03MaxSe6spdNJ

Just got my 2003 se 6-speed in sterling silver. I love this car. It is an amazing drive.

SilverMax02

Nice! Congrats and enjoy the ride.

UCF_94lude

Just got my '02 6-speed today too. I am still smiling from the 2 hour drive home after I picked it up. I don't know why people complain so much about the car, I love it.

badabing

Congrats!

Gaurd your HIDs - especially in Jersey.

tarpoon

happy modding

03MaxSe6spdNJ

do you know where i can get the kit, to protect the HID's

Nyc2kMax

Congrats on the new buy man... Hope u got it for a good price with low miles and dealer warranty...........

shysmax

Congrats on your purchase, and enjoy the power!! I bought mine back in June (SE 6 spd, everything except nav.), and really like it, however, I have always complained bec. she's FWD, with non - IRS. These are tactics Nissan have used to keep costs down I suppose, and I have a problem with that. Recently, I've been looking around for other cars: Jaguar X-Type, Audi A4 1.8, Mazda 6S, G-35, and WRX. I have driven none of them save the WRX. Well, the Jag, and Audi, cost base $30K; yeah, u get AWD, but you get 190 hp - what's up with that!? Granted, I'm sure the fit and finish, are excellent, and so is the quality, but c'mon, 190 ponies for $30K!!?? Their 0-60 and quarter mile times are pathetic. The Jag doesn't even come with a standard CD player. I sat in a Mazda 6S yesterday, but she too is FWD, and granted with her IRS, and excellent handling reviews, she is a great car for the price. BUT, she's not a mid 14 second quarter mile sport sedan. Handling is fun, but straight out power is why I bought the Maxima, its just like the commercial says "cars like it - 0". Where else can one buy a sport sedan the size of the Max, have one of the best V6 engines under $52K for the past 9 years running according to Ward's, (not even BMW, or Mercedes can make that claim), run mid 14 second quarters, have a 6 spd., Xenon lights and 17" wheels (standard), and other available luxury amenities (Meridian package with heated steering wheel for one), for under $30K? The WRX is wicked, but does not have the space or luxury of a Max, and I feel, both cars are evenly matched in acceleration. If I sound like I am trying to justify my purchase, I am. Just today, after reading up, and checking out these cars, I took out the Maxima, with the attitude of "how does she really feel, shall I trade her?" Well, she felt truly great! In normal street driving (or racing) conditions, the Maxima can hold her own. No way I'm trading this bad azz car for a German 200hp $30K car just bec. the finish, and engineering is "supposedly" better. (U don't see them on Ward's list 9 yrs. in a row). With the exception to the G-35 which is a RWD Maxima, but with all the toys it has to offer, goes north of $30K, I'm beginning to accept the fact that the Maxima is FWD, and non-IRS. I honestly do not see anything out there save the WRX that comes close to the Maxima for the money. My point here is I think you have made an excellent choice in your decision! (Also, I responded, to vent my feelings out a little too, sorry for that, but being a RWD fanatic, (I own a 87' Supra Turbo running mid 13's), I always find myself liking the Maxima, but always complaining about the FWD situation. Well, unless I have $30K for a G-35 (which does not include heated seats/steering wheel in its' base 6spd. model), and with comparable 0-60, and 1/4 mile times (same engine), I'm beginning to feel that my "likeness" for the Maxima is turning into love. One good thing is that from this forum, I've heard the RSB makes a big difference, so that should counter the non - IRS issue to some extent. Once again, sorry for the long post guys, but I feel much better writing my thoughts out. U've made an excellent choice, that VQ engine is truly a piece of art, and the entire car is pure fun to drive (u'll get used to the torque steer) ENJOY!!

valhalla

Well, the WRX is a bit faster stock for stock. Certainly if you were to do a high RPM launch it would be faster by a decent margin solely due to the AWD. The Max is a very quick car in general... it can hold its own on the streets. Comparing the 2 isnt really fair though. The WRX is much more of a canyon carver than the Max and excels in various performance aspects. Its certainly not as luxurious though.

2k2MerlotSE

iTrader: (2)

congrats on the new purchase.

enjoy the ride, I do.

Quicksilver

iTrader: (1)

shysmax,

Thanks for posting your feelings on your Max! I actually like to hear stories like that. When I bought my Max, I knew the supposed limitations and problems b/c I had been scoping this site out since the 2002 model came out. I'm a strange creature who does his car shopping year round, and I start at least a year in advance when I've finally decided to make a new purchase. I then look into every little aspect of the car, talk to service reps (which is not always worth it...some of them don't know JACK), talk to owners when I see them in public places, and finally start posting my questions to sites like this one. I knew the Max had it's problems, and may not have been the best overall engineered choice out there. I could have bought whatever I wanted to, but the fact remains that I purchased the Max due to it's vastly superior "bang for buck" value. I can overlook no rear IRS and FWD, b/c I know plenty of things that can help this out (performance wise). It's the same story with my 2002 Dakota (2002 SLT+ CC 4.7L 45RFE Auto 2WD). I waited until the 3rd year of that engine being out, and 2nd with the engine and exhaust changes. It's the best "bang for the buck" truck out there too. That and it currently runs 14.52 in the 1/4 mile with relatively inexpensive mods. When the S/C goes in, it's low 13's or bust. OK, well, enough of my rambling. Once again, I appreciate hearing stories like this...

MONTE 01&97 SE

iTrader: (1)

The WRX may be a tad quicker 0-60 but it is not as fast through the 1/4 mile with traps usually about 92-94 whereas manual Maxima are 96-98 stock.

Y2KMaxGXE-R

iTrader: (4)

guys how much are you paying for 2003

max...to the ma

man the person who sold u the car is crazy why would they sell a perfectly good car after one year

maximadave

iTrader: (10)

Enjoy your ride and let the modding begin...

UCF_94lude

He got a brand new lexus gs400 through his work for like 1/2 the retail price. He lived about 4 hours from me and I was fortunate to find the car.

spauldingsmails

Congrats! Really nice car. After the '04 model info and pix came out (mid January), I emailed the Elkhart IN dealer about a new black '02 6 speed they had, but found out it had sold earlier that same day. Oh well. Ended up buying a majestic blue '03 6 speed that I love. I think a lot of people have been trying to get ahold of the last 5th gen 6 speeds. Are you going to get clear sides for the front and/or back? I just ordered mine (fronts only) from CustomMaxima.

UCF_94lude

Honestly I don't know.. I probably will at some point, it looks pretty sweet on the cars I've seen pics of with them. I want to keep the car stock for a while until the novelty effect of the car being new wears off

firstmax95

Congrats! I sold my '95 on Maxima.org this past November, after 8 happy years and 125K miles. Now I too am starting over again- and like you have just picked up an '03 SE 6-Speed White on Frost Leather.


Open question for all- Nissan says "easy does it" for the first 1,200 miles (I'm at 823). I always thought this number was 3,000 miles- have they gotten better (Nissan?) I've also noticed that manufacturer's these days are starting to go with 4 to 4.5K miles between oil changes- but I'm still stuck (religiously) on 3K miles. Same sort of deal here?

vito1281

The recommended break-in period is 1000 miles, not 1200. Although the weird thing is that the 350Z has the same VQ35 engine, but their recommended mileage is 1200 like you said. Not sure what the deal is here, but I do know that 1000 is enough for the Max (per factory and most of .org's recommendations).

As far as oil changes are concerned, it's kind of a personal preference. I still stick to the 3k miles/3 months whichever comes first routine. Supposedly modern engines and oils are better built, and therefore allow for longer periods of time and mileage between changes. This is for regular(dino??) oil, but if you're using synthetic, you can drain every 6-7.5k miles I think.

Some people are convinced that the usual 3k miles recommendation is a "conspiracy" by the oil producing companies to make more money. This adage was probably correct a while ago, but with modern cars and oils, longer periods are most likely fine.

03MaxSe6spdNJ

I paid $22,500 last week before taxes and other fees for my
2003 se 6speed

UCF_94lude

you know the one thing I always wondered about breaking a car in.. is that you know when they used the car for test driving purposes, many-a-people have probably driven it pretty hard to see what the engine could do and what it was all about. I mean, I would if I were to test drive the car. Anyways, if I purchased the car new, I would still break the car in as directed.

Onemax

I test drove a brand new mazda6i with about 10 miles on it at the dealer the other day. So the dealership is right off the highway and when the salesman pulls out he redlines it through all the gears, I guess to show how much power the 4 banger had. So much for break-in period.

03MaxSe6spdNJ

On my second day of driving the brand new 2003 6speed max, I was on rt 18 in new brunswick, and hit a patch of black ice in third gear around a small curve. The car went flying for about 5 seconds, then gained control as I was about to crash. My heart dropped. Thank GOD i didnt crash. I dont have traction control or the LSD do you know if they really help? If they do I might go get them.

Padsy

iTrader: (1)

Whole-e... Mole-e

Quicksilver

iTrader: (1)

Yeah! What he said! That must have sucked. I'd throw in LSD immediately if I lived in that area and didn't buy a car with it.

bobcat

The guy did the same thing to me when I test drove a 2k2 max at the local dealer. He gunned it out of the dealership and then when we pulled over to get me to drive we hit a light and his words to me were 'go ahead and hit it'.. which I did and I was sold.

Its a good selling technique but I would have never bought that car from there because of how hard they drive them in the test drives. If you can wait a couple months, the best bet is to order one from the factory. That way you get 100% of the options you want and you get to break it in, not some idiot dealer redlining it on the highway

rocktboy

I insisted on the LSD option on my 03 SE because I live in Colorado and I drive up to the mountains a lot. My experience is that the LSD only helps a little. The car still shakes it's head or spins about in icy conditions. There is absolutely nothing you can do about that. In icy conditions even the best traction control systems (Mercedes, BMW,..etc) won't help you. Only 4wd with snow/studded tires work in those situations.

firstmax95

Thanks! Where did you read the 1000 Mile figure? The 1200 mile figure is clearly written in the paperwork that my Pennsylvania dealer gave me- not sure if it is in the owner's manual, but that would be consistent with the match on the 350Z.

I hear you on the oil. I would consider running synthetic, as long as my dealer was consistent on using it when they do the occasional change for me....