2002 Maxima-113,000 miles for $8500

Scottwax · 11-05-07, 08:01

Interior is cherry, never been wrecked (at least not that required paint work), very slight hail damage otherwise the exterior is pretty good. Swirls are actually pretty minimal. Metallic dark grey (graphite maybe?), black cloth interior.

Miles are high but between the insurance settlement for my car and whatever I get for my back, I can probably pay off the balance in 6-8 months.

Obviously I am still looking but is this a car I should even consider?

JohnnyDaJackal · 11-05-07, 08:15

Price seems about right.

Those are nice cars, especially the GLEs. Only reason I didn't get one was because their headlights get ripped out where I live all the time causing insurance rates to go up; and the fact that it takes premium gas.

What other cars are you looking at?

Scottwax · 11-05-07, 08:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyDaJackal

Price seems about right.

Those are nice cars, especially the GLEs. Only reason I didn't get one was because their headlights get ripped out where I live all the time causing insurance rates to go up; and the fact that it takes premium gas.

What other cars are you looking at?

'03/04 V6 Accord or an '06 V6 Sonata. In fact, looked at a silver V6 Sonata with 30k on it today. Too bad it was during rush hour and I really didn't feel comfortable taking it out for a test drive right then.

G35stilez · 11-06-07, 03:56

Maxima is a great car, Scott. The paint sucks though. Expect the nose to be absolutely sand-blasted. The engine is world-class and never dies. It handles nice and IMO, looks very sharp.

RTexasF · 11-06-07, 04:32

Scott,

Assuming the Accords are both automatics get proof that the transmission recall was done before signing on the line.

The Maxima is too expensive for age, condition, and mileage in my opinion.

kkreit01 · 11-06-07, 07:23

They are nice cars, but IMO, that's a lot of $ for a car with over 100K mi. You could buy a low mileage (2-3 yr old) domestic midsize in that price range (Malibu, Taurus, Stratus, etc). That's just me. I've always bought new to get the new car smell, warranty, and decent financing vs. buying an upgrade used car.

2002 Maxima SE · 11-06-07, 07:33

I'm somewhat familiar with this brand of car.

They are in a word, terrific. I bought mine new in Oct 2001. The paint does tend to be on the delicate side (lots of chips on the front, slight swirls and some water spotting).

The engine is wonderful and if maintained will give you years and years of service. I have 67k on the clock and just changed out the plugs a few weekends ago. Very quiet with good power. Fuel mileage is decent at app 25 MPG in mixed driving (I've gone as high as 30mpg on highway trips if I stay at 60mph).

Interior holds up well. I had a few squeaks when new (two harnesses in the center console that knocked the inside of the console). Wrapped them both in foam and the noise is gone. Everything is holding up quite well.

Be aware of the following:
Power driver seat tends to chew up the rubber bump stop and require replacment. My unskilled hands took about 2 hrs to do by ordering a replacement motor/screw drive.

Cold start rattle from the IVT (Intake Valve Timing) Sprocket . I've had it since new and is linked to any longterm damage.

Bose stereo CD speaker cut out (driver side). There is a harness deep in the bose that is loose and over time you will get speaker cut out while playing CDs. My solution was to replace it with an AVIC-D3, though there is a shop in Fla that will let you mail them your unit to be repaired for a few hundred dollars.

joshtpa · 11-06-07, 07:33

My ex had an 06 Sonata. What a great car that was.

Stonecipher · 11-06-07, 07:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by RTexasF

Scott,

Assuming the Accords are both automatics get proof that the transmission recall was done before signing on the line.

The Maxima is too expensive for age, condition, and mileage in my opinion.

I called Honda with my VIN and they told me that the 2nd gear tranny fix had been done and the radio head unit waranty had been extended to 100k miles because of the displays going dark.

I also had my inner ball joints replaced under warranty from a TSB out on them. Otherwise, I have really enjoyed my '04 Accord Coupe so far. Good mileage, snappy performance, very nice interior. Fairly good sized trunk. Very different from my old 99 Firebird Formula.

BAKER · 11-06-07, 08:20

Hi Scottwax. 2002 Maxima was my last car before the Audi A3. It is a fantastic car. Dependability is great and a great engine. You can't go wrong with this for that price. Just my 2 cents.

Scottwax · 11-06-07, 04:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by kkreit01

They are nice cars, but IMO, that's a lot of $ for a car with over 100K mi. You could buy a low mileage (2-3 yr old) domestic midsize in that price range (Malibu, Taurus, Stratus, etc). That's just me. I've always bought new to get the new car smell, warranty, and decent financing vs. buying an upgrade used car.

Absolutely no way am I buying any of those domestics you mentioned. I've detailed enough of them to know the interiors don't hold up well and while the drivetrains are very reliable, the build quality (as in panel fit, interior parting lines, etc) are still not in the same league as most imports. Honesty, my 1971 Chevelle and 1974 Z/28 I used to have had better interior quality than a lot of the newer domestics.

I drive 20-25,000 miles a year so buying new isn't a good idea for me. Cars depreciate way too fast when you put those kind of miles on them.

I looked at an '03 V6 Accord today, got the VIN so I can see if the tranny fix has been done. I looked under the hood at the VIN to see if it had been marked in any way (my 1990 Accord had a punch above one of the VIN numbers indicating the distributor recall had been done) but I didn't see any markings. I have a feeling the engine has been replaced though, at lot of the metal had a somewhat corroded look, like it had been exposed to the elements (as in sitting in a totaled car in a wrecking yard, fully exposed) so I'm probably going to pass on that car. Silver on black though, my first choice color combo.

Still don't have a check for my car from Allstate though. They made an initial offer last week which I turned down and informed them of all the work I recently had done. They said to fax the receipts to them and they'd take them into consideration. They had that information Friday morning. Yesterday (Monday) morning, I called to check on the status of my claim. I was told they'd have a $ amount for me by the end of that day, Tuesday (today) at the latest. Two phone calls to the adjuster today were not returned. Plus, they stopped paying for the rental as of yesterday. Once a car is declared a total in Texas, even if you don't have a check for your car, insurance no longer has to cover a rental.

Seems like the "Good Hands" people are using both those hands to jerk me around.

brwill2005 · 11-06-07, 04:56

My wife has a 2001 Maxima. They are great cars, and as already mentioned the engines are bulletproof. Supposedly, the block in this car is the same block they used for one of Nissan's race engines. The only issue is parts for these cars are expensive.