I am considering a 98 Maxima with an automatic trans and 90000 miles.
I do not know anything about it's history yet.

Background:
I have been driving a 1985 Toyota pickup for the last 15 years.
The engine lasted 200000 miles with no major problems, but now at
287000 the A/T is giving out and I'm thinking the $800-$2400 repair
cost might be better spent on a *slightly* newer vehicle ;-)

Can I expect longevity like this out of a Maxima?
Anything I will be sure to encounter from a 98 or 95 that I should
know about beforehand?


TIA

....

noneyabusiness wrote:
They are practically indestructible. Get the trans fluid changed and
enjoy. Easily a 200K car.

On Sat, 26 Mar 2005 10:24:37 GMT, noneyabusiness <me (AT) you (DOT) com> wrote:
I have one of the first 95 Maxima SE 5-spds off the boat (purchased May
1994) still going strong after considerable autocross competition. 95 or
later have timing chain, so no worry about timing belt. I had no
reservations buying a 2001 Pathfinder last spring with 99,000 miles on it.

No major mechanical problems with Maxima engine, original clutch or manual
trans. I have had to replace starter, 1 front wheel bearing (maybe
hitting a curb), and the occasional fuel injector (not disabling, just
runs a little rough when an injector fails). Struts were replace around
100k miles (not sure if they were really worn out, but stut boots had
disintegrated after many years outside). I still enjoy driving it.

I'd be surprised if the Nissan would hold up like a Toyota
does. My wife has a Corolla she bought used and I *know*
it was abused by a hot-rodder. But the thing still runs like a
champ! My '97 Nissan XE pickup has been "Okay" but it
still has not been nearly so trouble free as the Toyota is.
My next vehicle will be a Toyota, for sure. Their quality is
legendary - you can but the Consumer Reports automotive
book and check-out what they are saying about cars too.

A guy at work told me his uncle is a Toyota mechanic & has
been one for about 20 years. The uncle told him that he has
*never* done any work on a Corolla! This "kid" gave away
his old "crappy" Toyota Starlet to his brother who needed a
commuter car because he drove a long way to work & needed
to save on gas. Now the kid is kinda "pissed" he parted with
that car. For a while he had an Olds he'd bought cheap,
but then he traded for a used Corolla.

Buy a Toyota! The factory almost forgot to grease the front
wheel bearings in my Nissan XE truck. So I tried to pull off
the brake backing (mounting) plate on the left side and had
to borrow an air impact tool to do that! Then I wrung-off one
of those brake & spindle assembly bolts with the impact
tool & has to pay a garage to use a torch to get the damn
thing out. The grease filling plug in the rear end (differential)
was also *jammed* in the diff. case - so the mechanics
*also* needed to use heavy tools to unscrew that plug for
me.

The distributor cap kept getting dirty which caused the
truck not to start in wet weather. So I still need to clean
the plug wires and the distributor once in a while to keep
the high voltage from being shorted-out by moisture. Now
my knock detector (detonation sensor) is bad and I
had to write to this N.G. to find out where they Nissan
guys HID that things - it's probably tucked in under the
oil filter where its gonna be a bitch to change.

So buy yourself a Toyota! I've only had to replace the
starter and the alternator on the Corolla - plus all of the
motor mounts too which were torn when this hot-rodder
who had this care previously had tried to do wheelies.
This '94 car was "showing" 24,000 - but I bet it had at
least 100,000 miles on it.

"noneyabusiness" <me (AT) you (DOT) com> wrote

Whatever people say about "undestructable" a lot depends on previous owner.
Owners like myself sell things in near-new orsitine condition, because I am
a part-time student and part-time EE engineer I am still far below our
engineering fellows in terms of income. SO I thought if my car ever breaks
down I am in a megatrouble, I do NOT have a luxury of visiting repair shops
or even replacing cars too often, so the way I drive is truly ridiculous.
Never hard brake/accelerate and hard means I am like a 70-year old lady,
slow acceleration, brake like a mile before lights and always calculating
when lights change, I GARAGE MY SENTRA ON RAINY/SNOWY DAYS - IT'S WORTH TO
PAY 12 BUCKS AT OUR MUNICIPAL GARAGE FOR 24 HOURS OR BETTER YET A MONTHLY
PASS I PAID SEVERAL TIMES THAN FEEL LIKE AN ASS THE NEXT MORNING LOOKING AT
YOUR TREASURE BURRIED IN whatever falls from the sky.

So this is one case, if it's your previous owenr then your Maxima is a very
good choice. Nissan was known for excellent engines (substance) but poor
exterior (appearance) which was perfectly OK now, at present Nissan is
trying to change bad exterior legacy with 2005 models designed in the USA
known for better exterior design and engines still Japanese better than
American.

On the other hand, if your previous owner was a young kid or some rich
bastard, I am not sure what's left of a great engine Nissan installed in
Maximas.

You gave the wrong answer. He didnt ask about pickups, etc he asked about
Maximas. Nissan is known for excellent sedan engines, it's not that famous
for pickups, pickups is a weak are ain Nissan's business so dont complain.
Americans (Ford, GM) make best pickups and more or less SUV's, when it comes
to smaller sedans you cant complain on Nissan, it's BETTER than Toyota under
hood, it may be worse on the outside (exterior design) which I dont care as
much as for engine

In general, I agree with you in the previous owner thing. But the '95 to
'99 Max is so bulletproof mechanically, it's much less of an issue. It's
one of the nicest and most durable V6 every built.

Marco Licetti wrote:

what's the heck is the point of discussing your PICKUP when the guy asked
about Maxiam sedan you say Toyota quality is legendary, but qe all say
Nissan quality is legendary in sedans, we dont discuss pickups which may be
btter from Toyota. And if you insist on pickups, Toyota is not even the
best, the best are Americans - American trucks/pickups and large SUV's are
the best, japanese lead in smaller cars, Europeans lead in exterior design
and unique cars.

To each his own, so dont blast Maximas. I dont work for Nissan, I dont work
for any auto corporation, I am an electricl engineer.

Sounds like a good post for the Toyota group.
'Bye!

"Ruth Cory" <onion3833 (AT) worldnet (DOT) att.net> wrote

TWW wrote:

Their lack of low end torque tends to make it easy on the drivetrain:P

CD