plus t.t.l. ... base, no options but the mudguards (which I didn't know were installed until I got the car home).

Bought from Continental Nissan in LaGrange, IL after a horrible day of horrible experiences w/ shady/slimy/grimy car salesmen. Gray Luster, Black cloth ...

First impressions of the auto (after having extensively driven a friend's 6-spd.)

Cons
1) Not nearly as fun as the manual (duh)
2) off-the-line power is NICE, better than the TL-S, but much much more torque steer than the TL-S... in fact the TL-S barely shows any torque steer compared w/ the max auto
3) heavy accel. into a turn also shows tons of tork steer, UNLIKE the TL-S
4) That rear end still takes some getting used too
5) which I could hear more of a throaty exhaust note

Pros
1) silky smooth engine, brakes, steering
2) fairly good handling .. easy to improve
3) tires aren't as bad as I thought
4) Price! best bang for the buck I think

 

Congrats!

The added torque at a lower rpm than the TLS is what is creating more torque steer.

Your right the rear suspension is sub-standard.

 

whats quicker stock tls or the maxima both automatic right

 

Enjoy

 

$21,500 damn that cheap....how many miles?

 

I hope it wasnt new...that price is DIRT CHEAP!!! i paid 25.8K for my loaded 02...every opt but nav......

 

Damn, I bought my 2k2 SE for 30.5K, every options, except navigation. But then I bought mine in October 2001.

 

 

I wound up getting my 03 SE 6-speed with pretty much the same options described as the original poster,(mud-guards) for 22 and change. Oh, it had 9 miles on it when I got it.

 

You guys got great deals!

 

This ****es me off, I paid 27k for my '01 GLE new. These cars are depreciating new!

 

well i paid $24,900 for my '01 SE w/ 4,000 miles on it... not sure if that was a deal

 

Well what do yall expect as the 5th gens get older their prices drop in relationship to their MSRP. I doubt if you would be able to buy a 2003 Maxima for less than 20K brand new though. As long as you didn't pay MSRP for your Maxima you are getting a good deal.

By the way I paid 27K for mine with everything but Nav. (including the tint for free) in Sept. 2001.

Look at it this way those of us with 2000-02 Maximas have been paying for our cars longer and won't have a Car Payment to worry about soon.

 

Though you're off topic, I'll respond just this once

I think the Auto TL-S is quicker to 60 by a fraction, due to its 5-spd auto gearing as opposed to the Max's 4-spd

 

Congrats, that's a good price!

I bought my base 03GLE new in December 2002 for $23,400 plus tax (which is a hefty 8.25% here). Price is after the $1000 rebate. No sunroof, meridian or nav. 40 miles on it when I picked it up.

People buying in 03 should be able to get even better deals.

 

Thats a great deal on a GLE, you cant get a GLE for that price here in DFW.

 

Very true as long as you didnt pay MSRP for it you did good( prefearble closer to dealer cost) and I dont think you will be able to get a new Max for 20k either. I think the lowest would be probably around 22K with the incentives. Heck stop worrying about resale peeps their are lots of cars that depreciate faster than the Max and remember a car isnot a great investment it depriciates not appreciates like property. Just enjoy the Max a I think the 02/03's are the best bang for the bucks out their.

 

does anyone care?

sticker was $30,050 on my 2k3 Maxima, I got it for $28,000...

4.9% financing was the kicker tho...

-vq

 

you guys should come up to canada, even cheaper!! fully loaded with no nav for 24000..

 

There was a thread about this some time ago. Some US people wanted to buy in Canada because of lower price, but Nissan Corp. prohibited Canadian dealers from selling to US customers. Unless this has changed, I don't think it's possible for us (US customers) to purchase up there.

 

dont get in a wad anyone, Nissan has always priced maximas regionally. If you buy in the south/midwest, you will pay more. They have been cheaper on the east/west coast. I've seen where we had waiting lists 2 months long, while you could pick up a SE loaded for $3000 under *list*. Just another one of the things that DESTROYS our resale.

phase out of this gen is going to get UGLY. At least most of us have already taken our hit.. I hope the 2k3 guys plan on holding the car for awhile. They are going to feel the pain too..

 

I'm planning on holding mine for AT LEAST 5 yrs. I LOVE the car, and don't think I'll feel the need to switch out of it anytime soon.

 

Our car stickered at $30,700.00 (2003 GLE with all options minus navigation) and I got it this January for $27,900 out the door (after tax, tags, and dealer). I was happy.

 

i've heard of people going to a real desparate dealership in canada that has no business, and they sold it to them...so maybe....but yeah, nissan canada don't want u guys to

 

For the benefit of others that may be shopping in my area, I bought my '03 GLE with mudguards, floor & trunk mat and rear spoiler for $24.4K including the $1K rebate and excluding tax + gov. fees. This was around Xmas '02.

In order to get this price, which was BTW, $400 under invoice (before the rebate), I faxed 13 dealerships within a 100 mile radius (a trick I learned from this website!). I spelled out the price for a current quote (invoice) and wrote that the first dealer that gave me a price significantly lower than this, I would buy the car from him. Within half an hour, I had 2 calls matching the price in my fax. I told them I wasn't interested unless it was significantly less. To the second caller, I told him my price and he said he would check with his manager. Ten minutes later, the manager had approved. As promised in my fax, I accepted his offer and drove 30 minutes to his dealership. He showed me the car, I test drove it, loved it, signed the papers and drove my car home in less than 2 hours. There was no haggling at ALL. He treated me with respect and the experience was very pleasant.

A week later, I had a dealer called me (for the first time) to see if I was still in the market for a car. I couldn't help but laugh and told him that I meant what I said in the fax. He lamented the loss.

BTW, prior to the fax approach, I had gone to a dealership recommended by autobytel or some other internet shopping place. The guy gave me a price that was about $800 over invoice and told me that it was non-negotiable... take it or leave ... blah, blah. He went on to say that he didn't need to sell the car and that sometimes, if he didn't like the customer, he didn't sell him a car... yes, he said those things just like that. I asked him if he was sure. When he reconfirmed. I got up, shook his hand and left the place.

I almost drove by the next day with my new car to see him but figured it was not worth my time to make him see who the boss really is. The funny thing is that while I was waiting in his office, there was a company Xmas lunch going on. I could overhear the dealership's manager/owner speaking to all of the employees. "I know we've had a bad year and that you have put a lot of work. We hope that 2003 will be better" With that saleman's attitude, I doubt that their outlook will get any better.

Lost My HIDs.

 

I followed a similar approach, except I emailed them. For those where I could not get emails off the internet, I asked dealerships for their internet manager, asked him/her for their email, and told them to look for an email from me within the next 30 minutes.

Got to speak to quite a few characters. Some people refused to budge from their usual tactics - kept telling me to come into the showroom. Some people were stuck in the stone ages - one guy, I called him back when I emailed him and his email bounced - said "oh sh*t, my computer must be powered down".

Another guy, I told him I wanted a base GLE (without sunroof) - he kept insisting sunroofs are standard on the GLE. When I told him Nissan's website told me sunroof was an option, he got upset. Finally he called me an idiot and hung up! 15 minutes later he had the ***** to call back to say he had found one in the configuration I wanted. Didn't even apologize.

Out of 14, I had 3 honest good prices under invoice. I asked them to fax me their final itemized price and went with the lowest offer. It helped that it was end of year, and it is end of model year for 5th gen.

 

That is the best feeling in the world. Some of these guys are so clueless you wonder how they stay in business. I bet their service department is the worst in town. If they are going to treat you like that before you're a customer imagine what they will do once you are!

 

Resale doesnt phase me, If you buy these cars new you should plan on keeping it at least 4 or 5 years if not lease. Hell any car you get expect alot of depriciation that is just a way of life with cars(not good invetsments) so many cars are worse than the Max. I dont remember the 4th gens taking that big of a hit when the 5th gen came out. If you worry about that everyday you cant enjoy your car and you should get Gap insurance on most new cars to help ya out if something happens to it, its very cheap.

 

Too true.

I bought my '03 SE on 12/30/02. I pad 22,800 (including dest. charge)for the car, approx. 1650 for the extended warranty (6 yrs./100K) a couple hndred for an aftermarket alarm, tax/title/reg was a bit over 2 grand in NYC. The dealer also installed security bolts on the lights. In addition my wife and I got 30 days of free car washes (until end of January) across the street from the dealership, our first two oil change services free (whatever the car needs) and a deal where we get up to $1800 for airline tickets to any US destination or caribbean destination (we're planning a trip to hawaii in July). They promised me a hood lock but never installed it, so I had an alarm place install a Maxiguard for $200 and the dealer picked up the tab. I laid out my own money to have Don (pearl96max) rip out the substandard aftermarket alarm the dealer put in and install a Viper 790 responder with prox and remote start in its place.

I figure i lost money on the alarm the dealer put in. i made a few bucks on the better hood lock i had installed than the dealer would have put in. And in the end it all comes out in the wash. We also got the 1000 cash back and we got the 2.9% financing over 5 years.

I think we got a good deal on a great car. Could I maybe have saved $500 bucks here or there? probably, but the dealer is 3 miles from my house and we are happy. That's the bottom line. Whatever you pay is irrelevant as long as you are happy with your price and with your car. We're gonna keep the car for at least 5 years so it made sense to buy and get the ext. warranty.

As long as you're happy with your car and you're happy with your price, who cares what anyone else thinks about your deal?

Maximas are really good cars, you can't go wrong owning one.

Dan

 

Got mine 03 Max SE, fully loaded without nav...for 34, but thats canadian price...