2003 Nissan Maxima SE 36874 miles
2004 Nissan Maxima SE 31369 miles
2004 Infinity I35 31700 miles
2002 Infinity I35 41000 miles

All of them are Automatics, clean titles, no wrecks, just looking at something better between those 4 to upgrade to. Yes it will be modded, trust and believe. The 2003 and both 2004s are still under factory warranty and certified.

 

i personally like the 03 maxima 6 speed. no offense to any 6th gen owners. but i have been happy with my 03 6 speed. any maxima would be a great pick!

 

5.5 IMO... cuz i want one

 

infiniti all the way - classy

 

If you're going to mod it, why take the Infiniti? The body lines are a little crisper on the Maxima, and the interior is sportier. Of course, the AT doesn't do the engine any favors, but it will be a nice cruiser.

If mods are in your future, you're better off hunting a 6MT. Otherwise, take the 04 Max--at least the interior and dash makes it a little more of a show car, if you went that route.

 

Yeah i agree with Merlot02SE... if you are going to go with any sort of speed find an 02 03 6spd, otherwise the 04 with some dubs and stereo would be really sweet

 

I just like the looks of the 5th gen... guess i am a little biased though...

 

none of them, get a manual 5.5gen.

ibwhatsaninfinity

 

I voted for the 04 max. I love the 5.5 gens. I just always picture them to be a 6 speed. If auto are your only choices, then I think the 04 is the way to go. Especially if it has the 'tiptronic, manumatic, triptronic.....' Whatever that is callled.

Infiniti's are classy be far, but also pricier when really all you're getting is a Maxima. Why pay the bigger sticker if you are going to mod anyway. Insurance will likely be more as well.

 

Personally I would take the 5th gen over the 6th, and to echo an earlier sentiment I would pick the Maxima as it has more readily available after market parts.


oh yeah, 6MT FTW

 

I would go for the 5 gen (any one), Infinity has a low resale value, even though they have great styling.

 

doesn't all of them have bad piston rings in the vq35?

 

the 02 i35 is also under warantee, infiniti has the ILLEST warrentee program EVER, fully transferable (original owner or not, no paperwork), mandatory loaner (almost always a 2wd G45!!) and NO questions asked, they fix it. period.

 

How did you narrow it down to those 4 choices?

 

04 Infiniti for the exclusivity. Only 700 globally.

 

Well if you dunno it is InfinitI by now........

 

A 6 speed gearbox would be probably a deal-winner for me. That said, one of the things I don't like about my 5th gen is that they are really not very good handling cars. They're relatively big and heavy cars, but the amount of understeer even with decent tires is pretty disappointing. I don't have experience with the infinitis as much, but perhaps you should take them into corners a bit and see what you think. Maybe others have different opinions on this-

 

I've said before that I thought the Infinitis handled a bit better because it felt like the rebound dampening was better matched to the springs for some reason (maybe the extra suspended weight?), but I got flamed because everybody believes that the Infinities are either 100% mechanically identical to the Maximas, or because they believe the Infinitis have to be softer because they are luxury cars. I don't think anybody who spoke on the topic even took the cars out for a test drive, much less back to back like I did.

There are steps to take to mitigate understeer (eg. RSB, FTSB, SFC, bending the rear beam, higher tire pressure, etc.). Having said that, there is only so much you can do to a big FWD sedan. You're never going to make a Maxima feel anything like a Miata or S2000 or a track monster.

 

I voted for the 03 SE before I read the first post, precisely because I was thinking 6 speed. I take it back, I would vote the 04 over an auto 03. The gearing of the 4 speed auto tranny is absolutely unnerving when considered against the 5 speed auto. That alone is enough to win the decision. The 5 speed would be much more enjoyable. I absolutely LOVE my 5.5 gen, but it's a 6 speed and that helps a TON.

 

04' Infinity for sure.

 

no offense to inifiniti's, but maxima's hold their value alot better in the car market than the i35's

 

IA

What's an Infinity?

 

is a car model manufacture by nissan.

 

lol i think he was joking. It was supposed to be Infiniti not Infinity.

But yeah, I didn't know there was an 04 i35. My friend has on 03 and they do move.

 

I'd go for the 04 Maxima.

 

The 04 Maxima

 

Can someone explain to me the differences, aside from age, from the 02 I35 vs 04 I35.

 

i didn't even think they made an 04 i35, shows how much i know.

 

They did, but it was/is still sitting on an A33 chassis.

 

Automatic? none

 

Seriously?

 

It's Infiniti! and he's buying it second hand. Low resale value is GOOD.



Thats a brand of speakers.

Seriously, you'd figure a bunch of Nissan enthusiasts would at least know the difference between cars and car speakers by now... guess not.

 

If you intend to do ALOT of modding, the 03 or 04 max. the I35s seems to have more limited parts(like headlights) even though they are mechanically identical. the 03 is lighter, and I'd take that over the 5AT anyway (lets just say the 5AT i drove didn't feel anywhere near as nice as my 4AT or the CVT in the 07 i had just taken out). If you're WAY into handling; I might lean on the 04 more though because it has the independent rear suspension, and you can get NISMO Altima SE-R parts to bolt right on(iirc the ECU harness is a dead ringer for the 350z which makes it easier to fit an V/S AFC unit). for strait up speed, the 03 can nudge damn near anything with a couple bolt-ons. . .plus imo the interior quality is better in the 03/I35.

 

If that's true, I'd hate to think how much parts would cost. Might as well buy a BMW.

 

^^ No... mech parts are same w/ maxima, body parts are same as 02,03. Nice a$$ sig. though :-D