GregL65

I love the '90 SE manual transmission Maxima that we've had for over 12 years, but to my wife it's just an old car, and she wants something newer.

We have 3 boys and I want them to have plenty of room in the back seat. We have a minivan too, but I don't want use of the fun car to be restricted to when it's only 4 of us or fewer.

I'm interested in the 6th-gen Maxima, but manual transmission was available only 2004-2006, and I understand there are serious reliability issues for those years. However, it sounds like the worst of it is the automatic transmission, and it also sounds like the 2006 is not as bad as the 2004-05.

Is that correct? What are your thoughts about the reliability of a 2006 SE with manual transmission? Especially compared to the reliability of a '90?

Would a 2000-2003 with manual transmission be hugely more reliable?