Wow, what a tough call. I still haven't gotten used to the front end of the 5th gen. & I don't think much of the tail lights either. If the Altima ever comes out with a manual tranny, I might consider that. It sure has a big flat butt tough. Hmmmph....I'm still loving my '97.

 

i just saw a strippy '02 SE on the sunday paper for $18,999 NEW.. no leather, no sunroof... so i dont think they are so unattainable.. i was doing my math last night and i figured i got my 99 max all said and done after paying 18,500(new), 950 for taxes, 700 for extended 7 yr.warranty (i wasn't thinking about modding & voiding it) 2200 for interest, 120 for mud guards. so i'm close to $22,500 if i sell my ride now i figured i'll get 15500 tops since it's a strippy.. that means a 7000 dollar loss on driving it almost 4 years.. mmmm no, i'll keep it. my last car was an 89 rustang 5.0 i bought it for 5500 drove it for 5 years and sold it for 3000.. i'm used to getting my money's worth... like i said before, i'm driving this bish 'till the wheels fall off.

 

$18,999 new SE

 

i wish i had the clipping scanned, see i'm not making up sh8t

 

I will never get rid of my Maxima that I have. I have invested too much into it. I've had it for just about 7 years now....my first car....it won't be my last....but I won't give it up. However, I am on planning on buying another car within the next couple years possibly. I think I might wait and see if Nissan actually puts together an AWD Maxima for the 6th generation---I'll hook it up with maybe some nice wheels, clear corners, and tint...but that's about it....20 years from now...My current Max is gonna be a classic!! LOL
Lata!
-Jeremiah
JeremiahMaximaSE@aol.com
http://www.cardomain.com/id/jeremiahmaximase

 

Wow I really expected a lot more future Max owners. Personaly this would be my car shopping list 4 years from now (all used).

1. Acura 3.2 TL-Type S
2. 2003 Max SE or GLE
3. Audi A6 2.8 Quattro (I've seen the odd good deal)

However I think we are forgetting one of the biggest reasons many of us got this car -- we are all smart and wanted the most bang for our buck. Pound for pound the $$ to fun and $$ to features ratio is unmatched by another car when compared with a used Maxima.

For $Cdn 20,000 (~$US 13000) I got a 98 GLE with 45000 Kms (~28,000 miles). No way no how can you beat that value nor do I think any other used car, few years from now, will be able to beat it either.

 

woah n00b. don't get your panties in such a twist. no reason to get allworked up over people voicing their opinions about what cars they would like to get next. so, you keep your ranting to yourself.

 

nah way, maximas are just to fugly after the 4th gens. Plus the whole design of the maxima is falling apart, look at the spy shots of the 2004 max. The 04 max has fugly written on it at every angle, the back reminds me a lincoln.

I plan to keep my car til it dies anyway. If i graduated today and needed a car tho my list to choose from would be:

is300
used s4
used e36 m3
330ci
or a4 3.0

mbz is

 

That's like the third time I've heard that in the past couple months. They have manual trannies for both the 2.5 and the 3.5.

 

I'm not really impressed by Acura 3.2 TL-S / Audi S6 / BMW M3 / Lexus LS 400...

b/c their used price is way up there

But as I found out early this year, a 6 yr old Maxima (and Nissan maxima's body styles change VERY often) is dirt cheap

So I plan on changing to 2K2 6spd or auto in 2008.
And Nissan, you make my life happy by changing your designs like every year

 

yeah a great $40,000 sticker car when it came out.

My dad has 94 auto Legend 200 HP and it still can smoke prehistoric base Mustangs. But it's heavy....and SOHC. I can smoke Legend with my 95 auto Max. hehehe

But this car is loaded...like built-in expensive FSTB and RSB. I was pleasantly surprised. and the shocks and hood...they so sooo LOW. very aerodynamic!!

BTW, I almost killed my dad while trying to put Legend on ramp b/c the master brake cylinder went Kaputtt.

But I still prefer Maxima....lots of torque

 

My next car is coming hopefully around May of 2004 (when i graduate from college) or maybe that summer so i can save some for a down payment for lower interest/mo. pay.

My choices come around mid-2004 (2005 car model year):

Great dream job -> older BMW M5, maybe a 2002 (only time I won't go Nissan/Infiniti)

Great job -> 2003 Infiniti M45 or hopefully a heavily revised 2005 Max SE with all the goodies

Good job -> trade in my 97 for a 99 SE 5spd

Ok job -> stay with 97 Automagic

In the top 2 cases, i'll keep my 97 and modify the hell out of it making it a show car or something. Maybe get some bags and some nice 19s... baller status, u kno wut i'm sayin

 

i've decided that nissan isnt really worth it anymore....their service really does suck, i'd rather spend a few extra gees and be treated first class (infiniti) - but i'm looking into a more driver.......trying my best to stay away from honda - but i must admit that honda does a good job with keeping rattles out

 

uuuhhh...think again!

My 2001 Accord V6 was a rattle trap!

And from browsing the TL/CL forums a year ago, their #1 complaint was the same rattles and noises that I had in my Accord (it's the same car, afterall).

You must be thinking of older Honda's. Since Japan's economic collapse, they just haven't been able to afford to build the kick-butt cars that they used to in the late-80's/early-90's. Cheaper materials, less time on noise/rattle isolation, this is sorta universal with all Japanese cars, not just Nissan, and Honda and Toyota aren't immune either. Toyota seems to be the best as far as rattle/noise issues go (my fiance's 2002 Highlander is perfect!), but then again Toyota has the most boring powertrain designs too.

 

Anyways, I really like my 99SE 5spd right now. I look forward to driving it everytime. The power is awesome, even stock (for me), and I really like the interior design/layout and comfort. Fully loaded, too. If I ever get bored with it I'll put some mods on it.

The 00-01 5th Gen's aren't any faster than the 4th Gen's, so why bother, and the 02-03's are clearly a different world in terms of performance, but also seem to have a lot of quality and reliability issues. On top of that, the 6spd shifter is a POS compared to the 95-01 5spd shifter. Oh and on top of that, I don't even have enough knee room between the center stack and the wheel to be comfortable enough to buy one anyways. So no 5th Gen for me...evAr!

What would I buy?

Tough to say...WRX, Altima, Mazda6, who knows...

But $30k to START for a 6th Gen Maxima?

I like bang-for-the-buck. The new Maxima will be a lot of bang, but also a lot of buck from the looks of things. I'm just not the type of person that will drop $30k+ on a car unless it CLEARLY puts every other car to shame in its price range. That said, the resale will probably suck on it as well, so maybe I'll pickup a used 6th Gen in a few years