- It's too bad your Maxima was such a disappointment.
- My personal Nissan sample is: 1989 Maxima GXE (109K), 1993 Nissan Altima GLE, 1998 Nissan Quest GLE, 1997 Maxima GLE, 2000 Maxima SE , 2003 Pathfinder LE (49.5K). Each as perfect as its predecessor. Gotta be honest, we don't keep cars that long or that high mileage. By the time our cars would get to 177K, they'd be 20 years old (and woefully outdated!)
- The Ford/Firestone/Tire and Rollover debacle is well documented (no opinion there). The Ford Expy underhood (cruise component?) and subsequent house fires are documented. Coverups/denials were rampant. Ford foot-dragging has killed lots of their coveted customers over many decades. Not opinion. Quite indefensible.
- Maxima.org is almost all ricers that beat/modify the hell out of their cars. To use their experiences to say:"Look at how those Nissans are falling apart" is really not fair. I will guarantee you that if those same people treated Accords that way, you would see similar results. I truly don't think most people take care of their possessions (cars) and by and large reap what they sow. If on the other hand a product is well maintained and still causes trouble, only then do they get my sympathy.
- On Fresh Alloy (my only exposure to Pathy owners), nobody is having issues with their Pathfinder VQ35s. Of couse the Pathfinder buyer is typically making over $100K (class of buyer means everything) and not treating their VQ35 (same as the Maximas) like the numbskulls at Maxima.org do.
- I choose to use CR (with their immense sampling) along with other reputable outlets to gauge overall predicted reliability, and therefore quality or lack of it (junkiness). Nissans do just as well in all the important areas (engine, transmission, fuel system, electrical, AC, cooling) as Honda and Toyota. I see no pattern of all these VQ35 problems the Maxima.org members are bitchin, about. Of course the ricers and dingbats aren't CR subscribers and therefore survey respondents... normal people are. And THAT'S the sample I will trust to determine a brand or models reliability. When responsible people own Japanese cars, the cars (generally) prove to be reliable and age well. When these same people own domestics, the cars (generally) prove to be troublesome and fall apart quickly. THAT is junk in my book!
- As an aside, I will gladly admit the post-Ghosn newly developed Nissans (2002 Altima was the beginning) have lacked interior quality and have dropped from way above average overall reliability to sometimes just average overall (or horrifyingly below average: Titan/Armada/QX56!)... the biggest reason I did not buy a 2004 Maxima (huge letdown) and was ready to buy a new I35 (a nicer pre-Ghosn 5th Gen JDM Max) when I was sidetracked by the Accord I now have (unexpectedly, I might add).
Oh, and one final thing... I really like that Milk of Magnesia/Electric Blue color of yours. Have yet to see one down here in Florida. Always liked interesting blue colored cars. I once seriously lusted after a new Dodge Omni GLH when I was in college in electric blue with a big silver stripe front to back.
