Is the 8th gen the last Maxima? When the 7th gen was new the forum was very active with new posts. There seems to be a relative shortage of posts about the 8th gen. Thoughts?

 

When the 7th gen rolled out it was a radical new design from it's predecessors. Owners of 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th gens seen something totally different and bought heavily, and it was an easily modded car. The 8th gen has a few new upgrades over the 7th especially to the interior and electronics but does not have the splash that the 7th had over the earlier models. I would venture to guess most of the sales of the 8th gen are previous owners of 7th and finding out the new model is nice but still wishing for more. I may be wrong but it might have something to do with it.

 

I think you may be right. Within the parameters of a front wheel drive, sporty sedan that does not fit into any traditional category, maybe the 8th gen is as good as it gets. I had two 7th gen and both were really good. I will not buy an 8th gen until the price is right.

 

I have only seen 3 8th gens on the road. I don't think this generation is doing very well. What people fail to realize is Nissan has been going through hell regarding there CVT reliability issues, so I believe most people are scared away not to mention the price you pay for a CVT equipped car. The 8 gen will be a sales flop and Nissan knows it that's why they put all there eggs in the Altima basket. Its there bread and butter and the Maxima. The 5 Gen was the last real 4DSC

 

Dealers around here also held close to MSRP for months, and I think that hurts too. Now they are discounting and sales will pick up. My dealer told me the car was a hot seller back in June (which it wasn't at all at the time), and I think they were really banking on the design pulling people in. Now I think they realize its time to cut the prices and move the cars. (hoping anyway- been holding out 6 months).

 

The Altima's seem to be selling well with their CVT. Isn't it the same one that's in the Max?

 

The Altimas that are selling are the 2.6, which can be driven out of most dealer lots for $16,900 to $18,900. I don't see many 3.5 Altimas around where I live. The Maxima is not only near luxury in plushness, but also leans that way in price. Everyone I talk to really likes my 2016 Platinum, but are not ready to drop a ton of money on a car. Most of the folks with $40K laying around seem to be after 'image', so go for German 'name' brands or SUVs.

The 7th gen may have started out well in some areas, but was extremely slow to catch on in my area. I had one of the few around my area for months. Now I see 7th gens everywhere.

The Maxima may be saved by virtue of Nissan's new 'longer generation' system, where they plan to keep Maxima (and several other models) generations around eight years long. That saves a lot of money in redesign and testing and replacing manufacturing dies and stamping machines, etc. 'Freshning' will be done to draw atttention to new model years, but the car will not radically change through the span of the generation, except possibly in the power train options.

 

I think your right LOTH. 40k is a lot of money. My buddy just bought an altima and loaded it up with every option and loves it. I just can't get away from the Max since the 7th gen I still drive has been rock solid for all these years basically since I bought it the month it came out in 08.

 

Its the rental car version 2.5 that sells like hot cakes and at that price point I don't think people care about the CVT. Lets be honest the 2.5 is just basic transportation. Nissan should just drop the 3.5 because it doesn't sell anymore

 

From a Canadian perspective and in particular Ontario, 2010 and up Maximas were always a wee bit too expensive. Consequently, they have fallen off ppl's radar recently. Now they have the SV priced the same as a loaded Camry XLE V6.


However, during the 2016 Canadian launch I believe Maximas came out of the gate @ 4.9% lease/48mths and 4.9% finance/60mths or thereabouts. NOW, it's .9% leasing/48mths or 0%/60 finance. These numbers make all the difference in moving the metal.


Just a great car.