# 1992 Nissan Maxima, keep or sell?



## theconqueror (Mar 30, 2008)

About two years ago i picked up my grandmother's 92 maxima. She was your typical old lady; drove to work (two miles round trip), church (3mi r/t) and the supermarket (6mi r/t) by the time i got it there were 38,000 miles on it. however like an old lady she did minimal maintenance (it still had the stock rubber) and its cleanings came only with the rain and snow. 

I have done the basic maintenance on it since; oil, coolant, a/t fluid. replaced a few parts; new distributor, wires and plugs, drivers side CV. its up to about 86,000 miles. 

two days ago second gear went. i dropped it off at the shop this afternoon and the guy gave me an estimate of $1500 to $2500 for the repair. also i have noticed that the engine has a mildly erratic idle that evens out under throttle. the car isn't worth that much on the market, so my question is. is it worth the repair bill or should i just cut my losses? ideally i would like this car to get me into 2010. 

you guys are my pros, am i looking at any major repairs likely to arise given proper maintenance? thanks all, sorry for the long post.


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## Tom 2000 (Jan 1, 2008)

The erratic idle is likely a fuel injector. My car had the same symptom. To check, you need to take a multi-meter and check the resistance of the injectors. It should be around 10-14 ohms. #4 and #6 were out of range on my car, so I replaced them. It's not too difficult of a job to do yourself. 

On the transmission, I would get more estimates, but that may just about do you in.

The car itself is very reliable. I have 191K on my car now and I had to fix all the common problems - exhaust manifold studs, CVs, etc..but in the last 11 years I've owned my car, it has been very reliable.

Did you change your timing belt at 60K? If not, that needs to be changed right away (or major engine repair when it snaps). That could blow your budget on top of the tranny issues.


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## internetautomart (Mar 8, 2004)

I would cut my losses.
as you will be needing brake work, exhaust , fuel lines, brakes lines all in the near future because the mileage is low, when a car has low mileage and you know the trips were short the condensation builds up in the metal lines (exhaust and brake /fuel lines) which cause the parts to corrode from the inside out.
my current subaru (1994) has 136k on it and is on it's second exhaust
I had a 92 with 172k on it and the exhaust was still original


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## 93maxtuner (Apr 3, 2008)

i have a 93 maxima se with 145,000 miles on it. I took it in and they said i need a new feul injector. it cost 514.00, is this a good deal, can i just drive the car with a bad injector for a few months until i save to get a new car? what will happen if i keep on driving it with bad injector?


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## internetautomart (Mar 8, 2004)

93maxtuner said:


> i have a 93 maxima se with 145,000 miles on it. I took it in and they said i need a new feul injector. it cost 514.00, is this a good deal, can i just drive the car with a bad injector for a few months until i save to get a new car? what will happen if i keep on driving it with bad injector?


is the car $514 or the injector?


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## theconqueror (Mar 30, 2008)

93maxtuner: if you don't fix it you'll get ass awful mpg, poor throttle response, and everything else that comes with a non-firing cylinder. Do you have to fix it? No. Should you fix it? Yes. If you are mechanically inclined and have a free day you can do it yourself. Pick up a Haynes repair manual and it'll give you the step by step. 

btw: looks like i'm going for the sale. $2,670.00 would be my final price for repair. sooo... anyone looking for a 1992 Maxima with 89xxx miles and a bad transmission? Name your price. It can be driven just pick up enough speed before you hit any steep hills so it won't try to get into 2nd.


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## 93maxtuner (Apr 3, 2008)

the car was 2, 700 and the charge for the repair is 514.00 ,the repair includes new injector and intake manifold gasket. so far the only repairs i had done was roters pads and calibers on all 4 tires the cost of that was 600. iam no car mech and only know a lil bout cars.


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## internetautomart (Mar 8, 2004)

you paid 2700 for a car that doesn't even run right????
it's a 1200 car tops when it doesn't run right.


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