I'm a long time lurker here and the tl-s forums. have ruled the tls out due to the tranny problems. they've got a serious problem from what i've read over there, whether they care to admit it or not (check out acura-cl.com transmission forum some time if you think i'm kidding). anyway, first off, thank you all for an extremely informative and entertaining forum. it's been great reading for the last 12 to 18 months.

went out this weekend to start serious looking in CT and western MA. first goal was to find a loaded 02 Max 6speed w/HLSD, no navi. well, they are hard to find in these parts. got a lot of bs from salesmen over the phone on what they had in stock, but couldn't get confirmation on one with HLSD between about 7 different dealers. sounds like their allocations of 02's are just about over, and there will be a lull for a month or two until the 03's start getting released (one sales manager said he could have 03's in May, another said late June or july).

so out of curiousity i went and tested an I35, without sport, but everything else. very nice, of course, i'm comparing it to a 95 subaru i'm currently driving, so a new kia is probably nicer. they were big time willing to deal, told them i needed the sport package and black leather (due to kids), not willow or beige. they found me a silver with black leather, sport package, loaded except navi, and will give to me for invoice ($29750), if i do the deal monday.

my dilemma is that i kind of had my heart set on the 6speed max, even though wife can't drive it and will definitely enjoy the I35 better.

any thoughts that may help me decide, of course short of a recommendation of going out and driving a 6 speed with the HLSD, would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

 

The I35 is a great car but if you want a stick can you hold out for the manual G35?

 

i think hes look for something with some room in it bc of the family.

 

i know i will sound really stupid... but what does HLSD stand for?

 

Helical Limited Slip Differential.

Basically to put power to the wheel with the most grip.

 

lcf, you are correct, i need the room. i sat in the g35 in the showroom, and while not skimpy in the back, surely nowhere near the I35/Max backseat. i should clarify also that i'll keep this car a good 5 to 7 years in all likelihood, and one of the things that attracts me to the I35 is its outstanding reliability and build quality. thanks.

 

This of it this way. Are you going to be doing any modding? The I35 engine can be modded as much as the maxima engine, but appearence would be hard. Also i dont know bout nissan but infiniti has GREAT customer service. I always look forward to going back to my dealer even though i bought mine from a dealer outa town. I cant think of anything else. me if i could do it all again i would get the 6 speed, but thats because i got the need for speed. hope this helps.

 

rbcody,

Your car buying story has a few similarites to my own. Before I picked out my 2001 I30t, I first looked at the Maxima SE and SE/AE. I was really set on the SE/AE but couldn't find a dealer who was willing to negotiate the price down to anything reasonable. Heck, they weren't even budging much on the standard SE.

The two Nissan dealers in my area both were giving me the "cold shoulder" treatment for even daring to walk into their shop and tell them the price I want to pay for their cars. They even tried to sell me on considering the GXE because they felt that the SE was out of my price range.

Like you, I decided to check out some other dealerships. Since I was really predisposed to switch from a Toyota product (I had a Camry before) to a Nissan product, I decided to check out the Infiniti dealership, even though I figured there was no way I could afford any of their new cars (except a G20, which was not what I was looking for in a car).

I was very impressed by their professionalism and willingness to negotiate the price of the I30. I even made the negotiations a pain (not intentionally) by realizing half-way through them that if I were to get an I30, there was no way I was going to deal with those 16" wheels and I would need the "t" package.

Eventually, the price ended up the same as the SE/AE I had been considering before. I decided I was willing to pay that price for a car that I felt had a lot more character (the titantium I30t and I35 look beautiful once tinted, in my opinion) and bells & whistles than the AE. I am not a performance driver so the extra performance of the Maxima was not important.

From the criteria you listed, the I35 would seem to be a good fit.

 

I bought my 2K2 6spd a little over a month ago for $200.00 over invoice. Also, at that time, Nissan had a $1000.00 rebate so in all actuallity, I paid $800.00 less than invoice. Ofcourse, the bottom side of any car that offers rebates and dramatic price cuts is that it retains less resale value. This isn't a huge factor for me since I typically drive 40K miles a year and plan to keep the car around 5 years.

 

i saw what the car is going to look like. from the pictures ive seen so far... perhaps theyre not done with it yet, but the design of the 03 maxima is subpar!!

id go for the i35, right now. i think you'll love being an infiniti customer. we have two in the family. my younger sister has a g20 and my father has a q45. they both get a bunch of free stuff and other things. meanwhile, i, of course, had to go for the nissan maxima, the car i loved since i was a wee boy but they dont treat me like gold. it sucks but oh well.

 

Are you sure you saw the 2003 Max? or did you see the Opel?

 

this is the pic im referring to. some dood on the net has this on his nissan site and says this is the max 03. im not sure if it is or not... but if it is... perhaps it will be a dope car but i dont like how it looks. perhaps it will grow on me?

 

Yep. That's the alleged 03 Nissan / Opel photo. Though a lot more people can verify that it's an Opel.

 

Go to www.carbuyingtips.com RIGHT NOW! Read the whole thing. Getting a car at or below invoice will be easy after you do.

A good quick price site is www.carsdirect.com.

Jim

 

go with what you want but if you can get the infiniti- get it... they also have a longer warranty than nissan usually

 

Yeah, basic coverage is 5 Years/60 miles.

 

I tried to post this but it was REMOVED earlier today, I read in the paper today that Honda NA extended warranties on that crappy honda/acura auto transmission to 7 years. Not that it fixes the problem but will make alot of owners sleep better. the paper said that tranny had a 2% failure rate.

 

What Honda does not say is how they got that 2% figure. Think about it this way. They are adding the sell of Accord V6, Odassy, prelude and TL/CL for the past couple years. Trust me Honda sell more of the honda brand models than their Acura counter parts thus giving them that 2% rate. If you look at strickly TL and Cls though I am sure the percentage would me much higher.