It's been a great four years, with a bittersweet ending...

First the highs:
Incredibly reliable. In four years I've put almost 70,000 miles on the car. The total expenditures to date have been less that $2000, LABOR INCLUDED, no joke. That figure includes tires (always H rated), brakes (Midas lifetime, with four new rotors and approx 3-4 pad replacements), tie rod ends (also Midas), exhaust from the catalytic converter back (Midas again, but check this out: when they installed my brakes they informed me then that the exhaust LOOKED like it was ready to be replaced soon...but it lasted for another 3 YEARS), a new battery, distributor cap and rotor, and most recently the original high capacity alternator was rebuilt. That $2000 would be a very reasonable amount to spend on a new car that had 70,000 miles placed on it. However my 70,000 were placed on a car that had 108,000 when I purchased it. Yes, that's correct, I've almost 178,000 miles on my car. It is by far the most reliable car I've ever owned, surpassing even Honda and Toyota. Almost too reliable, as I've regularly forgotten to change the oil and do other preventive maintenance on the car. I basically just fixed things IF they broke. Now don't get me wrong, while reliability is very important in a car, it really is a boring aspect compared to driving enjoyment. That is where the Maxima shines.

My vehicle is the sportier SE model which includes ABS with 4 wheel disc brakes vs. rear drums on the lesser cars, generally firmer suspension and a nice complement of luxury equipment thrown in for good measure. While my car does have the 4 speed automatic (I settled for this, but wanted the 5 speed stick) it does not feel underpowered in most situations. Indeed it will "bark" the front tires with a too quick application of the go pedal. The sound that it makes going up through the rev range is quite enjoyable coming from the V-6. A nice blend of throaty intake "moan" combined with a subdued but still audible exhaust note that has a much more pleasant quality than most domestic V-6's (are you listening GM?) and this from a fairly uncomplicated motor. It is the SOHC V-6 that was the standard in the 89-94 vintage cars as the base engine. It is an amazing engine really considering that it has no VTECH or similar variable valve timing system, is only a SOHC, and runs on regular gas. In doing some research on this engine it is not uncommon for it to exceed 200,000 miles and I've found a couple of mentions of over 300,000.
Handling has always been exemplary, with only a slight trade-off in ride quality. That's saying a lot considering that I drive on the crater-ridden roads of Pennsylvania. Steering feel is very confidence inspiring, feeling as at home at triple digit speeds as it does at 65 mph. Interior ergonomics are great, and the styling of the entire interior is still great all these many years later. Even at this advanced state of age/miles (the car not me) it has almost no interior rattles (one of my pet peeves). The only drawbacks on the interior are the lack of any cupholders, and the maddening motorized shoulder seat belts. Fuel economy is only about average ranging from the high teens to the mid 20's with a constant mix of city/highway. I'm certain that better fuel economy is possible, but I'm unable to live the life of a conservation poster child. So to wrap up about this great car, let me pose the question: What's not to like? Read on...

Now the lows:
Minor amounts of surface rust around the rear wheel wells in close proximity to the rear door openings (I'll point out again, this is Pennsylvania, the heart of the rust-belt). Please pardon the following excessive use of caps but I must now point out the Achilles heals. This fault lies not with the car, but with the manufacturer: It seems that when the car was designed and built, inadequate clearance was provided between the driver’s side rear wheel well and the fuel filler tube. This allowed just enough room for mud/snow mixed with road salt to become trapped. Causing corrosion to both the fuel tube and the wheel well. It wouldn't be so bad, but the wheel well corrodes EXACTLY where the drivers side rear passenger seatbelt spool mechanism bolts to the car. So besides the wetness in your trunk, the possibility of fuel leaking, and a viscous corrosion cycle continuing, you either have an inoperable seatbelt, or one that is working but will fail in a catastrophic fashion in the event of an accident. This problem was identified by the National Highway,Traffic, and Safety Administration (NHTSA for short) and they issued a recall. However, NISSAN IS REFUSING TO PERFORM THE NHTSA MANDATED RECALL ON THIS CAR. UPON CONTACTING NISSAN TO INQUIRE ABOUT GETTING THE WORK DONE THEY REQUESTED MY VIN FROM AND THEN NOTIFIED ME THEY WERE ABLE TO DETERMINE FROM MY VIN THAT MY CAR IS NOT ONE OF THE CARS INVOLVED IN THE RECALL CAMPAIGN, BUT REFUSED TO PROVIDE ANY PROOF TO THIS EFFECT. The NHTSA recall notice sent to Nissan is on the NHTSA website, as well as Nissan's response to NHTSA and their promise to complete the work, along with a very detailed list of what is to be done the dealership or body shop to remedy the problem. So there you have it, a truly great car with one potentially fatal flaw in its armor, but one that should be repaired for free by the manufacturer. It appears that the estimate to have this repaired according to Nissan repair specifications would be in excess of $2000 including parts and labor.