Finished the deal and brought it home. Dealer was cool and let us drive it for a couple days... Frost White 05 SE, everything but Elite. LOVE this car! And that coming from a previous 5 Series owner (2001). Freakin car ROCKS for the $$... take that back, it's a great car for many more of those ($).

First up... replace that hidious grill.
Next : Springs.
I actually LIKE the stock 18's and am not big on the bling thang.

Anyway, just had to share. FYI: it's the wife's car, I drive an '02 SuperDuty (Black "BFT" Edition) I may be trading with her fairly often though

Thanks for this forum and all the info.

 

Welcome aboard!!!

 

Congrats on the new Max and welcome. Glad u like it! I still do with no regrets...

 

Welcome bro! Good to see you. What's wrong with the grill?

I love my SE it most definately the most car for the money. Good luck and keep us posted on the mods.

 

Good luck with the Max! I am very happy with mine and I like the stock grill. I have seen a few grill mods posted and I am not impressed. All beamer owners are paying for the name and are being ripped off. Over the years how many 5 series bmw's are on the road and look exactly the same? Millions!!! This is my second Max and I was smitten the first time I sat in it without turning over the engine:)

 

welcome to the family!

 

Okay, hang-on there mister While there are a million peeps out there driving BMW's just becasue they can, don't take anything away from the car. The 540 was the absolute BEST CAR I've owned. As great as the "Max" is, it's no 5. Be real about it, it's a better value than the 5, but better? No way. I'm just not willing to spend the dollars to be in that club anymore. The way I see it, the Maxima is a great car made even greater by the cost. Perfectly satisfied.

It's a simple matter of diminishing returns. To improve on the Max substancially, you need to spend a LOT of dollars. The BMW cuts corners no where, while the Max does... the most obvious, interior materials.

The 5 series a rip-off? Sorry bro, you are WAY off. Trust me on this, the Maxima engineers are aspiring to build a 5 for $35K.

 

Thanks for the welcome...
Nothing actually "wrong" with it as much as the fact that it's stock .
I'm more into the clean look of the mesh grills I've seen, or the billet ones (no verticals) with no logo (carcus' for example). I'm also of the school that likes no badges... the cleaner the better. Just a matter of taste... we've all got some. Living in the "Land of pretty women, massive wheels on everything and bimmer exhaust", I want to stand out

PaL379's grill with no logo fly's my flag

 

Congrats and have fun w/ it... u should get an intake... Love the sound!!!

 

Welcome. i dont like the grill either. Painting it the body color helps. I like the Sarona grill best. Drop it with srpings, keep the nice stock rims.

 

Right on... I've put a FPIK on just about everything I've owned, including the last two, my SD and her JGCL <-- and that with a 3" stainless (single) cat back/chip/Hi-Flo Cat... that Jeep ('01 V8) was fast, lol. Much to come on the Maxima, we actually bought it (no lease this time).

We bought the one the finance guy was driving at 3100 miles... he had taken the SE wheels off and put on SL 16's... it did ride nice, but I made them take a set of SE wheels off another new one to "fix it". Gotta admit, the SL wheels/Conti's rode nice, but (I at least) really like the ride/corners with the 18's. Looks better too

Sorry so long... much to read here, many dollars to spend. Like I've got 'em

 

Pretty sure I won't do the body kit.. but yeah, it looks pretty good. Ordered a set of Eibach pro's, will def. keep the stock rims. I've got a lifted 4x4 already, the Max needs to be a little lower

 

I'm there with you on the Beemers ... my 2003 540i goes back in October (anyone have $32,000 to buy out the balloon note?), and it's been one of the best cars I've ever owned ... except maybe for the 3 other Beemers before it

The Maxima, though, is shaping up to be more fun in some ways. Maybe it's because I know it's $20,000 cheaper and I don't have to worry about it as much. Or maybe it's because I can get 80% of the day-to-day performance of the 540 for so much less dough.

Congrats on the Max. I think you'll like it.

Mike

 

Congrats and welcome.

 

My comment on the beamers was the cost value and the look of most of them. I could have spent $5,000 CDN more and bought an entry level beamer and that had leatherette!! You could get a G35!! BMW make great cars but in my opinion over priced.. I will enjoy my max knowing its looks, power, luxuy and price. Might not handle like the entry level beamer but that I can live with... By the way those BMW SUV's ... don't let me get started)

cheers!

 

|
How many have you owned? I assume you are speaking from first hand experience?
If the Maxima stays together in the long term like a BMW and retains value like a BMW, your comment about being over-priced could be accurate. My 540 was the least expensive to own car I've ever had.

I didn't intend this to turn into a comparo thread, BTW. I did just buy a Maxima afterall

Pic: (the F250 behind it)

 

I myself just got out of a german vehicle (Merc clk) and the only things I miss are the heavier feel, and some other driving dynamics, but other than that I love the max.