First, I am assuming your question is more about the price for the vehicle and not about buying used, Nissans, or Maxima's specifically.
A good approach to answer this for your self for any vehicle is by taking 2 steps; check the "value" of the vehicle from a source such as Kelley Blue Book, then check the value of same/similar vehicles at used car listing sites such as AOL Autos. The AOL site even allows you to graph your results so you can see how available cars line up price against mileage and years. (used 1997 Nissan Maximas)
Finally, if the vehicle seems like it is within the acceptable range for similar vehicles, it is time to go see and drive it to determine if it is a good match for your needs. Take a mechanic friend along if you can.