Well, actually my lawyer did.

As some of you may remember when I joined last year, I had a car accident which is one of biggest events that lead me into buying a Maxima. I have to say, I'm completely sold on Maximas. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do. My Dad is telling me that I should buy a newer car that gets better gas mileage, I liked his idea at first but now I have to question that logic because dropping 10k-15k on a new car to save money on gas doesn't seem logical.

If I do get a newer car, it will probably be an 03 or 04 Maxima. However, I really like my 4th gen, another option would be to fix it up and pocket the rest of my money. Fix it up would involve painting it and fixing the leather. Then I can get that facemask off of my car. Everyone always asks "Why do you have that on your car?"

I was wondering what you all might think on this. If this is in the wrong section please just move it. I didn't know whether to put this in here or OT, but I know the kind of responses I'll get there so the choice was obvious to me.

 

5.5gen 6sp.

 

Good suggestion, but I probably should of mentioned that I'd be in the market for an automatic lol.

 

5.5 gen 6mt is the way to go.

 

+1 for 5.5

 

fix what you have and save the money.
people aren't spending money now because of a much publicized "recession" it will be a while before we get out of this mentality and resume our normal economy, so plan accordingly.

 

That's also a good suggestion. My Dad was wanting me to buy a 2008 Elantra. I was like, go from a Maxima to an Elantra? I don't think that's going to work.

For me right now I was thinking of either getting a 5.5 or 6th gen, probably like an 03 or 04 or fix what I have and save the money as you suggested. I'm kind of leaning towards the latter after I did some research yesterday and saw that insurance for the car I have now is cheaper and that my car gets slightly better gas mileage than those two gens.

 

modded g35

 

That would cost more than 10k right? I have 15k to work with and I want to keep as much as I can.

 

I guess let your budget and mod list dictate it. For sure, if you got a "newer" 4th gen, or even fix up your existing car, you'll be able to get it in a shape that you truly want it to be, plus possibly pocketing the remaining cash.

If you went for a 5.5 gen, however, there are some awesome deals out there and the price difference between it and a similar mileage 4th gen is moot compared to the additional features you get.

Case in point, i just sold my 5.5 gen with 115k miles and a few mods (RSB/Rays forged 18s/audio system/etc) for $5.5k - that's an average price for trade-ins*. And it was in very good condition. You can likely get a similar one from a private seller for around the same price.

*I settled for this price as i sold it to a relative, i couldn't completely let it go-in spirit-so i sold it to someone i knew so i could still see it and possibly buy it back should the conditions present itself.

 

5.5

 

my 4th is fine... i get 24 MPG pretty constantly... no need to upgrade...

 

drive the Elantra before you make that call. some economy cars of today are tons better than older beat up maximas

 

keep what you have, fix it up, and pocket the rest of the cash. This economy is going to continue getting worse, so prepare

 

Def. get a newer car - for what you're willing to spend get one with an extended (transferrable) warranty to keep you covered through 100k miles...

 

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm going to think on it.

 

The difference in gas mileage between a 4th gen and a 5.5/6th gen really isn't that great to justify spending thousands upon thousands more on a purchase.. if your main goal is gas mileage, and you're gonna spend money on a newer car, then you might as well go with a... (dare i say it....) a 4 cylinder

i would keep the 4th gen.. get some spark plugs, air filter, oil change, PCV valve, maybe O2 sensors... doing all that will improve your mileage for less than 200 bucks

 

just bought a 5.5 6mt with 22k on it..couldnt be happier..well unless i had extra $ for mods that is..lol..

i kinda had the same situation.. totaled my 2K max in the sig which was auto.. and bought my 2k2 max... dont be afraid of driving stick man.. u could pick it up within 1 week of driving the car...

 

heh my bad.. didnt put the sig in that 1.. also.. use your money wisley buy something that will last..

 

ive been looking at a couple of used RXS-s,

its a sport 2liter 4cyl that pushes 28+ mpg - plus it has the quickness of the max (cuz its lighter) and theres a fair amount of aftermarket parts for it.

i ended up not being able to afford it, but if i could i would definetly change for a more fuel efficiant car. gas is NOT going to come down below $3.50......ever.

 

1st- 5.5 auto or Mt
2nd- G35 coupe
3rd- R35 lol jking, a VW passat 2.0T (gas saver, good looking, and is o.k on performance)

 

MR2 Turbo. A couple of my friends have them, they have a small tank..50 liters i think, and still get 280 miles to a tank if you not boosting all the time. Easily modible lots of aftermarket, but they are older, dangerous suspension for amatuers (pre 93) and 2 seater.

a vq35 wont get you any better gas mileage then your 4th gen. I have both, and my 5.5 gets worse, but not by much...but again an auto is easier to drive slow then a 5spd in my case.

 

1. Another 4th gen
2. 5.5 gen auto
3. 350Z yes they are cheap as hell these days. Theres one in my area for sale for around $13K

 

repaint the max and get the interior cleaned up, lower it, get some nice wheels, then pocket the rest. Keep it maintained and it will last forever, and it will be cheap on insurance. My max gets like 28mpg if im conservative. definately dont get an elantra. youd regret that after a week.

 

Where are you? Gas is $3.36 here. Sorry to hijack the thread.

 

5.5 you can get it for like 10k and still have 5k for mods

 

I get 26mpg in my 5.5 on the highway. Any properly maintained max will do the same.

 

Or dare I say.. try and find a 3.5 5MT Altima. They're pretty cheap. Basically the same motor as in the 5.5 gen, same suspension and platform as the 6th gen. I know I said 5.5 gen earlier, but you can find a 3.5 Altima for CHEAP! There's 5-6 in my area with 45k miles and over (120k being the highest) for $11k and under. With my modifications I average 24-25MPG in the city (depending on how much throttle I give) and on the highway I typically get 37-38MPG with cruise control. I've managed to get it up to 40.XMPG once, but that was going downhill most of the trip.

 

Yah, its really up to you and what you want. If you still want a v6 then you could easily find a 5th max or a 350z for your price range. You might get lucky and find a older s2000 for 15k.

 

I say stick with the 4th clean her up, do a couple of things to make her your own and sock away the rest of the money. You'll be better off in the long run with this plan. Plus parts are cheaper, have good reliability, mileage isn't bad and even today they are still a striking design. Not to mention while the Hundai would be a nice fuel efficent car they don't have the options, power or room the Max has. Plus have you priced or has your dad priced used vs. new Hundais? Their resale drops faster than a rocket fired from space into the earth. Once you buy one your locked into it for the vehicles life.

As for the 5.5 gen idea you could go in that direction, but parts are a bit more expensive, aftermarket hop-up parts are harder to find and are expensive and they are still priced a little high right now.

 

Which...is pretty much the best time to buy a car.

Personally, I would fix up the one you have and put the money in some sort of interest bearing account.
My wife got in a wreck when we first got engaged. She ended up getting 10K from the insurance company. I spend 1K fixing up an old Honda Accord I had and we put the rest in a couple CD's and a couple other fund accounts. Had a pretty good down payment on a house when the time came.