Hi all, I'm new to the forum and new to Nissan. I bought a 2019 Maxima SL a month ago with 5800 miles. I was weak and let the dealership talk me into an extended warranty at a cost of about $3700. I would like to hear opinions on this car's reliability, types and cost of repairs, etc. I can cancel the warranty and get a refund, my thought is that for $3700 will cover a few fairly major repairs. For reference, the factory bumper to bumper warranty is good until April 2022 and drivetrain warranty for two years beyond that. With the low miles I do not expect to go over the mileage limits. The extended warranty covers everything for eight years or 120k miles. The dealership, or a third party, covers the engine for life as long as I take it to them for all oil changes, which are free. Thanks for helping me with this decision.

 

I would back out of this warranty as fast as you can! You did not mention if this is a Nissan contract or one of those profit laden resale contracts from a 3rd party. With the factory coverage of bumper to bumper 36000 miles and the powertrain @ 60,000 miles, You can add a warranty contract later on, but you should get all the service records from the dealer. 1st. (Why was it traded in so soon) Hint, there should not be much but if there is, could be a red flag. In reality, that added coverage buts up to your factory coverage to it is not 8 years you are paying for but more like 60 months.

If you feel better being covered, you can shop the Nissan extension at any Nissan dealer or at least find a reputable 3rd party vendor by searching the complaints on them before you buy. Consumer reports rates the Maxima as a good buy while singling out any high repair trends that it sees for owner surveys..

Welcome to the Nissan family. Let us know what you decide.

 

At $3700 you just got plain ripped off! I was in the auto business (not Nissan) for many years and our dealer capped how much profit we could make on back end product (warranty, gap, life, etc). Obviously the dealer you bought from doesn’t have that type of ethical control over his people. Here’s an older article relating to extended warranties but much of it still applies. https://www.consumerreports.org/exte...ensive-gamble/

 

I don’t have any hard facts, but my impression is that the Max is at least a moderately reliable car. I’ve had mine over 3 years and haven’t had any troubles yet. I don’t expect it to compete with toyota/Lexus in the quality department... but I think if properly maintained it will serve you well.

I’m not a big fan of extended warranties anyway, I’d rather just keep the 4K in my pocket for a rainy day. Supposedly the CVT won’t last forever, but I’ve met plenty of 7th gen (and even some 8th) who have got 150-200k miles with no troubles at all

 

You took it in the a$$.....Get your money back

 

30 years of Maxima ownership here, with a total of more than 750 K miles since 1990. Out of pocket repairs totaling less than 1K- not including wear items- tires, brakes, and normal maintenance. The Maximas have served me well and there is, as I see it, no need for an extended warranty, particularly one as costly as you may have committed to- if the option to cancel that agreement still exists, by all means, do so!

"wild *****", should you have an opinion, please feel free to express it in your direct and unique manner...

 

Have owned Nissans going back to 89. I have not spent $3700 total on maint/repairs on all of them combined, including routine maint-Brakes.rotors, wipers....possibly toss in all of the oil changes too.

Now, I bought a new 04 Honda Oddy EXL-RES and shortly after my purchase the transmission cover-up by honda was made public..I purchased the Honda Care extended for under 600 bucks after rigorous negotiations........ that paid for itself at least 10 fold.
They sell these for a reason....it is not for your benefit....If you happen to be part of the tiny percentage that actually use it......good for you

I found this for you "This isn't surprising, because extended warranties make a lot of money for those who sell them. ... “On average, you'll pay about $1,500 on an extended warranty, and the average repair is $180. I don't recommend buying extended warranties, ever. If you can't afford a $200 repair on a car, then you can't afford the car.”
Also, the mark up can be as much as 100% on the cost of the warranty. For example...my 400 dollar warranty....they started at 1300.00

 

@robtroxel
It is a third party contract.

They use Auto Check (similar to Carfax) that showed it started in the south (LA or MS I think) and was shortly transferred to NY and finally sold at a lot in Milford, MA. It was then traded in at their lot in Roanoke, VA. They didn't know whey the first owner didn't have it long, but speculated it was a lease and they didn't make their payments. They also didn't know why it was traded in at their lot.

I have put 1k miles on it and can say there are no problems and is very clean for a used car. I agree that I have about 15 months of factory bumper to bumper coverage and that should give me plenty of time to determine if it has any problems or reliability issues. If so, I'll be trading it for something with fewer gadgets that can go wrong. I mentioned to the finance guy that sold me the warranty that I could pick up one later, he said that can be done but it would cost me more later. IDK.

Thanks. This looks like a very informed and knowledgeable group.

 

Thanks for the info. I thought the cost was high, we bought a 2016 Cadillac SRX from another dealer back in the summer and bought an extended warranty for about $2700. Its Cue infotainment system is having problems so we may get our money's worth on that one.

The finance guy said the loan company allowed a $5000 adder for an extended warranty. He said charging that much is just unfair and they do not do that. He talked like $3700 was about their cost, it's hard to tell. I would almost rather have a root canal than deal with car salesmen.

Like I said, I think I can pay for several repairs for the cost of the warranty. I feel like any of the Japanese brands are pretty reliable, so I'm not too concerned about not being protected.

 

Thanks for the information.

 

I will be cancelling this thing tomorrow. It's already built into my loan, that will be more equity I have in the car when the refund is applied to the loan.

 

Great feedback and a proper solution!

 

Ron,

Good move and let us know if it was hard to back out of it. Your 2019 has lots of refinements and should be a solid car.

 

Aside from the crying of the person in "UPSELL" dept...should go smooth

 

Just throwing this out there, if your really do want an extended warranty, there's a Nissan Dealership in Cali that sells them online for a much better price than most dealerships.

 

Also, dealers will bid against each other on these.

 

I would visit this site and get quote to compare to the one you got from the dealer. https://yourautoadvocate.com/extended-warranty/ They would both be 3rd party. If anything, you'll get an idea of cost.

 

Great site!

 

Nissan Maxima is pretty reliable. I’m not sure about current generation but I see more 7th gens than 8ths in my area. I’ve owned 2017 for 2 years. 50K miles 0 issues. The only complaint was interior material. It ages very quickly and gets kinda loose. Lots of rattling.

Other than that great vehicle. I drove it all over the country. From East to West, from North to South. Probably been in every major City( NYC, LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago,Houston, Miami you name it) in every season from -20 in Montana up to +125 in Death Valley . Enjoyed the vehicle in every way and it never gave me a single problem. The hell I replaced only one tire and btw it didn’t flat it just had a small side bubble.

 

Yup I've got this super annoying rattle in the roof in two spots, one is right in front by the mirror and one in the middle between the to pano roof panels, probably just a loose wire or fastener vibrating. Other than that though, no complaints

 

I had a 7th Gen 10 Maxima SV that went through 10 wheel bearings, several fuel injectors (1 time), air mass flow sensor, and regular maintenance. A few other things happened but nothing major enough for me to remember. I traveled all over the country with it and it treated me well. I put on 224k before i sold it. All major components were in solid shape at the time. I now have a 19 Maxima SV. I love it as well. Overall, i think it's just an average car for reliability but it looks, feels, and drives more expensive than it really is. Although it does take a pretty hard hit from depreciation. I bought mine as a former rental with 24k miles on in for $20,940. I've had no problems with it at all. FWIW, get out of that extended warranty! Enjoy your vehicle!

 

10 Wheel Bearings? Damn...that's a lot

 

Did you have custom wheels mounted with a major offset? That could chew up wheel bearings. 224 K! That is impressive. Did the CVT need any repairs on the old car?

 

Thanks for all of the good input. My dealer was fairly helpful in getting the warranty canceled, he put me through a bit of guilt trip but not too bad. It was as simple as him filling out a form and me signing and returning to him. It will take up to 21 days to process through the warranty company and credit the refund back to my loan. I think the warranty company is going to take a $50 cut since it is out of the 30 day period from when I bought the car.

It is good to know there are extended warranties out there through Nissan and third party companies should I choose to pick up one later, which I am not inclined to do. Even my dealer wants to me contact him first if decide to go that route.

 

Good outcome and a lesson for all of us on this pork-laden add ons.

 

10 is a lot. Tell me about it!!

 

I had nothing custom. Everything was original. I just completed 2 trans fluid exchanges. Nothing else and no hint of any CVT issues.