2003 Nissan Maxima SE?

[ryanschillinger]

My uncle is getting ready to buy a new car and was planning on trading in his 03 maxima se. I said I would match whatever the trade in value is. Only has 108k miles but has some dents and scratches. Nothing too crazy from what I understand. Anything in particular to worry about on this? I'm to understand those years were still reliable.

 

[razel]

2002 and up has the wonderful Nissan VQ 3.5L. 2003 is roughly the year when Nissan started to get the oxygen sensors right. So I would check the transmission fluid. If it ain't red, let him trade it in.

 

[ryanschillinger]

Ok. I only talked to my aunt so far but she said he gets oil changed 3-4K and has a bunch of maintenance receipts so I feel like it should be in alright condition.

 

[SatinSilver]

Kbb has 500+ reviews on the 03 Maxima which scores 8.7/10 which I guess = 4.5 stars out of 5. Which is very good. I like the design of it compared to the newer generations where they became kind of big and bloated.

 

[SteveSRT8]

That is normally a great car with excellent service history...

 

[tomcat27]

I'd take it in a heartbeat!

 

[ryanschillinger]

Body a little beat up but not too bad. At trade in price I can't pass it up. Probably $1000. Only catch is having to pick it up 500 miles away haha oh well, nice road trip!

 

[Anthony]

Some of those had high oil consumption. Cam, and Crank sensors I believe were an issue in some as well. Other than that I like them a lot.

 

[2002 Maxima SE]

I used to own a 2002 Maxima SE for 11 years and 90k miles. It was an awesome car and still as tight (no squeaks, no rattles and no creaks) the day I sold it (for a larger family car).

Yes, some had an oil consumption issue due to the seating/installation of the rings. If your 100k mile Maxima is not consuming oil it will not. My only concern with the car was the rear I-beam suspension. The rear suspension featured liquid filled rubber mounts that were part of the axle. It was not common to have a leak, however, if you did you had few choices. There was no OEM replacement.

The car has excellent power but the MPG never got over 25MPG on the highway (no matter how light footed I drove). Transmission is a JATCO 4 speed which is pretty much bullet proof.

 

[Supercalifragili]

Sounds like a solid car, looks good before 2006 redesign.

 

[ryanschillinger]

They recently had a no start situation. First real problem with the car, and that's why they're buying a new one. They already had whatever sensor replaced so I bet it was a cam or crank sensor.

 

[Mau]

Its a good car, but I've heard those 3.5s usually consume oil. If it was a 2001 with the VQ30 I would say grab it (I had the 2001) it had the same body style but different motor.

For the person that said they had one and moved onto a bigger car, not sure how much bigger you can go then that Maxima. Rear leg room was limo territory.

My only gripe was turning radius was horrible.

 

[ryanschillinger]

Hmm well it sounds like it's been well maintained so I hope no consumption issues. She said it passes California smog so should be good to go. I should be picking it up in a month. I'll see if I can figure out how to post a picture.

 

[ryanschillinger]

 

[ryanschillinger]

 

[ryanschillinger]

These are the pics they sent me showing the damage.