Car Question

[Tom J]

I've got a 1992 Nissan Maxima with 137,000 miles on it. I bought it new and have always found it to be a reliable car. Lately it has been running rough. It has always been serviced by the dealer. I have always been satisfied with his service, but I would like to get other opinions. He tells me there are three problems:

1. Cracks in the Distributor Cap--cost $95

2. A bad fuel sensor--cost $220.

3. Three (3) bad fuel injectors--cost $800.

Obviously, the fuel injectors are the big ticket item. The car probably does not have a value of over $1500, however, I probably can't come close to replacing it for less than $7500 which I don't want to spend right now. My brother suggested getting the distributor cap and fuel sensor replaced and seeing how it runs. I ask the dealer about this. He said that if there was only one injector bad, this may not be a bad option, but with three bad it could lead to other more costly problems. Other than some minor cosmetic problems this car appears to be mechanically sound. At this point I probably put 8000 miles a year on it.

What are your thoughts or suggestions. Thanks for the help.

[frumper64]

You might try getting an independent estimate for the items the dealer thinks need to be fixed. $95 for a distributor cap seems awfully high to me, as does the $800 for three bad injectors. A quick search of NAPA auto parts shows the distributor cap to cost around $30 and the injectors seem to go for around $100 for remanufactured ones to around $130 each for new ones. The distributor cap can't take more than 30 minutes or so to change and I find it hard to believe there is $400 worth of labor to change out three injectors. With all that said, it's almost always cheaper to repair a car you already own than to buy a new one. Good luck

[just4funsies]

If the car is only worth $1500, why can't you get one just like it for alot less than $7500?

[sacherjj]

If the car is only worth $1500, why can't you get one just like it for alot less than $7500?

It is almost impossible to find a car that will replace a car that you have for quite a while, for the same price. Although you can find a servicable car for under $7500. I would think $4-5k a more realistic figure. Buying used, you don't know the history of the car, so you don't know what is going to die on it. I'm in the same boat with my '96 Maxima. I hope it keeps chugging along well, at 235k. It is probably worth $2-3k now, but it would be hard to find a replacement for it for under $5-6k. Where you really get taken is when you have a perfectly fine auto that gets totalled. The insurance company takes what they think it is worth, minus any imperfections that your didn't turn into them. (Little dents and such.) How exactly do you find reliable transportation for $600, when the same model car in worse shape is going for $1000-1,500. You can find transportation, but not reliable (or with know issues) transportation.

[Ken Weaver]

At 137k miles its just getting broke in. My 96 Nissan truck and 97 Altima are both over 120k and I'd spend that much to keep either of them running. So far their operating and maintenance cost has been minimal.

[Boomer_01]

Hummm……….let me think $1000 to repair at the dealer…. probably less at an independent…..$7500 to replace……lets think……$6500 more to replace it with a car you don’t know a thing about….versus $1000 to replace minor mechanicals on a car that you know about how its been driven and cared for…….

Put the $6500 in a money market account and find a reputable independent shop to make the repairs…..that’s my recommendation….

I have a 95 Mercedes Benz that has 74K miles on it…..spent a grand on repairs this month…..and was glad to do it…..It’s a great little car

Boomer

[gjat]

TomJ,
I've bought and sold used cars for awhile and have a BIL who is a buyer for an AutoWay. I think my opinion is worth about 1 cent... LOL.
You've got the right idea. It IS always better to keep a car running then to buy somebody's used until the car isn't worth the money you want to pay. You aren't depreciating it so you alone are the sole judge of the value you get for the $$ you spend. A Lexus get's to the same destination a Hyndai does but the price/value is much different.
With that said, I'd recommend you ask around and find a good independent shop. Look for National Trade membership and good word of mouth. A dealer is usually adequate, but the policy for repairs is set for management. Parts and services on older cars are sold quite high to 'encourage' you to make the financial decision to buy new. They won't put used, reconditioned, or aftermarket parts in. Sometimes that's good, but it's expensive.
I'd guess you may be able to save $300 to $400 with effort. But you have to consider warrenty, service if you have a problem, etc. If the dealer has a service guy you trust and have a relationship with, it wouldn't hurt to get a price from another reputable place and try to talk the dealer service dept down a few hundred.

[LCHIEN]

probably you can save 33% or more at an independent garage; find a decent one and have them give you an analysis w/o giving them what the dealer recommended.

I have had a 84 Maxima, a 96 maxima and a 2001 Infiniti I30 which is a Maxima inside. Good cars.

The only thing about spending money on older cars is the nagging feeling that behind that $1000 repair lurks a another major failure wating to happen...
transmission, Air conditioning (OK, its essential for Houston), or whatever.

[Scottydont]

I used to be a Nissan Dealership Service Manager. That diagnosis may be correct but I would get a second opinion. I found the injectors and other engine electronics to be nearly bulletproof. In having another diagnosis I would ask for specific diagnostics that support the judged failure of the components. Many driveability techs rely on general information and diag codes that may not neccesarily be the problem. If the diagnosis is consistent I would ask them about replacing the least expensive first, one at a time. My point is that the car may need them all but sometimes the cheaper of the bunch can be the fix.

1) Cap I'm OK with that one. Normally a worn or carbon tracked cap will cause performance probelm more so under load not at idle.

2) Fuel sensor (which one) mass air flow sensor? Not likely IMHO unless failed specs support it.

3) Fuel injectors - The only ones I have EVER replaced were due to fuel contamination. I know this can be spendy because of the price of the parts and and I think the upper intake needs to come off to replace them if I remember right. 5.3 hours labor and $115 each injector (has 6 total.) $800 sounds about right for 3. It would definately be cheaper to have a reputatable independant do it. Anorther concideration is get an independant quote and ask the dealer to be competetive on the price. I used to do 10 or 20% off just to keep a job in the shop.

An unrelated question is have you ever replace the timing belt? If I rememeber right that is a zero clearance motor where if the belt breaks the pistons will hit the valves. I know the 3.0 was your 3.5 might. You might ask about that. That can be an expensive maint. item. The only reason I mention it is that it may come into play if you are battling with putting that kind of money into it.

I am a big fan of those 93-95 Maximas and they will go seemingly forever. I owned one and it was a great car. 94 3.5V6 5spd, sunroof leather Bose stereo. Nice road cruiser.

Good luck!

[jziegler]

As much as I love my Maxima, the service I have gotten at dealers has been mixed at best. I love the fact that they say that every other oil change is a tire rotation (OK, I can understand), but want to charge over $100 for it. After that, I started going to independents, and the prices are better. I'd at least talk to a reputable independent in your area and see what they say. At worst, they say that you need the same work, but might charge less. Does a second opinion ever really hurt?

-Jim

[wreckwriter]

Were it me I'd replace the cap and see what happens. If the cap is actually cracked your performance will go from good to bad very noticably. Like others have said, price the job at a local garage rather than just the dealer, preferably someone trusted by someone you trust.

[Pappy]

Start with the cap. It's not hard to change one out. If you are running the original plug wires, replace them at the same time with a quality set.

If your performance improves, the next suggestion might take some research. Check for a local dealer for BG products (Speed shops or MC shops) and invest in a can of 44K. If you have dirty injectors, it WILL clean them. Add a can to your tank, run to 1/2 tank and top it off, then runn it to below 1/4 tank. They also have a product called MI-3000 that is designed to keep them clean by runnning it in your tank every 3000 miles.

[LCHIEN]

I think the last few posters have some good ideas - replacing the cap is a do-it-yourself job as is replacing spark plug wires, often related. Not very expensive for the part. And if it is bad the improvemnet should be immediate. Just keep track of the wire order - replace one at a time or you'll be sorry if you mix them up (719 ways to get it wrong; 1 way to get it right). Then try the other things including injector cleaner additives.

[Tom J]

Additional Information and Questions

Thanks for all the suggestions. Just to let you know I did check with two independent garages in the area. I did not have the garages do a diagnosis on the car, but I did tell them what Nissan was charging me for the proposed repairs. Both told me that they would charge almost the same amount. So at least I know the charges don't appear out of line. Now I need to decide what to do.

I did have one other question--the Nissan service manager said that driving the car with three bad injectors could cause additional problems. He was not very specific, but then again, he knows my lack of car knowledge, so he may not thought it not worth the effort. Assuming the injectors may be bad, and I left them alone temporarily and just made the other fixes suggested am I running a big risk of having to do repairs in addition to the injectors if I do find that they are bad?

That made me think about one more question that may seem contrary to the one I just asked. The labor to replace one injector is the same as to replace all of them. I am toying with the idea of replacing all if I decide to do the three bad ones. I think I will try to keep the car for two more years and I am scared if just one more injector goes bad I will be kicking myself for not having done them all when I had the chance. I talked to two non-Nissan mechanics and they recommended doing all if I was going to do three. What do you guys think?

BTW if I haven't mentioned it recently, this forum is great. Thanks for all the help.

[Russianwolf]

As someone who does most of his own work on his own cars (most of it isn't that hard if you have the tools) I can't think of what running on a couple bad injectors could do that it wouldn't have already done. Most likely they wouldn't be sending enough fuel into the chambers. This may cause you to run a little lean, but that won't kill you. Worse case would be that it could effect the Cat, but most of us say no harm no foul there.

Replace the Distributer cap and wires on your own. Plugs while you're at it. It doesn't take long and all the parts will run you less that $60 i would think. Unless you like paying for an hours labor for a 15-20 minute job.

drive it a couple days and have the diags redone. that may cure the problem all on it's own. If the car isn't sparking right then it could cause the fuel to not burn cleanly, which can through the readings from the sensor off. If the sensor is off, then the computer may be sending incorrect signals to the injectors and they may not be a problem.

My point is as smart as cars are, they don't always know when one malfunction is causing a false reading for another. The dealers lover to do all the work at one time even if it's not needed.