sup everyone. im a new member here, planning on buying a 2002 maxima SE soon. i would love to get the 6-speed, but my rides home here in miami are terrible with traffic. by any chance does the SE have the automatic/manual? (like the porsche tiptronic) or is it straight automatic. also--does the SE come stock with HID & leather?

thanks!!

 

There is no tiptronic on Maximas. The 2002 SE comes standard with Zenon HIDs, leather is an option. Read around the forum, a lot of people have trouble with the HIDs getting stolen. If you are worried about it, maybe consider getting a 2k1.

 

Or get the 2k2, sell the HIDs, and get anniversary edition headlights.

 

those people that get HID's stolen, where do they live? like i dont think that i would have a problem with them, but u never know.

whats up with those aniversary edition headlamps? whats the difference?

 

i would think there is HID theft in miami, but i would still get the '03
as for tiptronic, there is none

 

yea there most likely is but obviously its not something you hear about. im planning on a 2002 SE cuz i think they might go for aroung 18-19k (cheaper than the 2003 mazda 6 type s i was planning on buying)

 

I would buy new. Buying used always leads to trouble and you end up spending more on the car then you would've buying new. I'm speaking from experience.

 

But some people just couldnt resist the cheaper price they paid up front when they first bought their cars.


~limsandy

 

Most of the HID thefts occur in the Northeast, Northern New Jersey and NYC to be more specific. However, I have seen a few instances here of HIDs getting stolen in other parts of the country. I'm sure it exists in Miami just like it exists in any other big city, but I don't think it's at epidemic levels like it is in NJ and NYC, so I'd go for the 2k2 with no hesitation.

Anniversay Edition headlights are from the 2001 20th Anniversary Edition Maxima, and they are basically the same lights as any 2000/1 model, except they are bronzed (tinted). They are NOT HIDs, so make sure you realize that.

UConn: it's "Xenon", not "Zenon"

 

There was one guy in Miami who posted about having his HID's stolen. Aside from that almost all reports have been from the northeast as mentioned.

If you want factory leather you are forced to get the crap Bose stereo and a sunroof. If you don't care about the sunrrof and don't feel like paying extra for a stereo thats not worth it, you can always get aftermarket leather as many here have done. If I had it to do all over again, I would have gone that route, saved some money and had a better looking and feeling interior. When I was test driving Max's, Plantation Nissan had many Maxima's on the lot without sunroof or Bose, but did have aftermarket leather that they had installed. They were nice. You could always look for something like that if you don't want to install it yourself.

 

my main reason for not buying a new model is that personally i like the 2002 body style alot. much more than the new one. another reason for not going new is i dont have the cash for a SE model. either way i plan on buying strictly from a dealer. for example carmax does those 150point inspection and guarntees the car and all. im planning on going to test drive one this week & get the info on what they offer. what is it that determines the interest rate you get for financing your car? is it like a national standard or something that you get lucky with a bank or financial institution?

 

I've gotta strongly disagree. I only buy used cars, private party. By not having to worry about immediate depreciation and sales tax (none private party in AZ), you save lots of $$$. Just make sure that the factory warranty is still in place.

 

I live in Miami and no problems... haven't heard of any headlights getting stolen, thanks god for that, we our in the top three cities for Stolen CArs...

 

what part of miami do you live in? if you have a stick, hows the traffic driving manual?

 

Bro, I live in Boston, and I'm not sure how traffic is in Miami, but Boston (with its Big Dig and such) is a big PITA when it comes to traffic, and I drive the 6sp (this is my first manual as well). Let me tell you, traffic doesn't bother me anymore with the stick than with the automatic--being stuck in it sucks either way. With the Max, it's got so much torque that dealing with traffic is pretty harmless. You know how you can just coast in an auto by letting off the brake and not even giving it gas? Well, with the 6sp, you can just let up on the clutch slowly without gas, and you'll get rolling too (this is if you're on flat ground), so it's about the same thing.

In fact, playing with the shifter gives you something to do while in traffic, rather than sitting there with the auto bored outta your mind.

Just my two pennies, but I actually like manual in traffic.

 

thats good to hear--my only time i get traffic is on the trip home which i crank my music and i really dont have a problem with it. i think im gonna start the search for my 6speed--cuz those times where theres no traffic i think i might end up regretting not buying the 6speed

 

Exactly! I'm not sure if search is enabled yet or not, but if you end up performing one, you'll see that a good number of people regretted buying autos rather than manuals (this is generic, for all Max generations). You'll also see a thread where there's a list of members who've done a 5sp conversion, and the list is pretty damn long!

On the other hand, I personally haven't seen anyone regret buying a manual over an auto. Unless you spend >90% of your commute in bumper to bumper and pretty much never get any straight aways (hardly doubt anyone is in that category), I'd get the auto. Otherwise, you'll kick yourself in the **** everytime you hit an onramp and you're stuck with the slushbox (auto owners, don't flame away!).

 

AWW RIGHT. the search begins. now all i have to do is learn how to drive stick.

 

my slush box as you call it isn't too shabby

 

I know Matt, but if ALL autos were like yours, we'd be having a different conversation!

 

anyone get the 2k1's and install them?

 

how much would it be to get a 2002 SE auto, and do a 6sp mod? i look and look and still find no 6-speeds

 

i've been to Miami...what traffic????? nothing beats LA rush hour..

if you're looking for a Maxima with a manual tranny, you'll have to look really really hard to find one...or you just have to be darn lucky..good luck with your search!

 

yeah ive been noticing that......i still havent found a 6sp maxima for sale. my best bet if i cant find a private seller is someone like carmax who can ship in the car for a reasonable price from any of their locations around the u.s.

 

hrm.....any ideas on how much a conversion to 6sp would come out to be approx?