Has anyone been able to get a dealer to discount the
2001 20th Anniversary Max? I've seen three at dealers two black and one sandlit (I think). I'm really interested in puchasing a 5spd but I don't want to pay list. Thanks

 

Yes, discounts are possible. I just purchased one for a thousand below MSRP. It all depends on the dealer, the salesperson, the sales manager, how many are allocated to that dealership, how good of a negotiater you are, how much time you have, and how many people are bidding on the car.
I was lucky because:
The car came off the truck the day before I bought it.
Only 1 other person knew the car existed.
The sales manager wanted to sell it. (I got the impression that the normal sales manager wanted it to remain on display on the apron of the building for a while.)
I had been talking with this dealership and 2 others in town for a couple of weeks and was going to settle on a "normal" SE that they would have to find and equip to my specifications at no more than 3% over their invoice. Instead I paid more than 3% for the SE so the dealership was happy to have more money.
I (actually my wife and I) spent 4.5 hours in the dealership (including a 1 hour test drive) working on the deal.
I wasn't sure I wanted the car, especially since I thought $30k+ was too much for a Maxima. So the salesperson knew I wasn't "dying" for the car and I had other options. The test drive through the Texas hill country proved that this would be a nice car for my wife and one that I could still have fun with.
The salesperson also "owed" me a bit for failing to demo the first Maxima properly when we originally visited the dealership and for not keeping the appointment time the second time.

So, the dealership sold a car for A LOT more than they would have gotten for a "normal" SE and my wife and I got what I believe will prove to be a rarely seen cruising car.

I practically had to tear it out of the service reps hands today after the final detail. There were FIVE service guys going over the final inspection with me. It's nice to have a car people drool over!

 

I should have waited a year. Oh well. I still love my Maxima.

 

Thanks for the information Mike. Did you get the Frost interior?
All of a sudden my local market is flooded. Of the 3 dealers in town there are 6-8 Anniversary editions. I'll take your advise.

 

Yep, got the "frost" interior. We had been looking at the beige/taupe since that is all any of the dealerships had around here on the normal SEs but my wife and I weren't thrilled with that interior color.

We experienced the coolness of the gray intererior ("frost") and decided that it matched both of our preferences perfectly. Even if we hadn't purchased the blue/frost we would be looking for another SE with the frost interior.

OH, and we both think it matches the titanium gauges and "carbon fiber" look trim around the a/c, vents, clock, and door switches much better than the taupe/beige/"blond" inside color scheme.

Gee, almost at 100 miles.

We're really going to have to take it out for a drive through the hill country this weekend.

Oh, and the first thing my wife said to me when she picked me up from work today was "people keep staring at me".

 

oh, another piece of advice. and one I hate to give since I usually take my sweet time spending any cash at all.

After talking with the 3 dealerships in Austin they can't seem to keep the Anniversary Editions in stock very long. So don't plan on taking a while to think about whether or not you want the one they have.

The 3rd Nissan dealership called me yesterday to tell me they hadn't EVER seen a blue SE AE and didn't have any other AEs in stock. And they are a pretty big dealership with a 4 story parking garage full of new Nissan's.



[Edited by mike_bresnahan on 10-14-2000 at 11:14 AM]

 

Why did some many dealers not order Majestic Blue? I have not seen one in this color yet. It's exclusive to the AE. Pretty short sighted if you ask me.

 

Don't tell me it is auto.
Damn I hate auto transmisions.

Enjoy the Ride.

Hope nothing will go wrong with your car as it did with my 2000 SE!!!!!!

 

my wife's 2001 AE is auto.
sorry, had to tell you.

 

Warning: Long post

Based on the feedback I have gotten on my first couple of posts I thought I would tell you a little more about my wife's 2001 AE.

Details:
2001 SE Anniversary Edition
Majestic Blue
Frost leather interior
automatic transmission
Bose
in-cabin microfilter

MSRP (no dealer sticker): $30,417 paid more than $1k less. Purchased at Round Rock Nissan.

The only other additions at the present time are a set of blue anodized tire stem sleeves and valve caps and my 9 year old blue ZOOM ZOOM vanity plate from my Mazda (and that will only be on until TXDOT sends me real plates). Kind of amusing since I ran the ZOOM ZOOM plate on the Mazda until moving to Texas and Mazda is just now using that slogan in their ads.

225 miles so far.

Like:
- no rattles at all even on rutted county roads in the Texas hill country
- perforated leather seats are very comfy
- the blue color is beautiful
- the frost interior is a great color
- stereo - loud and very clean
- automatic climate control works great (temperature has gone from 40 to 80+ degrees this week and the inside of the car is comfortable within 2 minutes)
- bronze lights - didn't know what the deal was until I got the car home - the bronze around the outside of the lenses make the lights blend into the car more smoothly.
- auto on/off lights work perfectly
- special AE floor mats (dealership already lost one set out of another car)
- key fob easy to use
- Angela loves the steering wheel radio controls
- ergonomics are great!
- silent at idle and on the road
- incredibly smooth ride even with 17" tires and SE suspension - structure feels nice and stiff
- holds corners very well - even mid-corner pot holes don't cause twitchiness
- lots of looks including compliments from 2 women in the grocery store parking lot today
- auto-dim mirror (keeps SUVs from blinding me from behind)
- cup holders hold all sizes of bottles
- easy and relaxing to cruise around in
- awesome rims
- auto shifts very smoothly
- sunroof without the annoying wind deflector (all other cars at the dealership had the factory wind deflector)


Dislike:
- 2 paint chips already - the blue paint on our 10 year old Sentra was just as bad
- spent 10 minutes figuring out how to hook up cargo net (Angela says it was more like 20)
- pulls a little to the right and may have a wheel out of balance
- wish it had memory seats


Comments/Questions:
The AE ground effects don't stick out like Stillen kit or the official Maxima pictures. The kit on the AE fits perfectly and doesn't look like a fat lip.

Does anyone use a duster to keep dust off? This car is a dust magnet.

Next up will be a good tint job - any recommendations on brand or semi vs full metal tint?

Does anyone know how rare the Majestic Blue color is? I want to find out how many of them there will be.

What is the VLSD supposed to do? I spun the right front tire coming out of a sharp right hand corner in the rain at hight speed and it spun until I let off the gas. Shouldn't the VLSD prevent this?

What are people running the tire pressure at? I have them set to 35psi all around based on the vehicle sticker but on my Mazda always run the rear tires 3 pounds less than front.

Good thing they turned the exhaust pipes down. If they were straight out the bumper would get damaged.


I Will post pictures as soon as I get a chance to take some.

 

I read somewhere that the VLSD is only on the Canadian model?? not sure about that?

Look under the armrest (in the large compartment), on the back of the lid should be the suggested tire pressure.

Lots of luck!!

 

Sprung... that's true for 2000 and 2001 non-AE models. The US AE definitely has it. It was right on the window sticker I saw at VOB Nissan. The Canadians definitely have better equipped Maxima's at better prices. jerks.

Mike... The VLSD is not traction control. It's supposed to shift the power to the wheel receiving the most traction, but you will still get wheel spin.

 

I'm the proud owner of an '01 Anniversary Edition. It's Sterling Mist (silver) with black leather, 5 spd, pretty much loaded. I bought it Labor Day weekend. Had called 3 Minneapolis area dealers looking for an A.E. None of them even knew what I was talking about, but said they'd call when they got one in. I just happened to stop in at the closest dealer on my way home from work that Friday afternoon, and they had just gotten it in that day. Wasn't even dealer prepped yet. Went back Saturday morning and bought it. Lovin' it.

 

Folks,
If you are really looking for a 20th Anniv, see my other posts today about how easy it is to go to Canada to get one. 20th Anniv SE's with all options except the ground effects go for about $24,000.
-Jon

 

Man the only thing wrong with the SE AE is its price. otherwise the car is BAD *** I saw a white one at the dealer the other night, it was the only one on the lot and was parked with the rest of em but U can tell it was in its own group b/c the front and rear was sticking out a bit from the aero kit. Nice Car. All U guys that got 1, Damn Lucky, I don't feel like upgradeing Just yet but I will eventually, too meny changes to this car already, I wanna get to a place where things cool off a bit so I don't feel bad when they come out with another model in 6months. Again Congrats to all the 2k1 AE owners Take Good Care of it

 

Your just damn righ man, I live in Canada and I was surprise to see that the 20th Anniv sell in the US for almost 31K, if you convert that to our monopoly money it give you around 45K CDN euhm... I bought the 20th Anniv a month ago, mist grey with frost interior and automatic transmission with TCS or SCT( fully loaded ) I paid around 36K CDN or(24K US) an by the way, the automatic transmission and TCS is a must and will be helpfull if you live in winterland like I do.

Is there anyway to significantly improve this car in anyway( I mean radically ) without spending 10-15K ?

Thanks & the best for all of you.

 

I got one for my wife. Merlot, Auto, Leather and Bose. AutoNation's website had it listed for 27,122. Unfortunately, she was in a head on collision so it's currently off the road. Had it for 5 days. Hope to have it back in a couple of weeks but they're having trouble getting parts.

 

Only had the car five days!!!!! OOOOHHHHHH NO! I would be ripping someone's head off! I hope the wife is alright....who was the bonehead in the accident?

 

She's doing OK. Thanks. It's been 4 weeks and she still has pain from the airbag hitting her. She was the "bonehead". I'm not ripping anyone's head off because I was in the car behind her and got to see the whole thing but could do nothing to stop it.

 

I went 01 A.E. shopping with a friend yesterday. Convinced him to get it! Sterling Mist-Frost;5-speed;every option, sticker 30,683; Got it for 27,800!