What is the most desirable generation of Maxima?

[aces805]

Hello All,

Just wanted to pose this question to the Maxima enthusiasts...My grandfather had an 88 that had a ton of options and I always thought it was the coolest car. One of my buddies recommends for me to get a 95 Max and it will be money well spent, as his 95 has done very well. The 09 looks so sick I love it! So, which generation of Maxima is the best for the money? I need another reliable car, so I've decided to go with a Maxima and I've got about $7000 to spend. Thanks in advance!

[MinisterofDOOM]

Every Maxima has it's ups and downs vs the others.5.5 ('02, '03) gen is probably best bang-for-the-buck thanks to the VQ35. Don't think you can find one for $7k, though. Earlier 5th gens ('00, '01) had the VQ30 instead but were otherwise the same.

4th ('95-99) gens are nice, too. Can be had cheaply, The VQ30 is great, they'll run forever.

3rd gen ('89-94) is less powerful but has a superior chassis design. Very well-balanced car and it has IRS unlike 4th and 5th gens. I LOVE my third gen, even with it's meager 160hp. Later SE third-gen ('92-94) had a more powerful motor and were even more fun. Third gen will run forever, too.

No matter what Max you buy, manual trans is ideal. They're tougher and less failure-prone than autos.

[tigersharkdude]

I have owned a 96 and a 99 and I like the 99 much better. I would recommend a 97-99

[jsmithsole]

Of course I'll the the 6th gen but it is the only one I have owned and I love it. But I did a quick look on EBAY and there's plenty of 5th gens in your price range. I'd say go with the 5.5 gen if you plan to mod there's tons of stuff you can do...

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/it...em282

[aces805]

I have owned a 96 and a 99 and I like the 99 much better. I would recommend a 97-99

What are the reasons why you prefer the 97-99 over the 96?

BTW, thx for the replies boys.

[tigersharkdude]

the fronts are different and the trunks are different

95-9697-99

[MinisterofDOOM]

Yeah, the minor exterior changes to the '97-'99 made a big difference.

[sr20daze]

i got a 90 max, got it for 400 dollars, and runs like a champ, its not the fastes but i love the lines of it. i put about 4k miles on it this vacation and it gave me no problems getting to mexico and back

[kzoosho]

I have a 97 99 and 91 and i must say i love my 4th gens.

[slydin'240]

We have an '03 and love it. I didn't notice where you where from but they are

pretty cheap around here unless you buy it from a dealership.

[Chris92SE]

If I had about $7k, I would get one of three Maximas

1) 99 SE-L 5-speed

2) 2001 AE 5-speed

3) 5.5 gen with a 6MT. You might have to do a lot of searching for one with reasonably low miles for that price.

I really love my 3rd gen, but it's almost impossible to find one in good condition and virtually all of them need some work. My car is reasonably fast, handles pretty well and is reliable, however, it is now 17 years old and I rarely see them around that aren't beat to death.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I really love my 3rd gen, but it's almost impossible to find one in good condition and virtually all of them need some work. My car is reasonably fast, handles pretty well and is reliable, however, it is now 17 years old and I rarely see them around that aren't beat to death.

Yeah, that sadly is a really good point. I see a lot of 3rd gens being driven by high school kids these days, all beat to crap and just waiting to die.

[jltibbs]

the fronts are different and the trunks are different

95-9697-99

Brad, why be a tool? OP, the top pic is a stock 95-96. the bottom pic is a modded 97-99.

Click my sig and you can see many different variations of the 95-96 model in my 'old school' and 'web' folders.