No one happy I didn't get a GTP? Would you get a 2002 Pontiac SuperCharged GTP loaded with everything over a Maxima?

[CraigRT]

<< I'm still trying to decide tomorrow between a new sentra and a golf >>



Sentra.. VW will not stand up like the Sentra will... and this is one time where I definitely think I can say the Nissan is superior.. VW isn't exactly known thesedays for durable cars.. VW is puke. --> IMO

 

[Rent]

<<

<< I'm still trying to decide tomorrow between a new sentra and a golf >>



Sentra.. VW will not stand up like the Sentra will... and this is one time where I definitely think I can say the Nissan is superior.. VW isn't exactly known thesedays for durable cars.. VW is puke. --> IMO >>



Ehh.. my friend has a '01 Golf GTI VR6 and it gets up and goes... :Q

 

[CraigRT]

<< Ehh.. my friend has a '01 Golf GTI VR6 and it gets up and goes... >>



yeah! i didn't say it was slow! the GTI's go good, I just think the car itself is better(sentra)... if you like a troublefree cheap car to operate the Nis is better..

I know 2 people with new VW's (2000 and up) and they both have quality complaints.

 

[StageLeft]

Well the VW is a little pricier...you get some extra options though. VWs have a nice solid feel, even the old ones. I'm gonna have to see whats up tomorrow at the dealer. I've thought a long while on it

 

[Rent]

I've heard the quality complaints about the VW's, just don't seem to bad.

I'm personally waiting to see how the new Sentra does in reliability

 

[fastz28]

<<
That's true I think that he doesn't really expect non-bias. He can watch us debate and argue over the merits of either vehicle and hopefully draw some benefit from it. You're right that altima and maxima are offered as the be all and end all. And you know why? Cause they ARE the perfect cars! THey aren't top selling list because some people don't visit AT and haven't learned it yet >>



Well damn, I think you've got something there. You have a hidden treasure here and not a lot of people knows about it. We ought to form a company, get some VC funding and buy up all the Altimas and Maximas we can find and resell them for a handsome profit after we get all the perspective auto buyers to visit ATOT.

Wait, there's already a real company doing that - Nissan. Maybe they just need to become an affiliate of anandtech.com and see their perfect cars climb up the best selling lists.



Ps. My first car was a '85 Sentra. Carb and everything. Nice little cheap econobox.

 

[LAUST]

<< Hell no! Maxima's are amazing, much better than a Pontiac Grand Piece. Seriously, the Pontiac doesn't even come in standard! >>


it's not bad to have an Auto if you actually HAVE torque, especially with a SC'd motor

 

[CraigRT]

that'd have to be one hell of a slow shift...

it's called flatfooting

keep the gas pinned while switching gears in .1 seconds.. it's really not that hard when you're racing..

 

[StageLeft]

Except no warranty.

 

[LAUST]

<< The interiors on both of those cars are still a bunch of plastic and vinyl quality leather. The SVT contour isn't much better itself. Before you start arguing about the quality differences between two average cars, compare them to an Audi A4 or even a BMW 3 Series. You can get a 96-97 of either for around the same price, and you'll have build quality thats lightyears ahead of either of those cars. >>


If the price difference is THAT much to have to back down that many years and you need a nice interior, I'd save all that extra and take it down to a interior shop for a 1/4 of that price even and have a custom interior done, I don't care what car it is, stock interior is all boring, I saw PT cruiser one guy had where when he popped open the back it backe a DVD theater, only good for shows but thats all that one was for.... the interiors I saw at this car show are in the Nano age compared to any "get-Audi-my-way"'s

 

[CraigRT]

<< compare them to an Audi A4 or even a BMW 3 Series. You can get a 96-97 of either for around the same price, and you'll have build quality thats lightyears ahead of either of those cars. >>



Nissan is better quality than Audi/VW, and BMW 3 series are nothing special..

Japanese cars are always praised for quality...

 

[Thegonagle]

<< . . . compare them to an Audi A4 or even a BMW 3 Series. . . you'll have build quality thats lightyears ahead of either of those cars. >>


And historically, a high potential for electrical and electronic crap-outs, which leave you with a "lightyears ahead" heap of steel and aluminum, never to fall apart, but without any light at all. The Japanese have got the most reliable electrical systems, IMHO, even on cars with lots of gadgets like Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti.

 

[LAUST]

<< And historically, a high potential for electrical and electronic crap-outs, which leave you with a "lightyears ahead" heap of steel and aluminum, never to fall apart, but without any light at all. The Japanese have got the most reliable electrical systems, IMHO, even on cars with lots of gadgets like Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti. >>


I agree but don't leave the Iron too far behind, I remember this cause I read about it on my truck 4 YEARS ago

The new Silverado's electrical system is designed for increased convenience and functionality: but first and foremost, engineers also made it much more reliable.

For instance, a splice - an area where two wires are joined - is more prone to failure than a solid wire. The '98 Chevy C/K has 92 splices . . . much better than the new Ford, which uses 118.

The new 1999 Chevy Silverado, however, eliminates all but five splices, meaning a radical improvement in dependability and longer life.

Source for the other cool info on my ride too

 

[Thegonagle]

<< I agree but don't leave the Iron too far behind >>


I don't mean to. They seem pretty good too, overall, but I recall seeing all too many late model GM sedans and minivans dead on the freeway. GM also has a history of engine ECU failures being common. I don't know what caused these new cars to die so suddenly as to not give you an opportunity to drive to the next exit, but I have to assume it's an electrical failure of some sort. I haven?t seen this much in the last year, so they may have fixed the problem through design (like the splices in the Silverado), TSBs and recalls.

In all fairness, I?ve never seen a 99+ Silverado in distress, except if they?re towing something heavy on a very hot day.

 

[vi edit]

I don't think I'd ever consider buying a brand new car just to put 25k miles a year on it. IMHO, that's just a dumb monetary decision.

Buy a year or two old car that's already taken a depreciation hit. Hell, I bet you can find some nicely loaded '01 maximas with under 20k miles on them for ~17k-19k. Figure in your trade in value and you're looking at 14k-15.5k for a car. Not too bad.

As for a warranty...woopdeedoo. You'll be out of a factory warranty in 18 months at that rate. If it's a big concern, you can pick up an aftermarket warranty to last you another 5 years, 100,000 miles for ~$1,000. Even with the extra warranty, you'll still be thousands ahead of buying new.

If you look at '00 or '01 GTP's, you can find those for dirt cheap. I've seen nicely loaded ones here go for under 15k. With your trade in you'll be spending half the $$ as buying new.

If it was me, and I new I was going to be traveling that much, THE LAST thing I'd do was buy brand new. As for which one to buy, I'll tell you right now that the Maxima will age better. GM's in general just don't age well from an intererior standpoint.

 

[BigSmooth]

<< I don't think I'd ever consider buying a brand new car just to put 25k miles a year on it. IMHO, that's just a dumb monetary decision. >>


I concur. An '02 model with 75K miles on it in three years is going to be worth about ten bucks - the depreciation would eat you alive. By all means, get a used car.

And between the Maxima and the GTP, I would take the Maxima. Not only do I like the car more, but Nissan makes reliable cars, and you'll need it if you drive that many miles.

 

[PlatinumGold]

All right, all this BS about Nissan quality. Check out the J D Power Quality report. If you examine the report you will clearly see that Nissan ranked towards the bottom. now the pontiac ranked lower than the nissan, but so many threads i read about how bad FORDS are, well check out a non biased report.

I own an Olds Intrigue, the only reason i wouldn't recommend buying the olds over the pontiac is that they are shuttin olds down in 3 or 4 years. I lost $2000 resale value on my olds the day that fact was reported.

but on the other hand you can get VERY good deals on olds vehicles because of that. check out the olds Alero, SWEET RIDE.

 

[vi edit]

What's odd though is that Infinit is just a rebadged Nissan, and amazingly, it ranked second.

Things that make you go hmmmmmm...

 

[BigSmooth]

PlatinumGold, nice link.
Check out this chart from the same JD Power study.

#1 dependable car in its class (Premium Midsize Car): Nissan Maxima.
#3 dependable car in its class (Entry Midsize Car): Nissan Altima.

It could be the truck division of Nissan that causes it to be ranked somewhat lower on the chart.

 

[StageLeft]

i wonder what that JD power thing really means... I refuse to believe a nissan is worse than a ford. I mean come on! I can't get into consumer reports because it's all F#(*king passworded up and damn me if I'm going to pay but when I checked their auto reliability some months ago nissan/toyota/ and honda were all top notch. I seem to recall that nissan was I think second of those.

 

[BigSmooth]

vi_edit... from the chart I linked above:

#1 Entry Luxury Car: Infiniti I30
#2 Mid-Luxury Car: Infiniti J30
#2 Premium Luxury Car: Infiniti Q45
#3 Luxury SUV: Infiniti QX4

It must be that the Nissan models that DO have problems must have a lot of them. I would guess maybe the Frontier and Quest had a lot of problems, because Infiniti has no equivalent to those.

 

[Mister T]

I agree with vi_edit given the mieage issue....

Have you considered a VW Jetta or Golf with a TDI engine?
50 mpg on the highway would be nice given how much cash
you will burn on gas.

25,000 miles a year @ 25 miles a gallon @ $1.25 a gallon = 1,250
25,000 miles a year @ 45 miles a gallon @ $1.25 a gallon = 694

Save 556 bucks a year on gas.
VW can be had for 19K.... Cheaper car by 5K and you basically save 2 car payments in gas savings a year.

you need an efficient commuter car, right?
this is the best way to do it.
And a diesel with LAST!!!!!

 

[Lucky]

<<

<< The bliss of ignorance...

Facts:

1) Maxima lighter
2) Maxima more horsepower
3) Maxima manual tranny

>>



Facts:

1) GTP is 6" Longer, 2" Wider = more weight
2) More Torque GTP 280 vs. Max 246
3) Equal Highway milage >>





Facts:

1)Nissan Maxima interior passenger volume is 102.5 cu. ft., GTP is 98 cu. ft., so any added length and weight just means the pontiac is bloated.
2)Correct
3)Who buys a 26k car and gets a manual for better gas milage? You get one for fun and for better driving. So the GTP has the same milage as the maxima-so what? It has 15 less horses.

 

[BDawg]

Maxima, definately...

The Pontiac only comes in automatic and I'll never own a sporty car without a manual tranny.



<< Have you considered a used car? *readies sales pitch for a Contour SVT >>



I second that motion. I've had one for 4 years; it's one of the most fun cars I've ever driven!

 

[LAUST]

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