Hi,

I have a high mileage 91 Maxima with about 270K miles. I'm thinking
of buying another used car, and considering a Lexus that costs less
than $15,000.00. I have considered newer maxima models too, and could
fine some 2000s around that price.

The main reason I'm moving from my current maxima is the mounting cost
of repairs on a 12 year old car - i had so far sunk about $2000 into
this car this year alone, replacing a number of broken parts.

If I buy a 1994 Lexus, what kinds of expensive repairs should I
anticipate?

Would it be better to get a newer maxima or a GS300 or even a 1994 LS400?

Thanks in advance for your assistance ..

/N

 

if u could find it i would say the ls400 but than again repairs on that car would b high if needed...a pal of mine is selling his 96 1st gen gs300 thats in great condition 4 around 12 5k here is the link 2 his post ad, very well known member too and he's from the ny. ...mass.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...threadid=96035

 

depending on taste for around 15k you could get
1.dgot20's car
2.1997 ls400 for around that
3.1998-99 gs300
4.1993 gs300 & 1991-94 ls400 together
ps. nothing would go wrong with a lexus if properly taken care of. and if you fine one here, its more than likely been treated well.

 

I've had a '90 Maxima SE, '95 Maxima SE, and a '00 Acura TL before I settled upon my current '99 GS400. If you look around some of the websites like www.autotrader.com, www.cars.com, and maybe even Ebay, you might be able to find a good deal, besides trying to find one locally. If your price-point is under $15K, you won't have any problem finding a suitable vehicle (maybe even a 2nd generation GS3 with higher mileage). Just be sure to check everything you can on it (prev. title/accident records, prev. maintenance hisotry (if an owner keeps receipts, you know he/she took really good care of it), etc.).

Going from the Maxima to the Acura was a step up--you could tell in the materials that they used (and obvious price differences). One thing that I will give my previous Nissans was that their engines and transmissions were almost bulletproof--they would start reliably and never gave me any problems. However, once I stepped up to an Acura, the nice interiors speak for themselves. Now going from Acura (a value-oriented luxury brand, in my opinion a really nice Honda Accord, which it basically is), to the Lexus GS400, the perceived quality of the materials goes yet up another notch--the leather is very high quality (probably the highest quality I've had in any of the previously mentioned cars), the switchgear all have a reassuring feel of quality to them, BUT it all comes at a higher cost. To service the Nissans or Acura, the parts pretty much were shared with the normal Nissan/Honda channels, and it was pretty cheap to keep them serviced w/ general parts. With the Lexus, just perusing around some of the parts websites (www.parts.com, www.spartanmotormall.com, among many others), if anything goes wrong w/ the Lexus, it will be marginally more expensive to maintain (parts are anywhere from 20-300% more, depending on what you're getting and where you are getting it serviced). However, if the car really doesn't break (esp. w/ the high quality parts they use), then the money is worth it. I consider paying a little more for quality materials for something that I know will last me for a good duration, a very worthwhile investment. All-in-all, you do get what you pay for (in the arena of replacement parts and materials, at least).

One caveat to the Lexus is that while their service departments are pretty good, but they sure make you pay for it (among the most expensive out there), so keep that in mind if you don't do the work yourself or already have an independent garage to do the work for you. With my Acura, I could take it to either a Honda dealer or an Acura dealer and there was not any issues (warranties, etc.) with that. With my Lexus, the Toyota dealerships won't even look at it for service, not to mention the fact that they can't get you any Lexus parts nor even get a parts cross-reference (unless they have special dealings w/ L-tuned parts), so it pretty much relegates you to the Lexus dealer or an independent shop for service--soemthing to think about.

I've been very happy with my current GS400, and I'll be keeping this vehicle for a while. In the end, for you, I don't really think that you can go wrong with your preferred vehicle choices, so long as you pick a vehicle that's been taken care of and has not been in any accidents. With the Nissans, you can't go wrong, but step up to a Lexus, and you'll be riding in a higher notch of luxury (albeit at somewhat higher maintenance costs) and unlike many domestics, it will probably last you until 275K as well, if not longer.

Best of luck to your search.

 

Within the last 4 years I've owned a 1994 Maxima GXE A/T, 1997 Maxima SE 5 Speed, 1998 Maxima SE 5 Speed and now a Stillen Supercharged 1996 Maxima 5 Speed (Formerly 75 Shot NOS). What can I say they are super solid cars. However in your position, with a 91, you have to really watch out for the auto tranny, exhaust manifold studs rear and front, engine/tranny mounts, timing belt, brake caliper rebuild and all kinds of other things that are not worth your money at this point.

I also have a 1999 GS 400 that has been kind of good to me but certain things have been slight disappointments considering this was a $53K car a few years ago. There is a horrible low idle issue with most 98-00 GS 400 models, dont really know about GS 300 or LS 400. Also, the car DOES not hold the road as well as a 5 Series BMW and the auto tranny IS NOT nearly as crisp as a G35 Sedan, the handling leaves something to be desired and is nowhere near the two either. However you can not mess with the car in terms of exterior styling and interior fit and finish. Perfect.

In your shoes, I would opt for either a 1997 LS400 with avg miles (Which is the last year before the slight re-design) or a 1998 GS 300 with around 85K-90K miles. In both cases, you have to watch out for the timing belt change anywhere from 60-90K even though most people never change them. Otherwise if it has been maintained before you, you should have no problems. You probably wont enjoy a 2001 Maxima as much as one of these, even though in the long run I guarantee you would have less headaches.

PS, I wouldnt really opt for a Pre 98 GS 300. Even though they have 220HP, your 91 Maxima and it would be head to head 0-60. Both around the 9 second mark.

 

Even if u don't get mine, the 1st gen GS is a great value. They have a timeless shape (IMO more "modern" than the 1st gen LS), a great roomy interior and parts for repairs are easy to come buy. As someone else mentioned, the power would be substantially less than a 2k Maxima, but there's always turbo kits! I am asking 12,500 for my 96 with 98k and a new Lexus Tranny (no mods). U could probably find a older one (93-94) for much less than that but then u get into fixing parts more often

15k would get u into 2nd gen gs with 95-110 sumodd thousand miles.

Take a look at mine, and send me a PM if u want to talk, otherwise goodluck on ur purchase and whatever u do, choose a LEXUS!!!!

 

My 2 cents:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...ld+I+buy+ls400

and welcome to club lexus

 

I was looking for a car for somewhere near the same price a few months back and my roommates at the time (BabyPowder and 1SICKLEX) both had GS4's, so I was definitely looking at them. But the thing is that all of the GS4's in that price range had tons of miles on them. So I started looking at the 1st gen GS and some other cars like the ES, I30, Max, TL, and a couple of others. Anyway, to make a long story short I came across a 2001 Anniversary Edition Maxima that I fell in love with. It had every option I ever wanted for a price I couldn't pass up and the mileage was acceptable. But I'm sure whatever car you choose, you will fall in love with.

 

thanks for the info -- i'm saving a bit of a money now for downpayment, and would continue looking around to make a purchase hopefully in the new year...

best - n

 

i've had a 1990 maxima GXE and it was prolly the BEST car i've ever had. mine had the digital display with head up, adjustable suspension and transmission, all black leather, digital climate control, auto seatbelts, that keyboard on the door.
it was great...smooth, that adjustable suspension was great. that digital display was tight. i don't know bro.... that was a pretty high tech car for the day.
wish i could find another JUST LIKE THAT. i would buy it in a sec.