Thinking of buying a Maxima

[SubwayGuy]

Well most of you know my car was hit fairly recently. It was a grand total of $1768.87 and I will be keeping all the money as I am fixing the car myself. My brother is a Nissan guy as he currently owns a 2006 Nissan Altima 2.5S Special Edition. He will be getting a 2006 Infiniti G35 this summer, so he has read a thing or two about Nissan motors. The car I am interested in is a 2001 Maxima SE. This has the 3.0L V6. I want this car for a few reasons: 1. They are fairly cheap and cheap to maintain. 2. Their gas mileage is pretty decent. 3. A 3.0L V6 pushes over 220 horsepower and its 0-60 time is about 1 second better than the Grand Prix's. My current GP has .8L more and less horsepower. That should say something right there. Also they can come in a 5spd . Mt brother said the 2002+ Maxima's with the 3.5L have oil problems where the piston rings wear prematurely and burn oil. I am excited about this car as I see a lot of potential for it, but I have to sell or trade my current car first, which will take a while.

[Fivefingerdeathpunch]

I don't like the engine bays, everything has a million wires and pointless hoses to them. The 3.5 VQ's are a little different but same thing way to many parts lol.

And they RUST like crazy in minnesota.


Otherwise I only know minor things about them from working on only a handful through my work.

Dave/Drunkie on here is a maxima guru of sorts, maybe he can chime in.

[SubwayGuy]

Yeah all the ones I've found on craigslist seem to be rusted out pretty bad. If I get one though, it MUST have a 5spd lol.

[16MustangVet]

Has CVT transmission no thanks the end..............

[Fivefingerdeathpunch]

Has CVT transmission no thanks the end..............

Only ones from like 2008 or 2010+.

He's talking about a way older car.

[djudge1970]

Not an American company. But that's just my hangup. (Exception is Euro supercars).

[95naSTA]

VQ30DE-Ks are pretty solid and they respond well to boost. They've got high rod to stroke ratio meaning the rod is at less of an angle with the crank and won't stress the bearings as much.

It's only the early 02-03 VQ35s that burn oil.

On the 4th and 5th gen Maxs, the lower radiator support will rust out where the lower engine cross-member bolts to and it'll rip out eventually. It's not really a matter of if, it's when. It's a pretty big job.

Wheel bearings on these are kind of a pain since they're pressed in.

The rear calipers lock up prematurely.

But otherwise, these cars really aren't that hard to work on.

I would personally find a 02-03 car with a blown motor and swap in a 07+ Altima or 09+ Maxima VQ35. These engines had HR head castings, more aggressive cams, and a more free flowing upper intake. There are threads and info on how to make those work on maxima.org. The 09+ Max engine has been pushed over 300whp n/a on stock cams. The Alti engine is basically an 09 Max engine but with static exhaust cam timing.

[Bluemagic]

Everything he said above besides the fact that most of the VQ35s burns oil. Up until like 2008.

[stealthee]

Not an American company. But that's just my hangup. (Exception is Euro supercars).

Most American companies aren't even American.

[95naSTA]

Sorta true but the early engines are the dubbed the oil burners. They get far worse than a half a qt between oil changes.

[SubwayGuy]

Does anyone have a real good idea of when those engines start burning oil? The 3.5L that is. I kind of want one more than the 3.0L because they have more power and come in a 6spd rather than a 5spd, but the oil burning issue is really a turn down. Some guy on the Maxima forums said he has to add about 2qt's of oil every 1000 miles. That is not healthy at all. Regardless, they still put down a good amount of power.

[Bluemagic]

Oil is cheap.

[SubwayGuy]

I'm not looking at purchasing a car that sucks oil like no other. My GP now loses oil from the VC gasket and it's a pain to keep up with.

[mars5l]

Id totally take a VQ35 powered maximia with a manual 6 speed over GP

[SubwayGuy]

That's what I'm saying, but I'd rather have my GP if the Maxima burned oil like no other. I'd be happy with either a 3.0L 5spd or 3.5L 6spd. Either way still faster than my GP.

[REDCRAPGP]

I'm not looking at purchasing a car that sucks oil like no other. My GP now loses oil from the VC gasket and it's a pain to keep up with.

Then swap out those VC gaskets... Easy solution right.


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[Bluemagic]

Yup and again. Oil is cheap. Common issue plagued by those cars but if you keep an eye on the oil your golden and they make nice power and they come in manual

[chrsmi1]

Id totally take a VQ35 powered maximia with a manual 6 speed over GP

They're nice cars but c'mon man. Grand prix for life....


Also, I'll give you 2k to mod a good running maxima and i'll take 2k to mod a good running gp. See who goes faster.

[16MustangVet]

modded gp cheaper and faster than a modded maxipad just saying. unless your hell bent on getting a manual trans one then sure but still cost more to mod.

[Bluemagic]

If you looking for cheap speed keep the prix. If you looking for a better all around car and manual get the maxima