How does the Maxima's build quality compare to other cars in the market?
 

I used to own a '90 Taurus, a '94 Camaro Z28, and currently own a '00 Silverado in addition to my maxima, and I can tell you that the build quality and quality of materials used in the maxima is leagues above any of the other cars I've had.

However, my girlfriend has a '99 Honda Accord, and and another friend of mine has a '00 Camry Solara- and so far I have to say it seems as though their cars are put together better. The Accord's build quality I would say is arguable- in some ways I prefer the maxima. You look around the Accord and think, "wow, this is the defenition of surgical precision", but then you notice a thing here or there that just makes you think "What kind of crack were they smoking when they came up with this design?" or "They could have spent a couple more cents here and made the plastic out of something slightly higher grade then fisher-price uses!".

However, I couldn't find a single thing wrong with the camry whatsoever!! As much as I tried, everything felt solid, and quality.

Furthermore, the ride in the camry and accord is hands down better than the ride quality in my maxima- and even better than the ride quality in the '02 Maxima I test drove a few weeks back.

So what is y'alls take on this? How does the maxima compare in build quality, material quality, and even reliability to the competition?

I bought my maxima to be a reliable, solid beater car to get me through college- and so far it is great comparered to the other american made cars I have owned- not too many squeeks and rattles, and so far- outside of routine maintinance, I've only had to replace the oil sending unit, a coil pack, and the two front struts- but that is only in 8,000 miles of driving! But when I ride in my friends '92 Camry with 180,000 miles, who has never had anything done to it outside of routine maintinance- with the same auto tranny that shifts as crisp as day one, and has no squeeks or rattles at all, I begin to wonder.

I wonder if I should invest in a new '02+ Camry as my next vehicle?

What say ye'?:cool:

if you want an automatic 4 door family sedan that has a comfy ride, by all means get a camry

if you want a 4 door family sedan that can blow the doors off a lot of sports cars, stick with the maxima

My thoughts exactly. If you want to pu$$yfoot around in a Camry or Accord, by all means get one. My mom drives a Camry, I can't drive the same car as my mom... I dunno about you. The maxima is lightyears ahead of any american car in terms of quality, however just as you said, I give the nod to Toyota, and then Honda, for best overall quality and reliablility. If you like the soft mushy ride of the Camry and Accord better, it sounds like they should be your next car. If you like a quality performance sedan however, stick with the Maxima.

Re: How does the Maxima's build quality compare to other cars in the market?
 

Of course, your Max was better than those three cars - they're all USA cars :jester:

:laugh: :laugh:

First off I like Toyota, Honda and Nissan. All three of them make a great car. Toyota is tops in reliablity, and Quality, IMHO...

Honda and Nissan I think is a push. However all three of them are lightyears ahead of everything else on the market. What I like about Nissan is their, engines, engines, engines did I say engines? The cars are o.k. to good. Can you get a reliable, quick, manual sedan from Honda? Toyota?

Nope... That leaves only one option if you ask me. Btw... 02 What hp rating does the Camry offer? 190 hp? Heck that's what I've got in my 95 Max. Plus I've got a 5 speed. Bring on the 02 Camrys. :)

Oh Btw... This is Maxima board and there's no way we're biased. ;)

Biased?? Who us?:D

SuDZ

Someone would think i might have been biased when test driving my current '95 Maxima this past March since my everyday car from '85 'til then was a '72 Olds 442. After driving a slew of Accords, Camrys and Maximas - the choice was easy. The combination of power, handling, MPG, roomy interior and sportiness of the Max did it for me. GM is still trying to catch up :p

Well, I like having the performance edge- but the main reason I bought the car is to have something solid and reliable for my daily commute (about 100 miles total).

I probably will end up getting an 02+ camry for my next car. I already have a truck- and pretty soon I'm either going to buy a 97+ vette or a 94-95 Mustang Cobra and start modding. As long as I can have a true sports car, I can probably do without having a 75% family / 25% sports car, and just get a full fledged four-door boring car like the camry for commuting.:)

Oh, BTW- the silverado, despite the rediculously cheap and hollow excuse for plastic they use for the dash, actually has relatively few squeeks and rattles, despite me having a 3-amp 10-speaker 4000 watt stereo (knock on wood). I think this is mostly due to the fact that it has a fully boxed in 1-piece hydroformed frame (exclusive to the 97+ vette and 99+ Silverado)- so there is very little chassis flex. It's amazing what a good frame will do for the way a vehicle drives!

I wonder what Nissan will do for the chassis on the '03 Max? Isn't it in for a ground-up redesign?:D

According to Consumer Reports, the Maxima is the most reliable 4 door sedan! Yeah!:D

You do know that 5-spd V6 Camrys run almost the exact same 1/4 mile times as stock Maximas... don't you?

I love when i pull up to a red light next to some kid in a eclipse or civic, and I love the look on their face ( well i don't really get to see it ) after. The Maxima is a sleeper, unless they have driven one or know about cars everyone underestimates it

Hell yeah!
 

Oh heck yeah- I know what you mean.

Back when I had my Z28, I could have roasted 97%-98% of the people on the road, but of coarse everyone expected that. It sounded mean, looked mean, and was mean- and everybody knew it. Hardly anyone was willing to race, and if they did- losing was no big deal, they got beat by a RWD performance car with a 300+ horsepower Covette motor, they expected it.

It's almost more fun to drive the maxima around- because even though I can't beat nearly as many people, the people that I do beat have the most priceless look on their face. So many people that I talk to think that a Maxima is just some ordinary 4-cylinder family/econo car. I still remember the look on my buddies face when I took him by 2 car lengths in his El Camino with a brand new 305 and every bolt-on imaginable... man he got so much flak from our friends after that day... they still tease him about it, lol!:D
The ricers are the best though. When I pull up to some non-turbo eclipse equipped with fart-can exhaust, chinese lettering, and "Powered by Pen!s" or whatever all over the place- and I smoke their ***, they get sooooooo ****ed off! I love it!:D

Camry = boring, ugly, slow. Grandparents car
Accord = very nice. I would concider this car right next to the Maxima
Altima 2002 = Good car. If you can get around the interior then go for it.
Maxima = A dream car.

Why do people say the Camry is built together better? My grandparents have a 2000 Camry LE v6. It has some nice features, but it does not compare to a Maxima by a long shot.

The Accord is a nice car. I like it. I like the design of it. I think the Accord might be better than the Maxima in build quality a little, but I bet you a Maxima will last longer. All this hype about Honda being more reliable is false. My friends 98 Accord broke at 80k. His ABS system crashed and he needed a new transmission. Honda is reliable I am not saying it is not. I just think he had a bad Accord.

Re: How does the Maxima's build quality compare to other cars in the market?
 

Take a look at your model years. A '95 max vs a 2000 solara ain't exactly fair. But like someone said already, Nissan is an engine company first, a car company second.

How many 5-spd V6 camry's have u seen? I'm not even sure they exist, and if they do, I've never seen one...

i think that the maxima is the all around best car for the money on the market!

my i30 has been better than my previous car. my 97 jetta was horrible. my 92 eb explorer was great and very comparable to the i30 in terms of quality and comfort. i have noticed that it is a little better than the maximas my friends drive but the older maximas seem to be of higher quality...

ok i wont be biased here so dont hate.
ok i own a 95 accord and a 95 max
both have leather.
in terms of interior
i like the leather on the max.
the controls are nice
the leather in the max is soft the accord leather was hard.
the actual controls seemed more advanced in the max with the auto ac
but with the accord it was knobs that would stick and fall out if u played with it.
the shifter on the max is waaay better
a lot shorter
its comparing the max shifter with a truck shifter
that is how bad the accord was..
in engine wise..
i say that my accord could beat the max..
it actually does.
200hp+ 161tq
not bad for a 2.2 inline 4
the maxima is more refined than the accord is. much more luxurious
the only downfalls' on the max are most definitely suspension and the steering wheel
the steering is too soft and sensitive as where my accord was hard to turn (could be the fact i dun have ps)
the suspension is too shabby
it feels like everybump u take will unsettle ur car and make u do something bad. the accord was soo much better it could take corners with the best of them (but then again i do have over 2k in suspension on the accord)
and i also noticed that the maxima likes to follow the road which is a pain in the but in nj trying to fight all the ruts and potholes.

comparing the max and accord is wierd
they are in the same class yet totally different
i will give nissan this
the maxima is not seen as much as an accord
more accords than max's which is both good and bad.
=)
well hope you stayed to read this and hope no one gets mad..

Camrys do come with V6 and 5-spd, but they only come in the base trim (CE). That means no leather, etc..

One member of our board has a 5-spd V6 Camry that ran 14.7 in the 1/4mi STOCK. I think his screen name was gLok.

They come in both CE and LE with 5 speed, gLok has the LE, while a friend of his has a CE, which is the base model. According to gLok, they have made 7000 of them since 1997. gLok ran a 14.9 in his when it was stock if I remember correctly, his friend with the CE (no leather, no sunroof, etc) ran a 14.8 or 14.7 (I remember it was a tenth or 2 faster than gLok ran) stock with just a removed headlight. Still, the Camry is not nearly sporty enough to me. I think they are too plain looking, and the accord while a good looking car only comes in auto with th V6. We have 14.8 and 14.7 second stock maximas as well, and I like the sportiness of the Maxima more than the Camry.

The 2 door camry came in 5-spd v6 before they replaced it with the camry solara.

My personal opinion is that nissan and toyota is one of the best cars you can get from Japan they are very reliable. About a 2 weeks ago I saw a 1st gen max on the highway with the Datsun name badge, and boy that thing was running it made me feel proud of owning my max I felt that if thats still running I guess mines can run for a next 20 years are more if you take care of it.

My mom has a 97 Accord EX v-6. One day I decied to compare which car was better. My 97 Se Maxima or her 97 v-6 EX accord. The reason being was my parents had offered me the accord so I decied to see if I missed anything. The Max was way better by a long shot.
The Max had
Fog lights
Dual power seats
better leather interior
bigger engine 190hp accord 170hp
Maxima is a lot more roomier
Comes in 5-speed
The list goes on


The way i look at it is, a maxima is more like a BMW and a camry and accord is just a cheezer economy car just like the rest of the cars on today's market. Don't be gay man. Get a Maxima. Be a thug Like the rest of us. (shoot a pistol in the air)

i agree man! thug it out!

Re: How does the Maxima's build quality compare to other cars in the market?
 

Sold a '00 Accord coupe 4cyl 5speed for my 97 SE. Wanted to get my payments down a little bit.

I liked the Accord a lot. I never had any problems except for the dash creaking (no worse than the rattles in my Max) and one small moonroof problem (fixed under warranty).

Better with the Accord:
* Looks
* Fuel economy (obviously, 30mpg)
* Awesome stock handling (beats the crap out of the Buick, er, Max)
* Better brakes
* Nice, quick, short shifting and really abrupt (non-groaning) clutch
* Resale (I sold it 17 months after purchase, with 17000 miles, for $1700 less than what I paid for it)

Better with the Maxima:
* Power (obviously)
* Room (I'm a big guy)
* Wheels (I just love the 5 spoke SE wheels)
* Aftermarket options

In my book as far as Honda/Nissan/Toyota go, if you're looking for something in a 4 cylinder, the Accord is the only choice. My Mother in law has a 4 cylinder 97 Camry and it's soooo underpowered. When you move to the 6, the Maxima definitely comes out ahead, though the price gets up there compared to the Accord.

Re: Re: How does the Maxima's build quality compare to other cars in the market?
 

Uh, looks? No offense, but that's pretty personal. I disagree, for one. :) The gas mileage on the maxima is obviously difference going from the 4 cyl to the 6 cyl. The maxima has good highway mileage: ~27 mpg H.

SE's handle very well; I've only driven SE's or GLE's with a modded suspension though. The car is bigger as well!

1983 Datsun can still go
 

I had an 83 Datsun Maxima (RWD) Loaded until 1995, it was awesome ran up to 247000 miles then electrical problems led it to an early grave(battery wouldnt keep a charge, couldnt locate the short)

The only problems i ever had out of the car was the poor choice of plastic nissan made and the bad rear springs.

The plastic deteriorated so badyly that any pressure(elbow lean on console) would crush and shatter the plastic, i replaced the center console 2 times and the glovebox once. the area around the radio shattered when i removed the factory tape deck to remove a stuck tape.

The springs also deteriorated badly to the point that the rear end wheel wells would sometimes bump the wheels.


But the engine was chugging along gladly and the trans shifted beautifully( i miss my ole car :bawling: )

The sunroof even still worked.

Yes, actually there are. I test drove one before I ended up driving my maxima. It was a '93 V6 5-speed.

Oh, and to the people talking about the max not having as good of gas milage, maybe whatever is causing my hesitation is also causing my to get good gas milage because I consistantly get 26-27 city, 31-33 highway, and believe me, I drive with a pretty heavy foot!:eek: :confused:

All Toyota cars after 1996 are being built in the US, and I believe Honda has being building their cars in the US since 1994. All of Nissan's cars are also made in the US except the Maxima, now why do you think Nissan has the Maxima built in Japan instead of US? It's cuz of built-quality, anything made in Japan is simply better, and this is a fact. Maxima is Nissan's flagship, which was built to be a performance sports sedan, and for a car with a $25000~$30000 price range, built-quality is very important. That's why every Maxima is 99% made in Japan, although its interior and exterior are designed by Nissan N.A.

I've owned two Maxima's in the past and I drive a 98 Infiniti I30/Cefiro-A32 now, and I know what good quality really is... My uncle's 98 Accord EX V6 and my aunt's 99 Camry LE V6 both had many problems ever since they bought them...My uncle's Accord was leaking tranny fluid when it had 80k miles which long past the factory warranty...not long after he had that fixed, it was leaking coolant, so he sold it right after that was repaired. Then he bought a 96 Camry XLE V6 just 5 months ago, the shocks blown, AC failed and front axel was squeeking...And my aunt's 99 Camry was a piece of $hit too..not long after she bought it brand new from Longo Toyota, somewhere on the engine was leaking motor oil, so every time the engine is heated, smokes will come out from under the hood...and according to dealer it was a gasket problem. Couple months later the auto trunk release failed, and then the driver's side power-window failed...Now look at my I30, 111k miles and everything is still stock except my lowering springs, shocks and rims, even the battery is still stock. Talk about quality, I just went to Comdex Show at Vegas two days ago, and I was doing 110mph all the way from Diamond Bar, took me about 2 hours...the car didn't shake at all, and it could stay in a straight line even if I let go of the steering wheel. I even maxed it out at 134mph the car was still smooth(I drove there at 2:00AM, no cars on the freeway). Go try that with a 98 or newer Accord or Camry V6 with 111k miles, I bet you neither can do over 100mph for 2 hours straight no stopping, and even if it can the car would shake and rattle like a Mathafacka.

People who say Camry and Accord are more reliable and have better quality, these are the stereo-type of people who know nothing about cars. Nissan makes better cars, it's just that they don't advertise crazy like Honda and Toyota do, both companies keep bragging about their engine technologies and stuff, and keep feeding stupid people(which is about 3/4 of the US population)with bull$hit, and Nissan doesn't do none of that. Whoever thinks that Honda and Toyota make better cars, is blinded and cannot make any correct judgements, if you are one of those dumb a$$es, you oughtta kill yoself...(hey no offense, I'm just explaining the truth here..)

-K.D.

Don't be driven by your car, get a Nissan and drive it!

I think Camry's and Accords are higher quality automobiles than the Maxima, yet I'd still rather have a Maxima. I think you are the one blinded by your Nissan loyalty and retarded grammar and spelling.

Really, now? A person should end their life because their opinion differs from yours on the subject of car manufacturer preference?
Riiiiiiiiight...:rolleyes:

You're one of those "I'm right, and I'll be damned if everyone else on this planet isn't wrong!" sorta people, aren't you?;)

But, on a more objective note, aren't the maximas going to start being built in Tennessee this year??:confused:

I agree that cars built in Japan seem to be built better than the ones built in the US, Canada, and Mexico; even if they have a Japanese nameplate. What about Infiniti's lineup? Do they build their Nissan twin cars in the US as well, or do they keep it in Japan? Like the Pathfinder and Altima for example, they are built here- but what about the QX4 and the G20?

My 96 GXE(bought new) has some squeeks. Other than that NOTHING is wrong so far. I remember Comsumer Report shows 96 Max is slightly better in reliability than the same year Camry and Accord. Virtually all three are good enough to me. However, I have some

Dislikes:
Max's power window control partially blocked by steering wheel
Max's center arm rest not high and forward enough
Accord overdrive is a manual/mechanical shift, not a push button
96 Camry's down shift way slower than Max(that was the last minute comparison I made and decided on Max). On Max is my foot is really heavy its 4->3->2->1 dwonshift combines like a one step, but not with 96 Camry.

Likes:
Honda's power window control on the door arm rest
Camry's solid sound when its door are slam shut
Camry's quietness, even its 4 cynlinder is not much noiser

Most of the above are not build quality but design. I don't have much to say about domestic cars, as I'll never want one in the near future. Somebody said domestic cars are much better now but still I don't want to do the "long-term" test on myself, with my own money.

Most of the above are not build quality but design. I don't have much to say about domestic cars, as I'll never want one in the near future. Somebody said domestic cars are much better now but still I don't want to do the "long-term" test on myself, with my own money. [/B][/QUOTE]

I second that! Like i said yesterday, U.S. car companies have improved in recent years, but they are still playing catch up to japan's big three. Fortunately, my car was built in Japan. I never thought i'd live to say that!

Re: Re: Re: How does the Maxima's build quality compare to other cars in the market?
 

Looks are quite personal. I think that even non-rice aftermarket appearance mods are horribly ugly, and lots of people like them. Different strokes.

And I can tell you that with regard to stock handling, there is absolutely no comparison between my former 00 Accord and my 97 Maxima. None. If the SE handles the best out of the other trims, I'd hate to feel what a GXE or GLE is like.

The camry is the most reliable, ive learned that through experience.
But the camry cant be respected like the max. I cant be baddened up.
Unless you get the V6 camry, then you have nothing.
And i dont really care for hondas, everyone and their momma has one. And they are too expensive to buy and maintain parts.

Maxima is the world's best car!:rolleyes:
I'd put Nissan's quality ahead of American cars, but behind Toyota and Honda.
Remember, there IS a reason we have a MCoA.;)

C'mon, you can do better than picking on my grammar, state some facts and object to whatever you don't agree with me, stick to the topic, thank you.

-K.D.

The better quality in a Maxima is a fact, not an opinion. I did not say a person should end his/her life just because their opinions differ from mine, it was an expression, anyone who cannot see the facts should "kill themselves", that, is an expression! c'mon, use yo brain!

When the Maxima is going to be built in the US, I won't buy another one. And all Infiniti cars are made in Japan, just like Lexus. When a car manufacture wants to make a car affordable to all the people, it has to be built in the country that they are selling to, so they can keep the costs low. Why is a Maxima more expensive than an Accord and Camry? This is why.

I would have to say the Toyota Camry is pretty well built. Well at least the 3-gens. I think these have better quality interiors than the 4-gen maximas and are = to the 3-gen interiors.

But to say the Hondas(ie.. Accord) is better built than let's say the 3-gen maxima? No way. Wife's 94 Accord had it's balance shaft seal blow(ie..loses 4quarts of oil in 1 min), has a leaky exhaust, and the coin tray is broken. The paint also scratches alot easier than my 3-gen. The Accord is built good but not excellent. It does have a gem of a suspension though.