Hey guys. I bought my first Maxima last weekend, and I must say, Maximas are awesome! My previous (and first) car was a 2001 Toyota Celica GT auto (unfortunately) with a CAI and an axleback exhaust.

I traded it in because I saw this too frequently:


This is what it looked like when not on a tow truck:



And this is my Maxima:



That last pic brings me to my first question: What's the best way to take care of that rust on the hood? One body shop said I needed to repaint the entire hood, another said all I need to do is sand down the rusty spots and paint over them. What's the best approach? Thanks.

sand them down and paint it... It wount be perfect unless it repainted completely

Welcome! You picked a great car, and im sure you will love it.

As for the hood, it will take a full repaint to make it look 100%

BTW, is the maxi an auto or 6spd?

^ Thanks for the replies. The Max is an auto. I really would've liked a 6 speed, but I test drove the 4AT and it was more than fast enough.
The rest of the hood is in perfect condition, so do I still need to repaint the whole thing? And this is kind of OT, but I noticed my hood is bouncing around on bumpy roads... How can I fix that?

It wont make much difference to the shop to shoot the rest of the hood. As far as labor is concerned it's probably easier for them than trying to blend it.
Have you considered taking the money you were gonna pay the shop and putting it towards a carbon fiber hood?

Hello and welcome. The answer to your question is... depends how much you willing to spend on fixing it. Just get a quote from a friendly body shop and find out how much to repaint the hood. If you want to save money, you can just sand it down and paint it with touch-up paint. (pretty cheap)
BTW, what happened to your celica?

FWIW, I had a shop quote me ~$500 to respray my peal white hood. Needless to say, I quickly learned to look past the scratch. Welcome to the forum. I posted on your new car post over at NC.org too. Slightly older crowd here so enjoy.

I thought about a CF hood, and I think it would look kinda out of place on an otherwise stock Maxima. Maybe if I get a bodykit...

Well, this guy that works at the dealership where I bought my Maxima offered to paint my entire hood at his house for $250. Eventually I got it down to $200. I just don't know how good his work is.
And my what happened to my Celica? It started misfiring and I think it needed a new MAF. So I traded it in for my Maxima and ended up paying $1,800 + the trade in for the car!

Yeah, I like the atmosphere here a lot better.

The wobbling hood, as far as I know, is normal on our cars. Mine does it, too. It's done it for the 60k I've had it, and I've not ever had an issue.

And yeah, I'd go to a pretty reputable shop and get the whole hood repainted. You don't want to have a clean looking Max with a faded out hood. Or worse, have a good-looking hood with a faded out spot.

Welcome to the forum, dude.

^ Can you recommend a good shop?

There's a TSB on that hood wobble; it's caused by air turbulence. Not all 5th gens suffered from it, but one fix is a simple rubber weatherstrip that adheres to the to top channel in the headlight housing. Cost like $15 or thereabouts. Gives a nice, finished look to the gap over the headlights, too.

Here's the TSB: http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/tsb/NTB02-005.pdf

I don't know the part number for the weatherstrip, but your local Nissan Parts Dept should be able to order it.

Thanks for the heads up. I figured it was just a Nissan thing since the Z does it too from time to time. I'm gonna go check everything out once the weather breaks and see what the hood looks like.

Maybe I'll pick up a few of those rubber seals while I'm at it. That's always a plus if they give the front end a bit of a cleaner look for a decent price...

........................... ONLY stillen......

Lol welcome, and i'd buy the cf hood, keep it in the garage and once you lower it put it on. That is if you're going to mod it... I'd have the whole hood paint it. Blending will cost a good amount from a good shop. Might as well do the whole hood too.. Gl. And welcome.

Thanks for the welcome. Definitely Stillen only. I wouldn't mind if my Maxima turned out looking like this:
What front lip is this BTW?

The Stillen Classic lip of course.

Welcome fellow Georgian! Marietta here.

I love the SE. I do have the Titanium SE rims though! So I feel like a little SE. I have an 00 GLE.

Hi everyone..for some reason I can't start a thread! I'm new here..just thought Id ask where some of the best online stores are to buy wheels for a Maxima? Thanks!

You need 15 posts to start a thread. There is a discussion board just for this.. Also what you are doing right now is a big . You should posts relevant information till you get to 15 posts (please don't be lke the rest and just post "I think it's you car" type answers to problematic posts, try to kinda be on topic) lol. Anyways, 15 posts and you're good to go.

Gl..

Listen to me and good things will happen Stillen all day. Haha, also to get your car looking lke that will take some time and money, sweat and usually blood haha. Unless you're just balling like that.. His suspension alone is probably about a grand new. Patience is the key to correctly modding a car. Have patience and don't go Ghetto. And your car will look "ALMOST" as good:P

OOPS! Sorry about that. Hopefully they won't kick me out. lol Thanks for the info..

out of the frying pan into the fire
welcome to the club

Have the rust repaired and the whole hood repainted. That is the only way to do it right. DO NOT PRICE SHOP THIS. Don't let anyone who works at a dealership do paint and body. 99.99% of them flat suck. Find a good independent shop in your area. Ask to see their finished work in the full sun. If there is overspray, buffer swirls, excessive orange peel (paint looks like the surface of an orange), run away.

That's exactly what mine looked like when it was stock. Geez it looked different.
Welcome to the Org...

welcome home my child lol

Just in case all the shops here suck, can you recommend any national shops? Like Maaco, etc... I've never had to do paint/body work, so I'm really new at this.

Thanks. I hope one day my Maxima can look like yours...

There are no good chains. What is your location; what is Stone Mountain close to, Atlanta? I have a friend who owns a body shop that does amazing work (and believe me, as a detailer, I see tons of subpar work). He might know someone in your area that will do the job right.

My brother ended up suing a bodyshop that he used. He got $6000 from his insurance to repair his hail damage on a 3 months old truck. He decided to price shop, found a place that would do the work for $3400. Runs, drips, sags, fisheyes, sanding marks under the paint, primer overspray in the door jambs, all over the weather striping and his interior door panels, wheels and engine bay and to top it off, the color didn't match. Took it back twice, it was worse each time. Finally ended up winning a lawsuit against them but it was a nearly 2 year ordeal and he ended up selling the truck at a loss.

^ Yeah, Stone Mountain is near Atlanta. Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely make sure to ask to see the shop's work first.

I got my hood repainted yesterday, and it looks great now! I found a local shop called Davis Collision (I think) and they do awesome work. He even offered to sand my headlights to clear them up a little. Will sanding help any if all the haziness is on the inside?

Before:

After:


All for $200.

Ur first mistake was buying that celica GT, There was a reason the ads for those cars said looks fast!Lol and welcome, maxima's may not look fast, but they are and they get the job done!!!!!

^ I learned that "looks fast" thing the hard way. It makes you feel like less of a man when a Chevy Venture overtakes you and you can't return the favor.
And a 9.3 second 0-60 is just plain unacceptable. My Max will do it in about 6.5.

hood looks good in the pics

Good deal on a sweet car and sanding will get rid of the haziness on the outside of your lights and probably make them look almost new in your case. If the damage is on the inside you'll at least need an oven to separate the lens

^ Ok, thanks. I'll tell him to just sand the outside of the headlights for now.

How much did the hood repainting hit you for? If you don't mind saying what you paid. Looks like new.

^ $200.