New addition to the auto fam

[firefighterwhite89]

My wonderful Girlfriend and I bought her a new car. She wouldn't settle for another 3gee, so....we wound up getting a 1997 Nissan Maxima in near mint condition. V6 5 Speed for $900. I always thought that nearly all Japanese cars were just built better period by design and technology. Newflash:Nissan has some of the dumbest fucking ideas on planet earth...

-Two fuses for the clock?
-Door lights, Map/Dome lights are ran through the window control panel(Whoever thought of that needs shot with rock salt) so if for some reason a bulb burns out and happens to short out your window controls, this mean no interior lighting or window control until you buy the whole unit...which i promise comes plated in iridium with diamond bezels...or at least it better for $250+
-New keyless entry system? To nissan it was...and it definately has a mind of its own. Nothing like waking up in the middle of my sleep to shut the damn car alarm off for no reason.
-Why NISSAN no put door lights in the back? Maybe to shave costs?
-How did they come up with the idea that the oil filter mounted less than 1 inch proximity to the exhaust header? I smell disaster until long heavy loads.
-The stock BOSE radio is plagued with the wonderful volume knobs that are self adjusting according to how big the bumps in the road are, but will turn up if anything when trying to turn it down and vice versa.
-Who in their right mind would put snow winter rated tires on this 4 door, in the middle of summer in ALABAMA? (It snows MAYBE once every 3-4 years here...there's no need for passenger cars with buckshot like tires...


Other than a few other things, let me tell you...this thing is no where near comparable to my 28 year old Honda by any means...Reliability is what I myself strive for, and after getting a newer car, it appears that I do still have yet, the most reliable car i've ever had...No matter what, I'll always LOVE my Hondas.

[2oodoor]

Well happy birthday anyways

[Dr_Snooz]

LOL. Glad to hear you like the new car.

I remember looking at a new Mitsubishi Galant years ago at a car lot. I got in and literally the first thing I saw was the cover over the cigarette lighter. Instead of putting a proper hinge on it, they simply folded the plastic over. I remember thinking that it would fall off after three uses and I'd have to throw it away. Then I realized that if the very first thing I saw was obviously junk, how much junk was lurking where I couldn't see? That lighter cover turned me off of Mitsubishis ever after.

So no, it's not better just because it's Japanese.

[gp02a0083]

firefighter, its hard to find cars that are nearly as reliable as our own 3rd gens, they just don't make cars like they used to. As far as Japanese cars go, i've been partial to toyota and honda, but even then you still got problems here and there and noting is bullet proof. it's always fun to learn about things on a new platform but it can be really frustrating. good luck with the new ride!

[cygnus x-1]

For $900 I wouldn't expect miracles. Decent used vehicles are more expensive than they used to be.

I had an '89 Maxima that was an absolutely fantastic car. Eventually I had to get rid of it because it was so rusty underneath I couldn't put a jack under it.

Then I got a 2000 Frontier that has also been great. It's rusting away now too, and I'll probably have to look at replacing it next year or so. Would like to get a van, but not sure what to get. Probably will have to break my long time pattern and get a domestic.


C|

[gp02a0083]

For $900 I wouldn't expect miracles. Decent used vehicles are more expensive than they used to be.

I had an '89 Maxima that was an absolutely fantastic car. Eventually I had to get rid of it because it was so rusty underneath I couldn't put a jack under it.

Then I got a 2000 Frontier that has also been great. It's rusting away now too, and I'll probably have to look at replacing it next year or so. Would like to get a van, but not sure what to get. Probably will have to break my long time pattern and get a domestic.


C|

you may be right and have to break into the domestic market, the honda oddesy's held up decently from waht i saw in the body shops, however they had soo many troubles with the transmissions it makes it almost not worth thinking about them.

sad that all these good cars were mechanically sound and reliable yet the chassis and bodies on them waste away before anything else.

[firefighterwhite89]

Well happy birthday anyways

Thank you sir.