Should I Buy A Nissan Maxima 2004? Need Opinions Pls :)

[Marko R1]

Hi guys,

I'm thinking about getting a Nissan maxima but the earlier model 2004 which has a 4 speed auto (not the later model with CVT tranny).

Interested to see if there are any owners on here and also opinions on this car? Should I shouldn't I?

The purpose of the car is for everyday driving.

Thanks.

[10 4]

V35 sedan instead?

[Marko R1]

V35 is nice but the maxima is well priced, I don't want to go more than 5.5k

[*LOACH*]

Personally I would spend the 5.5k on a V6 VR/VS Calais or Statesman if I was after luxury.

You have the option of getting a manual transmission.

They are cheap to maintain and repair.

Spare parts are easy to get.

Great highway fuel economy.

More room inside than a Maxima.

Best of all they are RWD.

Just my opinion though. Test drive as many as you can and don't be talked into anything by pushy salesmen.

Edited June 1, 2014 by *LOACH*

[Marko R1]

I too am a fan of local cars due to cheap maintenance etc BUT I do like my jap cars as well. I was looking at a VZ SV6 which is also nice.

Edited June 1, 2014 by Marko R1

[KiwiRS4T]

Maxima is a nice comfortable car - towed a car trailer with my Stagea on it for 300km no problems.

What to look for with an high mileage one - check operation of auto trans.

[Marko R1]

Thanks for the tip.

Been looking here and the car doesn't really rate that high hmmmm:

http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/nissan/maxima/2004/single-page/

[*LOACH*]

I too am a fan of local cars due to cheap maintenance etc BUT I do like my jap cars as well. I was looking at a VZ SV6 which is also nice.

VL - best of both worlds. Nissan engine, local body

Glad you are keeping an open mind about what to get.

A few lessons I have learned after having owned more than 10 cars (note: this is entirely subjective):

I always sell performance cars for near to what I bought them for. I always lose money on boring cars.

I could often convince myself life would be in someway better if I owned only a boring car, however I always ended up wishing I had a performance car when I had a boring daily.

Having a boring daily and a performance car just means finding excuses to drive the performance car every day. I haven't tried it yet but I think the ideal situation would be to have at least 2 performance cars (in my case 2 VL wagons with turbo motors in them).

Having said all that, I don't really know you and you may have far more car experience than I do. Regardless,do what makes you happy.

Edited June 1, 2014 by *LOACH*

[Marko R1]

I've had over 15 cars myself and many motorbikes. I've owned a vl which was good.

I know what u mean about having a performance and runaround car, I won't be selling my GTR

[niZmO_Man]

Do you need a large car? How much are you intending to drive it?

I was in a similar situation, picked up a nice N16 manual ST-L for ~$5k after rego-ing it.

[krzysztof]

after a handful of interesting cars i bought an a33 as needed something little more reliable/practical.

imo they're a good solid car, picked mine up around 90,000kms and did 50 or 60k in it without anything major crapping itself - all i did to it was upgrade audio and an eibach pro-kit

video of it here:

i haven't driven a J31 but they couldn't possibly have made it worse so the maxima gets my vote

200 clicks no problem:

[Marko R1]

I have 3 kids so the bigger car is more appealing and I'll be driving it everyday mainly Sydney metro but occasionally up and down the coast (I'm a BDM). We have a Forester XT which is the dedicated family car.

I have an automatic Ralliart Magna which is an 02 model and that is a lot of fun to drive, angry little thing.

Manual for everyday is no good for me as I'm on the phone and GPS etc

[GTR-N1]

The attraction is that all the depreciation is done. So selling it later on might entice Camry lookers.

Let down might be the trans and stopping distance. Taking it over some speed humps might also reveal suspension tiredness? Pezhead took our old '97 Maxima around a Texi course with aplomb, but I don't know about how much understeer there'd be with a lesser driver - especially in the wet Marko.

[junkie]

The Maxima's are pretty underrated and plenty of car for the money. The engine is great, plenty of room, build quality is decent and its pretty decent to drive. My mate has one with 190k on the clock and its running strong as, and I just did a service on my mother in laws car with 120k. Main troubles with them are door locks and drivers side engine mount. The front shocks will also go around 120-140k. My main complaint would be overly soft suspension though, they really need a decent spring and shock combo

[krzysztof]

drivers side engine mount

yes engine mount i do recall replacing