I don't understand what makes your opinion hold any more significance than anyone else who comments on this board.
Please explain your comment "What I am saying is that Honda and Toyota interiors appear to hold up better. This comes from seeing way more of these cars than the normal person."
He's not talking about talking about my Altima that has over 140K on the odometer, that's for sure! The interior has shown minimal wear & tear. Except where I got dirt in and couldn't get out, it shows no apparent wear. My Honda (albeit a Civic) showed much more wear: seat fabric was coming loose, stereo didn't work. And I didn't keep as long as I'm keeping my Altima. Plus every spring, I had to have the A/C on the Honda fixed, the air coming out wasn't cool. I never had to do once with the Altima!
My dad certainly had a lot more trouble with his Camry. I was the one who told him to get the Camry, I wish I'd known better! His Cressida before that had a terrible record, thankfully he's off the Toyota diet now. There's absolutely zero evidence that Hondas/Toyotas are any more durable than Nissans!
I think anonymousposts is a girl/woman, who owns an Accord now. This might have a bearing on why she thinks that Honda interiors hold up better than Nissans overall. Everyone (including Nissan, Toyota etc. owners) get defensive about there choice in cars. BTW, to add support for Nissans , I had a 94 2 door Sentra XE with about 120,000 miles for about 2 years when first in college, and all the seats, dash materials, controls all held up great. I had to sell it because of needing money for housing, I really miss that car ;(
My opinion isn't any more significant than anyone elses. I was just relaying my personal experience which involves probably close to 100 cars .... probably even more than that. What's so bad about Honda switchgear/interior fabric being more durable? Mercedes interiors (at least the older ones) are more durable than Hondas. I'm not afraid to admit that. I have never seen a Mercedes with a rip or tear in it's seats.
after searching for 6 months and comparing cars, i bought an 03 gle in the dark blue that i wanted and got 0ver 5k off sticker. Have only 500 miles, but am avraging over 26 m.p.g's... cant say enough!!
I owned both a '97 maxima(150k) and '02 maxima se, my fiance owned a 2002 accord v6. I driven all considerably and i can say i like the maxima more. First off, the accord is still a great car, it's strong in ergonomics, especially the seats, and steering accuracy and feedback,precision build. But styling inside/outside too bland, plus the brake pads wear out quickly. Accords are more gas efficient, but you lose some of that savings when you change the timingbelts whereas max uses maint. free chains. The max isn't pretty, but a little more distinctive, and has that wide stance look. Maximas does have poor resale value, but i took that to my advantage and got a used 02 max se fully loaded and only 6k miles for only $19k. Can't beat that in value. People complain about the beam, but my max seems to corner and handle better than the accord. '02 max is loud on freeway(noise coming from trunk area). My '97 max is hitting 150k and had to change the starter recently. Have a slipping tranny at 130k but that's my fault for not changing oil for over 70k and gasket in engine had to been changed(the oil guy overfilled). Aside from that and regular maintenence, the '97 max had zero problems, feels great with only a little more nvh than new, little wear from inside,inside holds up better than my cousin's '95 accord v6 with less mileage.I do hate the big turn radius,front heaviness and lack of steering feel in '02, my '97 feels more nimble being lighter and has tighter turning. Ultimately, I like max more because value, reliablity, little more exclusive than accords, and of course 255hp. Even my fiance agreeds she had more fun driving the max on freeway. Plus, it even includes useful things like xenon,bigger brakes,ebd, 17" wheels. Things that accord does not have.
We just traded a '99 Maxima SE for an '03 Accord EX-V6 with leather and navigation. After two weeks in the Accord, I can offer some comparisons:
Accord pros: gets better mileage (28 mpg so far); runs on regular; has better crash-test scores; accelerates nicely; has decent fit and finish; handling is fine; body seems very stiff and solid; nav system works great; voice controls work OK once you know the syntax.
Accord cons: seat doesn't go back far enough; if you tilt up seat cushion, seat back tilts back with it; huge blind spot in right rear C pillar; stereo sound and radio reception are unimpressive compared to the Maxima's Bose; the mishmash of some climate-control functions, nav and stereo controls all on the same touch screen is a bit confusing, so it behooves you to master the voice-control commands, or you're gonna rear-end someone.
'99 Maxima pros: handling; acceleration, engine performance; great legroom and roominess; utter dependability. It never cost us a dime in repairs.
'99 Maxima cons: it was black, which was a drag; crash-test scores not as good as the Accord.
The driver's seat in the Accord has turned out to be a big problem for us -- and we're not even that tall. Both of us are 6', but my wife's legs are longer, and she cannot, cannot, cannot get the seat back far enough. If she tilts the seat cushion to try to throw a bend in her leg to compensate, the seat back tilts, so that won't do.
We didn't detect this problem during three test drives -- only after buying the car and spending time in it.
What the heck do truly tall people drive, I want to know? After some after-the-fact research on my part, it turns out that they drive Maximas.
Anyway, we HATE the seat situation. Everything else about the Accord is great. I am exploring the possibility of having an upholstery/top shop extend the seat track. They say they do this from time to time. Does anyone have experience with this kind of surgery?
I have some really tall friends (6'4" and 6'7"). They drive an older Honda Accord and a Ford Exploder respectively. I am 5'11" and really like the roominess of the Maxima but then I fit in pretty much any car. My friend who is 6'7" doesn't really fit in any car (although, he did fit in the Honda Del Sol) so he either would have to have them modified or drive large vehicles like trucks for the rest of his life.
My friend with the Accord has an unusually tall ex-wife (6'3" or so) who drives (you guessed it) a Maxima.
Basketball players often have their cars modified to accomodate their unusual height but this costs money and probably wouldn't do anything but hurt the resale value.
6'0" shouldn't be a problem though as this is pretty much in the middle to high end of the range of the average American.
Other than the seat problem with the Accord, the hard-to-maintain color (black) with the Max, and the minor difference in crash test, why did you choose the 03 Accord over the 03 Max? Did you test drive an 03 Max before buying the Accord?
I've got you all beat ... I am only 5'3 on a good day. But it works out for us with him being 6'6 .. I can see all the things he is too tall to see and he can see all the things I am too short to see. But having cars without memory seats can become tiring if we switch drivers often but it's obviously not that bad because the one car we have with memory seats has only had 10,000 miles put on it in 2 years while my 03 Accord already has 7,300 since late December.
I did drive the '03 Maxima. Liked it OK, but it didn't seem all that different from our '99. Fundamentally the same car, just more power and worse gas mileage. The one we test-drove had some noticable wind noise. We also thought the "titanium"-colored plastic interior seemed kinda cheap. But it essentially was a fine car.
The Accord seemed a little more interesting, which is an odd thing to say about an Accord, I'll admit. We drove a low-end Accord that seemed more like a typical rental car. But the high-end EX with leather and nav system was a lot of bells and whistles for the money -- many more so than the Max. Plus the better gas mileage, plus the regular gas, plus the LEV rating, plus the better crash-test scores -- from an empirical point of view, it just seemed like a better value than the Maxima, even when the Maxima was being deeply discounted to make room for the '04s.
Now, back when we bought our '99 Maxima, I drove a '99 Accord, and the choice was a no-brainer. That Honda was nuthin' special. This time around, we were quite impressed with the new Accord.
I just wish it -- and most cars, really -- had more legroom. I was interested in a Prius or a Civic hybrid as a second car, but both were short in legroom, and I was jammed against the ceiling of the Civic. Same goes with the Corolla. Like a lot of people I know (who are taller than me), I'd sit in a car for two minutes and have to say, "Nope. Won't do." Never even got to a test drive. It was off my list.
I mean, why not design a driver's seat so that it adjusts all the way back to the back seat if that's what you want to do? As a carmaker, why would you not want to maximize the number of potential customers who fit into your product, rather than limit it? Seems like something a smart business would want to do.
If your wife really loved you she would move the seat back for you before she got out I always do that for Gee but then again he is a spoiled brat of a boyfriend.
I'm looking to buy a new car and found a 02 maxima se with 32k miles for 15K (cloth and stereo is not bose! Is that a good price? My other options are 2002- 626/galant at 10K or 2002 -taurus/malibu at 10.5K. While, I realize that these cars are not really comparable and that the maxima has a much higher fun factor, which do you guys think is the better deal. Price is quite important to me, but i can spend more if I know it will work out better in the long run. thanks!
I do not think he abandoned it, totally- he is still a supporter of Honda if I can deduce from his posts. One thing that is really admirable is that Gee knows how to back up every claim he makes. He just makes the Mazda camp furious whenever he brings up "SALES".
That is a good price but keep in mind that is alot of mileage for basically a 1 year old car, and the warranty will be up in 4k miles. I would look for a lower mileage 02 Max so you will have a warranty longer of course you will have to pay a fw more thaousand bucks. The Max is in a different league than the others mentioned and is a fun car and 99% of the time arent cross shopped.
I must say that I am not surprised to hear you two are a couple. especially since gee uses an Infiniti pen-name but drives hondas and acuras...good luck to you two! <g>
I guess it's kind of ironic that he has an Infiniti screen name, is always in the Honda boards, and drives a Lexus. Only gee... you'd have to know him to understand.
For the A/C Honda vs. Nissan: ". And I didn't keep as long as I'm keeping my Altima. Plus every spring, I had to have the A/C on the Honda fixed, the air coming out wasn't cool. I never had to do once with the Altima!"
If you had to recharge the A/C every spring, then you probably weren't using A/C at all in the winter or maintaining it when you should be; if you don't, Honda tells you that the seals will dry up and you'll have to recharge the A/C. The A/C didn't automatically come on with the defroster for some models (correct me if I'm wrong here)...I've never had to recharge the A/C on my Honda (owned a 96 one for 6 years before my 2003 this year)...only time was when some idiot hit me and all sorts of liquids came pouring out
As for the height issue mentioned before, I've never had this problem in an Accord? I have hte EX-L though, so I'm not sure if teh 8-way power adjustment is making a difference for me. I'm 6'0" and I fit well into that car; I'm not very thin either, and I find getting in and out to be fine.
I just chose a Nissan Maxima over the Accord (I traded in an Accord, as a matter of fact). I chose the Maxima because I wanted a V6 engine with a stick-shift transmission. I have owned several Hondas and think they make great cars. I would have seriously considered a V6 Accord sedan with a 6-speed manual transmission, but Honda won't match it's V6 engine with a manual tranny in the sedan.
Are these 2 cars still competing with each other? I stopped comparing the 2 when the current generation maxima came out. Just based on price it doesnt seem like you can buy a maxima for less than a few thousand more than the accord. Well maybe with incentives. While window shopping the nissan lot..it seemed for a grand or 2 more I could have an infiniti. Maximas are a 30k car now.
The new GP is a major improvement over the previous version. The TL's looks aside, I bet a 270HP V6 6-speed Acura is a hoot to drive. It might be my car of choice when it comes time to part with my 04 Accord in 7 years. Looks are subjective but there isn't anything subjective about a screaming V6 mated to Acura's oh-so-nice manual transmission.
I refrained from seriously considering an Acura, Lexus or Infiniti. One of the drawbacks to living way out in the sticks is I have no Acura, Infiniti or Lexus dealers less than one hour away from me. The closest Acura dealer is 90 minutes away and the next closest is over 2 hours away.
I already checked with my local Honda dealer about servicing an Acura. They told me they can (and do) work on Acuras, but they are not allowed to do warranty work. How convenient is a new car with no dealer to do warranty work?
I do like it better than the previous version in terms of exterior styling.
As for the TL nice execution with the interior but the exterior again I don't know. The TL is like the Accord: It doesn't look Japanese enough for me. The new TL should be cool to drive though.
The new Max, in certain colours, look much better in the flesh than in photos. And truth be told, if I was choosing between only the Camry, Accord sedan, or the Max, I would pick the Max, price notwithstanding. The Max has always had an element of masculinity not found in the other models
I would be all over the Maxima if it didn't have the ugly front end that it has. I like the sides, and the back is really really nice IMO. I just can't stand the front end because of the grille and the headlights.
Comments
Please explain your comment "What I am saying is that Honda and Toyota interiors appear to hold up better. This comes from seeing way more of these cars than the normal person."
My dad certainly had a lot more trouble with his Camry. I was the one who told him to get the Camry, I wish I'd known better! His Cressida before that had a terrible record, thankfully he's off the Toyota diet now. There's absolutely zero evidence that Hondas/Toyotas are any more durable than Nissans!
Accord pros: gets better mileage (28 mpg so far); runs on regular; has better crash-test scores; accelerates nicely; has decent fit and finish; handling is fine; body seems very stiff and solid; nav system works great; voice controls work OK once you know the syntax.
Accord cons: seat doesn't go back far enough; if you tilt up seat cushion, seat back tilts back with it; huge blind spot in right rear C pillar; stereo sound and radio reception are unimpressive compared to the Maxima's Bose; the mishmash of some climate-control functions, nav and stereo controls all on the same touch screen is a bit confusing, so it behooves you to master the voice-control commands, or you're gonna rear-end someone.
'99 Maxima pros: handling; acceleration, engine performance; great legroom and roominess; utter dependability. It never cost us a dime in repairs.
'99 Maxima cons: it was black, which was a drag; crash-test scores not as good as the Accord.
The driver's seat in the Accord has turned out to be a big problem for us -- and we're not even that tall. Both of us are 6', but my wife's legs are longer, and she cannot, cannot, cannot get the seat back far enough. If she tilts the seat cushion to try to throw a bend in her leg to compensate, the seat back tilts, so that won't do.
We didn't detect this problem during three test drives -- only after buying the car and spending time in it.
What the heck do truly tall people drive, I want to know? After some after-the-fact research on my part, it turns out that they drive Maximas.
Anyway, we HATE the seat situation. Everything else about the Accord is great. I am exploring the possibility of having an upholstery/top shop extend the seat track. They say they do this from time to time. Does anyone have experience with this kind of surgery?
My friend with the Accord has an unusually tall ex-wife (6'3" or so) who drives (you guessed it) a Maxima.
Basketball players often have their cars modified to accomodate their unusual height but this costs money and probably wouldn't do anything but hurt the resale value.
6'0" shouldn't be a problem though as this is pretty much in the middle to high end of the range of the average American.
As for you saying the 99 Maxima offered better acceleration and engine performance, I find that hard to believe unless the 99 SE was a stick.
Thanks for trying to make me feel better anyway.
The silver lining is I don't ever have to worry about sunroofs taking away headroom!
The Accord seemed a little more interesting, which is an odd thing to say about an Accord, I'll admit. We drove a low-end Accord that seemed more like a typical rental car. But the high-end EX with leather and nav system was a lot of bells and whistles for the money -- many more so than the Max. Plus the better gas mileage, plus the regular gas, plus the LEV rating, plus the better crash-test scores -- from an empirical point of view, it just seemed like a better value than the Maxima, even when the Maxima was being deeply discounted to make room for the '04s.
Now, back when we bought our '99 Maxima, I drove a '99 Accord, and the choice was a no-brainer. That Honda was nuthin' special. This time around, we were quite impressed with the new Accord.
I just wish it -- and most cars, really -- had more legroom. I was interested in a Prius or a Civic hybrid as a second car, but both were short in legroom, and I was jammed against the ceiling of the Civic. Same goes with the Corolla. Like a lot of people I know (who are taller than me), I'd sit in a car for two minutes and have to say, "Nope. Won't do." Never even got to a test drive. It was off my list.
I mean, why not design a driver's seat so that it adjusts all the way back to the back seat if that's what you want to do? As a carmaker, why would you not want to maximize the number of potential customers who fit into your product, rather than limit it? Seems like something a smart business would want to do.
I kind of wish I had the memory seats in my new Maxima but I didn't want it bad enough to pay the extra $2,200 for a GLE.
My other options are 2002- 626/galant at 10K or 2002 -taurus/malibu at 10.5K.
While, I realize that these cars are not really comparable and that the maxima has a much higher fun factor, which do you guys think is the better deal. Price is quite important to me, but i can spend more if I know it will work out better in the long run.
thanks!
I know it is out of topic but it is really nice to know this...hmmm.
I think they actually fight like cats and dogs.
He still supports Honda. I just have to hear every day how superior his GS and LS are. That's okay ... we both know the truth
One thing about Gee is he always backs up what he has to say. He isn't one for b.s. Must be the Marine in him.
I guess it's kind of ironic that he has an Infiniti screen name, is always in the Honda boards, and drives a Lexus. Only gee... you'd have to know him to understand.
If you had to recharge the A/C every spring, then you probably weren't using A/C at all in the winter or maintaining it when you should be; if you don't, Honda tells you that the seals will dry up and you'll have to recharge the A/C. The A/C didn't automatically come on with the defroster for some models (correct me if I'm wrong here)...I've never had to recharge the A/C on my Honda (owned a 96 one for 6 years before my 2003 this year)...only time was when some idiot hit me and all sorts of liquids came pouring out
As for the height issue mentioned before, I've never had this problem in an Accord? I have hte EX-L though, so I'm not sure if teh 8-way power adjustment is making a difference for me. I'm 6'0" and I fit well into that car; I'm not very thin either, and I find getting in and out to be fine.
I already checked with my local Honda dealer about servicing an Acura. They told me they can (and do) work on Acuras, but they are not allowed to do warranty work. How convenient is a new car with no dealer to do warranty work?
As for the TL nice execution with the interior but the exterior again I don't know. The TL is like the Accord: It doesn't look Japanese enough for me. The new TL should be cool to drive though.
I love the Maxima in Champagne Mist or White