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Nissan Maxima

8981 messages,  Last post on Feb 09, 2011 at 1:37 PM

You are in the Nissan Maxima Forum.

What is this discussion about? Nissan Maxima, Sedan

Messages Page 761 of 899

#7597 of 8981 cross shopping by kyleknicks

Dec 09, 2003 (12:21 pm)

i agree before the new altima came out in 2002, you wouldnt cross shop the altima with camry and accord..but i think that has changed.
 
before 2002, i viewed the altima as a cheaper nissan, not in the class as the maxima..but since the maxima is now, in the range of $30G's, and altima offer a v6 with 240hp, and if i'm looking for a sedan in the $25G range, it would be the accord (i would never buy the 4 door accord though) vs the altima, and probably throw in the Mazda6s in the mix..not passat since they're almost 30's

#7598 of 8981 kenm8... by bowke28

Dec 09, 2003 (12:31 pm)

the issue now is that the altima (post-2002) is the same size, price, and similarly equipped as the camry/accord. also, if you look at the 2004 maxima, its in a whole other league than the camry/accord.

#7599 of 8981 by tomcat630

Dec 09, 2003 (12:43 pm)

The older Altimas were more of a match for the pre-1992 compact size Camry. The Cressida and Maxima were rivals until the Cressida was dropped.
 
Then there was overlap with Camry V6, Avalon, and Maxima pricing. The current Altima was almost going to be called the Maxima, but Nissan reconsidered, phew!

#7600 of 8981 Thumping or Loose Sound in Rear? by los2fast

Dec 09, 2003 (8:28 pm)

I just bought a 2004 SE and had wheel locks put on at the dealership the next day. When I drove home I noticed on turns and speed bumps I would hear a thump or something loose in the rear left side. Any idea what this might be? What could the dealer have done by just putting on wheel lock lug nuts? I am taking the car back in the morning.

#7601 of 8981 cross shopping by kennyg5

Dec 09, 2003 (9:03 pm)

I agree with Kyle that with the 04 Max selling at $30k, the "traditional" Max owners may now want to cross shop the Accord and Camry because the latter two can be had at around $25k.
 
I think Nissan has put itself in a difficult position because the 04 Max is not really in the same league as the 04 Acura TL or Lexus ES 330, and the Max is not usually cross shopped against the Avalon, which caters to a different audience, even though the prices of the two cars are quite close. Rather the Max is more of an in-betweener that is not quite entry luxury, but is slightly more upscale than the Camcords.
 
Talking about value, I think the Camcords beat the 04 Max even if it sells at invoice. Albeit the Max is a more powerful car, an average driver does not really need that much power in everyday driving. Further, the Camry provides a more comfortable (though a bit sedated) ride, which fits well with many woman and senior drivers. Also, the Accord provides a good compromise between the Max and the Camry in terms of ride comfort, handling and performance, and as such, is a crowd pleaser, as is evidenced by its popularity as the top selling family sedan.
 
Nissan has to rethink its strategy carefully as far as how the Max should be placed in the Nissan/Infinity line up. As we all know, the Max used to be Nissan's flagship and best selling sedan. Now, with the G35 and Altima taking away a chunk of the would be Max buyers, the Max may just linger in obscurity. The 04 Max is only six months old, but it is already selling at or close to invoice. This does not bold well for the Max, especially when compared with the hot selling TL, which is supposedly Max's close competitor.

#7602 of 8981 if shopping today for a car.... by kyleknicks

Dec 09, 2003 (10:53 pm)

i would look long and hard at the accord (i only like the 2door, hate the 4 door) if my budget was $25G, the v6 accord with leather is one nice car, it might not be "luxo", but it's sure near the level my 2k maxima gle is..
 
if i HAD to get a 4 door at that price, i would get the Mazda6s... maybe an Altima v6
 
at $30G, i would go for a 04 I35 (i know it's old, but there's nothing else out there for $30),or maybe a Passat i know the saab 9-3 is around this range, but not my cup of tea..
 
in the $35, i would go for a TL, G35, ES330 ..
 
the point being, nowhere did i mention maxima, because afterall, it's a Nissan.. why would i pay a premium price for a non premium car? and this is from a huge maxima fan prior to the 2004 model year....lets' face it, acura, lexus, infiniti is a notch above nissan, if i had to pay a price that could get me one of those mentioned, is it wise to spend it on a nissan?
 
maxima = sad turn for vehicle with a solid history (nissan's bad marketing and poor product positioning)

#7603 of 8981 Kyle's car shopping by kennyg5

Dec 09, 2003 (11:04 pm)

Looking at your last post, I understand why you want the 03 Max For its price (I got mine last year at $26.5k before TTL), performance and content, it is a pretty desirable car.

#7604 of 8981 True about the Max by maxamillion1

Dec 10, 2003 (6:46 am)

I have always liked the Maxima...as a matter of fact, my step grandparents are avid Maxima owners. They will buy no other car. Period!
 
Don't even bring up the new Accord I am getting. They wouldn't have it.
 
To me the Maxima has always been one of those niche family sedans. It just doesn't fit into one particular category.
 
I can see people comparing the Maxima to the Accord, Camry (V6 models), TL and even the G35. Some people do not pay attention about RWD and horsepower. I do, but I can't afford to
 
To me the Maxima has always been more luxurious than the Accord and Camry, but it became most apparent to me in 2002 when they facelifted the 5th gen model. They added Xenons and memory seats to the GLE and an optional navi system. At that time, no other midsize family sedan offer those options. That has changed now though. Camry and Accord offer this system today.
 
The new Maxima to me seems less luxurious than the 5th gen and the quality to me is not as good, but I still like the car simply because it is a Maxima. The quality of the Maxima has been going down lately.
 
As someone previously stated, the 3rd gen was by far the best quality-wise, and to me the 4th gen was worse than the 5th, and the 6th is worse than any of them. Not as bad as pictures make it, but definately not up to near-luxury sedan standards. The 5th gen was close though.
 
Would I consider the new Maxima...yes...but not fully equipped. I would love to find a fully loaded 02 or 03 SE 6spd w/o Navi.
 
The older Maximas were better values than the new one because they offered so much as standard equipment. Xenon headlights were standard on the lowly GXE model in 2002, now they are optional on the SE. Memory seats used to be standard on the GLE, now they are optional on the SL, which is just crazy IMO. If a car cost this much, these options should be standard.
I am aware that new things have been added, but for the price of this car, many of the optional features should be standard.
 
Although I never thought I would say this, I actually like the skyview.
 
And as wierd as it may sound, the new Maxima would be nice looking if not for that front end, which should be fixed ASAP.
 
Have a good one

#7605 of 8981 04 max grill by kyleknicks

Dec 10, 2003 (7:26 am)

believe it or not, I've seen on the net.. i believe on maxima.org, someone had changed their brand new 04 max grill... it's one of those that have bars running hortizonally, aftermarket grills you see sometimes on Ford Expedition's.
 
it's actually very tolerable..

#7606 of 8981 kyle, kenny... by bowke28

Dec 10, 2003 (8:11 am)

kenny...
 
i have to disagree...the maxima with the driver preferred package rivals the build quality and equipment of a top-of-the-line TL, and is priced accordingly. you can get an SL with elite package (navigation, rear buckets w/heated seats, rear windowshade, etc...) for under $34k. none of the 'near-luxury' competitors you mentioned offer anything that even resembles this.
 
kyle...
 
the problem nissan has is that they havent made many people aware that the altima actually offers MORE size and features than the previous generation maxima.
 
having said that, most of the people that cross-shop the altima and maxima end up buying the altima.

Messages Page 761 of 899

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