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Nissan Maxima

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Comments

  • p100p100 Member Posts: 1,116
    My '83 Mercedes 300SD has surprisingly tight turning cicle for a large car that it is. I believe one reason are rather small wheels/tires on this car (factory size 195-70SR14). On the other hand my 95 Nissan SE V6 4X4 king cab pickup has turning diameter of a bus. This is no doubt due to additional clearance required to accomodate monster 31 X 10.5-R15 factory tires. In fact, Nissan used wheel adjustable wheel stops on this truck to prevent wheels from turning too much, which further increases the turning diameter.
  • kennyg5kennyg5 Member Posts: 360
    You are kidding, aren't you? Buick Park Avenue is a direct competitor of the Max? No wonder some of the posters here said that Caddie and Buick owners are looking at the Max, and I thought they were joking. LOL!
  • lichtronimolichtronimo Member Posts: 212
    isn't important, but wheel base and wheel size is. Of the cars listed above, what are the standard wheel sizes? My educated guess is that none of the cars above are wearing anything larger than 16" wheels, which would be an advantage over even the Maxima SL's 17" wheels.
  • suydamsuydam Member Posts: 4,676
    Maybe that's why I haven't noticed an unduly large turning radius on my 01 GLE which has 16" wheels.
    '14 Buick Encore Convenience
    '17 Chevy Volt Premiere
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    the maxima competitors are now the avalon, crown vic, park ave., bonneville, grand marquis, TL, GS330, etc...
  • ericuericu Member Posts: 16
    Quite honestly, who cares about the turning radius as long as you can still blow by cars on the highway riding on your 18" dubs :-)
  • p100p100 Member Posts: 1,116
    It is not the diameter of the rim that matters but the overall diameter of the tire as installed on your rim. For example, 31 X 10.5 R 15 tire is equivalent to P265-75-R15 tire and fits on a 15 inch rim. This tire is much taller than Maxima 18 inch tire becuase the Maxima tire is a low profile tire, whereas 31 X 10.5-R15 is a light truck tire with high sidewalls.

    Also, large American cars of the 1970's used P235-75-R15 tires which were also taller than modern low profile 18 inch tires, and the turning radius of those cars was certainly big.
  • tomw11tomw11 Member Posts: 6
    After 34 years of driving only GM cars I've finally decided to look the imports for my next car (currently driving an 00 Olds Intrigue). I like the 04 Maxima SL a lot and have test driven it several times (3 different cars). While at highway speeds (65+) I get the impression that the car feels just slightly unsettled - minor vibrations that translate through the seat plus some road noise. I've also tested the 04 Accord EX V6 and it seems to be much more composed and a little quieter at the same speed. Has any else ever noticed this or am I being too picky ? After reading all the posts about tire balancing problems I suppose that could be it.
  • p100p100 Member Posts: 1,116
    You are not being picky at all. Nissan uses cheaper tires on their Maximas than Honda uses on the Accord V6 model. The Accord V6 comes with Michelin Energy MXV energy tires, which are better tires than anything Nissan mounts on Maxima. I walked away from two brand new 03 Maximas because of vibration at 60+ MPH. These cars had Bridgstone Potenza tires. I am not sure what the 04 models use, but in my honest opinion, if a brand new car exhibits vibration symptoms, I would look elsewhere. It may be a wheel balance problem, but it could be a bad tire. It could be a defective inner CV joint. I could be some other suspension problem. The point is - you never can tell for sure until the problem is eliminated. If you like the car, take another one for the test drive. If it shows the same symptoms, stay away from Maximas and look elsewhere.
  • lily04lily04 Member Posts: 3
    Been reviewing the newspaper ads in Saturday's newspaper for at least the past month. Have noticed that neither of the two largest Nissan dealers in the Dallas area have been featuring Maxima's in their ads. Are the cars selling so well that they don't have to be advertised (even at regular price)? Or is this some type of strategy on Nissan's part to make the cars appear more desirable hence the need for no advertising? Just curious if anyone has any comments.
  • lichtronimolichtronimo Member Posts: 212
    Read over at the Honda board how loud those Michelln tires are and how lots of Accord owners have switched to Bridgestones.

    THe biggest difference between the Maxima SL and Accord is likely the 17" wheels on the Maxima (versus the Accord's 16") and firmer suspension settings.

    Comparing our '01 Accord to an '04 Maxima I rented, I found the road noise to be considerably less in the Nissan and the ride actually less harsh. Granted ours is a previous generation Accord.
  • p100p100 Member Posts: 1,116
    I took a new 03 Accord EX V6 for a test drive about a year ago. The car had a pleasant vibration free ride (80 MPH is as fast as I got in the car). The tires were Michelin Energy MXV. I have a set of MXV Michelins on my 99 Mazda 626 and they are great. I believe that these tires get louder as they reach the end of their service life. However, they are generally well made tires which require very small weights to balance properly.

    Compared to the Accord ride, the 03 Maxima SE which I test drove, was a real disappointment. Noticeable vibration coming in around 60 MPH and there was abnormal shaking of the hood.
  • ericuericu Member Posts: 16
    The 04 SE runs on Goodyear Eagle RS-A (High Performance All-Season) P245/45VR18 tires. At 80+, they run pretty smooth. No vibration. Minimum road noise, although maybe the stereo drowned it out. I'm gald they ditched the Bridgstone Potenza's.
  • lichtronimolichtronimo Member Posts: 212
    ...have a low UTOG rating around 220 or so. That means you'll be replacing them twice as often as a tire with a UTOG in the 400s. I hope they're cheap!
  • p100p100 Member Posts: 1,116
    Not very cheap. $ 188 a piece on sale from Tirerack. When you add postage, mounting and balancing, you will be around $ 860 a set. If they wear out every 20K miles, they will be a substantial investment for those who drive a lot. Incidentally, the cheapest tire in this size was Kumho Ecsta for $ 136 a piece. Some Michelin Pilot tires in this size go for $ 270 a piece. Going to 18 inch wheel size is in my opinion nonsense. I can get decent 16 inch tires for my 98 Maxima SE for $ 90 a piece. And because they are H rated, they last a lot longer than V rated tires.
  • lichtronimolichtronimo Member Posts: 212
    I couldn't believe the difference between price and selection for 18" and even 17" tires. Ouch.

    Interesting to see what this does to Maxima sales:

    "Other Chicago debutantes include... the facelifted 2005 Nissan Altima, which gets a major upgrade to its cabin." (globalauto.net.)

    Maybe they fixed the taillights too!
  • lichtronimolichtronimo Member Posts: 212
    I checked tirerack.com for 18" tires. The best alternative may be Continential ContiExtremeContact WR rated tires at $166.00 per tire. The UTOG rating is 400.

    Tirerack's online survey identifies 691 responses with 2.23 million miles. The tire rates superior or excellent in all categories (dry, wet and snow traction, cornering, ride and noise, and wear. Worth a look.
  • ramped1ramped1 Member Posts: 159
    Is a factor in my decision to ignore the Maxima. Really, who needs 18" wheels on these cars (the SE model)? Seems like overkill.
  • muffin_manmuffin_man Member Posts: 865
    Has anyone in town hall purchased a fully optioned Maxima? Apparently, the loaded MSRP is just under $40,000, and this strikes me as amazingly overpriced, especially compared to the competition.

    It's rare that a car makes BMWs look like bargains, but considering a loaded 330 can be had for $40k, not to mention the TL and CTS (among others), I can't imagine paying $40,000 for a Maxima.

    Thoughts?
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    if you are talking in american dollars, a loaded SE with the elite package, power sunroof, and satellite radio tops out right at $36k. nowhere near $40k.
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    You forgot to add the ADM which at $4k sounds about right.
  • lichtronimolichtronimo Member Posts: 212
  • lmp180psulmp180psu Member Posts: 399
    Exactly! The Maxima is selling very close to invoice, not MSRP, and certainly doesn't warrant a ADM!
  • aggiedogaggiedog Member Posts: 238
    Additional Dealer Markup. I think?
  • lichtronimolichtronimo Member Posts: 212
    I went to the Nissan site and spec'd an SE with everything I could get:

    SE
    5spd. Auto
    Elite Package
    Sunroof
    Colored spash guards
    Chrome wheels
    Floor and trunk mats
    XM radio

    MSRP including desingation=$38K. I'd hate to see any ADM on top of this. Make mine a TL, please.
  • aggiedogaggiedog Member Posts: 238
    I saw an 04 with an Enterprise car rental tag on the trunk. I don't believe there are any Acura TL's, BMW 3XX's or Infiniti G35's in any rental car fleets. Any opinions?
  • muffin_manmuffin_man Member Posts: 865
    MSRP after all options on Edmunds is $39,xxx.

    But even for $38k (thanks to lictronimo), who is paying that much?

    Before I found out how expensive they had become, I thought of the Maxima as a luxury-brand-nameless alternative to some other sedans. For mid to high 30s, it seems to be one of the poorer alternatives.
  • cheerioboy26cheerioboy26 Member Posts: 412
    I did that in 2000 when the dealer wanted $850 over MSRP, IIRC. I may have literally laughed out loud when I saw it! I paid a few hundred over invoice, don't recall exactly how much.
  • kennyg5kennyg5 Member Posts: 360
    Although I am not currently in the market for a new car, I believe the current price for a fully loaded 04 Max is about $31k, even though it is MRSPed at or above $36k. My belief is based on discussions posted in this thread and other websites. Bowke should be able to give you a more accurate fair market price.

    At $31k (which is quite nicely discounted), the 04 Max is not such a bad buy when compared with the fully loaded TL (with Nav), which is being sold at or about MSRP - around $36k - depending on location of dealership.
  • muffin_manmuffin_man Member Posts: 865
    If it's going for 31k, that's a pretty good price. But I almost swallowed my tongue when I saw the sticker.
  • lichtronimolichtronimo Member Posts: 212
    There are Maxima's at Enterprise.

    I had one for a week, which is what convinced me to buy one of these instead of another Accord.

    I don't know if these were from the hail damaged cars or whether Nissan was putting some out there on the street. Manufactures with do this with new models to get bodies in the seats. Its certainly not the same as GM dumping Impalas or Ford with the Taurus.
  • andmoonandmoon Member Posts: 320
    ramped1
    I haven't looked up 18" tire prices but the 17's are expensive in the 225/50 size.
    We don't need 18, 17, or even 16 inch wheels but bigger sells and I have a feeling the wheels will just keep getting bigger and bigger.
    I remember some magazine testing the actual performance of plus sizing a few years back and their conclusion was that anything lower than a 50 series was a waste in terms of both money and performance. I think that line has moved to the 45 vs 40 or 35 series now.
    I think the mini cooper performs better with 17's than 18's and the 16's are so close to the 17's that most can't tell the difference except for the improved ride.
    But there is no way I am going to anything smaller than 17's on my 02se.
    Don
  • ramped1ramped1 Member Posts: 159
    You are right, bigger wheel size is a trend and not only on the Maxima.

    But, if you look around, you can find some sedans still using 15" or 16" wheels. Maybe not as sporty, but they'll definitely get the job done, and the tires are a lot less, as we all know.

     I haven't spun out my old '92 SE yet on its 15" alloys. (Although, neither one of us is in good enough shape to take the hairpins at 50 mph anymore! :<)
  • habitat1habitat1 Member Posts: 4,282
    As I've posted before, at 149k miles on my 1995 Maxima SE, I still have an estimated 10-20k miles of treadwear left on my third set of tires. I'm averaging 55,000 miles a set and IMO the 95 Max SE still handles about as well as any FWD sporty sedan out there. I have spent a total of $850 +/- on the two replacement sets (Eagle RSA followed by Toyo Proxis). Not bad for 9 years.

    I am also about to spend $900 for new tires on my Honda S2000 with 16,000 miles. I can handle that expense for a RWD sports car, but the idea of $600-800+ sets of tires on a FWD sedan every 20-25k miles is a bit much.
  • p100p100 Member Posts: 1,116
    I will not be surprised if Nissan introduces 20 inch wheels/tires on the next generation Maxima. Bigger is better, right? This wheel/ tire size increasing fad has me baffled because the speed limits remain the same and Maxima is not exactly a 500 HP sports car so that you can take the hadling capabilities of those huge ultra low profile tires to their maximum. Remember too that low profile tires offer very little protection for your rims from road hazards such as potholes. And no mater how careful you are, sooner or later you run into a pothole, or run over something that will damage that low profile tire and wheel. An H rated tire, used on SE Maxima until 1999 is rated for sustained 130 MPH speed. How many people out there really need higher speed rating? If they do, they would not be buying a Maxima.
  • jbadamsjbadams Member Posts: 63
    The Edmunds Price with Options does not work correctly in that it allows you to double-up on options. For example if you select the Elite Package, that includes the Journey Package which includes Driver Preferred Package, etc. The Nissan web site does not allow this.

    Secondly, comparing a Maxima with Elite Package is not apples to apples with most cars since this option is very unique to the Maxima. If you compare a fully loaded SE with Journey package, mats, power moon roof, satellite radio, slash guards, you get MSRP more like $35,620. A TL comparably equipped to this would be $37,328 (adding 18 in wheels, mats, splash guards and deck lid spoiler).

    And I do agree that the SE would be discounted from this price making the difference even greater.
  • p100p100 Member Posts: 1,116
    One problem with buying fully optioned vehicles is that you never get your money back when time comes to trade the vehicle in or sell it on your own. For example, one can buy a base new 04 Maxima SE for about $ 24,700 (if you bargain hard), whereas a fully loaded one would be more like $ 33K. The difference on resale between these two vehicles four years later will be probably only about $ 1000. So spending extra $8 K for a fully optioned model is not worth it in my opinion. A base Infiniti M45 with a 340 HP V8 engine and rear wheel drive, which can be purchased for about $ 36K, appears to be a very tempting alternative to a fully loaded Maxima SE.
    It also has a much higher level of standard equipment than the Maxima SE (e.g. leather interior, Bose steeo/CD changer, wood trim, traction control and dynamic control systems), not to mention far better warranty coverage and customer service.
  • suydamsuydam Member Posts: 4,676
    True, but if you plan to keep your car for a long time, then these differences don't matter much, and over that long time, you'll have the pleasure of having a car with everything you want. I personally love my GLE with leather seats, Bose system, traction control and all the other goodies. I plan to take care of it and drive it for at least 10 years. And on the other subject, I am really glad I don't have the expense of 17 or 18 inch tires during all that time!
    '14 Buick Encore Convenience
    '17 Chevy Volt Premiere
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    your point is understood, but when dealing with car buyers, ive found that most of the people that buy for price are unhappy in their decision soon afterward. (ie...recent toyota commercials)
    having the car that one is happy with is 99% of the time worth extra money. you may be in the 1% category, but your statement also only applies to the 1%.
  • p100p100 Member Posts: 1,116
    My idea of happy car ownership has a lot more to do with quality and long term reliability, then with number of gadgets. Unfortunately, the more gizmos you add to a car, the higher the probability of failure.

    This idea is also practised in Europe where they use Mercedes Benz 240D taxis with a manual transmission and a radio. Some older ones do not even have A/C. Yet these cars are known to last 600K or more miles without much maintenance or repair. If you take the same vehicle, and load it with every conceivable electronic convenience, chances are that it will never get beyond the 100K-150K mile mark because the repairs will be so expensive that future owners will get rid of it.
  • sox_in_04sox_in_04 Member Posts: 27
    I will add one additional factor to p100s' statement.
    Not only do all the gadgets add additional points of possible failure, they contribute to the earlier demise of a vehicle due to increased stress on components necesarry to run those gadgets (like alternators). This doesn't mean one should not buy a car with all of the gadgets you want, but it is worth thinking about when considering the true cost, both in initial investment and long term reliability.
  • jbadamsjbadams Member Posts: 63
    The only point of my previous post was to point out that if you use Edmund's to try to calculate a price by selecting options, it will be wrong because Edmund's allows you to select every possible option, even when selecting one should cancel out the other.

    I don't need the economics lesson thanks.
  • p100p100 Member Posts: 1,116
    I did not intend to give one to anybody, but I learned it myself the hard way.
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    im sad that you wont be around under your current name after september...

    ;-)
  • anu0anu0 Member Posts: 13
    I'm looking at getting a used (2003) Maxima and notice some come with Meridien package. What's included in the Meridien package?
  • suydamsuydam Member Posts: 4,676
    That's the cold weather package, according to the site at cars.com which gives all the option packages:http://research.cars.com/go/crp/optionsAndExtras.jsp?des- tURL=optionsAndExtras.jsp&year=2003&makeid=36&modelid- =333&myid=3814&superTrim=&acode=USB30NIC051B0&log- type=7&aff=national

    Meridian Edition
    GEN code: DLX
     
    Heated Front Seats
     
    Heated Outside Mirrors
     
    Heated Steering Wheel
    '14 Buick Encore Convenience
    '17 Chevy Volt Premiere
  • sox_in_04sox_in_04 Member Posts: 27
    Quite true.
    Either I will be sox_champs_in_04, or being the eternal optimist (as all true sox fans must be), I'll be sox_in_05 ;-)

    Either way, at least my Patriots are SB champs!!
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    unfortunately, im a detroit fan...yes, lions AND tigers! ;-)

    i think I am the ultimate fan...talk about abuse!

    anyway, maybe pudge will buy a maxima this summer with his $40mill. contract with detroit.

    (wow! i didnt think id be able to come up with anything to stay on topic!)
  • lichtronimolichtronimo Member Posts: 212
    The guy must be an optimist for saying that the Tigers aren't a bad team, they just had a bad season. Either that or he's trying to save face for having to sign with them. Ouch - huge ego blow!

    If he gets a Maxima, it better be an SL - he'll need the softer suspension for those fine Detroit streets and highways.
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    but he might want the SE for the >90 degree turns on the confusing 1-way streets. ;-)
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