It seems like a Maxima means something different depending who you ask. Some people on the forum have gone as far as it's a BMW at 1/3 the price j/k

From what I have seen, it seems to be a car that is within the reach of the 16-20 age group, especially used. imho it's a pretty nice car for somebody in that age bracket.

My opinion of the Maxima is that it's a good starter car, because it's not bottom of the line yet it doesn't break the bank. Yet even at 21-22k it's a bit pricey for somebody who's just starting out. Then again, there's always creative financing and leasing that'll put it in your driveway even if you work at Kwik-E Mart part-time.

So again, I think it's a very good car for a first new-car. It's not gonna impress anyone except the owner who may be able to pay it off in 2 years or less due to the low price. It doesn't have any car enthusiast appeal imho, but who knows, maybe the 6th gen will solve that issue once and for all. The Maxima definitely seems to be ahead of the game in sheer HP when compared to others in the price range--if it could only get the styling and finesse, it'd be a real winner. Time will tell.

 

I'd say it's a keeper. It may not be the sportiest, fastest, biggest, quickest, best handling sedan of them all but it does a good job of balancing each quality proportionally.

Where else can you get a car at this price, of this size, with this power and performance?

 

Best car for the $

 

I'd have to agree with soundmike on this. It may not be best of class, but it's a solid overall performer. My first Max I bought used right out of school. I was so impressed with it that I traded it in for a new one that I plan on keeping until it dies (and yes it's fully paid off).

 

exactly

 

just last month, we bought our 2k2 max as a third car/daily driver. but, i've come to love the max as much as our other two. actually, like it better than my wife's car. great power, nice styling...just plain like it.

 

i'm a 4 door guy for life. this is one 4 door that can eat lotsa ricers for breakfast

 

drive one and your hooked you will buy another one and another.......

Style,Performance,Luxury,Sporty,....man the list could fill a page or more but these are good cars hands...down....

 

yeah so i really wanted a 2 door sports car as my first car.... so i was looking for an mx-6 like crazy. Saw a bunch and never bought them... thought they looked nice inside and out, though the inside was a "bit" cramped, as i thought. Then i checked out 1 only 1 maxima. i thought holy crap! it's huge inside compared to the mx-6.
It looks luxurious inside and has a great 0-60 time and alot of HP.
So i bought it the next day...

To me my max represents where i am right now... i have worked up through school got a good job, and bought a good friggin car!
(that everyone compliments me on) i are very happy.

 

gets u to point A to point B without breaking and looks good doing it.

 

Its a train....
Its a bus....
Its a motorcycle...
Its a car....
NO, its a Maxima!

 

It gets me form Point A to Point J faster than a Civic would get me from Point A to Point B, and look better doing it too.
-Cyrus

 

big back seat so i can hit my date in..

 

beds r good for that too.

 

why would i let a first date know where i live?

 

THe max is my 4 door family sedan in which I eat rice...

 

That's an interesting question, because I've been on so many first dates this year. I'm like that lawyer in the Discover commercial!! Yeah, I got dumped by a fiance because of the so-called fooling around which I really didn't do but to be honest maybe had the mind to do.

But you're right, we always exchange emails and cell #'s but not addresses. It seems like the cell and email are good enough to start a relationship with. Even though we may think we've found a bella donna, we always have to have a way out in case things don't work out. Caller ID (ANI) is the best!

 

The perfect blend of sportiness, speed, reliabilty and practicality for the price. The poor mans BMW.

 

its a fun first car than is fast but not quite fast enough to get urself killed in and is good lookin as well. i may get another and another....but def a 5-speed next time

 

it's fast enough, that if you're not careful, it will kill you. its powerful enough to wrap itself around a poll or a tree/ fast enough to get into serious trouble with the law. it can be made to go somewhat faster for a farly reasonable amount of money. my GLE is luxurious enough inside with black leather and fake wood, as not to be embarrased by my friends' lexuses, bimmers, and linconns, etc. it's ride is supple enough to enjoy highway speeds of low tripple digits. its handling is soft enough for the passengers to enjoy. its back seat is big enough to carry many people (more than recommended anyway)/ has enough legroom/headroom/elbow for 6'2" passengers/ big enough for al sorts of other stuff its trunk can swallow large things, and is pretty big.

what the maxima isnt

its not a sports car - no matter what you do to it - it doesn't have the suspension of a BMW, or power of a corvette! - it was never designed to be either with its relatively high center of gravity and pretty primitive suspension.
automatic's gears are spaced out pretty widely, which kills all-out acceleration a bit. since the engine is pretty big, it doesnt rev ultra-quickly or sky-high.
while the interior is nice, its nothing to write home about.
its styling is not exciting or daring.
its brakes are decent, but the feel or performance could definately be better. (pretty much applies to any production car).


overall, its a nice used-car value (thats how i got mine). i am pretty happy with it at this stage in my life, and whatever we lack in aftermarket, we'll just have to create with ingenuity and adoption of non-maxima specific parts.

 

It's a nice, reliable, powerful car that won't embarass me wherever I go.

 

I have owned 3 Maximas to date and the first 2 were bulletproof. The 3rd one (current car) seems good so far too. The cars are powerful and fun to drive and reliable. The reasons I have only bought Maximas to date is that they are powerful and reliable. That is why I keep coming back (even though the service experience leaves a great deal to be desired).

The value you get for the price that you pay is unmatched....enough said.

 

Sprint max is suck a fu**ing pimp

 

Well put!

 

Maxima is a good sedan that should be used to haul people things to and from school/the grocery store.

It is NOT a race car, nor is it remotely close to a performance car. It is put together adequately but lacks quality in many places. I dont know why I keep spending time and money in this but I continue to......

 

hehe, eric has such a love/hate relationship with his car...


To me, a maxima is the best affordable option of having a manual transmission V6 sedan. It's a car where performance and luxury are blended in an odd way, and where reliability is...higher than average.
It seems to me the performance emphasis is on the drivetrain, and the luxury emphasis (in my car, with the aftermarket SE wood kit + leather) is on the interior, and the suspension.

The car isn't as "sporty" as I expected it to be in SE trim.

 

To me it's just a good performance car for a very reasonable price when buying it used plus they are last for a very long time as I put on very little miles.

I had actually booked a new Nissan 350Z but my insurance rates were coming up to over $6500 a year so when I went to cancel my order for the Z about a month back, a 2001 Maxima was being returned...so I test drove it and absolutely loved how fun it was to drive!

So went with the Maxima and saved myself $15,000 plus my insurance is only $2500 a year on the Maxima!

So planning to keep this for 1-2 years and when the 350Z comes back onto the used market, I will pick up one up then!

 

I know where you live

 

You went on a date?

 

Back in 95 what other car would you get for around $25k with luxury amenities, class leading V6 power, & Caprice-Like space? The 1995 Motor Trend Import Car of the Year & 190 hp V6 were stellar achievements back then. Maxima.org pays its homage to the 4th gen Maxima and VQ engine. I can't recall too many V6s that produced that much HP/TQ. Unfortunately, the Maxima really hasn't made any astounding leaps or bounds since. The 3.5 Maxima's appeal was overshadowed by the Altima, and still it maintains its stigma as a 4 door family sedan (nothing more, nothing less). The 6th Gen should play a bigger role in establishing the Maxima as a groundbreaker(hopefully).

Zam

 

A car.

 

The maxima is the greatest invention since sliced bread. You know it, I know it and all the Cracura owners know it.

Truth hurts, take an Advil.

 

The Maxima is one of the most disrespected cars when it comes to performance. Never would someone expect a car with such plain styling and 4 doors to be so fast. Some of you like the sleeper effect it has, but it p!sses me off when people diss my car thinking it's got no *****. And you rarely get to prove some of those people wrong, although i've changed 2 minds so far w/ my new 5spd.

Sometimes I think it's worth the extra insurence $ just to get a V8 muscle or pony car...at least I will get my respect and won't have to defend my ride 24/7

...and I do enjoy my enterior...very comphy for when I'm not in the mood for fast driving.

 

Exactly...the poor man's luxury car. It's not a European, but it is the best value/performance for the price. Not too bad for me, since I'm 21 and only working part time, but I'm paying for the car myself, as well as putting myself through college at UW. So I'm happy, and I love the car more everyday -- despite the paint chips.

 

yeah ill admit, i like the room in the max, just enough space 4 my girl on top in the front. yes shes very small.

 

The Nissan Maxima is a statement. Its a statement that Nissan makes every time a max rolls off the line, and its the same statement that each and everyone of us make every time we start the car and go somewhere. Its saying, hey, I'm someone who doesn't have my head up my a$$. I don't like spending a ton of money on a vehicle that gets respect just for its pricetag, and I didn't buy a car (Honda Civic) and try to turn it into something its not. When you bought your Maxima, you bout it because it had the SPIRIT of a sports car, and the ride of a 60 grand gazelle.

I could have spent the money on a BMW 5 or 6 series, but didn't. I could have spent 50 grand on a vette, but didn't. I could have saved money and bought a prelude, BUT DIDN'T. I could have chosen any of these cars, but I chose to buy my Maxima.

I'm only 23, and I bought my Maxima brand new in 2000 as a 2001 year model. Its the first vehicle I've ever purchased myself 100% without the help of my parents or kin, and I'm convinced that as long as Nissan makes Maximas, Nissan will always have a customer here in the Lone Star State.

For those of you who refer to the maxima as a "poor man's luxury car" I'm a bit ashamed. Not that you don't mean well, and not that maybe it was just a poor choice of words, but that you don't really realize what you have in your possession.

 

You guys make the Maxima sounds like a cheap vehicle that happens to be good.

Well, the Maxima is definitely not cheap. It's not expensive either. But it's definitely the best performing vehicle for the money. It's also very comfortable, very sophisticated (except for the rear suspension). It's one vehicle that one can owns without ever having to make excuses. Be it a student (lucky student!), a family person, a professional, or whatever.

I've owned my Max since 1994, and still love it today, even with 157Kmiles on it. It still performs flawlessly, and it still fast enough to keep up with ANYTHING on public road.

 

i have had 2 maxima's up to this date and i'm barely 17. One was a 3rd gen(92 SE, which i traded in), and i currently have my 98 SE. Back when i was 16 (The good old days) i was looking for my first car. Since i live in a rice-dominated area (southern cali) my first choice was a honduh civic or accord. In an auction when i was looking for the honduh i saw and fell in love with the 92. But with its 128,000 miles on it it was in pretty bad shape. I spent some 800 tunning it up, and after that i was "wow". I had a wonderful year with that car until i noticed the tranny (auto) starting to die. That when i looked for another car. after like 2 weeks i found my 98 SE( unfortunately it was an auto too). I screwed the delearship into giving me 5 grand for my 92. its a good thing they didnt see the big oil leak it left on their lot . but when it was time to leave, they parked my 92 next to the 98. I couldn't help it, but a tear rolled down my eye when i left the delearship. Now its been 4 months with my 98, and i love it. it is very stylish (imo), its nicer than anything else at the school, except for the spoiled kids who get to drive their daddies or mommies beemers or benzes. Its even been featured in the school yearbook. I love the room it offers. espcially the backseat ( just the other day me and my girl were doing some pretty freaky things back there and we had plenty of room . but most of all i love the performance. I have one of the best engines in the world under my hood, so how can i not be happy. im definetly buying the 6th gen. just a little bit mo' money.

 

Actually, for a beam-type suspenion the Multi-Link Beam the Maxima uses is pretty sophisticated.

 

I think its the best car for the money. It ranges from quick to very fast depending on the gen you get. It was way ahead of it time in design on the interior and exterior, in 89-94. Personaly I still think it looks better than many of todays Hondas and Toyotas. As far as lasting a long time, in my area there are 3 times more 3rd gen maximas as there are compareable year Accords or Civics. I wish more people would regonize nissans greatness in the import car market. I am so sick of seeing 15 Hondas in a row at every light. I forgot where I read this but in one magazine they where saying how nissan could soon be the best import car in the country. I can see that happening, Nissians cars are the most appealing and most powerful in the small ecocars (Sentra), in the mid size (Altima), fullsize (Maxima), small suv (Xterra), midsize suv (Pathfinder), and small truck (Frontier). Lets all hope that the Maxima sales increase but not to the point of the Accord. I still like to be the 1 teen that dosent have a Honda, it feels so good to be different.