what to look for in a used Maxima

[Buzzman]

Hi everyone,I have 3 Nissan's already in the family, and now my son is looking at buying a 4th.He's looking at a 2001 Maxima GLE, fully loaded (leather interior, moon roof, etc.) Looks really nice.It has 89,000 Kms (about 50k miles).Took it for a drive and it seems OK. What should I be looking out for? Unfortunately, I am not familiar with the 3 litre engine. However, when I drove it, it had lots of zip and no hesitation. Faster than I expected.How many horses would it have by the way?Any input would be appreciated.

[MattB]

An '01 Maxima will have 222hp. Things to look for are the usual stuff on any car. Make sure the transmission shifts properly, check the fluids, check for service records, make sure its never been in an accident, etc. If the car has power seats make sure they slide back and forth properly, for some reason A33 (00-03) Maximas and Infiniti I3xs seem to experience a high failure rate of the seat sliding motor and it's $500 or so to replace.

[Buzzman]

We went back this afternoon and pretty much bought the car. The sale will be final, pending an independent inspection. Hopefully we'll be able to arrange that for Monday.The car was actually at an auction house on consignment, which makes me a little nervous, but after another thorough check, the vehicle looked really good.As for the seats, they worked fine. Thanks for the heads up.Any other input is always appreciated.

[Fezzik]

You may want to also make sure the car has the update ignition coils on them. You can spot this by seeing a silver dot on top of each coil that is over the spark plug. The older coils were notorious for failing and people having to buy the newer coils. The coils themselves are usually a few hundered dollars.

[Buzzman]

Thanks. I'll check that out.The car was inspected today and passed with flying colours. Mechanic gave it the thumbs up.One more question re: engine.Does this engine have a timing belt or chain, and does it need regular replacing?Like I said, I have 3 Nissans, but none with this 3 litre engine, so I am not familiar with it.Thanks.

[Fezzik]

Timing Chain. They rarely ever need to be replaced.

Also if your worried about the car being in a wreck at all. Look at all the panels. It should have the vin number sticker which is also laser etched into the car panels. You can find it on the hood, side panels. door panels. Trunk and all. You may already know this, but a good thing to look for. Also you can look at the glass and make sure Nissan is written on all the glass. If not then the glass has been replaced for some reason.

[MattB]

. Also you can look at the glass and make sure Nissan is written on all the glass. If not then the glass has been replaced for some reason.

Only worry about this if it's on glass other than the windshield. Most used cars of this age will have had at least one windshield replacement and insurance companies don't pay for Nissan branded replacements.