I miss my 3rd gen and I prefer blondes!

 

To each his own...my max can go 250k miles with no problems while another max of the same year can start messing up at 75k. Same with 3rd gens, 5th gens, 6th gens. So of course if one of u has never had a problem on ur 92 but havent stopped fixing ur 01 gens ur gona say the 3rd gen is better, and vice-versa. My 4th gen has 125k now and i've only changed one oxygen sensor and the knock sensor, other than general maintenance. But not all 4th gens will be as good. So i dont think u can say they messed up on a certain car in ur opinion...u just got the rotten apple, and unfortunately it ruined ur entire perspective on the car in general. Since i havent really had any major problems with my car, i would gladly get another one no matter wut the mileage is over any gen max because i just have hope in it.

 

He posted pics, but the links have since died. Thank you come again.

 

I'm pretty pleased with the quality of my 4th gen...apart from all the rattles and crappy paint! I definitely wouldn't mind owning a 3rd gen though - I really like their looks, and when they're modified, they can look amazing! I've never driven one though...just rode in one once.

 

I think Nissan should have just stuck with the inline rwd combination and just improved on that. My 84!!!(speaking of interior)is still in decent shape. I'd hate to see some of the newer Maximas in about 21 years. Now don't ask me what they were thinking style wise (it looks like the basterd son of a three way between an old volvo an old BMW and late 80's sentra.

 

4th gen bashing, who ever heard of such nonsense, lol ! nice battle discussion thread though.

 

this is a great thread! :-) funny read.. although i didnt read the whole thing, people saying 89-94 max looks better then new maximas... well, why does everyone modify their 89-94max? put bigger wheels on them? some put wheels form new maxima's or infinitis.. ?? why?? lol LMAO

keep a 89-94 max stock, and take 03 max stock. titanium ed. BOOF! that looks nice.. no modification required! no one can argue, COMMON!!!

but i too don't like the 6th gen max.. toooooooooo big for a "powerfull" car... you know what i'm saying?? how are you gonna drive it fast on the highway when you need to put like 4 mirrors on the car to watch your corners.. haha.. kets put a turbo in an 18 wheeler and race down the highway. lol LMAO.. again, not bashing anyone, just some point that came to my head as i read some posts!

PEACE to all MAX owners.. GREAT CARS!

 

UPDATE:

I returned the 06' 3.5SE rental this morning. I had it five days and put around 2k miles on it. I got it with 1,600. I took it to Tucson, AZ and back here to L.A. Here is my likes/dislikes:

Likes:
Awesome power
smooth trans
very little body roll
lots of room inside
lots of looks from other motorists

Dislikes:
Body quivers excessively after hitting bumps. More than my 91
Suspension way too soft. Floats
Maplights in front feel cheaper than those taplights u buy on TV for ur house 10 for $9.99.
Rear of car would wiggle doin about 75 as if it was following the wavy lines on lanes of the freeway.
Tiptronic trans doesn't let you shift when YOU want, only after certain speeds. They might as well just make it PRND4321.
Lots of unaligned cheap plastic in the interior.

A very nice car indeed, but Nissan definately went a different direction from what the Maxima used to be.

 

a lot is based on personal preferences. Several have claimed that the SE and even SL were too rough, others that neither was soft enough.

tiptronic- when were you trying to shift? only 2 conditions will not allow you to shift: 1.You are trying to up-shift and cause it to drop below 1000 RPM = STALL.
2. You are trying to down-shift and cause it to surpass the redline limiter = DAMAGE.

Besides those 2, it always shifts when I want. No it's not a Manual, but it is also designed FOOL proof so you can't blow up the tranny or stall the vehicle.

My suspension is perfect for me. Hit a bump, NO FLOATING. Yet, it doesn't hit super hard either. Having gone up to 120, it drives SOLID and straight.

I do agree and wish interial mouldings were better. And maplight is a maplight to me.

 

Just for the record, I'm a 5.5G owner who thinks the 4G is still the best looking Maxima. IMHO the rear of the 5G is butt ugly but not as much as the 6G.

As far as quality goes, I think pre-04 Maxima quality is better by the mere fact that they were built in Japan. One of the reason why I bought out the lease on my 02 rather than swap into the Alti SE-R is because it's built in the USA.

While I do think there are some cheap touches in the 5G, they dont really jump out at you. The cost cutting measures in the Alti and Maxima flatout assault you.

When the 6G first came out, I pretty much knew right away that it would never find a home in my garage. And I'm still speechless at the fact that loaded ones are priced in the G35S/X and Acura TL range.

 

seems to me that rental '06 you drove was probably beat up on by someone else in those 1st 1,600 miles

 

that is not saying much for the car aswell........

 

All depends on if they abused the heck out of it or not. You can see videos out on the net of people who rent cars like the Max and beat them to death prior to returning them to the rental agency. The kind of things I saw on some of these videos, a Rolls Royce wouldn't withstand.

 

Probably difficult for the normal person to abuse the car more than we do our own car.

The only difference is we wash our own cars and not the rental.

 

The upshifts I was tryin to perform would have not made the rpms drop below below 1,000 rpm. Maybe the 06' is different.

Suspension is just way too soft for a sport suspension. Yes it has very little body roll in turns, but on the highway the rear suspension would tend to float too much. Hit a bump on the passenger side and you could see the body quiver.

All I could say is that I got my moneys worth from it.

 

He has two posts in that thread, neither contain links. Thank you for playing.

 

People still stare and ask me (and some of the 6th Gen owners) about my car and tell me it's a great looking ride. And Ive also noticed some (if not, a lot) of previous gen owners getting a 6th gen.

 

yes you are confused, because people get rid of the maxima and get G35s.....

 

I've owned 3 4th gens and even though I thought they were great cars, my 6th gen is way pimper and more comfortable.

 

what I mean is, why is it that, contrary to what HarrisH said about people not minding the 6th gen, that there are still some people staring at my ride and asking about it, although its been like almost 3 yrs since this design got out in the market? well, Im just thinking maybe they think it looks great.

 

new 06 are nice

 

I am one of them. I use to own a 4th gen (99 SE), fully loaded. I just picked up an '04.
I personally like the 6th gen alot better than the 4th gen.
-more electronic gadgets
-more room
-more power (you can feel it too)

I do however, hate the turning radius on the 6th gen!

 

My father and I both liked the 6th gen's interior compared to the G35 sedan. My car sure is comfortable compared to my 4th gen.

 

From the perspective of someone who's never owned a max:
I've always liked the look of the 3rd gens, they have a really classic look. I always wanted one, and they still catch my eye. The 4th gen SEs (or others w/rims) also look great, more modern than 3rd, but the stock GXEs tend to look awfully 'granny'? The 5th gens are beautiful, if a bit macho. The 6th are odd, insectiod looking in a way, but I think they just haven't grown on me yet.