Im about to buy a new car and i cant decide betwen a 2002 Maxima GLE with 88000 miles and a 2005 Maxima SE with 65000 miles, both for around 10k... Any advice?? I know the GLE's are great cars but im not sure how the SE's do! Any help greatly appreiciated

 

I bought my 2000 Max SE with 88000 on it for 4500. Perfect condition. 10k is way to much my friend. As for the 05' SE. Same engine as your GLE but a much different body style. Less miles too, which in turn means its probably worth the 10k. It really just comes down to personal preference.

 

Yeah, 10K is too much. Bought my '03 GLE with 89K miles for 7K. Has all the options except navi and spoiler.

 

05 had tranny problems and it looks like a boat, on the other hand 10k is too much for the 02.

I'd much rather opt for a 5 or 5.5 gen than a 6th gen but thats just my opinion.

 

depending on your region's market that might be an average price for the 2002 GLE. So do some searching and see what similar cars w/ similar traits are priced. That's the best way to find out if you have a deal or not. Yes there's good advice to be had here but sometimes it can be deceiving especially .

88,000 miles for a 10 year old car sounds just below average mileage wise to me which is a good thing but I would take a look at the 2002 and make sure its it great shape at that price. In my opinion if that car was in my area it is a bit high. If you could talk them down to the 9K price range I'd say thats more realistic.

 

no bias there...

think about this. in 5 years, which car is going to look ancient? do you want to be driving around something that still looks new, respectable, and classy or do you want something that will look like a dinosaur. every 5-10 years cars jump drastically in the look department. in 10+ years the 6th gen is going to look like a junker compared to the newer cars, and the 5th gen is going to look even worse, 4th gen and so on. you would never consider buying a 3rd gen maxima because it looks like a floppy disk compared to a san disk. well back in the day that 2nd and 3rd gen maxima looked pretty cool. So think in the future. No body wants to be driving an old beast unless its a classic. and nobody wants to save anything on a floppy disk. So get the newer gen, who knows you might be stuck with that car for the next 5-10 years.

just a new way of thinking about it i guess

 

I can make the boat look good, but I wouldn't get a 05 5 speed automatic too many tranny problems.

 

Yes, the 6th gen does have transmission problems, but ford has transmission problems, Chevy has transmission problems, Dodge has transmission problems, Mitsubishi has transmission problems, Civic has transmission problems, Hyundai has transmission problems, Lexus has transmission problems, ect.. get the point? out of all the maximas made and sold, roughly 3% of those have transmission problems. yes this is higher than its supposed to be, but what car out there is made perfectly and not prone to any problems? The other 97% of us, including me, have had no problems nor any signs of it. What happens is the squeaky wheel get the grease. This is not an issue worth making a decision upon. Odds are you will never have this problem.

 

I just came from an '03 SE 6speed to an '05 with the 5 speed auto, and I can tell you except for rust prone issues as well as the oil cooler gasket, I never had to do a thing to my '03.... now as far as my '05, I am constantly working on the car. With that being said, my '05 handles better, rides smoother (except the transmission shifting issues), looks better, and seems to be peppier....

it's really a toss up in my opinion, but as far as reliability, but 5.5 gen seemed to be a better car (which btw, I paid 4k for so like has been said, 10k is too much. (BTW, both cars are loaded minus leather)

 

Well said, which is exactly why i did the 6.5 gen conversion as soon as i bought mine. I loved my 5th gen accord but after awhile it just felt like i was driving around in a time capsule.

I can relate to always having to work on something but i realized that alot of it was from the previous owners neglect. These things come with buying any used car. Now i have a handle on almost everything and i really love the car. Just my .02

 

Im still thinking of getting me a 3rd Gen.....

 

Personally I love my 06 but I would be just as happy with an 03 6spd

 

get the 6th gen

 

if i could do it again , i would get a 6th gen , but the 05 has tranny problems. i love my 5.5 but imo 6gens are better

 

i ended up going with the 5.5 gen with 88k miles and im overly satisfied! i paid 9800 includin taxes and stuff and i think it was a good deal the dealer put new shocks on all tires and it had a clean carfax and i wasnt gonna trust that tranny in the 05 SE at.. but thanks everybody for the posts ill be lookin to upgrade the headlights and taillights first followed by an exhaust package.. any suggestions !?

 

u paid 10gs for a 5.5 wow thas WAYYY to much , but hey ask u as u like it

 

You could have gotten a properly functioning 6 for that price. But as was said...as long as you like it.

 

Well he said including "taxes and stuff". Buying from a dealer of course there is mark up and he got new tires and shocks so not a terrible deal. Plus he probably likes the 5.5 better. IMO though newer year and less miles car for same price would have been the winner.

Now show us some pics so we can see what you betrayed us 6th gens for.