface

Rex wrote:I'm giving some serious thought to this, what should I look out for? And what's a reasonable price?

zerothread?id=106555

That looks like a damn nice find Keith. If the 1/4 time he posted is for real, that tells me that car is strong. The pessimistic side of me says to plan for a new clutch and resurfaced flywheel at some point not long after you buy it, but I could be wrong. I guess I would rather deal with that or something similar than the rust on that '95. Yuck.

My mom had an '89, brand new in 1989 that I drove in high school occasionally when I wanted an upgrade from my '83 Escort. The Bose system was sweet and the car took everything I threw at it.

As far as the wheels, I would take the 17's along with the stockers and if you wind up not liking them, sell 'em. You should be able to get $250 for the wheel/tire combo without any problem. And for 1k less than the '95, you'll be able to afford to fix a couple of things should the need arise.

I say go for it if you talk to this guy and get a good feeling from the conversation. I think one can generally tell when a seller is mostly honest and a squared-away person.

We'll leave final judgement for Matt though. He is the resident expert.

Andy

One of few fourth gens I've seen with factory alloys. Looks MUCH better than the steelies you generally see on them.The only real advantage of the fourth gen over the third gen is the VQ...That's still a good price for the '95, but I think the '93 is a better car. The fourth gen happened during Nissans "bad" period, and it lost IRS and some of it's better handling characteristics, partially due to costs and mostly due to "packaging." It's also the least attractive of all the Maximas, IMO, especially the early fourth gen...later ones got better grilles and taillights, though.The VQ at that time was also not making much more power than the VE had been, so the engine isn't even really that much of an advantage.

One thing that scares me is that the owner of the '93 said his oil change interval was "5-7k." That's 2-4k longer than it should be, especially on a car with over 150k miles.

If it were me, I'd take the '93 over the '95 in a heartbeat. But it all depends on how comfortable you are with a car that has little background info. Find out who the original owner was and talk to him/her to find out if that's your only concern.

The background info or at least the ability to have a mech I trust inspect would both play a key role in buying a 10 yr old car.

I'm gonna be out of town for work all next week, so I'll look into these (and a few others on the org) when I get back.

I just wanted to get some feedback and I gretaly appreciate what I've gotten so far.

IMHO, the kid with the 93 is very eager to sell, but considering the car would have to be shipped, we wouldn't be able to get right on price .

Gents, can I get your thoughts on this one as well .

DOH!! forgot the link

http://www.nissanfanatic.com/maxima4sale/

keep lookin' bubba.

The second 93:Very low miles, recently rebuilt engine/tranny are plusses. Looks like he also replaced the axles...something I didn't think about with the other one...I had to do my axels around 160k... Seems like he's maintained it very well. Check on the oil change interval to make sure he's not a 7k guy like that other one...that's just scary to think about... The guy has done all the "beginner" mods to the car, always a plus. The pioneer headunit's a step up from the on in mine...interesting.I love the clear corner lights...I need to get those for mine. Wonder what they cost...The hood looks like crap. Paint chips are really common on the hood, but the repaint he had done looks even worse than the chips.He's got an A-pillar gauge pod. That would not look good in a '93...the A-pillars are carpeted to match the rest of the interior...a plastic gauge pod would look cheap. But he did say he's got the original upholstry for the A-pillar. He hasn't done any mods to need gauges, so I think I'd put the original back up.

And WHY did he take off the chrome hamburger from the grille? Dork...I hate logo-less grilles. Show your Nissan pride for hell's sake. I kinda like the matching-painted grille, though. If he did that, I wonder if he painted the reflector strip on the trunk...that's something I'd ask him about.

The tires look new. Is it just me, or does the paint on the mirror look flat like the crappy part of the hood?Did the SE not have the chrome strip along the top of the doorjambs? He either painted it in his apparent dislike for chrome, or the SE didn't have it. Looks to me like he painted it...I can sorta see the line. He also looks to have repainted the chrome around the windows in the doors. What's this guy got against chrome? I personally don't like it, but it's not something that'd affect my decision to buy unless there was an IDENTICAL car for the same price with the original grille and door chrome nearby.

The fender damage he's talking about looks to be on the back of the front left fender...unfortunately it also looks to be on the door as well.

Man...that's just wierd...the car looks funny without the chrome above the doors...it's messing with me.See how much better the sawblades look than the '02 wheels? Not as good as my "sprocket" GXE's, though... (I saw a '98 with the third gen GXE wheels like mine the other day. It looked damn good. There's a dude with a 2001 that has the third gen GXE wheels around here, too. They're quite popular in this area for some reason...)

The maintenance records and drivetrain rebuilds/replacements stand out, especially at that price. The guy's put more money into the car in the last year or so than it's worth. I think that's a sign he actually cares about the car. This one looks to be a better choice than the first one you listed, I think.

Rex, sorry for the delay, I've been out of town all week....

I'm nowhere near a pro on the earlier models. The VE30 is DOHC vs. the VG30 which was SOHC. I don't see anything that stands out as a "show stopper" for the '93. Of course, you would have to deal with the retractible seatbelts, which would drive me nuts. The engine is strong in those cars and none of the recalls were for mechanical issues. Since we are talking a 12yo vehicle, in South Dekota, I would really want to make sure there were no rust issues. From the pix, and posts by the owner, he seems pretty knowledgable of the car and repairs. Other than high miles, I don't really see any "red flags" at all, other than location. The first owner providing him with oil change receipts is a positive and shows it is probably a car that has been maintained throughout its life.

As far as the 4th gen with the rust, if the only major rust is the trunk lid, that can be replaced relatively easy. But, for someone to own a vehicle and let the lid rust like that, I would have to assume they may not have taken care of the rest of the vehicle either. I would treat that as a potenial "red flag".

The other 3rd gen sounds mechanically better as it has had the motor and tranny rebuilt within 10k miles. With the amount of $$ invested in the rebuild, I am kind of curious why it is now for sale and not being used as a dependable means of transportation. I also wonder who did the rebuild as you can never tell the skillset of the person doing the work. Of course, if it was Nissan doing it, I would feel better about it. Looks like it had a bra on it which screwed up the front paint. Either the clearcoat is gone or possibly a good buff may fix it enough. If it has to be painted, the paint may not match the rest of the car, plus there is additional body damage to deal with. Upgraded interior looks nice.

Honestly when looking at a 10+ yo car, it can be a crapshoot.

Check here: http://autos.yahoo.com/usedcars/

There is one listed in Fairborn, OH and I've seen some listed in Columbus, Lexington, etc. At least you can personally see what those look like...

No problem, I'm in no hurry if it he sells it, then it wasn't the right deal for me.

If you could, can you find out from some of the org guys what they think? I don't want to join just to ask about this car. I read through several threads and it seems if ?cullen? knows about them, he and someone else from Louisville went and looked at one together. Any info/help would be greatly appreciated.

I know what you mean about rust, I'd like to look under the car myself.

audtatious wrote:Check here: http://autos.yahoo.com/usedcars/

There is one listed in Fairborn, OH and I've seen some listed in Columbus, Lexington, etc. At least you can personally see what those look like...

I'm in no hurry, just want something a little more driveable in the winter, and nice .

I'll wait for a black leather 5 speed.

There are tons of Maxima's in Cinci. I see them all the time. Sometimes, patience is a virtue

hey

Rex wrote:Gents, can I get your thoughts on this one as well .

DOH!! forgot the link

http://www.nissanfanatic.com/maxima4sale/

just a heads up i happened to be browsing the forums and noticed the link to my car. well its sold for 2300 to someone on maxima.org and in reply to the other poster the SE maxima HAS NO CHROME...only the lower cheaper model GXE came with the chrome. the mirrors are untouched and NOT painted they are a flat black from the factory not shiney like the car. the hood was just spraypainted it wasnt actually done by a shop, LOL but hey thanks for looking !

Glad you found it a good home (hopefully).