Hey guys,
I just wanted to share some thoughts on the 6th gen maxima... I owned a 4th gen (97) maxima and when the 5th gen came out, I thought it was the uggliest frikkin car in the world. THen, it gre on me, I bought one, (a 2003) and LOVE it... Well, when the 6th gen came out, I thought it was the ugliest frikkin thing I'd ever seen. But today I had a 180 degree turn around on it, i think its beautiful. amazing car. I saw one at the parking lot of my work, it was black, with an elite package I think. Damn, those rear buckets look sick!! Well, I think its now time to trade up my 5th gen for a 6th gen!! I want black on black with elite package. The only thing is, I want wood trim, and I don't think thats an option with the black interior. ANyway, thats something for me to worry about, I just wanted to share my new love of the 6th gen Maxima!!

 

haha...dont let it suck you in! I say you trade the 5th gen for the 6th gen... No pressure here! Youll love it. I do. My twin bro has fifth gen and is tempted on trading his in for an 04 also!

 

You can get really good-looking wood trim for the interior all over the internet. Peel and stick, and if you do it carefully it looks nice.

Try www.wooddash.com or www.exoticwooddash.com or do a google search.

Mike

 

Ryan.....I am in the exact same situation. I couldn't stand the looks of the 6th gen....but now I hope the wife gives the ok to try to get one. I'm glad I didn't do any of the mods, aside from window tint.

 

Ryans Maxima - Would you consider an SL? The wood is mandatory in the SL, and you CAN have your black (onyx) SL with the elite package AND with black leather interior. In fact, for the black SL with elite package, the ONLY interior option is black leather.

Of course, you can also have black leather in a black SE with elite. But the only wood inside an SE is either what you added or what came thru the windshield from a passing log truck.

Of course it is possible to buy the interior 'wood' pieces from Nissan (just as you would if you were replacing a damaged part in an SL), but they are rather expensive.

 

He better not! His car is way too nice...

 

i too once thought the 6th gen was ugly and unimpressive. the more i looked at it, the more i liked it. and when i drove one, it was all over. i have a black 6th gen with the elite package. it's N I C E. you'll love it. trust me.

 

FriscoMax: any pics of the onyx/burnt orange Elite? I can't get enough of looking at it.

 

I saw the burnt orange on the nissan website, it looks sick. BUt I think I'd get sick of it after a while, and wish I got the black interior

 

Yup, I'd play it safe too and go with black if I had to choose. So the question here is blk/blk SL with Elite and wood trim or blk/blk SE with Elite and brushed aluminum looking trim. There'll probably be a bit of a price difference between the two..

But there's other more important things to ponder upon, like the infamous resale value of Maximas. You'd be out of quite some money even though your TE is barely 2 years old, and what if you wanted to trade up again a couple of years after getting a 6th gen? But on the other hand, you'll get things like the manumatic, better suspension, better Bose, the Elite rear bucket seats, possibly Navi and last but not least, a latest model car.

 

give me a day or two to upload

 

Yeah, and not to mention the sentimental attachment I have grown for my 03. Those rear buckets and Nav keep calling to me though!! THey keep saying, "buy me" "Buy Me". ahh, now I'm torn, I was toying with getting an RX-8, but after driving it, I realized it wasn't the car for me.

I think I'll wait one more year (when it will be paid off) and then decide. BTW, does anyone know when the next gen (7th) is due out? 2008?

 

Yeah I was just wondering the same thing, does anyone know when the 7th generation Maxima will be released, I am excited to see what changes to the body that Nissan will make to the Maxima. I also hope that they really up the hp and give it AWD. I hope its not 2008, I don't think I can wait that long, because I am so curious about the 7th generations.

 

If AWD comes to the 6th or 7th gen (and it will). I'm there.

 

me too. AWD and 300 HP would be fine with me

 

I totally agree, if Nisssan redesigns the styling of the Maxima and give it 300 hp with AWD for the 7th generation, I think that the Maxima would be very hot, even though it is already now.

 

[QUOTE=Ryans Maxima]Yeah, and not to mention the sentimental attachment I have grown for my 03. Those rear buckets and Nav keep calling to me though!! THey keep saying, "buy me" "Buy Me". ahh, now I'm torn, I was toying with getting an RX-8, but after driving it, I realized it wasn't the car for me.

These are the seats you want, right?

javascript:ShowImage

 

[QUOTE=RaTgoesMaX]YES!! THose are the exact seats I want!!! Gotta love the black leather. Geeze, I'm jealous now.

 

Put a 6 speed manual and a set of pedals in front of 4 black buckets and you`re all set.

javascript:ShowImage

 

Hmmm, I think the only thing I'm not fond of is the gauges... But I guess lots of cars are going to that sporty euro looking gauges. I like the 5th gen cluster alot better.

 

RaTgoesMax, is it me or are your seats really not perforated? I knew about the SL seats, but I don't know about Elite SEs..

I do like the gauges but I like the 05 altima gauges better. Our 5th gen cluster is way too dim since Nissan cheaped out on quality and didn't give us the Inifiniti I-series one..

 

To the three posters in this thread wondering if they have to wait until '08 for the seventh gen Maxima, the answer is yes. None of the first five gen Maximas was around for less than four years (the third gen was around for six years, and the fourth gen was around for five), and I would expect the sixth gen to also last four years. That makes sense, as Nissan would like the '06 redo (gen 6 1/2) to last two years. I expect very few changes for the '07 model year Maxima.

The '06 (gen 6 1/2) will be the only year with any significant changes during the span of the sixth gen. Nissan may wait until the '08 for AWD, but I would bet there is an HP boost for '06. At least to 280. Nissan really needs to have at least a 25HP (preferably more) difference between the Altima and the Maxima.

In working toward that, I would be surprised if Nissan gives the Altima 3.5 more than a token (5 to 10, if any) HP boost during the next three or four years combined.

Do not be surprised if the seventh gen Maxima, selling as a 2008 model, arrives at dealers in the spring of 2007. That is only 2 1/2 years. There could be 'spy photos' available as early as very late 2006. Like others, I will be patrolling the web searching for the first peek. I find that to be an exciting endeavor.

 

I personally thought the 6th gen was amazing from the day it was introduced!.... Took delivery of mine April 2nd 2003, a few days after they first hit the dealerships!

 

MAXSE - Same here. To be perfectly honest it was the bold styling and beefiness of the 6th gen that caught my eye in the first place. But when I sat in it, test drove it, and caught my breath, it was pretty much a done deal.

I had not even thought about the Maxima until I just happend to be at a dealer that was also a Nissan house and I asked "WHAT IS THAT" .... drool. Three other guys I work with have 5.5 gens and wish they had waited a year.

Less than 24 hours after the test drive I was in one....that was after test driving a bunch of other cars that I was intersted in for over two weeks. It was just dumb luck that the dealer had gotten the car the day before I showed up (April 03) or I would have probably gone with a BMW, it was fate lol.

 

But there's other more important things to ponder upon, like the infamous resale value of Maximas.

Not sure why you guys harp on this so much. I paid about $27k for my '00 SE in 10-99, just sold it for $14k. Doesn't seem too bad to me!

 

LOL, talk about fate.
I wanted the 04 since specs/pics came out. was trying to keep my old car in one piece until I could afford one. Well inspection came in May 04, failed, 1500 to pass. Well, with my dream of a Max in my head, I asked my firend/mechanic to check the dealer auction for one. Went home sad to be parting with my last/first car of 7 years. Checked the newspaper, Nissan dealer had $2200 off. Called and yes they got a loaded Onyx SE yesterday! Went over, test drove and discussed possible price. Got it down to invoice + $200 1.9% and said I would sleep on it. Bought it the next day.

 

It looks that way, doesn`t it. It was a borrowed camera and a cheap one at that. I do have black leather with the perforated insets. I now have my own digital camera and am going to retake the pics. It is slightly better than the leather seats I had with the 02 Altima.

 

Yeah, I totally agree that Nissan needs to stagger the Altima by not upgrading the hp by much over the next couple of years. The Altima is getting way to close to being on the same level as the Maxima, and with the new SE-R, they are almost identical. So hopefully Nissan will focus more on the Maxima for now, and up the hp and think about adding AWD, and redesigning the car within the next couple of years. They need to up the hp in the Maxima so that it can move further away fromt he Altima. 2008 is so long away, I wonder if they have even started brainstorming what the 2008 will be. Oh well, only time can tell.

 

I'm not one to boast, but I honestly think if you guys saw my car in person, you would absolutely love it... I too was a 6th Gen "WTF did they do to the MAX?!!" hater when they first introduced the first pics of the ride back in the beginning of 2003... But after I actually rented one and sat in it...needless to say, IT BLEW ME AWAY!!! Nissan all the way!!! Got out of a '97 Quest, into a '01 Pathfinder, then finally, THE ('04) MAX!!! This will be our 6th Nissan between the wife and I...pretty well put together cars IMO...especially when they were made in Japan still...but, oh well, times are changing... I STILL LOVE MY MAX!!! Even w/ the little quirks and trivial shortcomings... That's the price one pays for buying a new generation model for that year... I'm satisfied for now...

 

Then either you took great care of your car, or you got a nice deal selling it. I was talking about the 6th gen that just came out a year-year and a half ago. You can find a fairly loaded one (leather at least) for ~25-26k easily. A base model goes for around 21k.. at least in my area. The Max is nowhere close to the G35 or the TL in keeping its value.

 

Black leather/Elite 6MT.. you drive my dream car right there. As much as I like Infinitis, the G sedan doesn't come with optional rear bucket seats, does it?

 

Why did'nt you get Nav and the black leather in your 03?

 

I got my 03 at the very very end of the model year, incidentally it was pretty much a month after that the 04's came out. They only had two on the lot, a white SE base, and a Silver TItanium Edition, and I went with the titanium edition.

 

So don't tell me you now regret not buying a 6th gen from the getgo.

 

No, because when they first came out I though they were ugly as sin. Only in the past week have I al of the sudden fallen in love with the car.

 

frankly i think Nissan is trying to market the Max as a luxury vehicle
and the new Altima SE-R as a sports sedan
I hope this isnt true
as the Max started as Nissans 4DSC (Four Door Sports Car)
and the Altima was basically a replacement for the Stanza

I thought the 6th gen was pretty ugly when I first saw it
but im starting to like the front and side profile
I dont know if ill ever like the thick looking rear end treatment
(although i said the same about my 5th gen and ended up thinking its
the best looking part of the car)

 

You`re absolutely right. I love the Max but wish they would come out with a short shifter soon. They (B&M), have one now for the G35 and 350Z and are promising to produce one for the Max.