How about them 99'-01' Maximas?????!!!

[MAME]

I want to spend $10k or less for a nice 4 door, reliable, speedy car with a manual transmission and decent mpg. Maxima fits the bill. What do you guys think of them??

Any other cars that fit the criteria as well?

 

[ThePresence]

I have a 2000 Maxima SE. I have it for 3 years and it was great for most of the time. It's about done now though, I kill cars. I do an insane amount of driving.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I have an '03 Maxima SE. It's a great car! Highly recommend it!

Oh, the '02-03 have the 3.5l V6 which puts out 255hp. '03 also had factory HIDs. Might be a little out of your price range though.

 

[MAME]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I have an '03 Maxima SE. It's a great car! Highly recommend it!

Oh, the '02-03 have the 3.5l V6 which puts out 255hp. '03 also had factory HIDs. Might be a little out of your price range though.

I like the looks of the older models, maybe an 02' would be doable...looking now

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: MAME

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I have an '03 Maxima SE. It's a great car! Highly recommend it!

Oh, the '02-03 have the 3.5l V6 which puts out 255hp. '03 also had factory HIDs. Might be a little out of your price range though.

I like the looks of the older models, maybe an 02' would be doable...looking now

The '02-03 is the same exact body style as the '00 just with slightly different headlights and tailights.

 

[phantom309]

I had an 00 SE and loved it. Smooth, reasonably fast, comfortable and it looked like it cost $20k more than it did. Be sure to get the SE version - the leather interior is beautiful and wears like cast iron. Plus you get the good suspension bits. HUGE amount of (soft, leather-covered) room in the back seat for teh sex0ring. Just a damned nice car.

On the downside, it had too much torque steer and had a habit of warping brake rotors. Not the greatest handling car I've ever had either, but it cornered well enough and had excellent stability at high speeds.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: phantom309
I had an 00 SE and loved it. Smooth, reasonably fast, comfortable and it looked like it cost $20k more than it did. Be sure to get the SE version - the leather interior is beautiful and wears like cast iron. Plus you get the good suspension bits. HUGE amount of (soft, leather-covered) room in the back seat for teh sex0ring. Just a damned nice car.

On the downside, it had too much torque steer and had a habit of warping brake rotors. Not the greatest handling car I've ever had either, but it cornered well enough and had excellent stability at high speeds.

Yes, torque steer is massive under hard acceleration. Make sure you have both hands on the wheel if you plan on mashing the throttle. Handling is okay, it is really unsettling if you are going into a corner with a bumpy apex. The rear suspension just isn't a very good design for handling bumps during spirited driving.

 

[SearchMaster]

I have an '00. It's been a super car, with the exception of the brake rotors warping as described earlier, and a common problem with faulty oxygen sensors.

 

[sniperruff]

i love the max but fuel economy is not its forte i think. may want to look into its 4-cylinder sibling altima or the competition from honda or toyota.

 

[MAME]

Originally posted by: sniperruff
i love the max but fuel economy is not its forte i think. may want to look into its 4-cylinder sibling altima or the competition from honda or toyota.

what's it get?

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: MAME
I want to spend $10k or less for a nice 4 door, reliable, speedy car with a manual transmission and decent mpg. Maxima fits the bill. What do you guys think of them??

Any other cars that fit the criteria as well?

The Max is an awesome car. I have a '97 with 120,000 on it and it's still running nice and smooth. Only had to replace stuff due to normal wear and tear. Runs great...decently speedy and decent gas mileage (when you don't drive it like I do...fast )

 

[Lyfer]

Camry FTW.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: phantom309
I had an 00 SE and loved it. Smooth, reasonably fast, comfortable and it looked like it cost $20k more than it did. Be sure to get the SE version - the leather interior is beautiful and wears like cast iron. Plus you get the good suspension bits. HUGE amount of (soft, leather-covered) room in the back seat for teh sex0ring. Just a damned nice car.

On the downside, it had too much torque steer and had a habit of warping brake rotors. Not the greatest handling car I've ever had either, but it cornered well enough and had excellent stability at high speeds.

Yes, torque steer is massive under hard acceleration. Make sure you have both hands on the wheel if you plan on mashing the throttle. Handling is okay, it is really unsettling if you are going into a corner with a bumpy apex. The rear suspension just isn't a very good design for handling bumps during spirited driving.

Hmm..don't have any of that with my '97. Handles very well...and I don't even have an anti-sway bar which is supposed to do wonders for this car.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: ThePresence
I have a 2000 Maxima SE. I have it for 3 years and it was great for most of the time. It's about done now though, I kill cars. I do an insane amount of driving.

You've driven ~200,000 miles in 6 years?

 

[chiwawa626]

I have the 03 SE, great car, fast and fun to drive - always keeps long drives intresting (short ones too). If your looking for a good price, you might want to stay away from the SE since replacement tires are more then 2x the price of the stock ones.

 

[MAME]

Originally posted by: chiwawa626
I have the 03 SE, great car, fast and fun to drive - always keeps long drives intresting (short ones too). If your looking for a good price, you might want to stay away from the SE since replacement tires are more then 2x the price of the stock ones.

what's the difference between the types?

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: ThePresence
I have a 2000 Maxima SE. I have it for 3 years and it was great for most of the time. It's about done now though, I kill cars. I do an insane amount of driving.

You've driven ~200,000 miles in 6 years?

My first 96 maxima was sold to a friend when it had 224,000 miles. He's still driving it 80 miles round trip daily. Aside from a small puff of smoke when it starts up and high transmission line pressure, the car runs like a top.

My current 96 maxima has 188k miles and runs great also. Its a 5 speed, leather, heated everything, bose, sunroof, etc. Its showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon either.

Whats this 200k mile crap?

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: ThePresence
I have a 2000 Maxima SE. I have it for 3 years and it was great for most of the time. It's about done now though, I kill cars. I do an insane amount of driving.

You've driven ~200,000 miles in 6 years?

My first 96 maxima was sold to a friend when it had 224,000 miles. He's still driving it 80 miles round trip daily. Aside from a small puff of smoke when it starts up and high transmission line pressure, the car runs like a top.

My current 96 maxima has 188k miles and runs great also. Its a 5 speed, leather, heated everything, bose, sunroof, etc. Its showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon either.

Whats this 200k mile crap?

Just seemed like a good round number, lol.

 

[MAME]

!

 

[jaedaliu]

Originally posted by: MAME

Originally posted by: sniperruff
i love the max but fuel economy is not its forte i think. may want to look into its 4-cylinder sibling altima or the competition from honda or toyota.

what's it get?

I'm getting 25 with a bad knock sensor running 75% FWY miles, 25% local streets. the FWY miles are all LA rush hour traffic miles, so they're mostly stop-and-go or 5 - 15 mph. Edmunds has EPA estimates listed for the 98 maxima as 29 mpg on the fwy, forget what it is for city driving. Nissan barely changed the engine from 95 through 2001, so the mileage will probably be about the same.

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: jaedaliu

Originally posted by: MAME

Originally posted by: sniperruff
i love the max but fuel economy is not its forte i think. may want to look into its 4-cylinder sibling altima or the competition from honda or toyota.

what's it get?

I'm getting 25 with a bad knock sensor running 75% FWY miles, 25% local streets. the FWY miles are all LA rush hour traffic miles, so they're mostly stop-and-go or 5 - 15 mph. Edmunds has EPA estimates listed for the 98 maxima as 29 mpg on the fwy, forget what it is for city driving. Nissan barely changed the engine from 95 through 2001, so the mileage will probably be about the same.

ex-co-worker had a 97. he told me he fills it with 87 most of the time with no knocks, and he gets low 20's driving mostly highway.

 

[aircooled]

Maxima.org has great forums and full of specific details about maxima's

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: MAME

Originally posted by: chiwawa626
I have the 03 SE, great car, fast and fun to drive - always keeps long drives intresting (short ones too). If your looking for a good price, you might want to stay away from the SE since replacement tires are more then 2x the price of the stock ones.

what's the difference between the types?

GLE=Luxury Edition. Comes with Bose stereo/speakers, leather interior, power sunroof w/wind deflector, Homelink transmitter, auto dimming rearview mirror, 2 button memory on the driver's seat, power front seats, slightly different 17" alloy rims (look a bit more upscale than the sporty rims on the SE)...probably a few other minor details. Softer suspension for comfort.

SE=Sport Edition. Came with standard CD/tape/AM/FM stereo, rear spoiler, Homelink transmitter, auto dimming rearview mirror, power sunroof was optional, leather was optional, does not have 2 button memory on driver's seat, power driver's seat only. SE also has slightly firmer suspension for better handling.

GXE=Entry level Maxima. I think a rear spoiler was the only option on this car. Mostly used for fleet sales. Cloth interior, no sunroof...probably a few other differences as well. There is a good possibility that a used GXE was once a fleet vehicle.

They all have the same 3.5l engine (3.0L in the earlier models).

 

[SearchMaster]

My '00 averaged about 24mpg when I drove it, 50% hwy/city mix. I drive a V6 Mazda6 now, and its mileage is much more negatively affected by hard driving - if I'm careful, it gets ~25, if not, more like 21, but the Maxima was fairly consistent no matter what.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: SearchMaster
My '00 averaged about 24mpg when I drove it, 50% hwy/city mix. I drive a V6 Mazda6 now, and its mileage is much more negatively affected by hard driving - if I'm careful, it gets ~25, if not, more like 21, but the Maxima was fairly consistent no matter what.

We get about 18-19mpg with mostly stop and go city driving on our '03 Maxima. I've gotten 23-24mpg on the freeway.