4th Gen. question

I currently own a 3rd generation Maxima, and I like it better than any other car I've owned. It's especially nice for the long business trips I take. The car handles great, and the seats are very comfortable on long drives.

Only problem is, it has around 200K miles on it. Time to get a new used Maxima. Since finding a 3rd gen one with low mileage is unrealistic, I'm hoping for a low-mileage 4th gen. model.

My questions are:

  1. Does the 4th gen model handle as nicely as the 3rd gen?
  2. How's the reliability for the 4th gen?
  3. Are the seats as comfortable? (I know that sounds trivial, but I drive 10-hour days on a regular basis, and the seats in my previous Honda Accord just about killed me.)

TIA,

Steve Green

Reply to
Steve Green
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Get an SE and it does.

Reliability ? Oh yeah, you mean what happens to other makes of cars, when stuff breaks, right ? About the only thing I hear of people replacing are the ignition coils in some cars.

Very nice, I recommend the power and leather.

Bob

Reply to
'nuther Bob

It is not trivial to me either. Gotta say I don't think the 4th Gen seats were initially as comfy as my 3rd Gen SE. I got a 95 about 10 months ago (w 96K miles), and the first thing I noticed was the cloth seats felt hard and honda-like. They don't wrap around you much. But over the 10 mos I have gotten used to them and report no backaches etc. Agree the 3rd Gen was the one of the most comfortable cars built by anyone. Avoid auto transmission. My 95's A/T has a mind of its own. Overall vehicle reliability has been great. I have not sat in a

3rd Gen lately to compare again. Maybe that's a good thing. The 4th Gen leather seat construction may be entirely different comfort-wise, as suggested by another poster. Overall, however, the 4th Gen cars are fine. Drive a few. Every used car is different, and the variability is wide. Good luck. Bob 95 SE Auto 89 SE Auto traded
Reply to
BeeP

There is nothing wrong with the 4th gen auto tranny.

The 1996 I30 was the MOST reliable car made that year. Yes, it beat Lexus and you-name-it. (I'm talking about specific models here, not entire car lines, where Lexus does prevail, one notch above Infiniti.)

The I30 did not come off the same assembly line as the Maxima, although the Max was also made in Japan at the time & is very good.

Given depreciation knocking the price of an I30 down almost to Maxima levels, you may want to consider a 1996-1999 I30. The I30t has the "Maxima SE" suspension if that interests you, and normally comes fully loaded with everything although some things could be deleted for credit. On average, an I30 may not have been subject to as much abuse as a Maxima.

Not to demean a Maxima either, it is an excellent choice.

JM

Reply to
JM

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