I'm a long time 4th gen Maxima owner. She's mostly retired and I only drive her occasionally now as a backup car when I'm modding my newer daily driver. Long story short, I have owned two different 4th gens (200K+ miles on the one I still have) and I still like the Maxima. My wife has had company cars for years but has always loved the Maxima. She's very likely to land a new job that won't provide a company car so she's very interested in buying a slightly used (2009+) Maxima to avoid the new car depreciation hit. Anything in particular that I need to be aware of before starting to shop around? She's not really into modding much, but I'll end up modding it at least a little bit anyway against her will. Is the SV + sport or the SV + premium a better platform to start from whe modding it? I'm sure I probably already know the answer to that but wanted the input of the 7th Gen gurus. What do I need to be aware of or avoid in looking to purchase a 7th gen.? Thanks for any guidance you provide.

 

used a35 prices have gone up since nissan is offering 0 to 1.9 apr on all cpo used nissans.

the biggest difference between a base S and SV is the leather seats...u also get power telescopic steering wheel adjustment and a few other minor things but I never mess with my steering wheel adjustments to begin with so it wasn't a big deal. i think u also get the side mirror blinkers on sv.

another substantial upgrade (optional) on the SV is the navigation, but I use my phone for that now so that's not very useful as well.

I opted for a base S, you basically looking at about a 3000 difference between S base and SV base.

 

There is a big difference in the seats, the S has cloth, the SV and SV sport have leather, and the SV premium has an upgraded leather. I own the SV premium and I must say its very nice and supple. I drove an SV, base I think, and the seats were not as plush or as nice to the touch as the ones in the premium. Additionally you get nice features like a cooled drivers seat and a heated steering wheel in the premium package. It really comes down to the features that are important to you and what you can live without. There is no difference in the drive-line between any of them, they all have the same motors and transmission. The SV sport has a beefier suspension, however I have heard that the ride quality is diminished without and apprciable gains in handleing due to these features. If it were up to me, I would avoid the sport. If the suspension upgrades is what you are interested in, just upgrade the springs aftermarket. Otherwise, to my knowledge, the premium has all the features of the sport except for the stiffer suspension and the 19" rims, all rolled into one nice package. 18's are on the base S and SV, as well as the SV premium.

 

I have to admis that the S' cloth seats are really nice. Test drive both and see if it's worth the extra $$ for you and your family. Either way, you'll enjoy the 7th gen. Good luck with the search.

 

I went with sv sport tech cause i liked the leather seats and heated seats and steering wheel. Best decision ever if you live in a cold climate

 

When it comes to modding it's going to depend on what you want to mod. If you're more into color schemes then you may want to look at a premium package and consider tinting/vinyl/plasti dipping parts of the car black to match the roof. And probably try to do the test drives in the morning when the car might still be cold if it's a premium. Then you may have a better chance at seeing if this specific one has the dreaded "knocking" noise some of our dual-panel roofs are having. And check for rocking front seats!

 

Ya main thing is get the edition that has features you cant easily mod if you want later like the dual sunroof or other things. For me the sv sport tech was a great place to start building from but premiums are great too

 

Great info guys, thanks. To be clear, I am not considering the S package at all, only SV. My butt hasn't ridden on cloth seats since the mid 90's. My question was SV+ Premium or SV+ Sport. I know the powertrain is the same in both. And as was ointed out

Thanks riles for mentioning the knocking of the sunroof. I drive a G37 coupe and some have it and some don't so I know what you're talking about. Good looking out.

Thanks vr4z06gt for the info on the sport pkg. That is exactly the insight I wanted. I was wondering if the sport simply reduced the refinement of the ride quality without providing any appreciable handling gains. Many "sport" packages do. If I want better handling I can always throw on some under bracing, sway bars, and coilovers and probably do a better job than Nissan did for less money. But this is supposed to be her car and she will care more about comfort than performance.

You guys have been a great help. Any additional info is appreciated.

 

SV Sport suspension lets you feel every part of the road, SV Premium is very floaty and luxurious. Also, the Lo-Pro tires that come with the SV Sport can be a pain if your roads in your area suck. Also, make sure to get a Color Screen, that orange display is ugly.

 

I would suggest you get the SV + Premium package, as you can almost add everything the Sport package has but you can't with the Premium.

 

Thanks. I think you have given me what I needed to start my search. You guys are much friendlier than the 4th gen crew as I remember them. I've been inactive here for years.

 

I would have to agree here you get best of both worlds since you can mod for suspension, bigger wheels, but can't add the dual sunroof, premium leather seats, wood trim, etc found in the premium package if that matters to you at all

 

I too am looking at getting used 2010+ Max SV. I did test drive a 2009 SV premium with the dual sunroofs and no knocking sound but rocking seats...is this a problem on the this model or year or all models? Really ruined the otherwise quality feel the car has...car handles fine with the 18' wheels.

 

Be sure to look under that trunk liner.. I found a dried up bloody knife in one I was looking to purchase!!!!! Needlass to say, I walked away with the dealer still trying to sell me the car!!

 

Yes there was a TSB on the rocking seats for the 09 MY, that can be fixed by the dealer.

My 09 had the rocking seats and the TSB solved the problem for me.

 

Are you serious?!?!

Anyway, I would go for the SV sport package and make sure you get the one with the navigation. If I recall, the 09 sport package comes either with the orange monitor or the navigation. I have a 10 sport/monitor package with the backup camera, but no navigation.

 

Very Serious! Called the cops and everything.. Stealership tried to tell me it was probably used to clean fish.... It was a 6" kitchen knife, HIDDEN under the trunk liner, with dried blood on it!? They also said to me "well.. it is Arkansas, haha"...Idiots..