# Should I get this Maxima?? 56K nono



## macming (Feb 6, 2006)

Hello,

I posted a thread regarding a getting a new used car a while back, and I thought I had settled on this 2004 maxima. So far, I have put down a deposit check for $1000 and I'm going to pick it up in a week or so. 

Today, I went for my highway test drive and I snapped these pictures. The rear light housing had a crack on the left side before, which the dealer has fixed. Looking closely at the bumper, there are a few scrapes and scratches. There is also two little lumps in the middle of the rear bumper. Inside the car, I found a sepc sheet for the car, and it says rear bumper was damaged. So I'm wondering if you guys can spot if this car was rear ended. The paint on the rear bumper was origional, and if the car was in a rear accident, I think the dealer would've replaced the rear bumper and repainted it. So the scratches and scrapes shouldn't be there if the car was in fact in a serious rear end accident. Also, carfax.com shows the car has a clean title. So I think the owner swiped something while backing in, which cracked a small part of the light housing and scraped that bumper. 

In the trunk, Then I found a service reciept showing this car had a new transmission installed the first year with 3000 KM. The reason of replacement was the transmission was always stuck in neutral, and it turns out the 5th and 6th gear hub was damaged, and metal shaving was found inside the transmission. I'm thinking it's due to either the owner does not how to drive a standard, or the car has been raced and tracked. During the first year of service, the car only had about 5000KM in total. I have a little over 2 years of warranty left on the power/drive train, so even if I need a new tranimission, I should be covered. However, what kind of symptoms should I look for in a faulty transmission?

So this is all the information I know, and it is a big purchase because I'm just getting out of university. The car was put on the road May 22nd, 2003, and current has *33,600 KM (21,000 Miles).* We agreed on *$25,000 CAD* for it. 

Here are some pictures of the car, and I really don't want to be stuck with a lemon, so please help me out.


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## DRUNKHORSE (Mar 6, 2005)

check the action of the shifter. Is it stiff? Vague? Does the clutch engage smoothly, or is it tricky? Is it slow to respond? Does the transmission "hunt" between gears on uphills? How does it compare with competitors? 
check all shifts and make sure they all run smooth. If I were you, I would have a mechanic do some line pressure tests, or a shop which does air pressure tests. I would check the warranty aswell, check exactly till when you are covered.


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## macming (Feb 6, 2006)

DRUNKHORSE said:


> check the action of the shifter. Is it stiff? Vague? Does the clutch engage smoothly, or is it tricky? Is it slow to respond? Does the transmission "hunt" between gears on uphills? How does it compare with competitors?
> check all shifts and make sure they all run smooth. If I were you, I would have a mechanic do some line pressure tests, or a shop which does air pressure tests. I would check the warranty aswell, check exactly till when you are covered.


The shifter is fairly smooth, and the clutch is silky as well. The shifting action is nice and crisp, and there wasn't any problems with the sycros grinding. So I'm thinking the new transmission is probably fine. I will go and test drive another Maxima this weekend, and see how the two compare. 

I got another 2 years and 3 month left on the power train warranty, so I should be ok if anything major fails. 

After I spoke to some friends, we are thinking the problem with the origional tranny is due to manufacturing defect, because of the low mileage, and the 5th and 6th gear was broken, instead 1st and 2nd. 

What do you think about our assumption?


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