hi
i am looking to buy a max, need some advice/suggestion on which gen to get?
thanx

 

If you like the Wild Wild West wagon wheel rear suspensions, the 4-gen is your choice.

 

a 3rd gen of course.
preferably a 92 -94 SE
then there is nothing that the 4th gen has that the 3rd doesn't have (mechanical wise that is)

 

how does a rear suspn car rides? pardonme if this sounds stupid,i dont know a lot about automobile
actually i am looking for my sister, just wanted to find out which gen is a better buy reliablity wise, thanx

 

you should post in the general descussion so you do not get biased opinions. I think a 4th gen would be better for your sister if your looking for reliability. 4th gens have dropped a lot price wise and you can get one for pretty much the same cost as a 3rd gen and there are a lot less problems w/ 4th gen compared to a 3rd(window regulators, exhaust studs, VTCs etc.) they both take premium fuel though, so something even cheaper would be an accord or camry.

 

I would say 4th, but then I'm biased, although I predict a pro-4th response, even in the general discussions, if for no other reason than that it's newer.

 

Reliability? 4th gen. Fun factor? 3rd gen. For your sister, I would get a 4th gen. The engine is simpler than a VE, there are a buttload of 4th gens on the road and they are newer so mechanics are probably more familiar with them at this point, and they SHOULD have less problems. I am looking for a 4th gen 5-speed for my sister right now too .

 

I would buy her a Honda

 

I think the 3rd gen is better looking but a 4th would be newer and less likely to have mechanical problems.

 

whichever one you get, have your mechanic look at the car before you purchase for any possible signs of body damage, mechanical problems ect....

 

3rd gens are great, but they're technological-transition cars, meaning they were a turning point for Nissan, so they tend to be more, uh, colorful, mechanically than 4th or 5th gens. They're still reliable though, and the only Max around with good torque AND independent rear suspension.

The 4th gens don't carry some of the 3rd gen's major achilles heels, like the injectors.

But I like Maxes in general, so I'd recommend either.

 

Um.... The VE and VQ30 take the same exact injector

 

A 4th gen have fewer things to go bad on with them, but they are not as much fun to drive. Personally my sister wants a maxima, she really wants an Aztec Red 3rd gen, but I dont want her getting a VG because of the timing belt, she wants an automatic so there is another mark against it, and just overall the VE's tend to have more features/reinforcements. But on that note I dont want to fix VTC or exhaust studs for her to so I told her to buy a 4th gen if she buys a car.

 

I've never had a problem with injectors or studs for that matter

 

my point exactly!

i've replaced mine, but that's because the gas we've been getting in chicago is DESTROYING injectors at an alarming rate.

 

the head on crash ratings on the 4th gen were terrable acourding to consumer reports

 

Wait, what? Are you just talking about VE 3rd gens?

 

I know. You've mentioned that before. But the thing is I've never heard anyone complain about them on a 4G. I hear about it all the time on 3Gs. There's like 10 new topics a week about it.

So based on the opinions of others I've personally heard, 3Gs are still more problematic in this respect. I've had the problem myself twice in a little over 2 years of owning a 3G (on a strict 91 diet no less).

 

the 3rd gens that normally have the problem are 89-92 VGs

For the sake of keeping this comparison kinda fair, I'm only comparing VE to VQ

 

being on both sides, I say 4th gen. I like my 3rd gen, but I love my 4th gen.

 

i say 3rd gen because i'm biased. but if i didn't like tinkering with cars and just wanted something to leave stock i'd get a 4th gen. the driving experience isn't as nice but there's less common problems with 4th gens.

 

I love my 3rd gen, but they do make a *** of part for the 4th gen.

 

if you could find a fully loaded 3rd gen gxe with a rebuild tranny i would go for that other wise the 4th gen would be the way to go if its just for reliability and dont want to tinker with it other wise 95ish altimas are awesome daily drivers

 

98 altimas are too, i have one and its a chain driven motor and the ka24de gets out of its own way....

 

one bonus for sure is that the 4th gen doesn't have a common issue with auto trannies like the 3rd gen does.

 

the tranny issue applies to the VG mostly
I haven't seen a large number of VE autos failing, and that's another thing the VE shares with the VQ

 

true!
thankfully for the ve 5spd guys, they share the reliability of the vg RS5F50A and not the 4th gen RS5F50V.

 

those are the same trans just with and without VLSD

 

technically yes. but there were some major assembly problems on the 4th gen RS5F50V. they got lazy with a shim sizing and caused a hell of a fried diff bearing problem.

 

yeah but the 4th gen 's dont have vtc problems do they

 

i'm itching to go to a 4th gen since it's newer. i have a 3gen gxe auto and the maintenence costs is driving me nuts...

 

Either do I

 

3rd gens don't have a minivan suspension do they

 

what can i say. i have a 97gle & the girlfriend has a 93se. i have the best of both the 4 & 3 gen's. thats why i smile everywhere i drive!!!!!!

 

I have a 3rd, a 4th, and the girl has an i30!

 

the girl? since when?? atleast she has good taste. in cars that is.

 

I had a 3rd gen stick and i have a 4th gen auto and stick. I don't know why but the 3rd gen stick drives alot better. Is it me?