Potentially buying a maxima

[plain]

well, theres a maxima nearby me for sale that i found on craigslist.1999 5spd. 119k, and they want $5900 "negotiable" for it. seems intrigueing, and i kind of need to pick up a car in the next week or two, so its my best bet atm i think. i only just found the listing today, and spoke to the guy, its got a new clutch done by the dealer, dude is the original owner.

for those of you who know this car better than i obviously do, does it seem like its worth grabbing? explanations for your answers would be appreciated too.

thanks very much.

[MinisterofDOOM]

$5900 sounds about right, assuming the body and interior are in good shape. 119k is a bit high for a 99, but it's still just getting started for the VQ, so it's not really anything to worry about.

See if you can talk him down to $5500. KBB's blue book puts the car at $5800...but that's with me guessing on options, trim, and condition.

[plain]

stupid me, i forgot to link to the listing.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/....html

kbb marked the retail value around 8500

[MinisterofDOOM]

Ahh, that helps a lot. It's got a lot more options than I expected. $5900 definitely sounds like a good price. If it's clean (good maintenance records, no major accidents) I'd jump on it.

[BOOMSHAKALAKA]

that car looks sweet...and the price looks right too. i'd go for it.

[maxhopper]

I can tell you that I picked up my 97 SE with 120k miles on her for $5k 3 years ago. While this vehicle is a 99, you should know that if you ever plan to modify this vehicle, the 99's are different electronically (different ECM) than the 95-98 and 00-01 Maximas.

I think you should be able to talk the seller down to under $5k, or find someone selling a 00-01 for around $6k with similar mileage.

But in the end it's up to you and your instincts. I bought my car from a good friend, so I knew everything that had been done to the car. If the seller has all their maintenance reciepts, then it may be a good deal for you.

[plain]

its looking like this might be the car.

the guy is the original owner, and bought the car from a nissan dealership out in new jersey where he was the parts/mechanics manager. hes now the manager at a mavis discount tire in white plains, where i went and saw the car today. all the maintenance was done at a nissan dealer. clutch has been replaced, new brakes/rotors on all corners, and 4 new tires. shifts smoothly, everything works great. gonna take it to our mechanic to have a look at on friday, and that will most likely seal the deal. oh yeah, hes selling because he just got a new pathfinder. he wouldnt give us any indication on what he was looking to get for the car, he just said, make me an offer and i'll say yes or no.

from your responses so far, it seems that you guys think between $5000 and $5500 would be a pretty good price. but barring anything strange coming up on a carfax or from the mechanic, how much would it be guestimated a 1999 maxima SE 5spd would be worth. theres no damage anywhere aside from the few scratches that are on any car. my dad and i both drove it and we both agreed its nice, so yeah, thoughts from you guys would be appreciated.

[maxhopper]

I'd go for $4000. If he says no, ask what he had in mind. If he goes to $5000, offer $4700. Make him earn the extra money.

[Beancooker]

I'm all about beating down the price, but that seems really fair. My '01 has 78K mi and books at $10,400-$11,200 for a private sale. There was no where to enter that the drivers side airbag is removed, so I imagine that would devalue the car at least $1,500.Ok, went to kbb.com and looked, and assuming it is an SE and bone stock (no options) in good condition $5,100 private party value. I'd take maxhopper's advice and offer $4k and negotiate up from there. Good Luck.

[plain]

its an SE. (white faced gauges, spoiler) and i think full options.

we had an issue come up though, the car isnt registered and carfax turned up an accident report with a collision repair facility, so we'll see. gonna talk to the guy again and then probly bring it to the mechanic tomorrow.

price wise, ill take your advice and start at 4000, i would have started higher, but im new at this so ill bow to more experienced owners/buyers.

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little update.

he unregistered the car because he just bought a new pathfinder and doesnt want three vehicles registered under his name, so thats not really an issue. as for the accident report, he was adamant theres never been an accident, but said it might have been involved in a police report while his father in law owned the car.

talked to him about price, and he basically said he knows the car is worth $6200, but hes willing to accept $5300. thoughts on this?

[Beancooker]

Stand in front of him with 48 crisp C-notes. CASH talks, and Bulls**t runs the marathon. I think he would have a hard time saying no to the cash.

[maxhopper]

Stand in front of him with 48 crisp C-notes. CASH talks, and Bulls**t runs the marathon. I think he would have a hard time saying no to the cash.

[plain]

well, figured i'd update this as opposed to starting a new thread.

had the mechanic look at it this morning, everything is in good condition, except its in need of new struts.

we talked to the owner at the mechanics, and we tried getting him down to 4800, but he wouldnt budge. in the end, we got him down to $5000, and he offered to do all the struts at the mavis he runs for under $400. (KYB struts, anything against these, or should we go nissan instead?) so hopefully in a few hours ill be the proud owner, and ill update with some pics of the car.

thanks for the help everyone.

[maxhopper]

Congrats. Look at it this way, you got him down $900 from his original price. That's a good deal. I'm not sure about the regular KYB's, but the GR2 adjustables have a pretty descent reputation.

[Beancooker]

Congrats. If you can get him to, go with the Illuminas, It's worth throwing in a couple of extra bucks if you have to.

[plain]

pics of the car here

zerothread/189835

[maxhopper]

Looks great, I'm sure you're very proud.

[plain]

so far i cant help but constantly grin every time i climb in the car

[maxhopper]

Trust me, I totally know where you're coming from. Just wait until you start putting a few mods on it to wake up the performance even more.

[Beancooker]

Looks nice. Congrats. I smiled for days when I got my Maxima.