Looking at Buying a 2001 Maxima

[marko959]

I'm looking at buying a 2001 Maxima from a local dealer. It looks to be a base model with cloth seats and without a sunroof but with auto trans.

The car has 130,000 miles on it, and the body has a few dents and scratches in it, but the interior is in really good condition. Dealer wants around $5000 for it.

A couple things bother me about it. 1) when I opened the trunk and checked out the spare, there was rust on it, and rust underneath the spare, like water had settled in there at one time. I'm thinking this isn't a normal troublespot. 2) the air conditioning blew warm air, so I guess it needs a re-charge. How much does it cost? 3) Steering wheel was a little off center, which I'm assuming is from the alignment? 4) Some kind of weird lumbar thing going on with the driver cloth seat. Seems like its kind of poking me in the middle of my back.

I guess the biggest issue I have is the rust in the trunk. I live in Oklahoma, so you usually don't see rust on cars here. Should I be concerned?

Thanks

[MinisterofDOOM]

I'll let some 5th gen owners chime in on point #1. As for the rest:

2: The system may just need a recharge or it may have a leak, a bad clutch, or a bad compressor. Eath of those is successively pricier to fix. I'd try and find out WHY it doesn't blow cold if A/C is important to you. If it just needs a recharge, I'd tell the dealer I want the recharge thrown in with the purchase.

3: Yes, offcenter steering wheel should be corrected by a proper alignment. That's another thing I'd tell the dealer they need to fix for me to buy the car (at no added cost). Alignment is 100% labor, so they're not really out anything if they throw it in with the sale.

4: Most new-ish Nissan seats feel that way to me, too...I can't stand it. I'm not aware of all the trim/package variations on the 5th gen, but I'd be really surprised if there wasn't either a power or manual lumbar adjustment for the seat somewhere. If it has manual seats, check on the inside edge of the seat side (above the arm rest). If power, the adjustment should be down on the side by the other switches.

[audtatious]

#3 could also be the result of a poor collision fix. Make sure the car has not been wrecked in the front

#4...Not sure about the 2001 but the 2k2 has a adjustment on the inside of the drivers seat for lumbar adjustment. If the 2001 has it it simply may be extended all the way.

For that many miles, that many issues, and that much cost, I would surely look for a 2002 or 2003 with the VQ35 motor, HID's, etc.

[marko959]

Okay, thanks for the input. I think I'm going to forget about this car. Too many red flags for me.

[audtatious]

Good call. 5k is too much for one without any problems, IMO.

[lino]

Okay, thanks for the input. I think I'm going to forget about this car. Too many red flags for me.

I'm glad you did. It sounds like there is too many things to deal with.