1999 Maxima - Luxury Car at Bargain Price?

I bought a 1999 Maxima GLE in 2002 right around this time of year (March). Since that time, I have put almost 30,000 kms on the car, driven it across Western Canada and back twice in the summers, and used it to ferry our two children to school and my wife and I to work every day.

Our winters here in Winnipeg Canada can be challenging to say the least (-40F twice this January), with lots of snow, wind and slippery driving conditions. As well, summer temps sometimes reach 95F so we pretty well span the extremes of North American weather in one location.

Through all of these different driving conditions, the Maxima has been a great vehicle. It starts without hesitation on cold winter days, runs cool in summer and, as many others have noted here, has a V6 engine that is accomplished beyond its horsepower ratings (190 hp in the 99).

As well, at 6 foot 4, I don't fit well into a lot of cars. With the Maxima I have good leg room in the front, and indeed, have sat in the back seat without too much discomfort. This is a big sedan with very nicely laid out controls, good visibility and lots of room in the back seat for our growing children (8 and 11).

One slightly annoying feature of the GLE model is that the default transmission mode is Overdrive. Great for the highway, but not so good for city driving in and out of traffic. If you leave the car in the default O/D position, the transmission will tend to shift up and down between 40 and 60 kph. With the Overdrive off however, the Max revs happily and strongly all the way up the power band.

In terms of reliability, we had only two repairs in the two years and these were right at the beginning. The EGR valve had to be replaced (probably because the previous owner did not use premium gas as recommended) and an AC hose was cracked and needed replacement as well.

Since then it has been smooth sailing. Unlike a lot of other Japanese cars, the Maxima has a metal chain timing belt and replacement isn't anywhere near as frequent or critical as it is on other cars (a $350 repair on my Honda Accord).

The Maxima is that rare car that can be different things to different people, part sports sedan, part family hauler, part luxury four door. Inevitably a car will have to compromise in some areas, but with the Nissan Maxima, it does a lot of things very well and only a few things relatively ordinary (the suspension and ride does not match the wonderful light feel of the Honda Accord).