Please forgive the lack of searching and help an old member out..

I've had a 96, 2000, and 2004. Loved them all, but when the 04 was totaled I got an 08 G35 since the Maxima was no longer available in a six speed. really loved the poor man's sports sedan, but a six speed is a must.

Love the car, but a little too uncomfortable for all of the long drives I do. Looking to get a daily driver and a second vehicle - probably a 350.

Figure if I've got a night/weekend car, I can live with the auto for a daily driver.

Any good link that shows all the packages for an 09 or 10 so I know what to look for?

Other things I should know w/o reading 9000 threads? Like the shimmy on the 04 or the TSB to keep the throttle from cutting out on the 00?

Always loved the information on this site and hope to come back!

 

What options are you looking the car to have? Such as navigation, black panel roof, rear seats to be able to fold down, 19" or 18" rims?

 

You can check out the S and SV sport or premium packages on the Nissan website. There are only some relatively minor changes over the years.

As far as any issues that the 7 gen may have I would suggest a careful search of this forum before you purchase one.

 

I would recommend an 11+

 

Can you give me the reader's digest version of the issues? Would take quite a bit of searching to find out what the major issues are.

Would love an 11 +, but not in the budget.

 

09 & 10 gets you a 10 year 120k mile warranty on the tranny.

As far as the issues...scroll through the first few pages.

 

I'll show my ignorance.....are you talking about the stickies, or that everyone is super pissed about their 09 +s and the first few pages will be threads about problems?

 

Trims were a lot simpler with my first three Maximas. GXE was stripped, SE was what you wanted (plus the appropriate upgrades to leather, etc) and GXE was a luxury model that was well equipped but lacked the sport upgrades.

Is an SV with sport package the equivalent of the old SE?

 

Basically look through the pages to get an idea of the issues people have had.

I'm happy with my car. It's had some problems but Nissan has taken care of them without cost to me.

 

S = GXE
SV Sport = SE
SV Premium = GLE

 

The next gen is just around the corner.........

 

+1

 

Not what he's looking for....

 

2015 maxima is due on the showrooms in May..... I think that was the time frame if i remember right.

 

If he said an 11+ is not in the budget why would you recommend a 15?

 

What does the sport package include?

 

Sport tuned suspension, rear spoiler, 19" rims, dark grill.

 

Rich96, I have a 2010 SV, Premium/Technology package. Look at my signature to see some of the goodies I might forget, but I'll try to give you a quick rundown.


Dual panel glass sunroof, heated seats, heated steering wheel, cooled drivers seat, drivers seat thigh bolster, 9.3 gig music box, navigation w/touchscreen, paddle shifters, rear sunshade, radio and a/c controls in rear seat center armrest, always on USB port, iPod integration, Sirius Xm satellite radio, all windows are auto up/auto down, bluetooth for phone and audio iPod, 2 person memory drivers seat, driver and passenger power seats, tpms, voice command phone calls, 18in wheels, back up camera with tilt down mirrors, rear spoiler, stereo controls on the steering wheel, pass thru in back seat.


Back seat does not fold down with the dual panel roof option and you can't put on a roof rack, homelink garage door opener in sunvisor. Doors will auto lock if not opened after a few minutes, you can have the dealer program the doors to unlock when you put the car in park but the default is when the car is turned off.


Two issues I've had on my 2010 Maxima and my 2010 Murano is the drivers seat broke and had a rocking sensation, and the batteries in both vehicles had to be replaced shortly after I got them.


Everything was done under warranty. I may have missed some thing but these are most of the features that I can remember.

 

Your options are: S, SV, SV w/sport pkg, or SV w/premium pkg. All of these have identical tranny and engine.

Get the sport or premium pkg. One isn't necessarily better than the other. If you intend to do upgrades and mods to the car, then get the premium pkg. because you can very quickly add the pieces of the sport pkg. (spoiler, stiffer springs, better sway bar, wheels) and have the best of both worlds--that's the route I went. If you don't intend to do upgrades, personally I'd go with the sport pkg. Its more ready to go out of the box as far as looks go, and then you can focus your efforts on the weekend car.

 

Well put

 

Only problem is that I'm finding a lot of premiums, but very few sports. Premiums almost seem to be selling for less, which is odd as I'd imagine they cost more at the time of sale. Perhaps its due to the larger supply.

In any case, very helpful posts - much appreciated. Looks like some premiums will have a spoiler?

 

Premium never comes from factory with a spoiler. It's a popular add-on though--many I'm sure had it added at the dealer.

If you want to know if it's premium or not, the definitive feature is the dual panel sunroof.

If you want to know if it's sport or not, the two things it has to include are 19" wheels and the spoiler. If it has both of those, chances are 99% it's the sport pkg.

 

This is not true of the 11+?

 

Short answer, no

 

Is the CVT used in the 2009,2010's different from the 2011+'s? S0 2011+ has 5 yr 60k on CVT?

 

Same CVT. Nissan just had super long warranties for a while to ease the minds of potential customers who were wary of the cvt. They dropped down to the standard warranty period after '10.

 

Thanks for the info!
Jon

 

Where does VDC fall into all of this?

 

It...doesn't? What do you mean?

 

Why didn't you wait for the gen 8?

 

why didn't you read the thread first? Lol. They already said that they're not looking for brand new, but needing something a little older.

 

Still when gen 8 comes out, gen 7 value will be even lower

 

Maybe because he wants the car sooner than that

 

Is it an option on the premium and sport? Is it a part of a certain package?

 

I believe VDC is standard equipment on all 7th gen Maximas.

You had asked if there are other things you should know about the 7th gens...
Some had main bearing issues, you should definitely read that thread here.

The steering wheel lifts up and the seat slides back by default when entering and leaving the vehicle. At the least, the steering wheel part of that is very expensive to repair, so many including myself have disabled that option.

Not sure if this was a big issue in the Maximas, but our 09 Murano had leaking headgaskets on both banks when we purchased it at 25k. This was an issue in the early 2nd gen Muranos and was addressed with a revised part.

 

Be sure you have a clear understanding of the CVT and it's inherent limitations especially if your are a performance inclined. Take a long test drive and be sure you will be able to tolerate the CVT "moan".

 

Is there an upgraded option? VLSD vs regular traction control?

 

No

 

i assume one that is 50 state emissions means it is legal for sale in California.

do these have reduced performance?

 

Kind of sounds like a premium + some future upgrades is the way to go. Most have spoilers, so a sway bar, springs, and wheels is all you'd need to have a premium w/ sport handling?