rick sambora

I test drove a new max today. It was the sv+prem+tech. I walked away from the test drive rather confused about what to think about this car. The reason I am saying this is that it does not appear to be any faster than my 6thgen and the suspension still has that loose floaty sensation that plagued the 6thgen. Infact over bumps I could feel the suspension as being choppy rather than being supple/tight. I am not expecting it to be Buick soft but I was expecting it to be better than the 6th gen. I then drove a sports tuned max and it was no different, infact I could not feel a difference between the cars. Anyways, now to the really confusing part, I was constantly feeling a rough sensation in the gas pedal during city driving that was somewhat better on the highway but not by much. I went in hoping the ride to be silky smooth but that was not the case. Both cars had a rough, grinding feel to the gas pedal. I was thinking it is the rotor against the brake pad but it should not be so bad. Also do you guys feel a vibration at about 1200-1500 RPM. This seemed from the tranny and I purposely drove at low speeds in the second car to reproduce it. Ride comfort is on top of my list as I drive about 1200 miles a week. Your input would be greatly appreciate. Just for comparison sake the new 09 acura tl sh-awd did not have this at all. Also what could be causing the rough feeling. Oh and one of them was a demo car with 1800 miles on it, I think it was the premium.
Lastly what is a good price for prem+tech?
Thank you

STARR

iTrader: (1)

When I test drove the 09 I was surprised how much it was like my 06, but vastly improved in every way, my 06 never had a floaty feeling, the 2 cars are similar in that both have the expansion joint hop on the highway, and they feel sort of confused over sections of roads that are messed up, but in general the car feels secure and planted 95% of the time.

The rough feeling in the gas pedal, try test driving the car in sneakers, I know what your talking about and I had it on a 96 Pathfinder that I could only feel if I wore my dress shoes, my my 06 and 09 have no rough pedal feel.

I would suggest taking the car on an extended test drive, when I 1st test drove the 09 the salesman told me no more then 10 miles, but I put like 50 on it, check the tires, the psi makes a big difference on the ride feel.

With 1600 miles on my 06, it has really improved since it had 44 on it, and it blows my 6th gen out of the water.

The 09 Acura TL SH-AWD, nice but over priced, apparently you can get one for way below the sticker, something like 36 -38, I think, check Acurazine.com, and the Maxima outsells the TL and G37 combined

As far as price, I have not a clue, I have always found prices being listed on the internet are sometimes unrealistic, and impossible to negotiate depending on the area you live in, and flying to nowhere's town does not make sense, but negotiate, I made an offer and told them I would walk if I did not get a full maintenance package, complete tire/wheel coverage and a bumper to bumper warranty to 75k, it's a buyer market take advantage.

BLACKNESS MONSTA

Thats pretty much how i felt after test driving the 09.
Theres no point in making a thread about it in this section of the forum since everybody here is just gonna say they love their new max and there is nothing wrong with it. And rightly so, some ppl dont care if it feels loose or floaty. Some ppl just want a good looking car with a nice interior and a powerful engine.

Bottom line is Nissan FWD suspension setup sucks.

If u want better handling FWD then get a Honda/Acura (double wishbone suspension FTW)

If u want a soft, comfortable ride then get a Toyota/Lexus

If u like the 6th gen, then get the new Max....it is definately a nice upgrade from the previous gen!

1sik4dsc

iTrader: (1)

lightonthehill

Rick - The thing I noticed very quickly about this '09 Maxima is that the CVT tries to hold the RPMs way down until you tell it (via the gas pedal) you need performance. I often find I am easing along at twenty or thirty MPH and the RPMs are around 1100 to 1300. That is a very low RPM level for driving. Heck, I have had Maximas that IDLED near that RPM. This results in the feel of sort of a vibration in the gas pedal. That is normal when the RPMs are very low for the speed of the car.

And why does Nissan have the CVT do this? Because it saves gas. The 6th gen got 25 MPG hwy with 255 HP engine, while the 7th gen gets 26 MPG with a 290 HP engine. That is meaningful.

After the first month or so, I fully understood what was happening, and it hasn't bothered me since.

As far as accelleration, the CVT leaves the line a tad slow, but once you are moving right along, this CVT can really move this car if you mash the pedal.

As for the ride, at first I noticed only slight improvement over my 6th gen in straightaway driving, with a little more improvement in sharp lateral movements (shorter, wider wheelbase does this). Then I checked the psi, and found the tires varied from 30 to 34 psi. I put 36 psi in all four, and then the control, firmness, ride confidence was clearly superior to my 6th gen. And the MUCH tighter (four feet tighter) turning radius of the 7th gen has been a real blessing.

I love the air conditioned driver seat, hard drive music box, rear window sunscreen, double-panel roof, touch/drag-screen navi, and so many other things about this '09.

As much as I loved my perfect 6th gen, I must say my '09 is slightly better in every way I can think to compare.

rick sambora

Thank you for the replies. I will be negotiating for a better price. So far I have been quoted 32500 for sv/prem/tech as the lowest in the area. Will try for better.

98GleMax

who cares its a nice *** whip lol

BLACKNESS MONSTA

U didnt sound too impressed by the car in your first post...yet your still buying it?

PetitFrereMaxima

iTrader: (2)

I wanted to jump on the 09 too. But after test driving it, honestly, it performs like my 6thgen. Pick-up and go was same to me. Maybe because my 08 is just a year old. Going 100 on the freeway, it felt smooth as the 6thgen and coming to a stop, braking was straight and solid. I don't see any improvement on handling and performance. I see a lot of improvement in the gadgets to play with in the car, and the looks.

rick sambora

Yeah, I will get it only if I can get the fully loaded premium model for closer to 30k. With the trade in and cash down I will end up with 12-15k overall. Anything more than 30k for this car seems way too much, BTW also drove a g37x today. That is a quick car and the drive was what I expected-silky smooth...got a 34k quote for a fully loaded trim. So I will see. Did anyone hear about the transmission issues the G37 owners have been having????
My cousin made this comment when I was discussing the g37 with him.
So ultimately the question is(provided there are no transmission issues with the g37x), is the max with the 2k less sticker price that great a bargain when compared to a similarly equipped G.
I will hopefully decide by this weekend. Thank you for your opinions guys.

MaxLoverAz

iTrader: (1)

It's a lot better looking than that "aborted' looking 6th gen, I stopped looking at Maximas' when the 2004 came out and never looked again until the 7th Gen was on display.....

Sorry but that thing is just FUGLY like my first girl friend.... :-)

BLACKNESS MONSTA

G37x is well worth it if its only 2k more than the Max.

AWD + 328hp

lightonthehill

The G37X is a darn good car (after all, it is a Nissan product). I found the interior room to be slightly more cramped than the '09 Maxima (but still comfortable), the trunk a tad smaller than the '09 Maxima, and the styling sort of bland and dated when compared with the '09 Maxima. Other than those few factors, plus the MPG being slightly less with the G37X (more HP, 7 speed auto and all-wheel drive all are slightly less fuel efficient than the setup on the '09 Maxima), I find the G37X to be outstanding in almost every way. The interior reeked of class, and the styling was definitely 'high conservative.' Had it been FWD, and had I been impressed with my local Infiniti dealer (disappointingly, I was not) I would definitely have considered buying the G37 without the all-wheel drive.

The $30K you are shooting for with the Maxima would be a steal, as that car equipped with Premium, Tech, etc, now has an MSRP very near $40K.

STARR

iTrader: (1)

The G37X is a sweet car, but apart from the fast take offs, and the power of the VQ37VHR that I love, I could not live with the smaller package day to day.

The transmission issue is something that plagues the earlier 7speed autos, so you should be fine with a current G, long as it has not sat around for several months, here is a link with a TSB and a program update you cold take the car in for.
http://myg37.com/forums/g37-sedan/19...ml#post2670943

Mreim769

Haha ZING! It's so true!

But in all seriousness. The g37x didn't have much on the 09 Max for me. It looked, felt, and drove like an 80 year old+ old man's car. It isn't that fast and it just felt so detached.

boone

iTrader: (1)

Oddly enough, Enterprise hooked me up with a G37X for my trip to Kentucky (I requested a Maxima). I just got through with a 5-hour stint behind the wheel. The power increase over and above the Max is definitely noticeable. The steering seems a tad more responsive. I do not like the reduced amount of interior space. I'm also not a fan of the interior. It just seems overly plasticey (sp.) to me. Maybe this is due to the fact that I'm driving a base model. If space was not a concern for me, I would definitely start haggling for a fully loaded '09 G37X. Alas, space is a big issue. So, I will be getting a 2010 Maxima.

Back to the OP's concern. I took a '09 Maxima on a test drive a couple of months ago. I can say with certainty that the one I drove outperformed my 6th gen pre-mods in every way. I also did not notice any vibration in the pedal. However, I did have sneakers on at the time. Of course, these are just my observations and in no way discount the OP's feelings about his test drives.

Jadert

This seems like an excellent quote for a fully loaded Max. Has anyone been able to beat this price (excluding TTL)? I live in PA and I cant get them under 33,500

xorbitman

iTrader: (1)

Sorry I digress Guys...I could not help myself!

Hi Rick, Are you related to the Sambora from Bon Jovi? What a great musician and certainly a rock icon and legend!

Good luck with your decision! I love my 6th Gen Maxima>>>>