I'm hoping to buy a 2000 Maxima within the very near future. Ideally I want a low mile GXE with a manual transmission. The car would be a bit cheaper, a bit faster, and repairs would be easier on the wallet.

Of course it's freaking impossible to find one. I doubt I can find one, and if not I may have to either look at a pricier SE, or just end up going with an auto, of which there are millions available.

Other than performance and resale considerations (auto is more expensive but surely easier to sell later), how reliable are the 2000 autos? If I picked up a car with 50k miles what should I be looking for and what is a possible/probable repair in the future? Will the car need maintenance right then, beyond a standard oil change, or what? I'm not 100% against an auto but if people are finding that a maxima auto tranny dies around 100k or something like that then clearly I'll have to stay away.

Currently the proud owner of a 93 sentra with 162k miles!

 

Maxima automatic transmissions typically don't have any problems unless your beat on the car (floor it every often). And even then most hold up. 5spds don't have many problems either but require typical 5spd repairs after a while and the stock clutch seems to slip for a lot of people.
-Cyrus

 

Depends which generation...

Auto trannies on 3rd gens are not that strong at all, even for regular driving. I blew my 93 SE auto tranny at 86k miles, it started to feel like **** at 106k so i got fed up with it and sold the car and I did not beat on it, occasional spirited driving, nothing crazy.. I'm not the only one, I noticed somewhat of a trend back then with 3rd gen automatics going before 130k miles or so.. What's weird is, I remember reading that 4th gens automatics are the same ones used in many 3rd gens (which had a few different models of trannies i think.. someone correct me if i'm wrong) yet 4th gen automatics seem to hold up a lot better even with similar milage. The fact they are newer and most likely put on the same miles by mostly highway driving probably makes some difference but still interesting nevertheless.

The manual trannies are okay in general and they are supposed to be stronger, especially if you are planning on forced induction or some serious racing.. automatics don't hold up well, when in manuals you mainly have to worry about the clutch.. which is an easy 300$ upgrade as opposed to a heavy duty auto tranny rebuilt which will probably run you around 3 grand.
However, some people have experienced problems with the 5 speeds on 4th gens.. I still wouldn't say it's that many, it might depend on how you drive the car..

i have no idea about 5th gens but I haven't heard about any widespread transmission problems..


I say don't let the reliability factor bother you when picking between the 2...
If you get the car with fairly low miles.. ( ~70k)
Make sure it's in decent shape overall, and then just maintain it well from then on and it will last for as long as any other car.
I'd decide on what you prefer more as far as driving..
I'd reccomend the 5 speed because you don't fully experience the fun of driving with an automatic.. trust me, i went from an auto to the same exact car, but a 5 speed.. and i couldn't be happier even driving in NYC traffic every day.
definately worth it..

 

Yep, used manual Max's are really tough to find. You'll see 10 used automatics for every single manual or so. They're out there, but you just might not have your choice of color or options when you find them. I really didn't want black when I found mine, but all the other manual Max's in my area were beat to hell and not in the greatest condition. Mine was MINT! and fully loaded

Anyhow, after driving an automagic for a year, I realized how much I hated it and will never EVER drive an automatic again, so long as I am physically able to shift for myself

If you're patient and just keep looking, you'll find one sooner or later, and it'll be worth the wait.

 

Having owned 5 Nissans in 5 years, I can honestly say that designing transmissions is not Nissans strong suit. I had a manual '87 Maxima that threw 5th gear and put a hole in the tranny case. I also had an '87 Laurel that had a weak 1-2 clutch pack and would take about 5 minutes on the 1-2 upshift at WOT. My current Maxima has an auto and I wish I had held out for a manual. I like the car a lot but the only tranny that I've hated more was the 2 speed powerglide that I had in a '66 Nova. Do yourself a favor, get a manual. You'll be glad you did. It's definately the better all around option.

 

There were several problems with the 5th Gen auto (esp early model). For instance, slippage on 1st - 2nd and some on 2nd - 3rd. There is a TSB on the tranny in the 5th gen forum...take a look and when u go for test drive....check the vin and see if the vin applies to the TSB.

I would get a manual tranny.....it is hard to fun, hard to sell....but it's more durable...and fun.

 

::Has around 87,000 miles::

 

uh, I dont know about that. People seem to pick those up pretty damn quick

 

No comment on manual transmission reliability.

 

When an auto blows it's 2K$ Canadian. When a manual does it's 1000$ Canadian.

Remember that it's not the tranny that really blows. In a manual it's the clutch and associated bearings, in a manual in the valve body (IIRC). The actual gears are usually fine. Though if you buy a beaten and improperly driven stick you may get chewed up internals, especially syncros. But you can easily tell if they are going or not during the test drive.

A dying automatic can creep up on you like lightning. When my 626's autotragic gave out I had just come home from a 500KM drive, pull up on my street, put it in reverse to get in to a parking spot, put it in drive and pffftt, zilch, zero, nada, rien, kaput. At least a manual you know it's going by either grinding when putting it in to gear or clutch slipping.

 

This is not my experience, each time I've blown gears, the gear gets destroyed, but the synchro is fine.

 

My 03 SE is my third Maxima with A/T. My previous Maximas were 87 and 91 and no problems with the auto-transmission.

 

 

The real question should be is how reliable is the manual tranny in normal grandma driving conditions?

I have an auto and I've been to the track a couple of times and have run it hard at the Pike on numerous occasions. It's still shifting as solid as the day I bought it.