1997 Nissan Maxima SE review from North America

O2 sensors, Transmission at 130,000, Master Cylinder at 170,000.

Fast. reliable. Fast.

Had this car since it was 16,000 miles old. 1997 SE 5 speed.

Bought it from a pregnant lady who was stepping up to some huge SUV.

I never fix the 0 2 sensrs. I just reset the computer.

No issues from that.

Gas mileage has remained great.

Transmission fell out at 130,000. It was$2000 to replace, but I figured I would try and get 100,000 more out of it.

Master cylinder just went at 170,000 it will br $500.

So in summary-

I have spent about minimal in general up keep. Yes Nissan trannys can be alittle fragile especally since they put a major powerplant under the hood. The tranny replacement was worth it. This thing really just flies whether you step on it or not and I don't drive crazy. But the front brakes have been replaced twice (pads only) the back brakes once. Not bad.

The O2 sensors are not worth replacing. They are overly sensistive due to California's strict emission laws. Reset those suckers and get on your way, no worries. It won;t affect performance or fuel economy or the environment. The engine is working fine. I think it is about $175 for your Nissan dealership to do this for suckers. Sorry I mean cusotmers.

If you have never had to keep up a car of your own then this might seem like some major problems. Essentially it is about $25 month in general upkeep over the past 10 years. (not including tires and oil changes).

That is a deal.

Leather is just now starting to wear at 170K.

Other problem areas -

The starter- never had a problem on this one. Yet. My other GXE needed a new one at 90K.

I hear some people have bown head gaskets - due to driving hard and not maintaining the car (oil changes, other fluids, running cheap dirty gas) -to be expected.

Those are the all the worst case scenarios I can think of that you might experience with this car. if you are like my wife and think a car only needs gas and should work without any preventive investment and get mad anytime anything comes about then you really get what you deserve. With that type of thought process you will always have problems with any car you buy, even though they are making things more and more idiot proof.

This is a good bet and is seriously fast.

I don't do it often, but the car gets to 60 in 6 seconds flat.

It did get faster with age. The new maximas are fat pigs. Go with an altima.

And If I break it from doing 0 to 60 runs all the time - I get what I deserve. But I won't complain. It has been a good car. Thanks Nissan.