I have owned maximas for the last 10 or so years. I am looking to buy a 2005 6-speed. I have searched some, but need a little bit of advice.
First what is the difference in SL and SE?
What would be a fair price, with one with about 30K miles?
Issues with clutch and tranny?
How needed is the extended warranty?
Do all come with HLSD?
Overall, how do they hold-up?
Are the brakes any better than the 5th generation?
What does the reverse lockout do?
thanks

 

SL - no 6 spd, 17" wheels and tires, more std options.
I would guess, 30k miles, $18k to $22K depends on condition and options.
Seen only a few isolated complains about clutch and trans.
Extended warranty issue had been beaten to death; if you feel more comfortable/secure with it, get it.
No LSD, Nissan done away with that in mid '04.
I have nearly 20k miles, and no problems so far. Still low miles compare to some folks here.
Brakes are better than my 5th gen.
Haven't found/ figured out what a reverse lock out is yet!

 

ZIPPIN - RHMax gave good answers.

Keep in mind that the '05 SE, unlike the '05 SL, came in every variation from stripped base version to super-loaded version, with an MSRP ranging from around $27,000 to around $35,000. The Driver's Preferred Package alone costs over $3,000 on the SE. In my opinion, you MUST determine what options are on the vehicle before you can come up with a truly realistic price.

An issue I would suggest you check out is vibration. There are several threads on the board discussing this. Drive the car you are looking at on a fairly smooth road at speeds between around 40 MPH and around 70 MPH. Hold the steering wheel lightly at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions with your fingertips.

If the steering wheel vibrates excessively from side-to-side, be aware this may be a simple tire or wheel problem, or an alignment problem, or a steering rack problem, or possibly a problem nobody seems able to fix. This issue was worse on some '04s, but still on a few '05s.

Good luck with your search.

 

Thanks for the replies. Do the 06's have the same issues with vibration?

 

Whoa, Jay's stepping up huh?

 

Trying. But confused...

 

ZIPPIN - Most posters on the ORG refer to the vibration problem as 'shimmy'. There is a humongous thread on the front page here about the 'shimmy'.

At my age, I don't expect to live long enough to read that entire 'shimmy' thread in order to determine if the '06s are involved. As my '04 SL never had any such problem, I haven't kept up with the shimmy situation as closely as some. Maybe a few '06 owners here can help us out with this.

I can say the percentage of shimmy-affected cars dropped considerably from the '04s to the '05s. I would guess there were very few cases of shimmy in the '06s, other than the usual occasional bad tire or wheel or balance or alignment, which can be fixed. Sometimes, folks were not able to completely fix the '04 shimmy.

 

SE's get parked on the right, whereas SL's get parked on the left...