jfuqua

I have a friend selling his 2006 SL so I am searching the web for as much info as I can on it.

It was 100,500 miles. It's seems to be in great shape except for needing a catalytic converter and a possible O2 sensor. The mechanic said a CC will be right around $800 and the O2 will be $400 if required. He won't know until he runs some air though the new converter to see if it's working properly or now.

I know little about cars in general which means next to nothing about Maximas. According to Edmunds, these cars seem to need a lot of repair. The owner just had some transmission work done on it so I didn't notice any issues when taking a test drive.

He's asking $6000 which I felt was a good deal but wants me to handle the repair which means $6800 to $7200 just to get things right. I am thinking about countering with $6400 and he have all repairs in order before we deal.

The check engine light is on. He says it's the CC. I would rather he have the car fixed before I buy it.

I'm looking for general advice. I don't want to get into a money pit with this. I think he'd understand that I'd want a vehicle without the check engine light on before purchasing.

All advice appreciated.

KatIsFast

Is it an automatic or a manual transmission? The automatic transmissions seem to have quite a few problems. In fact every single automatic I looked at had the transmission replaced at one time or another. The manuals run great.

Don't trust what someone trying to sell you a car tells you about a check engine light. You can take it to autozone and have the codes pulled for free and then you know for sure whats wrong with it. I would want to know exactly what codes its throwing before making a decision.

jfuqua

Yes. It's automatic. But he recently had transmission work done though I don't know what it was. He said the repair bill was right around $1200 which doesn't sound like a full replacement.

I'm agreeing that I want the check engine light off before doing the deal even though his price might be quite a bit more.

KatIsFast

Again I would want to know exactly what was done and see the repair order with my own two eyes. This person kind of sounds like a shady character if he's saying "this is what the light is" and "I just had work done" with no specifics or proof.

jfuqua

He's only told me what his mechanic told him as to why the light is on. As for the transmission work, I'm sure he would show me the bill if I asked. I do know everything ran well when I drove it.

Thanks for your advice.

james_costanza

I have a 2007 se, loaded no problems, excellent condition, high mileage. I wanted to trade it in on a Toyota Tacoma 4x4 as I am moving to Moab, Ut. I worked an excellent deal on the truck, but they only wanted to give me 5000 my Maxima. I immediately walked out. $6000 without knowing the cause of the check engine lights is too much to pay. Take the care to autozone yourself and find out the codes. Good luck. Check NADA to find out the value of the car.

nupe84

Check out this website but from what I hear 2007 and 2008 are the years to buy for Maximas. I have a 2004 SE....

http://www.carcomplaints.com/

pac_4_ever

I have an 06 SE with 310,000km an the tranny is still smooth, no repairs done to it. I am the original owner. But yes many of them are known to have tranny issues. Did he ever run into the timing chain issue? I had that problem and I know many others who have also. Other than that this vehicle has been great to me. Much rather have this over an Accord or Camry.

MiaRaider81

I had dealer replace my catalytic converter after check engine light appeared. I also needed cam & crank sensors. I ended up dropping $2500 at dealer but haven't had issue again. I would not buy that car if I were you.

Chris Alexander

Not to be a hater but I wouldn't buy it most people know my story bought mine in 2011 by the end of 2015 I was over 6000 in repairs. My parents bought one too and it felt apart. traded it for an Infiniti M best decision of my life I was fixing stuff every month you can buy one but know the risks.

wingnut2006

Known major problems:

• Timing chain rattle. Not really the timing chain but the main chain guide fails which causes the rattle. Cost to repair $1650 to $2550. This includes timing chain, guide/s, tensioner, camshaft tensioner shoes and water pump.
• Shoes on the camshaft chains wear out. See above.
• Auto transmissions. 04’s, 05’s and 06’s have Aisin Warner 5 speed transmissions without oil cooler. Transmissions have a major problem with heat because they not have an oil cooler and failure of the solenoids. Because the transmissions do not an oil cooler you cannot flush the transmissions to remove all the dirty fluid which in leads to the failure of the solenoids.
• Auto transmissions 07’s and 08’s. If I correct the 07’s and 08”s have CVT’s transmissions. Nissan again had major problems with these transmissions and extended the warranty from 5 years/60,000 miles to 10 years/120,000 miles.
• Motor mounts. OEM mounts are very expensive. Aftermarket mounts do not seem to work well. Labor to replace can run several hours each for the front and back units.
• If the car is driven in Northern areas where salting of the road is common rusting of the motor subframe can and has been a problem.
• Not a major problem but the lower control arm bushing and ball joints seem to go bad around the 100,000 mark.
• The spark plugs are to be replaced at 100,000 miles and more common than not the valve covers are leaking.
  Since the car has approx. 100,000 miles, I would have a trusted mechanic who knows the problems with the 6th gen Maxima check the car out, especially the transmission. If not you may have a money pit.
  Good luck.

george__

iTrader: (1)

fixed

04BlackMaxx

I owned a 2004 from new for almost 10 yrs/120,000mi or so. Biggest issue was the ABS, $3,000 fix including a new actuator and sensors replaced twice.

Chris Alexander

Another thing is this weird steering shimmy these things have mine had it all the way up to the week I bought it to the end when I got rid of it could never eliminate it with every balance imaginable. Listen to these guys before you invest in one. I can tell you

george__ and wingnut2006 know their stuff because everything they listed on common issues I had to fix except for road salt. By the beginning of 2015 It needed a second transmission so I was done.