if ne of u had the choice of either a 1986 maxima or a 1990 accord (money not being an issue) wut would b the better choice?

 

Well, let's look at the facts:

1.) The '86 Max has a lot more power. 152 hp. vs. the Accord's 125 hp. The Maxima also has a lot more torque at 185 lb/ft. vs. the Accord's 145. The Max would easily beat the Accord in a race.

2.) The '86 Max has a bigger engine, a 3.0L V6 vs. a 2.0L I4.

3.) In my opinion, the '86 Max has much better styling than the Accord. The Accord looks like a typical, cheap family sedan. The Maxima looks like a sports car. Also, the interior of the Maxima is much better. The Accord has a lot of cheap plastic and is very ugly looking. A tricked out Maxima like Avalon42's old Max looks good. A tricked out Accord looks like a joke.

4.) It would probably be easier to get performance upgrades for the Maxima than the '90 Accord. After all, we share the same engine as the 300ZX and we all know that the turbo swap works. Most of Honda's mods are for the VTEC engine only.

5.) If the '86 Maxima was taken care of, it will definitely out last the Accord. Honda's are known for burning oil, no matter how well you take care of them, once they hit around the 175-200K mark it happens. Our engines are one of the best engineered in the world and as long as you take care of them they'll last a long time.

6.) As far as routine maintenance, it might be slightly cheaper for the Accord since the parts are more common. Nevertheless, you still have to deal with the timing belt every 60K just as you do on the Maxima. Also, it would be cheaper to drive the Accord since it gets better gas mileage.

Well, overall it's obvious that the Maxima is hands down a better choice unless the cost of ownership is an issue. However, keep in mind that's only if both cars have similar mileage and are in similar condition. If the '86 Max had 175K on it and was slightly beat and the '90 Accord had 80K miles and was in decent condition, I'd buy the Accord simply because it makes more sense.

-C-

 

thanks alot for the advice, i think im goin to stick with the maxima

 

would u mind giving me the pics or site wherei can c Avalon42's maxima?

 

Yeah, his car's pics are at the Yahoo 2nd gen Max club (link is in my sig). Go there, sign up for a membership (you need to have a valid email address) and click on the Photos section. His car's pics are in the folder titled 'Ghost One'.

-C-

 

I'd take a Maxima over a Accord any day. A Maxima is a ethusiasts car, the Accord is a "everyone has one" type of car. Both cars have their strong points and thier weak points as Charles pointed out, but my preference would be to the Maxima.

S

 

i think i'd take the accord over the maxima. i don't know where you heard about hondas burning oil. my whole family drives accrods except for me. my dad's accord has 160k with no problems.

 

First off, I said that they don't start burning oil till around the 175-200K mile mark, your dad's has 160K, so of course it isn't losing much yet.

I have a few friends that either own or owned Hondas. One had a Prelude with a VTEC that burned oil and the other had a Civic that literally drank that ****. And both cars were kept in pristine condition, the only thing in common with both of them was the fact that they had over 200K miles. Granted, Hondas aren't the only cars that start consuming oil at that mileage, but I have yet to see a Nissan with a V-series engine puffing blue smoke out of the tailpipe.

If you'd rather have the Accord than the Maxima, then maybe you should give your Maxima to a true Nissan enthusiast and go and jump on the Honda bandwagon with an underpowered, homely-looking Accord. No matter which year Accord you pick, the Maxima of the same year will hand you your *** on a silver platter.

-C-

 

why don't we compare the burning oil problem that supposedly happens with all the problems our maximas face. if we even only look at the 2 major ones, the auto transmission and exhaust studs thats a couple thousand in repairs right there. and don't start saying that our auto transmission only starts going out at 200k miles cause there are plenty of people including me who can say otherwise. i think my maxima has had more problems than all the other 3 accords in the family combined. having said that i still love my car and wouldn't trade it in for an accord. i'm just saying that reliability wise the accord is a better car, atleast in my opinion.

 

Yeah, there are a few issues that we have to deal with on our Maximas, but I'm sure the Accord isn't completely trouble free either.

Also, even if the Accord is more reliable, that wasn't even the main thing that I was comparing between the cars, that was just one minor aspect. Christ, if he wants a reliable car he can go and get a freaking Hyundai Accent with a 10 year / 100K mile warranty. Just because it's reliable, doesn't mean it's a great car. You have to take into consideration performance, the quality of parts and workmanship, and styling. In those instances, I would take the Maxima over the Accord. Unless the car is breaking down constantly like a POS Ford Escort, reliability shouldn't be a major concern, especially when you're considering imports.

-C-

 

Granted, Accords maintain higher resale values...

No worries, I still love my Maxima way more

 

It's all a matter of taste, but I would take the 1990 Accord over the 1986 Maxima, HOWEVER, if you were comparing a 1990 Maxima to the 1990 Accord, I would definitely take the Max. You're comparing two different generations of cars. The 1990 Accord was the first year of the third (I think) generation of the Accord and had a much more modern looking dash (and exterior) than the previous generation or the 1986 Maxima. The same changes took place with the 3rd generation Max, where the dash (and the car) became more streamlined and rounded looking (one piece dash as opposed to a modular dash). Now, as somebody already posted, there is no comparison when it comes to power.

 

Accord hands down, great car that year....

 

Yeah sure, the Accord is great for that year, that is if you like big ugly rubber bumper covers, plastic door handles, plastic hub caps, few standard options, and a weak four banger. Hmm... the car is starting to sound more like a POS Chevy Cavalier, not something that would be in the same class as a Nissan Maxima.

-C-

 

This is slowly turning into the neverending post......hell I'm betting Accord forums are saying the samething about the max as we the accords....so why even bother. The opinion is more of preference from person to person.

S

 

Actually, the Accord and the Maxima were never in the same class (and still aren't), the Max coming with the V6 and all. However, it sounds like you are comparing the base Accord with the Maxima. A comparable Accord would be the EXR (in Canada) and the EX (in the States, I think) which came with painted bumpers, door handles, mirrors etc, aluminum 15" wheels, dual tipped exhaust etc etc. Unfortunatley, it did only come with the 4 banger (130hp until the '92 model year when it was bumped up to 140hp, of course by then the Max came with the 190hp motor on the SE)