Okay,
After serious debate I have decided to go with the the maxima. A couple of weeks ago I thought I was going to buy an is300. But with the deals that Nissan is offering right now I don't think I can pass up the maxima. But here is my next question six speed or auto?
Right now my local dealer has a sterling mist SE with frost interior
every option except navi w/ the titanium package. They are telling me 26,000 is the best that they can do with the 1,000 rebate is this a good deal? According to them this is the only loaded six speed in IL right now. They have every color and option in the automatic. The automatic is pretty fast but the six speed is faster. I've heard that they six speeds are prone to have problems but Nissan will take care of them. As far as daily drivers is the six speed worth it? I don't want a problematic car, and in 5 years when I'm finished paying for car I don't want a crappy transmisson. I hate how loose a stick gear box can feel after a while. What do you guys think? I am probably going to buy the car Monday night.

 

You will regret it later if you get the auto. Go with the 6 speed. More power, more fun.

 

More speed and more power huh? I will disagree...but to avoid starting any wars, which happen often on this subject, newguy, it is really a personal preference. I have my reasons for getting an auto. Others have thier reasons for getting a 6 speed. Which do you like driving?

 

Better acceleration, better gas mileage. I would say manual cars are less prone to problems than automatics in general, and they can usually withstand more abuse than automatics. You don't loose as much power with the manuals. Besides that, still consider everything else such as traffic and usage. I personally never buy an automatic, regardless of how much traffic i'm in. It doesn't bother me at all. Once you get used to driving a manual, you'll figure out ways of driving in traffic without being bothered as well.

 

Ditto.

Having a 6-spd is a pretty cool thing. It's a relatively rare option and will make your car haul ***. I can't think of any advantage to a auto unless you're lazy.

 

Lol some us are lazy, but in the 02-03 the autos have closed the gap considerably over previous years.

 

I work 13 hours a day b/c I'm lazy.

 

This is a VERY personal choice, almost on par with what color to get. However, manual trannies are known for:
(1) better power to the wheels due to lower drivetrain loss,

(2) better mileage, especially on the highway (this is assuming that you're driving the manual with fuel economy in mind),

(3) usually are less prone to transmission problems, and if you DO end up with a problem, they are usually cheaper to replace/service.

My 03 6sp is my first manual car, and I drive through morning rush hour traffic regularly here in Boston, but do not mind ONE bit. In fact, I enjoy practicing my takeoffs, seeing how low I can go in 1st gear w/out stalling, etc etc, basically just playing around with the car. Sitting in traffic sucks in any car, but if you have a manual, at least you're doing something (i.e. shifting gears), which makes it less boring that just brake-gas-break-gas with an auto.

However, it's still a personal decision that you have to make, but as many have mentioned, NOONE that bought a manual wishes they got an auto, but there are MULTIPLE people who regret getting the auto over the manual.

Good luck, either way you're getting an AWESOME car (in some ways, better than IS300 overall).

 

get the 6-speed

 

Oh here we go with the 6 speed and auto Stuff again

First off I have an auto and will never regret it,shifting gears gets to be a pain in the butt after a while

My last car was a stick, mustang

Second from what I have read on this board . the fastest quarter mile times I have seen have been with the auto

Get what your heart desires .you will be driveling it ,not the people on the forum

AS for mileage my best 33.4 highway My best

 

Get an Auto, b/c 6spd should stay as rare species I want to feel specail w/ my 6spd

J/K...but seriously though....GO with your heart and whatever answer comes to mind is the right choice.

 

I believe it! I didn't search too hard but I couldn't find one within a tolerable distance from me (NW Burbs). I figured if a dealer had one I would consider it. But the dealers I visited had NO 6-speeds at all. I thought it would be pretty cool to have one for the fun factor mostly.

I settled for a new leftover 2002 that I got last month. I got a screamin deal also. Since I'm leasing it I don't have to worry about the value deteriorating either...

I say unless you have a significant other who objects - go for the 6-speed!! Lucky SOB!!

Good luck..........

 

I have had both 2k Auto GXE and 2k2 6spd SE. My next car will be a manual, even if I live in downtown NY. My 2k2 was my first manual. It took me a little while to perfect shifting, but I don't regret the purchase at all. I would not be driving a manual now had my first Max been a 5spd SE.

 

Get the 6 speed for this somple reason. If you floor an automatic it will downshift and thats CHEATING! (at least according the the civic guys)

 

i have a 2k SE auto and i love it.. my suggestion to you is that.. if you do get a AUTO (hope you dont) just dont ever drive a stick, or you'll regret it =) i love my auto cuz i never drove a stick max yet.. and i hope i wont anytime soon

 

Don't wait too long if you want that 6 speed. They are getting alot harder to find the loaded ones as you can see.
I already have over 24,000 miles on my 2k2 in just 10 months. I have not had any problems as far as the tranny goes.
Good luck.

 

The 6 speed is nice on the max. I've been driving MTs since 1985, various cars, and this trans does beat all my previous cars.

The clutch is easy, not much effort compared to the others I've driven. Shifting isn't notchy and I'm not even broken in yet.

At highway speed, 6th is good for nothing but cruisng. The car can't get out of it's own way in 6th. For me, it's somewhat aggrevating when passing because my previous car was a turbo 5 speed. It had plenty of power, even in 5th. On rare occasions, when I need power, I find myself downshifing in the max where I wouldn't be doing that in my turbo 5 speed. At 70 I'm right around 2100 RPMs or so in 6th.

I guess 6th helps with MPG at highway if it's taller than the previous 5 speed it replaced. You'd also think that with a 6 speed you'd have closer ratios, but I don't personally think the ratios are all that close to be honest. Perhaps a bit more close than usual, but not so close that you notice it.

All things considered, I haven't regretted the decision once. I personally prefer MTs for a lot of reasons most of which were already mentioned here.

 

I own a auto and a six speed. My 2k2 auto gets better mpg than my 2k3 6-speed? I don't know why. But anyways I love driving the 6-speed cause its fun but an auto is nice for a nice realaxing trip to the store. Its up to u, But I would take the 6-speed for the fun factor!

 

I love my 6-speed, I considered the auto but once I drove the stick it was all over....like it has been said it's a personal preference

 

My 3rd gen is an automatic. I tore it up and it cost me $2K for the rebuild. I told myself that I wasn't paying for THAT again! I also got tired of everytime someone would be looking at it at a car show or meet and saying how much they liked everything, but when it came to, "Is it a 5 speed?" and I said, "No. It's an auto" they would reply, "Oh. Too bad."
I've never owned a manual before. I just picked up my 2K3 today. I got a loaded (Minus Nav) 6sp, HLSD, Titanium Edition, Leather and Meridian SE for $27,100. I can barely drive it, but I already love it! Once everything becomes second nature it gonna be so much fun even bone stock. It has enough oompf to pull out in second gear in many situations.
I just made this same decision earlier this week, having never owned a manual, that you're facing now. I just got it today and love it, so that's as fresh an opinion as I can render. I don't think you would be disappointed. Good luck!

 

Where and who? I ain't buying it.

 

I just wanted to add a couple of points.

You can achieve better MPG with the manual OR you can accelarate faster. Though, I doubt that you can get both, at the same time. If you drive aggresively, you gonna buy more gas, I think.

In a few years five-speed automatic will be considered standard and four-speed auto will be considered outdated. 03 maxima has 4AT.

Gated shift in automatic is much nicer than the previous design "with the button". All you need to do is to drive on 3 and switch to 4 when you want to save gas.

Usually, auto is $700-$1,000 more expensive than manual. For maxima it is the same price. That means that manual cars are overpriced.

The demand for manual midsize import sedans is not that great. That may complicate (time or money wise) resale of your manual car in the future. Though you may be lucky to find a dedicated manual trany buyer.

 

you want luxury..auto
you want speed...6spd

you want to start a huge debate.. post auto or 6spd


and lets not get in the traffic debate.. because i find a M/T easier to drive in Traffic than an A/T .. so lets not go there..

 

Amem!

And to add to that

you want boring..auto
you want excitement..6spd

Everyone else on the road has the auto Max; the 6spd is a rare option and I look up to those that have it. I am not trying to start World War 3 here, this is just my opinion.

 

me too


I prever an M/T in traffic because I have complete control over the tranny...no more guessing games. I almost got run over a few times in my stupid Accord V6 (A/T only) when I pulled out in front of some cars thinking it would downshift to 1st. But it didn't!


Manual = much greater confidence in traffic.

 

Perhaps if you had a 6-spd to look forward to at the end of the day you wouldn't be rolling your eyes right now!


Why get an auto? Do you just not feel like shifting??? I understand if you have to deal with rush hour traffic daily, but otherwise get out there and DRIVE!

What is america's love affair with the auto?

Auto: More expensive, slower, lower gas mileage, heavier, boring

Flame away, but the only automatic's I'll ever buy will be driving a truck/SUV around, where performance just isn't an issue.

 

How do you almost get run over by you own car ?

 

ok let us auto guys see if we can help you
As usual the people on this board with the stick shift think they have the greatest car in the world ,and every body should be like them .
Let me see if I can help you with your problem
Not everyone buys a maxima so they can beat the crap out of it .Racing their car every chance they get. they respect it their and enjoy the performance.
Is it so hard for you to understand that not everyone likes shifting gears all the time . I mean like most of the people in the world that drive a car

It is ok to have a stick shift and like .But it is not ok to say in such a manner,like every else's car is know good.
Show some respect
As for some of your other inaccurate remarks
Auto: More expensive
same price
slower
the fastest cars on the board are autos
lower gas mileage
My best mileage 33.4
heavier
My Reggie says 3160 and your stick ?
boring
Remember I can shift gears when every I want to .You have know choice
My last car besides my jeep that I still own was a mustang 5.0 five speed stick
For some reason that stick shift made my drive faster then normal I got into a lot of races
The mods I had on my mustang are as follows.
One K&N filter and three speeding tickets

I would not mind having two maxima's one stick shift and one auto.
But for now I can only have one .I am not sorry, I chose an auto
Just my 2 cents

 

Thanks for answering yourself. Not everyone has performance as an issue. I do, just not enough to buy a manual. Who says anything about a love affair? I prefer to drive an auto, get off your high horse. And how do you know I don't only have one arm? eh?

You can say "get out there and drive" all you want, but a guy/gal who bikes everywhere might tell you YOU'RE lazy, so be careful where you draw the line between "lazy" and not lazy. I don't think there were any flames in there. So, You flame away, as you already have, by typing "lazy".

 

he didnt. hes saying in the auto it didnt downshift and thus cars almost hit him while pulling out into traffic.

and i believe emax has the fast 1/4 mile and hes 6 speed.

and today automatics are just as efficient as manuals. back in the day it was different, now its the same.

and autos definetely do not cost more. in some cars sticks cost more. in the case of the max 6 speeds are more because they make alot less of them. believe it or not, i think 1 day sticks will basically be gone because of traffic, people, etc. except for true sports cars, not sports sedans.

 

The manual will be faster than the auto. Are you driving an auto or manual at this time? Do you have a lot of stop-and-go driving daily? Anyone else in your family will drive your new Maxima also? This is my third Maxima and no problems with the A/T so far.

 

Is that a poem?? No offense, but lay off the "enter" key, dude.....

As for the autos being faster, I would still like to see some proof. Between drivetrain power loss, the added weight, and the inability to let it redline, I find this extremely hard to believe.

 

With a topic like this you eventually see the same things over and over and over. There are fast autos. There are fast 6 speeds. Some think there is more 'joy' to driving a stick, while others think there is more 'joy' having both hands on the wheel. It is an endless debate and a very opinionated one. Half the people that make comments like 'a manual is less expensive' or 'an auto is more reliable' have no idea what they are talking about or why they are even saying it. I said it before, I will repeat it again...it is a PERSONAL PREFERENCE. Which do YOU like driving? That is the one you should pick.

 

Did someone really say that??

 

You know as well as I do...the more you read on here, the more wonderful statements you see.

 

or broke...one of the two...

-vq

 

Here is a list of my old cars in order since 1992. I graduated Highschool in 1993

87 mustang LX 5.0 stick
89 supra turbo auto
92 maxima se auto
97 prelude sh stick
94 maxima se
94 300zx stick
2k3 maxima, auto or stick???

 

Thank you A truly intelligent post

 

Yes it is a poem
written just for
you asu74
As for my other statement auto being faster. This is why I say that .The fastest quarter mile maxima's I have read about on this forum are 4th generation in the low 13 quarter mile
AS for who is faster I guess the debate will go on for ever. I don't really care I did not buy my maxima to race it . I enjoy the ride and the performance both auto or stick are plenty fast enough

 

Ditto.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!