Nissan Maxima

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $26500.00 from Lake Manawa Nissan

Year / Model Reviewed:
2004 Nissan Maxima SE

Summary:
This car has been nothing but a headache from day one. For a 26K car it is not built to quality standards. Problems so far...Suspension noise sounds like something is loose and banging around on the front end, dealer replaced struts but it didn't help, We took it in to the dealer 5 times to fix the headlight that kept going out (we finally paid our ouwn mechanic $300 to rewire it Because Nissan couldn't seem to fix it), The dash was installed improperly and needed to be replaced, the goodyear tires on this car are terrible, the sidewalls have blown out on 9 so far (they cost $325 a piece) We did finally get money from goodyear and put dunlops on it, then the final straw was at 50000 miles the engine started knocking, took it in to the dealer and the idoits said it was a broken timing chain and not covered (funny that the engine still ran), after 9 weeks we finally got the car back with a new factory long block in it, what happened you ask? spun the main bearing. The new engine leaks all over my garage floor and runs terrible. Please do not buy this car, I would expect more from a mid twenty thousand vehicle. I've had Fords that are more dependable. We bought this car because we bought a 1993 Sentra new and has been a trouble free car, Good thing we still have the sentra because when we need reliable transportation we jump in the sentra and go. I always buy BMW's, and the wife will be driving one soon.

Strengths:
Good power, nice styling, and roomy inside and trunk.

Weaknesses:
Mechanically unsound, poor quality control, poor fit and finish, terrible turning radius. Dealer service and support from Nissan are horrible.

Similar Products Used:
1999 bmw m3, 1993 nissan sentra, 1993 honda accord, 1993 bmw 325i

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $33000.00 from Canada

Year / Model Reviewed:
2003 Maxima

Summary:
Update from my 160,000 KM Update. My 2003 GLE now has over 240,000KM. And again, I continue to love this car. My ONLY problems then were a memory seat module which was replaced under warranty, and a sunroof that tilts but does not open - not fixed. Two new problems have emerged though.
1) The radio - the BOSE is crapped out. My CD skips on cold days, and the tweeter on the drivers side works intermittently in CD mode, though is fine with tapes and AM/FM - thinking the laser is the problem. I'd replace it but I know these stereos are notorious for this issue - so - screw it - I'll get an IPOD and run it through an FM transmitter or solder it directly to the board.
2) Minor issue - my drivers heated seat INDICATOR - yes the switch - light burned out - for awhile - it started up the other day again...go figure. The seat still heats though. I do wish the heater wouldn't be regulated though and shut off and on in intervals(our 98 maxima would get so hot your ass felt like it would combust).

Other than that, it runs like new. The heated steering wheel is such a champ!! Seriously, I love this car. I hope to drive it for another 7 years or more. Fully loaded, seats are great, and NO MECHANICAL PROBLEMS!!

Strengths:
Reliability Interior Feel Steering wheel controls Auto Climate Control

Weaknesses:
I will list things that in retrospect would have made this car 100% perfect: Telescopic Steering Wheel - 2004 has it Dual Zone Climate Control (I reneg on my earlier review thinking this would be nice) Here's an important note though - my wife has a 2004 and we both like the 03 better. - the dual zone is a nice idea but in retrospect its useless because you still end up at the same interior temp. The 2004 however build doesn't feel as nice, front-end looks worse than the 2003, has more plastic, but it just feels cheaper and FEELS colder - the 03 feels better insulated for some reason, ride isn't as nice.
Seriously - thats it. Its not a BMW with all cool gadgets, but lacks NOTHING. WHAT A CAR!
Also, we bought (and then resold) an Infiniti FX45. Some notes on this vehicle - the interior felt SOLID, the NAV was great though a touchscreen would be better, the intelligent cruise is nice BUT it will detect semi-trailers in the next lane on freeways which is stupid so you have to drive on the yellow line to avoid that and it also does not come to a full stop in this mode - WTF - who's brainchild was that? Hey, lets make it so it shuts off at 10km/hr and force the driver to brake when he is least expecting it to have to do so! Furthermore, it was downright SCARY to drive on all-season tires. This thing meandered all over the road in wet conditions - we would weave down the road with about a 12" wiggle all the time. Snow tires stopped that, but it made us lose all sense of confidence in the vehicle and thus its gone to greener pastures.

I add this because the interior seats ARE nicer in Infiniti, but for the price my wife and I agreed that it just wasn't worth it, especially when you consider the V8 power just wasn't what I had hoped for (though it did beat my V6 3.5L Maxima off the line) and gas mileage was bad. For $70k in Infiniti vs the $33k Maxima, the Infiniti couldn't justify that great a difference in price - $5k maybe, certainly not $27k.

Similar Products Used:
1998 Maxima - excellent but no 3.5L
2004 Maxima - just not in the same league quality-wise
2003 Infiniti FX45 - very nice but too pricey for what you already had in the Maxima for 1/2 the price.

Strengths:
QUALITY BUILD - it STILL feels and drives like it did when I bought it new with 3 km on the odometer
Heated Steering Wheel

Weaknesses:
BOSE, BOSE, BOSE - pfft, whatever!
Sunroof

Price Paid:  $10000.00 from private

Year / Model Reviewed:
1995 maxima gle

Summary:
bought this car in 1998, have only had to perform maintenance, just bought a brand new subaru outback, and although i like the subaru, i can't say it feels any newer once you turn the ignition on and start driving. great buy, if i didn't live in the northeast and have a 2 year old, i would've bought another one

Strengths:
ENGINE

Weaknesses:
REAR AXLE

Similar Products Used:
MAZDA PROTEGE, SUBARU LEGACY, OUTBACK

Price Paid:  $0.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
1994 GXE or something..

Summary:
This car I got for free from a friend

Right of the bat I noticed the motor in stock form sounds great accelerating hard, the car pulls well, and this car is quite agile for its full size sedan body. This car is also strongly built with confidence inspiring stability over bumpy roads and potholes. The solidly built interior receives no rattles from the road surface, and the suspension is tight yet comfortable to drive with. The AC and heating work quickly and well. The sheetmetal is strong and thick for a japanese car, although its cheaper counterpart, the altima, doesn't share this trait.

This car is 100% better

The only major repair is the steering rack about 30k miles into my receiving it, which had to be replaced, which cost about 300 dollars to repair.

Strengths:
Torquey engine
Strong built
Reliable

Weaknesses:
Window motors are prone to breakage

Price Paid:  $18000.00 from Middletown Nissan in

Year / Model Reviewed:
2001 Maxima GLE

Summary:
I have had the car for nearly 3 years now. I bought it used with 30,000 miles on it. Other than the "black" leather interior, it was exactly what I wanted after doing my research. It has excellent acceleration capability; you're doing 90 mph in a flash without even realizing it. I never drive that fast on purpose. I added the spoiler and dark tint on all the windows when I first purchased the car. I am always getting compliments on its great looks. It is comfortable to drive and has many creature comforts such as the power sun roof, bose stereo system, polarized rear view mirror, stereo controls on the steering wheel, etc...
Unfortunately, it didn't take long before I began to run into problems. First the fuel door would not open (I couldn't gas up, a big problem), so I had to pry it open with a screw driver. It turned out to be a simple spring that unhinged. Nissan fixed it in the parking lot of their dealership in about 2 seconds. It didn't take long before it broke again and then I had to have a new one installed for $104.
Next, the brakes went costing over $4oo. Then some computer sensor thing malfunctioned a week later where they had to reboot the software or something. That was another $130. Two months later I had to have the brakes done again, where they shaved down my rotors again. I do not drive the car hard or brake hard. I don't see how that happened. I asked the Nissan mechanic about it, and he stated that I should replace the factory rotors with ones that distribute the heat better to not warp them.
The tires that came with car sucked big time. They were terrible in wet or sloppy weather. So, after my first winter, I replaced all 4 tires nice quality ones that cost me over $500.
Around that same time I had to replace a cracked muffler. Nissan wanted over $500 to do it. I went elsewhere for half the price, but have since regretted it. The new muffler is not quiet by any means...I hate it.
Anyways, I have had all the recommended maintenance and repairs done on the vehicle as needed. All of which have costed me about another $800. Now after 2 1/2 years of owning the vehicle, I am having the rotors replaced with new brakes again, and I will have to get an all-wheel alignment because of all the vibration and juttering from warped rotors.
Finally, in the past month, for some unkown reason, my gas mileage has plummetted from 26 mpg to about 14 mpg. So, I'm sure it's probably the fuel injectors or something and will cost me a lot to repair that also.
I have to say that as much as I love the car and its drivability, I am sick to death of all the problems that arise.

Strengths:
Beautiful looking car, very comfortable, performs excellent, great acceleration, and a lot of nice options.

Weaknesses:
Waaaayyyy too many repairs and problems, and nothing is cheap to repair. In 7 years, my 2 previous cars (both Corollas) never ever had any problems.

Similar Products Used:
1992 and 1999 Corolla