If thebax2006 or anyone who knows imports well is online, how much longer might my car last? And is it worth keeping?
I have a 1999 maxima with the VQ30DE engine & a 5-speed manual transmission. It has almost 215,000 miles on it (synthetic oil only) but runs like a champ. I've rebuilt the front end, new struts, control arm bushings, CV axles, ball joints, everything, rebuilt all the brake calipers, new rotors, etc.
I basically love my car, ive put in tons of maintenance to keep it in top shape, but I want to know if it's a good idea to plan on keeping it until it has maybe 400,000 or 500,000 miles?
It is realistic to think that I could easily hit 500k with my car as long as I keep replacing whatever breaks? I did a compression test a few days ago and my cylinders were all between 125-140psi.
Would it make economical sense to drive this car into the ground for as long as I can? Or would there be a point where buying a different car would be best.
thebax20062017-01-02T16:42:04Z
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With that kind of mileage I doubt you'd get very much on a trade in or even selling it outright. I'd just keep driving it and change the oil and filter every 5,000 miles since you're using synthetic oil. I've seen 350,000 on those motors but 400,000 or more is asking a lot.
Any car will last forever if you keep repairing it. Things are going to wear out and fail. If you're up to repairing or replacing these parts, then go for it. It's realistic to see a million miles out of a vehicle if you keep up with maintenance and repairs.
There may come a point, however where it's not economical to keep throwing money at a vehicle. Rebuilding an engine or transmission is expensive and time consuming, but can be done. That is mainly a personal choice. If your engine fails and needs a complete replacement, you might need to drop 3,000 bucks on the car. You could get a used engine and save some money, but that's a bigger gamble. You never know what you get. It's the same with buying another used car. If you have the $3000 available, then it would be your choice as to whether or not you swap the engine for one with a nice warranty or put it towards another vehicle. Again, a completely personal choice.
You have a old car with high mileage. What do you think you would get for it? If you replaced all those things as you said why would you be asking if it makes economical sense to keep it? It's you that don't make much sense here.
That car is famous for bearing failures in the differential portion of your 5 spd transaxle, the injectors are a common failure, they require the upper intake to be removed. The timing chain guides are a problem and a nightmare to change, the starter commonly strips the teeth of the ring gear so the tranny has to be removed to fix that. - Other than that they're a great little car.
Hi such rebuilds are not really worth it given the bodywork usually needs some welding done as well a complete engine overhaul with a reconditioned gearbox and all the cv joints wheel bear rings in fact so much. you might as well have brought a new or newer car.