CL (Seattle) '83 Maxima diesel sedan auto for $1K obo

[redmondjp]

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/car/610936465.html

1983 nissan datsun maxima DIESEL!! - $1000

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Reply to: sale-610936465@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-03-18, 8:23PM PDT

car has good body,interior needs some love.125k miles,automatic.runs and drives excelent. great bio diesel car..or gas saver car...diesel motor is like a 280z motor..would be great canadate to make a 240 z diesel..eather way the motor alone is worth more than what im asking.425-876-0641......car is licensed and all paperwork in my name.NO TRADES,OR PAYMENTS. CASH ONLY

This item has been posted by-owner.
Location: everett

[no pictures posted]

[redmondjp]

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/car/612874089.html

1983 nissan , datsun ,maxima. DIESEL!!! rare rare rare

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Reply to: sale-612874089@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-03-20, 1:52PM PDT

runs and drives great 125k miles..interior old and ugly.but body is nice.eather pull the motor and make a profit on the motor alone.or just drive it.ebay it..whatever. all papers in my name ready to go.licensed also.425-876-0641 NO TRADES , CASH ONLY ,NO PAYMENTS THANK YOU

[Carimbo]

Raised price, now $1300.

[goglio704]

As popular as diesels and biodiesel are out there, it should bring that no problem. Looks like a pretty straight car from what I see. Price fluctuations could spook a buyer though.

[redmondjp]

I don't know that the price has been raised--I suspect that the seller had the car along their street/road with that (original) price painted on it and never bothered to scrape it off before taking the pictures. The first ad had a price of $1K, and the second ad (where the pics were added) didn't mention a price--I suspect that one could do some dickering there.

But as we have discussed on other posts here, the group of people willing, able, and having the free time to want to keep a 25-year-old car on the road and reliable is just not that large around these parts. Most likely it will be an alternative-fuels fan that ends up with this car (nothing wrong with that).

If one just wants to get decent fuel mileage, any 10-year-old Civic is going to do better than this car, and with a lot less maintenance required.

I sold both my '81 Rabbit D and '82 720 diesel not because I didn't like them, but because they needed too much TLC for a new dad who is remodeling the entire house and has 5-6-7-8 cars, depending on what month it is. I bought a '97 Civic and had my favorite shop do the 100K service on it, and it should be good to go for another 100K, leaving me to do oil changes and get tires and do the brakes once in a while. Right now, that's good for me!

[asavage]

I don't think you'll get another 100k trouble-free miles from that '97 Civic -- that's wishful thinking.

You'll be up for half-shafts before that, brakes, maybe a clutch. These things are not designed for a ten-year lifespan anymore, more like seven. And often it's not the drivetrain bits that drive you to a newer car, it's the broken window regulator or failed A/C or leaking heater core or dash lights out or broken seatback or a ignition lock that fails or . . . lots of things wear out or break that don't affect the ability of the car to be driven, they just make you think of moving to a trailer park where it will blend in

Still, it's a good car, and the OAC is probably lower than any 25-yr-old car (with, possibly, the exception of your Rabbit-D).

[goglio704]

"OAC" ?...Over All Cost?

[asavage]

Yeah. I should have used "TCO", because "OAC" is usually "On Approval of Credit". Sorry for the confusing acronyms. Never use a large word when a diminutive one will do. I tend to abuse my hegemony. And like that.

(or, as K. Vonnegut Jr. might say, "And so it goes.")

[Carimbo]

I don't know that the price has been raised...

Yes, I always assume price is negotiable, yet: This was from the most recent listing I saw:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/car/612874089.html

1983 nissan , datsun ,maxima. DIESEL!!! rare rare rare - $1300
Reply to: sale-612874089@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-03-20, 1:52PM PDT

runs and drives great 125k miles..interior old and ugly.but body is nice.eather pull the motor and make a profit on the motor alone.or just drive it.ebay it..whatever. all papers in my name ready to go.licensed also.425-876-0641 NO TRADES , CASH ONLY ,NO PAYMENTS THANK YOU

* This item has been posted by-owner.
* Location: everett
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Posting ID: 612874089

[glenlloyd]

This car looks very familiar, have we seen it somewhere before?

[goglio704]

Reminds me of one that was in Florida a while back, but who knows. The pale blue sedans are nice looking cars. I need another sedan like I need a hole in the head, but I would like to try out the transmission in an 83. I want an 83 wagon eventually. If the OD auto turned out to be a disappointment, I could always swap in a 5 speed.

[philip]

Yeah. I should have used "TCO", because "OAC" is usually "On Approval of Credit". Sorry for the confusing acronyms. Never use a large word when a diminutive one will do. I tend to abuse my hegemony. And like that.

(or, as K. Vonnegut Jr. might say, "And so it goes.")

What is the small / simpler word for "diminutive" and for "hegemony" too?

I like to use acronyms -only- after spelling out the names the first time.

[redmondjp]

I don't think you'll get another 100k trouble-free miles from that '97 Civic -- that's wishful thinking.

Gee, Al, thanks for popping my bubble!

You'll be up for half-shafts before that, brakes, maybe a clutch. These things are not designed for a ten-year lifespan anymore, more like seven. And often it's not the drivetrain bits that drive you to a newer car, it's the broken window regulator or failed A/C or leaking heater core or dash lights out or broken seatback or a ignition lock that fails or . . . lots of things wear out or break that don't affect the ability of the car to be driven, they just make you think of moving to a trailer park where it will blend in )

Well, axles have already been done once I think (they're easy to change, anyways), yes on brakes, I do that myself, and well, fingers crossed on the clutch so we'll see (my wife and I are both pretty easy on it).

Still, it's a good car, and the OAC is probably lower than any 25-yr-old car (with, possibly, the exception of your Rabbit-D).

Funny you should mention the Rabbit. No question, that has got to be one of the lowest overall cost-per-mile cars that has ever been built. The only reason I sold mine was that it needed all that other stuff you mentioned. Drivetrain was rock solid, but had water leaks so I stripped out entire interior (sold it that way), the headliner had fallen down, it needed brakes, e-brake cable, valve cover gasket, water pump, engine mounts, death by 1000 cuts. Plus it had been sitting for a year outside underneath a tree waiting for me to fix it (Rabbit aquarium, anybody?) and I hated to see it rot away. Current owner loves it and is giving it the TLC it needed.

The Civic is 1000% more reliable than my '96 Passat TDI when it comes to non-drivetrain stuff, so it's all relative I guess. The passat has got to be one of the most unreliable cars that I have ever owned (I've never had a love/hate relationship with one of my cars so much as with this one), and I've had about 25 now (most of them American too).

So back to the axles on the Civic--why is it that they can't use a decent material on the CV boots? My 1988 Buick Electra has the original axles and boots and they are still in perfect condition, at 214K miles. I dare anybody to find me any 1988 Honda with over 200K miles on it that still has the original axles. Or muffler/tailpipe, for that matter (Buick's is still all original, right back to the rear bumper--and rattly cat still works too, if the emissions test is any indication). GM made some crappy stuff (paint sucks on mine, interior rattly), but they made some incredibly good drivetrains too (like 3800 'buick' motor, still in use today).

[asavage]

This car is down to $800 now:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/pts/619506103.html

nissan diesel - $800
Reply to: sale-619506103@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-03-26, 11:37AM PDT

there ar pics in the cars and trucks section.its a 1983 maxima diesel runs excelent with auto trans.125k on the motor..NEED DIESEL PARTS??..THIS IS THE ONE.drive it home and pull parts there or fix the interior and its a good car.425-876-0641

* Location: everett

I've emailed the Seller, he is going to tell the Buyer about this forum.