Previous 3rd gen owner looking at staying in the Maxima family. Have posted on the 5th gen board to get some input, and would like to get some for the 4th as well. Will be test driving a couple 99's tomorrow & probably a 2002 as well for comparisons sake. Any reliability differences noted between the years? I'm going to assume that some problems mentioned in the early 4th gen years were cleared up by 98-99. Is this a fair assumption? Anything else I should be looking for? Thanks in advance for the info.

 

All 4th gens are reliable. A couple of minor interior design flaws were corrected in the 97-99 range, but you can do them yourself on a 95-96. I hear that the 95's are the best performers (by fraction of a second). If you're really into doing mods, you'll find the 4th gen has many more aftermarket parts available. Otherwise, you just have to continue with your test drives and make your decision from that.

 

a 97 manual is the way to go

 

get either the 97 for 4th gen cuz it doesnt fall into the 98-99 for which certain aftermarket stuff is not so readily available, however the 97 has the newer look(headlights, taillights, grille, interior) and is among the 95-96 in certain parts...i kno i sound confusing, 4get it, just get a damn 2002 6spd and u wont have to worry bout aftermarket performance cuz that sucker is FAST!!

 

umm, i have a 97 and a 97-99 or even 95-96 is the best to go with. The interior is wayy nicer than the new ones especially if you get the SE fully loaded with leather. BUT, i would definately take a 2002 6speed over a 95-99 anyday

 

And definitely a 95-99 over a new Altima!

Damn, I was so disappointed in the new Altima. It looks beautiful, but the interior is cheap, the ride choppy, and the performance/handling very mediocre. And this is with a 3.5 V6! Quite astonishing, considering the marketing campaign that Nissan bolstered it with. The money that went into marketing should have gone into R&D and higher quality parts!!

 

If you are thinking of 95-99 or 2k-2k1 then I'd go for the 4th gen.. it's cheaper and just as fast, actually even faster. But if you are thinking of the 2k2, then it's a tough choice.. the 2k2 is a beast, might be worth the extra $$$. Although you can buy 2 used 4th gens for the price of a 2k2 max

 

Its a 3.5 V6 and it is faster than a 4th gen 5sp. And the handling is pretty good. bu**** just not a MAX!

 

Reading this thread got my curiosity aroused... I have never sat in a 97-99 Maixima and I have a 96 GXE. can someone tell me what the differences are in the interior apart from the ones that come with the trim? My 96 GXE has only 47k miles on it, but has a few rattles that look like they are from the glove-box area. Is this a common problem with 95-96s? I mean this sucker has only 47k miles on it.

 

i dont know of any significant interior differences.. only maybe:
-design of the seats (The way they are stiched etc.. )
-steering wheel is different
-cup holder has a cover.

now 98-99s differ from 97s as well. in 98s - 99s the odometer is digital.. the fuel gauge is backwards, (needle pointing in the opposite direction).. red needles.

 

The guage needles are all red on 4th gens.........

 

All cars have rattles. Hunt them down and destroy....

-RMB

 

A little different. My 98 SE gauages have red needles. My friend's 96 SE gauges had black needles. The black needles looked cooler.

DW

 

Sorry bout that. My mistake. All the 4th gens that I have seen have had red, but I guess that there was black too

 

um the 2.5 altima is a 4 cylinder, the 3.5 is the v6.
My parents have one

 

Only SE's are black or red... GXE', GLE's = White

 

To complete the list, for 97-99:
-cup holder shape is BETTER and it has a cover
-arm rest compartment is a little smaller, but the padding is better and sits higher
-design of the seats is different
-passenger seat has power controls (with luxury package)
-steering wheel design is more aggressive
-Bose stereo face looks different
-window switches are different internally (harder to swap LEDs)

 

2 cents;

The 99 Bose face is unique and best looking

DW

 

What makes you think THAT? Maybe you've personally only seen black or "red" (rose), but that certainly doesn't mean there aren't others.

I have a Deep Blue Pearl SE. And I've personally seen both white and gray SE's. It's possible there was one or two colors NOT available for the SE model, but otherwise it was a fairly decent range to pick from.

 

He's talking about the needles in the gages.

DW

 

IMO you should get a 4th Gen Maxima, I test drove an '02 SE w/ the new 3.5L VQ, awesome engine but I had this strange feeling that my 4th Gen '98 SE was the better car. Go w/ the 4th Gen.

 

Well it depends on what you are looking for in a car. If you want cheap and crappy, go with the 4th gen. Otherwise make a good decision, spend a little more money and go with the awesome 5th gen

 

Read this and then buy a 5th gen
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=119011

 

Ended up buying a 99 SE Sterling Mist w/auto. 43K & great shape. Test drove several 4th & 5th gens and felt this was the best way to go. Could have afforded a 2002, but why play the depreciation game? I'm happy to be back in the family (originally with a 91 SE), and that's all that really matters, isn't it?

 

Not trying to knock you 5th generation guys, but don't you know you're 6 months from being like the 4 generations prior yesterdays news or like you're saying cheap and crappy. Now I know you don't honestly believe any Maxima is cheap or crappy just because of its production year or do you???? rolleyes: If the performance is what you want, great, but depretiation is a mother%^&*%r. The '02 is beautiful, but patience is a virtue. You can always get the '02 cheap if you don't like the '03: