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Nissan Maxima Maintenance and Repair

4182 messages,  Last post on Jun 05, 2013 at 11:18 AM

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Messages Page 376 of 419

#3751 of 4182 Maxima's various probles - keep or trade in? by asia2

Oct 27, 2007 (7:00 pm)

I own 2000 GXE with about 76000 miles on it.I'm the first owner and so far I did not have any major problems except O2 sensor which I replaced couple years ago. Recently my car would start and a second later die (regardless of the temperature, warm rather than cold) than restart again without a problem, ocassionaly hit a "flat spot" on a highway (an awful feeling, especially if you a in a middle of a quick manuver), etc. I took it to my trusted mechanic, who is pretty clueless since the computer doesn't show any codes, but has a few ideas including fuel injectors. The total cost would be around $2000. Recently I visited Nissan dealership just to take a pick at the new Rogue and of course asked for a quote on my possible trade - in. I would get $4000; that means that the repair would cost me a half of car's value. Does it make sense to keep it? Does anybody know something about the Rogue - during test drive it seemed sooo slow comparing to my old "Maxi"?

#3752 of 4182 Re: Maxima's various probles - keep or trade in? [asia2] by gotoyota

Oct 29, 2007 (6:30 am)

Replying to: asia2 (Oct 27, 2007 7:00 pm)
The dealer is never going to offer you full value for your trade. A 2000 Maxima for $4K would be a steal, assuming its condition is decent, and you should be able to get a much better price for it if you sell on your own. I bet I could get somewhere in the neighborhood of $2.5-3K for my old '97 with 200K on it. I don't know how your mechanic can quote a price when he doesn't know what to look for??? Take it to the dealer - it might cost $100 or so to have them do a diagnostic, but their scanner can read stored codes that don't trigger a check engine light. It could be a faulty knock sensor, bad fuel injectors, bad ignition coil(s)... the list goes on. Your car is surely worth more than $4k though, and I certainly wouldn't discard it just yet.

#3753 of 4182 Re: Maxima's various probles - keep or trade in? [gotoyota] by asia2

Oct 29, 2007 (6:55 am)

Replying to: gotoyota (Oct 29, 2007 6:30 am)
Thank you, I checked Kelly Blue Book, and 2000 GXE goes for anywhere between $5900 and $7900. I still would be happy to get anything in $6K area... I considered dealers offer just to save me some hassle (all those car things don't come so natural to women and we are treated differently at dealerships or shops...) I love the car, it still gives me a shiver when it accelerates and I would like to keep it. The problem is, that the mechanic gave me a quote for everything he planned for my car so far, with hope that it would fix the problem. What if it doesn't? I have not seen my car since Wednesday (good thing he gave me a loaner - 14 year old Intrepid, still running!) Last time I heard from the shop was on Friday and they told me that during the test drive on the highway my car would stutter and shake . It was not happening before!!! And apparently they only replaced spark plugs so far! The guy worked on my previous 3 cars and was OK. I'm afraid I will end up towing my Maxima to the dealer, they shoulnd't charge much more than $99/hr (what the mechanic charges me)

#3754 of 4182 Re: Maxima's various probles - keep or trade in? [asia2] by gotoyota

Oct 29, 2007 (7:39 am)

Replying to: asia2 (Oct 29, 2007 6:55 am)
Wow, not to alarm you, but... The problem with a lot of independent shops is that they really are not very specialized. In my experience, if they don't specifically specialize in a foreign brand, they don't know foreign cars very well. I have known a few mechanics fairly well and have a friend who owns a shop. They have all said the same things, that the vast majority of their business comes from American makes (for whatever reason - that's beside the point ) - they rarely see Nissan, Toyota or Honda. I doubt this is much different from everywhere else. They pay thousands of dollars for the types of scanners they use, not to mention the money they pay for training - if they actually go to school for it - and since foreign makes don't account for a large part of their business, few shops invest in the tools or training to work on them. Your mechanic should not have just started working on your car without having at least a 90% hunch what to work on. The problem now is he has your car and doesn't have a clue what he is doing, apparently, and you are paying him hourly for it. There is a list of known issues on the Maxima that could have caused the type of symptoms you are having and the dealer would be able to check those things without wasting your time and money like this mechanic appears to be doing. My advice is to cut your losses with your mechanic now and take your car to a reputable dealer before you lose any more money with this guy who probably should not be working on your car. Case in point - my old Maxima had a check engine light recently so I took it to the dealer. As old as my car is, you would expect it to cost a ton of money to fix. It certainly could have... but the dealer found the problem to be a dirty EGR valve. The computer said it was an EGR temp sensor that wasn't switching, but since the mechanic was experienced he knew the problem was due to the fact that the EGR system was clogged with soot, so they cleaned it out and now it's fixed. An independent shop would not have known what the P1404 code was for because their scanners won't tell them (it's Nissan specific) so they would have just started replacing stuff, most likely, in an effort to get the business. At best, they would have replaced the EGR temp sensor, which would not have fixed the problem. Then what? Well I can tell you, they would have found some other thing that needed to be replaced because it's an old car and you can find all kinds of things that could be replaced, and it would have cost me a fortune. I spent $260.00 for labor and now my car is fine. So, sorry for lengthy post, but this guy may very well find $2000.00 worth of things to do on your car, but still not fix the problem. Get it back and take it to a dealer!

#3755 of 4182 Re: Maxima's various probles - keep or trade in? [gotoyota] by asia2

Oct 29, 2007 (8:18 am)

Replying to: gotoyota (Oct 29, 2007 7:39 am)
THANKS AGAIN, IRONICALLY THE GUY'S BUSINESS HAS "IMPORTS" IN THE NAME! I even saw a Porsche there - that would explain $99/hr charge!I think he works on foreign cars but still , it appears he has no clue what a problem with my car is. And now it jerks when it drivers!!! I will take it to the dealer (plenty to chose from, I live in one of Chicago suburbs), but I'm still afraid I will be taken advantage of. Did I mentioned that in addition to my gender, English is my second language?

#3756 of 4182 Re: Maxima's various probles - keep or trade in? [asia2] by gotoyota

Oct 29, 2007 (9:25 am)

Replying to: asia2 (Oct 29, 2007 8:18 am)
Well, I see why you're a little reluctant, but I think if you call around you will find a dealer who is trustworthy and there are folks that will treat you respectfully and not take advantage of you. Plus most dealer shops have better trained management and have the reputation of the dealer to uphold. It might be helpful to ask people you know if they can recommend a good dealer. I wish I had a list of qualifying questions to share, but I don't. I called around to the various dealers and described the problem I was having and found a dealer I liked. I chose the one I did because they listened and seemed confident they could fix it, and they understood that I didn't want to spend a fortune on an old car that I plan to retire in a year of so. Good luck, I'm sure you will be able to find a good Nissan shop that will treat you well and fix your problem without giving you the run around while they try to guess what the problem is.

#3757 of 4182 Re: Maxima's various probles - keep or trade in? [gotoyota] by asia2

Oct 29, 2007 (9:59 am)

Replying to: gotoyota (Oct 29, 2007 9:25 am)
That was actually a great advise. I did not think of shopping around for best service from the dealer (I would shop around fro a new car though)I plan to keep my Maxima a little longer - it was my first brand new car and to make my money well spent I wanted to keep it for about 8-10 years. Just out of curiosity - does anyone know anything about new Rogue? To me it is a good looking car, the Altima engine has proved itself over the years, it offers a lot as standard equipment, the only downside - non existent acceleration...

#3758 of 4182 Re: Maxima's various probles - keep or trade in? [asia2] by gotoyota

Oct 29, 2007 (11:12 am)

Replying to: asia2 (Oct 29, 2007 9:59 am)
The November issue of Car and Driver has a full review of the Rogue. You can probably still find some issues at the news stands. It looks like a decent little sport ute, but only comes with the 2.5L 4 cyl. It has decent output for a 4 cyl, but still, a 4 cyl doesn't feel like a 6! The CVT doesn't help that feeling either. Since it's a new model you should be able to find lots of reviews.

#3759 of 4182 Re: Maxima's various probles - keep or trade in? [gotoyota] by alexstore

Oct 30, 2007 (9:49 am)

Replying to: gotoyota (Oct 29, 2007 11:12 am)
If i were you, I would wait a year to have nissan fix all issues with that car. Its a new car so there will be some issues with it. BTW review in motor trend was average.

#3760 of 4182 Re: Maxima's various probles - keep or trade in? [alexstore] by gotoyota

Oct 30, 2007 (10:30 am)

Replying to: alexstore (Oct 30, 2007 9:49 am)
Nah, I'm not planning to buy one. At the dealer last week when I had my Maxima in for some work, I decided to walk the lot and check out a few cars... of course a salesman was by my side in no time, trying to sell me a new Rogue. I wasn't even remotely interested - I just don't care for the styling that much. I was very tempted to spring for a new Altima 3.5 or a Maxima though - I could've gotten either for around $21-23K. Dealers are willing to DEAL right now... too bad I'm not ready to buy yet. I just bought the wife an 07 Toyota Sienna Limited and I need to pay that off first (hopefully by this summer), then I will be shopping for a replacement for my tired old 97 Maxi with 200k on it. Kinda leaning toward a G35 though - I can't see getting away from that VQ!

Messages Page 376 of 419

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