As the current owner of a 2009 premium and a future owner (Saturday) of a 2013 Sport, this opinion may be very biased. I think the 7th gen Max is still one of the most exciting designs on the road right now. I had a $42,000 budget for a new car and honestly the Max was the only car that excited me. What do you guys think?

 

If it were me, I'd wait for the new model...the 09 was the first year of the new model and nissan did it right. If be willing to bet the 8th gen will be built just as we'll if not better

 

As the current owner of a 2009 premium and a future owner (Saturday) of a 2013 Sport, this opinion may be very biased. I think the 7th gen Max is still one of the most exciting designs on the road right now. I had a $42,000 budget for a new car and honestly the Max was the only car that excited me. What do you guys think?

 

Personally I agree with Tommy. I'd like to see what the 8th gen will be before buying another 7th.

But i think there are enough technical and aesthetic differences between the 09 and 13 that you'll be happy.

 

I agree it is still current but I also like the looks of the Mazda6 and the Kia Optima but neither of those cars have a big enough engine for my tastes.

 

Mazda maybe but the Kia drives like ***...might as well get an Altima or a civic.

 

How soon before the 8th gen is in production though? There are no test mule spy shots or any hard evidence of a new model yet. I will drive my 2013 for a while and if the new model is that amazing, I will trade up.

 

I agree. I'm definitely a fan of these cars, I think the styling is more exciting than the Infinitis. It definitely balances out my feelings after looking at the payment, lol.

I really like the Max because certain styling elements remind me of muscle cars from the late 60s - they put a little extra metal into the design - bulging fenders, a nice long hood, and a vertical grill and tail. The interior is sturdy, clean and functional - it's not dressed up with extra plastic and faux-chrome, and it has a rumble to the stock exhaust and holds the road as if it were connected on rails.

Other cars at a similar price point (+/- 6k) equipped with similar if not more options don't really do it for me. I liked the Buick Regal - until I drove it and experienced it's seating. I'd buy another Accord coupe - would prefer if Accura offered it as a coupe and dressed it up in their trim and with AWD - I'd seal that deal without hesitation.

I do have my gripes, however, with the Maxima - and they seem to be similar to what others have had with the 7th Gen.

 

I still think the 7th Gen Maxima looks very current and holds up well. The new Genesis coming out soon appears very attractive as well. I also like the LaCrosse's current design.

 

What technical differences would there be from the 09 premium to the 2013 sport? I didn't get nav so wouldn't the info and radio system in the new car be exactly the same?

 

I would wait until the new version arrives. If you don't like the features or styling then you could buy a heavely discounted 2014 for around 32K.

Except for the trim feature differences now, you will be driving basically the same car.

 

Bluetooth audio streaming, blue/white light instrument panel clusters on 2013 vs orange light backdrop.

There are probably some other minor ones as well.

 

I think it's a damn good-looking car. The coke-bottle shape is aging well. The headlights and wheelbase are about all that's dated. In five years, it'll look better than the entire crop of Fusion/Sonata/Optimas.

But I still wouldn't buy one right now. The Altima's new CVT is too good.

 

I drove a 13 Altima 3.5 and the trans upshifts too quickly almost like it's in 6th Gear by 30 mph causing the engine to make a rattle noise.

The Alti does seem faster but the Max looks soo much better!

 

I.Love.My.Max. That is all :-)

 

Isn't blue tooth streaming only available with the nav package on the sport? Mine doesn't have nav

 

Yes ^^

 

It will be interesting to see what Nissan does with the cvt in next gen of Maxima. The newer version cvt in the new generation Altima's and Pathfinders has caused severe problems and frustration for many owners --- resulting in replacement of torque converter or entire cvt. I'd be wary until we know that they have fixed the issues if that same cvt is used in the new Max. I much prefer the prior version cvt in the current Maxima over the 'shuddering' new gen cvt.

 

I agree with the OP... the 7th Gen maxima is still one of the sexiest car on the road and with the new Altima taking its body style for the next few years it pretty much guarantees the Maxima will still be relevant.

 

I'm Guessing you came in under about $14K under budget ?


I have to ask, for ~ $42k you can get a Infiniti Q50, Audi A5 or A6 , Lexus ES350 , Mercedes C350 or even a BMW 428 which is an awesome looking car, you don't like any of those ?

 

This is Canadian dollars. Cars are much more expensive up here. I got mine for $34,000 ish.

 

I didn't know that, can you buy a car in the U.S and bring it to Canada to register ? 13 Sports are about $28k near me

 

yeah its one of my favorite cars on the road too. the curves on the hood are so sexy the new Q50 stole the same look and the coke bottle shape gives this car a styling i really dont see on many cars especially 4 door sedans. i dont really like cars that are straight flat on the side, looks boring

 

I believe not every car is allowed to be brought over from the US to Canada (I am not sure about Maximas), but even for those which are, the taxes/duties would pretty much kill the deal. Somebody might have more specific info on this though.
Just FYI, I got a 2011 Premium for just slightly less than your amount (including the taxes and extended warranty) half a year ago in Ontario.

 

The 7th gen Maxima styling was slightly ahead of its time when it was introduced in early 2008, and there were critics who did not like the styling. Then the recession hit, and few folks were talking cars.

But, as the recession began to ease in 2012, quite a few folks suddenly decided they liked the 7th gen Maxima styling. And that has continued into 2013. I am seeing twice as many 7th gen Maximas on the road now as I did early last year.

Of course, having owned nothing but Maximas since October 1984, I loved the 7th gen Maxima from day one. And I still feel very very good about how my Maxima looks.

Although most folks seem to never notice the cars around them, there are a few souls out there who notice cars, and sometimes they notice my Maxima. Some smile, point to the car and nod, while others simply point to my car and give a thumbs up. Makes me feel really good about my car.

 

OK...first time here. I just had a question and would greatly appreciate any feedback.
I am looking to buy a car this weekend and have it down to two.
First is a 2011 Maxima SV that is loaded; sports package, leather, navigation,
dual sunroof, dvd, 9.3 gb harddrive for music,heated wheel and seats, and spoiler. It has 36k mile and the dealer is trying to get rid of it before heavy snow/ xmas and I can get it for 20K.
Also comes with an extended drive train warranty for 100K miles.

Second option is a 2011 Caddy CTS with 39K miles on it. It has leather and heated and cooled seats but no navigation or sunroof. It is an AWD and has the larger, 3.6 engine. Comes with the standard GM warranty for two more years.
I can get this car for 21,500.

Which should I pick? I understand this is a Maxima site but just wanted some feed back. I owned a 91 Maxima SE (manual) many years ago and it was a very dependable car but I don't know much about the 7th generation Maximas.

Thanks,
Anderson

 

The best argument supporting the OP's OP is the styling on the new Altima, which from a distance looks a whole lot like the Maxima.

It looks great. I hope they don't mess up the new one like Lexus messed up the IS, which went from a reasonably good looking car to ugly.

 

I completely agree, even now I believe the Maxima is an extremely great looking car, is still looks "new"! I've seen new vehicles coming out now that look dated!!

 

yeah, i guess you're right. need tech pckg for streaming audio.

be it as it may, though, i'd rather have the blue/white lights behind the instrument panel than orange.

 

I agree, I still think it's a nice looking ride that still looks current. I still get people complimenting me on the car, even at stop lights.

 

I want those (2010?) wheels on my 2014! If I keep seeing the picture in your sig, I might have to get a set.

 

I fall into the group who didn't like the styling at first. Now, I really appreciate the car - though not upset I waited as I think I got in at a good time for us.

 

You could get them for less now

 

You definitely can. I saw a set of chrome ones on Ebay for 1300.00 shipped.

 

Does anyone know when will appear the eighth generation of Maxima. Some pictures were leaked on the internet, but I do not believe that the redesigned model will be launched next year http://carsreports2014.com/2015-niss...t-gt-r-styled/

 

Maxim15 - This has been discussed in some detail in various other threads somewhere on this board. To review, I am almost certain the recession probably led Nissan to move the 8th gen Maxima intro from the 2013 model year to the 2014 model year way back in summer 2009 - just a year after the 2009 had been released in June of 2008.

But the recession hung on, and folks were still not buying cars in 2010, and I think Nissan decided around that time to postpone the release of the next gen of their low-volume vehicles one more year. There is a poster here named Monte who first suspected this delay. For the Maxima, that meant to the 2015 model year, with a spring 2014 release.

I would guess that was probably Nissan's plan up until around a year or more ago, when a major problem arose. Nissan redesigned the CVT that had been used in the 7th gen Maxima, and decided to use the intro of the new generation Altima as a 'test bed' for that new CVT before using it in their 8th gen flagship Maxima.

Almost immediately, those new Altimas began having CVT problems, and Nissan was left with no choice but to delay the 8th gen Maxima another model year. I would guess the current plan is to release the 8th gen Maxima as the 2016 model year in spring of 2015.

That additional delay was not as painful for Nissan as it could have been, as the Maxima styling, which was 'avant garde' in the beginning, had quietly been drawing more fans, and the car was still selling.

In the meantime, be aware Nissan markets various versions of the Maxima around the world, usually under names other than 'Maxima.' The generation releases of those cars are not connected to the release of new generations in the U.S. Photos of those versions are frequently posted here as 'the next gen Maxima.' They never are.

I suspect our first peek of the 8th gen Maxima will come from road testing, and the car will be heavily camouflaged. November of next year will be about the time I begin scouring the internet for such spy photos.