Why? I went to a couple dealerships today, nothing, searched carmax, nothing. Looking through classifieds I see NY, CT, IL, NJ, etc. east coast and midwest but nothing for SW or Cali. Did Nissan just not sell them here?

 

I ran into the same problem in Texas. On top of it I was looking for a 5.5 6spd Pearl White and for a non-ridiculous price. It took a few months of constant searching and patience, but I finally found it. Hang in there, you'll find one eventually.

 

But will all the good ones already be dead and gone? That would be my fear.

 

i dont know if you consider Utah SW but when i was looking for mine i had a whole bunch of mt 5th gens to look at probably at least 5 in the two or so weeks i really looked

 

I found mine in Missouri. I had it shipped to me when I was in Arizona. It only cost about $600 or so to my door. Got the call and it was outside being downloaded off of the truck. It is hard to find a 5.5 Gen with a manual tranny though. Nissan only made about 5-10% manuals IIRC. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

^^^ wondering how the process was, not feeling comfortable ordering car without looking at it. did you go through any protection program?

 

There's at least one, I'm driving it (I'm in the LA area). I've had it since Dec 2000. Took me a while to find it back then as well, so must be even harder now.

Keith

 

Took me about a month of searching to find my 6 speed they will pop up every once in a while just be patient.

 

MT maximas are hard to find everything...only 5% each year (00-03) were MT...known fact on here...i looked for 3 months to find my 6MT

 

Took me a LONG time to find my one-owner, black/black AE 5spd. Probably 2 months. Flew from Iowa to Southern Cali to get it and drove back. Sight unseen, but the seller was outstanding. Really, no matter what you buy or where you buy it, the seller is the key in the entire purchase. Keep your options and eyes open. AND do NOT settle for something that isn't exactly what you want. You will be disappointed in the end. Be patient, and you'll find what your looking for.

 

Not that rare over here ( Canada ) I only went to one dealership by my house when I bought my 4th gen and another dealership about 5 mins away when I got my 5th gen. I didnt shop around...took me about 30 mins of searching

...although I did look for about 8 months to find a WHITE se in manual...those are rare

 

OK glad to know I'm not alone in going through this. I would definitely consider Utah to be SW I am going to scour their dealerships now hopefully that will turn up something.

It has been very frustrating to not even find one that I don't want let alone one I am comfortable with. I really wouldn't mind the whole flying somewhere and driving it back except for not being able to see the car before I have to make a decision.

 

One other option you might consider. Check a bigger market area where you have friends or family that know something about cars. That way you can have someone check the car out for you before you have it shipped by trailer or flatbed. Better yet, hire the help of an experienced org member that lives in that city to check it out for you. I did that with an A6 in Beverly Hills. My brother (mechanically inclined Maxima owner) lived in Newport Beach and went to test drive it for me. After I got the thumbs up, I flew out and spent some time with him before driving it back to TX. Done and done.

 

Finally got a couple hits! Just wanted to check something real quick. On the 02 and 03 did they only come with the 6 speed for MT or did some come with the 5 speed? Not that at this point that is a deal breaker but the couple I just found only say manual.

 

Funny but that has been my plan Problem is my friend who used to live in Rochester moved to Raleigh so he's no longer in prime MT Maxima land. My only child dad lives in New Jersey but he is generally too busy and/or just not interested in that proposition to help. Unfortunately my mom is from Scotland so I have no family in America on that side. So basically I could do that but I only have a couple potential geographical areas I could do it in.

 

mine was at the dealer when i bought her new

 

No 5sp for 02-03 to my knowledge. Last yrs with 5sp were 00-01. Make sure it is the right year vehicle. Some places have listed the wrong years on cars before. GL.

 

I'm fairly new to this community, but it seems that I live in (or close to) an area that has a lot of 5spds (NA/NE). I always see listed on craigslist at least 1 5spd for every 2-3 autos.

 

in toronto canada they seem to be a bit more common. didn't take much hunting to find either of my manual maximas

 

wow you guys seem to be unlucky..

when i bought my 5sp Maxima i wasn't even looking for one to be honest ..i kinda stumbled on it after selling my turbo Sentra to get into something bigger i had actually considered buying an Infiniti G20 over a Maxima...

but i was on Craigslist and found one for cheap ( bought it for $3900 ) pretty much because it was neglected...so i decided to buy it instead of a G20...the kid i bought it off of said he had it shipped from Ohio to Orlando FL 2 years prior...


i wasnt looking for one but i found it