Well, it's been a long and tough battle with Nissan but
After more than two years of fighting with Nissan they finally agreed to buy my car back and send me on my way. The mileage offset was negotiated to a fairly reasonable price. In a way I am sad to leave because the max was really a great car, just not mine. So now come the posts as to what I will move to. I have been considering a Mazaspeed 3 but I still need to take a test drive in one. There's a lot of things to consider such as monthly payments and the future cost of fuel. I am fortunate that I still have some time before I need to give the max back so I think I will be able to make it to the Chicago Auto Show and find something in a few weeks. Yes, the G35 is on the list, but I don't know if I can swallow another big monthly payment.

It's been fun being a part of this forum and I will certainly pop my head in to see what's going on. I know I haven't posted a lot on here lately and in part it was due to the suit. The less I rocked the boat the better I guess. I hope that what posts/stickies I created will continue to be valuable to people in the future. As for the problems I had with the car the list is too long to go through in detail, but the majority were related to suspension issues, both front and rear. There were other NVH issues as well as the common chrome issues with the car. I think my car was a friday car, but only Nissan will know.

That's it for now. I am sure I will see responses.

 

Mazdaspeed 3 is a BAD car.

 

Sorry...that's bad in a good way also.

 

Why say goodbye, just buy a new one...........newer versions are more solid.

anyway, good luck.

 

I tested one (and the Mazdaspeed 6), they go like stink, but they feel incredibly cheap inside. It's easy to tell where Mazda cut-corners with these after putting in a great engine and a sexah exterior. I didn't care for either of them after testing Acura, Nissian, Infinity, Lexus and Mercedes....no comparison in quality IMO.

 

Why not upgrade to a new max? If you liked the car, but just had a bad one.
Get a good one this time.
I've had a few issues w/ my 04. But it is a car- a mechanical thing that will have things wear out break. all cars will have some issues at some point. It sounds like you had a ral lemon. all of them aren't like that. But then again I had 95 XJ6, and well they are all bad.hehe. Probably won't go down that road again, so I do understand where you're coming from. But I did like the Jag a lot. Very fun to drive.
I will buy another Max when I'm ready for a new one. Unfortunatley they don't make the 6spd manual trans. anymore, that would be the only deturing factor.

G-35, A-6, or maybe the new Altima would be the cars I would look at.

 

msoemax - I'm really sorry you got one of the bad ones. I wouldn't give up my perfect '04 SL for anything, but understand the bloom is off the rose for you.

If you don't see anything out there that really grabs you, why not at least give the '07 Maxima a look? So far, it seems to be a well-built and reliable vehicle. And we would love to have you stay with us here on the ORG.

Either way, best of luck.

 

I test drove both the speed3 and speed6. The speed 6 is really nice when fully loaded, but the price isn't worth it and this is the first year with a turbo. I took my chances with the re-design max and decided that I am going to stay away from Mazda for now. The speed3 is a sweet looking ride, but as soon as you get inside you feel super cramped coming from a maxima. The speed6 is a lot closer to a max/g35 inside. I thought about going down the path of buying a G35 since they are a great buy right now for an 06. I've really thought a lot about it and I have test driven several other cars. I hate to say it, but I came to my senses with regards to gas and the environment. I have test driven a prius a couple of times and I am pleasantly surprised by it. For what it is it's got enough go for around town. I also may be getting a Sales Engineering position which will be a lot of city travel so the prius will be a much better choice on the pocket book.

I know that it's crazy and I am still having second thoughts about it, but the more I sit and think about it the more I realize that the prius is the car for me right now. It's big enough for me and 4 friends and I can fold down the back seats to haul some junk. I know I won't be able to drop it into third and go from 30-80 mph in 4 seconds, and I will most definately miss that. I think when I get some more free cash I will buy myself that g35 coupe. Who knows, maybe by then Nissan will release the new skyline and there will be some used ones out there. For now all I can do is wait for the time to turn in the car and get my check. I appreciate all your comments guys!

 

Did u have a chance to test drive the new altima? 3.5 6mt ??? They are pretty good in milage and one decently equiped will run you for around 24k . Plus u did say that u will miss going from 30 to 80 in for seconds then i would say that your average mpg won't be as good if u push it a lot . Why sacrifice if u can get the same rush from the nissan family JMO