TylerT

iTrader: (1)

Here are the details:

2000 Nissan Maxima GXE 4AT

- 184,000 miles
- All service records
- All major services performed with almost all the expensive wear and tear items replaced (MAF, Cats, CV Joints, wheel bearings, etc)
- 1 owner (My best friend's mom .. so I'm assuming it was adult driven lol)
- No oil leaks
- Engine runs strong
- Everything inside the car works (Electrical, AC, Heating, etc)
- Paint / Interior is perfect! 2 small dents on the entire car and no stains on the seats.
- 4 new tires
- 2 beer koozies in the trunk

and I paid $500

.... and now the negatives.

The color ..

and something is wrong with the transmission. It has an obnoxious whine sound when put into D, 3, 2, 1 .. but as you drive past 5mph the sound disappears. From what my friends mom told me, she had loss of power with higher revs to get it home .. that to me is a blown / slipping transmission.

I've already made the decision that I'm going to find another AT, drop it in, and have a reliable daily driver or I could give in to my boy racer urges and turn it into my project car.

If I turned it into a project car, I would probably strip it like Innacurates Diet TL, add some basic bolt ons .. and it would probably compare to my 5AT TL.

Or I could just drop another AT and sell it for $3500.

What do you think I should do with it?

And here are the pics .. don't make fun of the color :ghey:

AND the oil spots on the garage floor are not from the Maxima, it's from our POS Baja bug .









Suggestions?

EuRTSX

Nice pick up, but how would you go about making it a project car?

Are you just wanting to restore it? or do anything else to it? Any real advantages to stripping out a car like a Maxima? I'd just keep it stock and drive it for what it's worth after fixing the transmission.

TheMirror

Looks really good to me, nice grab.

Fix that tranny and off you go.

Costco

teranfon

My thoughts as well. If it needs a transaxle, find a used one and put it in. Nice looking car, and would make a nice driver.



Terry

charliemike

The color is fine. For $500 + repair I would probably keep it and drive it into the ground.

Then you could get rid of the TL for something more spirited

subinf

Nice. I'd definitely take it for 500. Fix the issues and enjoy it.

I don't see what is wrong with the color.

CRV_33

Damn you only paid $500 for that? That's actually a really good for that price. Considering the age and mileage the car looks well taken care of.

Allen-

Are those switches for heated seats on the console? You could get heated seats with cloth upholstery?

knight rider

iTrader: (1)

$500 is pretty much free for a running vehicle that looks that good. Fix it and drive it.

ThermonMermon

umm, couldnt you part that out and make a profit? even if you dont have connections and had to heavily discount the prices.

the airbags alone will probably score you half the price of the car.

TylerT

iTrader: (1)

Thanks guys for the advice. I might add some SE wheels, drop it, tints, and enjoy a good DD .

That's what I thought as well. But they work .. my ass was toasty doing a check list if everything was working.

For problems, the only thing I discovered was a small coolant leak .. nothing big though.

dallison

fix it

EuRTSX

Doing subtle modifications such as that is respectful. That's the way to go. But gutting the inside of a Maxima is pointless

You're on the right track for a great daily

mrmako

There's nothing like not taking on a loan. A paid for, reliable car FTMFW. Drop a tranny in and call it a day. It looks great and should serve you well.

doopstr

Maxima is a strong car. I own a '97 from new. Good luck with it!

Gfaze

I will drive down there and give you $600 and take it off your hands.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

Awesome deal for $500.

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

I'll give you $700 for it, right now That's a pretty damn good beater, especially for the price you paid

TylerT

iTrader: (1)

I'll give you guys some updates when I get the transmission dropped in and my income stabilizes. I just have to wait for my lovely tax return.

I washed it yesterday and took off the front plate .. it's looking better already.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

Fix it.

They are nice cars. Some bolt ons will be a good addition, but I'm not sure I would go too far.

TylerT

iTrader: (1)

^ Exactly my thoughts.

Intake, headers, and a quiet exhaust system will get me smiling I suppose.

Sun Diego CL-S

Do eet!

MiataNut

Yeah u want the SE 17s like my 02 and 03 came with. I had no idea you could get heated seats with cloth on Maximas, thought that was just Subaru. I even like those base model 16s, but man that color is naaaaaasty. I still woulda snagged it for a Fin though

Sclass88

That's a real nice car. Congrats on an awesome pick up. Don't sell it, drive it into the ground! And if you sell it after your friends mom gave it to you for such a cheap price, you're going to look like an ass for turning a profit on a friend.

subinf

Why wouldn't you just leave the front plate on? If you need you income to stabilize that certainly isn't going to help.

SuperTrooper169

iTrader: (2)

I kinda like the color.

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

Nice car!

TacoBellSauce

real crackhead price for a max in that condition
auto transmissions arent hard to find and pretty cheap, at least in the tri state area

might i recommend anniversary edition headlights and SE taillights if you dont have them

here's my 02 Maxima

MiataNut

Nice! '04 18's?

AJ@ECSMotorsports

iTrader: (1)

$500?

I'd buy 3.

invisiblewar

thats an amazing deal. Im sure you could find a deal on a transmission for a decent price. I would use it as my DD. Hell If I got that deal, the CL would be gone

TacoBellSauce

yup
got a set of 04 17s as winter wheels also

TylerT

iTrader: (1)

I got a transmission from a Junkyard in Chula Vista.

Tranny has 73,000 miles and I paid $500 for it.

Should go in the car in about a week or two.

Sun Diego CL-S

Do eet! There's tons of stuff worth using at those junkyards.

TylerT

iTrader: (1)

Good news everybody!

I got a new job today as Desktop Support for a pretty successful construction company in Miramar, California .. decent pay and benefits! I'm going to be nearly tripling my income ... life is good .

More good news .. the Maxima is up and running today!

I hired a couple people to put it in for me, only took them one day.

Cost List:

$500 - Car
$375 - Labor
$500 - Transmission / Torque converter
$155 - New battery, new axle seals, new Transmission oil pan gasket, transmission fluid.
_________________________

= $1530 for a 2000 Nissan Maxima GXE!

I am pretty stoked .. but here are my concerns:

1: When I put my foot down (2/3 of the accelerator petal down), the change from 1st > 2nd is odd.

When it passes 3500RPM, the car makes a slight jutter going forward as if it changed a gear, the revs remain high, then it actually changes gear from 1st to 2nd.

The commute is 76 miles a day and the last thing I want to do is be in a 2003 Toyota Tacoma 4 Banger MT.

I'd much rather be in this boaty Maxima because it's much quieter, much faster, automatic, and overall much more comfortable.

Here's my dilemma:

Keep my mechanically sound Toyota Tacoma 5MT (94,000 miles)

or keep my much more comfortable, much quieter Nissan Maxima with 185,000 miles w/ a fresh transmission.

I absolutely need reliability and I don't exactly trust the Maxima ..

I will make my decision in the next 500mi .

knight rider

iTrader: (1)

Congratulations on the gig! Sounds like the Max could go at any time, despite the repairs. I would keep the Max at least to get my $1500 worth out of it. Overall I would then ditch it and keep the reliable truck. You are making a substantially better amount of money now. What is the problem with keeping them both? Especially if the Max is paid for.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

great buy again man

Gfaze

Sounds like you got a failing transmission to replace the other bad transmission. It doesn't sound like engine issues. Did you put in a new transmission filter with fresh fluid? If I were you I'd contact the junkyard you got the transmission from and tell them it's not working properly, assuming you got some type of warranty like 30 days or something like that.

TylerT

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, put in fresh fluid and filter.

I'm going to drive it another 200 miles and see how it turns out.

I might follow the advice and just get my $1500 out of it.