Well, I have finally sold my current car and I'm looking around at Maxima's near my house. I found one in good condition (a blue '97), but there's some stuff that I don't think is right. The dealer is telling me that's a GLE (he made a point to tell me it was a GLE), but I think it's only an SE.

Anyways, hears what's making me doubt it's a GLE:

-It has the 5 spoke alloy rims
-It has the white faced gauges
-It does not have the wood grain dash trim.
-It has a spoiler

Am I correct in thinking that this is a SE trim model? It does have every option, but the above items signal SE to me.

 

All GLE's are auto, and all SE's have the white faced guages.

 

chrome or painted door handles?
chrome window trim?
chrome grille?
was it a rebuild from an accident?
automatic or manual trans?

 

Here's a pick for your first 3 questions:



-It is not a rebuild, I ran a carfax report.
-It has an automatic tranny

 

it looks like it might be an SE, but you never know unless you check the VIN plate on the firewall. There is a post somewhere about this, I believe it may be in the FAQs.

If you want an SE, play that up, cause they typically go for more than their GLE counterparts these days (not new, but used).

My GLE will be hard to tell from an SE when I'm done with it.

Search seems to be malfunctioning currently, but when I bought the GLE, they SWORE it was an SE, until I told the salesman to go outside with a flashlight and look at the VIN plate on the passenger side firewall. I read him the numbers that should be there and said, "OK, what's next???"

He was shocked it was a GLE... and it was a Nissan dealer.

-Seth

 

OK... search now working...

Here is the VIN thingy... your dealer will LOVE this:

"The 4th gen Maxima was offered in three trim levels for the US market:
GXE "The essential Maxima"
SE "The Sportiest Maxima"
GLE "The luxurious Maxima"

All trim levels have the same engine, so performance differences between them are pretty much nil. The best way to tell which trim level you have is to decode the VIN Plate. This is due to much part swapping and trim upgrading, even transmission swaps that can be done.

TO DECODE THE VIN PLATE:
Raise your hood. Look for a shiny metal identification tag fastened to the passenger side of firewall. The top row is the Vehicle Identification Number, starting with J. The second row is model information. The first five characters are BLHUL. The sixth character is the trim level designator, defined as follows:
E = GXE
G = GLE
V = SE

There are some feature differences that can help you determine the trim level on site. Keep in mind that most of these can be changed aftermarket by the owner, but as we know the VAST majority of Maximas on the street are bone stock...

GXE
Black guage faces
Cloth seats
Basic stereo
No sunroof
Chrome outer windwow trim and door handles
5spd or Auto trans
No spoiler
No fog lights
Steel wheels with hubcaps
Chrome grill on 97-99 models
Manual A/C


SE
White guage faces
"Sport" Cloth or leather seats
Basic or BOSE stereo
May have sunroof
Body color outer window trim and door handles
5spd or auto trans
Spoiler
Fog lights
15" blade-style (95-96) or 16" 5 spoke (97-99) alloy wheels
Body color grill on 97-99 models
Manual A/C or climate control

GLE
Black guage faces
Leather seats
BOSE stereo
Sunroof
Chrome outer window trim and door handles
Auto trans only
No spoiler
No fog lights
15" honeycomb (95-96) or 15" blade-style (97-99) alloy wheels
Chrome grill on 97-99 models
Fake wood color dash and door trim
Fuzzy A-pillars on some years
Pop-out drawer (not flip-down) below radio on some years
Climate control only


Other options like heated seats, traction control, ABS and the like were offered on more than one trim level, so they are not a reliable indicator."

Hope this helps you out as it did my wife and I!

-Seth

 

If you're new, make sure you check out the tranny first!!!

The friction bands go bad when people beat the car. Here's a website that someone one here posted. Check that fluid, drive the car after it's warmed up, drive it without the stereo on, and listen to the trans shift. Watch the tach.

Link:

http://www.btinternet.com/~d.brooks1/boxinfo.htm

Enjoy!

 

I'm almost positive that is an SE, body colored door handles, 5 spoke wheels, not likely that would be on a GLE. Just check the VIN plate thing and that will tell you for real. Does it have fog lights? Only SE's have fogs. I like SE's better than GLE's anyhow

 

the GLE bumper is cut out for factory fogs, the mounting brackets are there, and the wiring is there (short of the switch on the column), so anyone with half a brain could hook those up real quick to make it look SE. I am as soon as I get mine back from the repair shop.

You can usually find the fogs on eBay between $90 and $140... complete kit.

 

Thanks for the info Pseudopods.

I saw that Identification post earlier, before I went out. That is what made me believe the car was an SE and not a GLE. It had: White guage faces, Spoiler, 16" 5 spoke (97-99) alloy wheels, body colored outer window trim and door handles, and if I'm not mistaken it had a body colored grill. Can these things be had stock on a GLE? I thought they couldn't.

The salesman said it was "priced that way" because it was the top of the line GLE. I'm hoping that if I can prove to him it is a SE then he'll knock some more money off.

Oh, and I'll be sure to check out the tranny. There's a shop that specializes in Nissans 1/4 mile from my house.

 

True, you could easily install fogs on a GLE. I'm not saying its the one determining factor. But with all the other things on this car that are SE features, I find it hard to believe the theory that all of these SE features were added to a GLE and lean more to the theory that this car is in fact an SE.