This is the turd in question. Link
It's a 2006 Maxima with a manual transmission. I assume it's a 3.5 VQ motor so kind of a mixed bag of reliability there but lots of forum support. What else do we know about these cars?
A little more back story I am moving from Upstate South Carolina back up to Wisconsin in a couple weeks. New job is a hybrid work from home/in office sorta deal but is roughly a 120 mile commute round trip on the days I need to be in the office from the new house. While I love my big, bumbly Yukon for beater truck stuff it does not make a good commuter, and will be up for sale here soon.
I have been searching for a manual econocar/family sedan that gets better gas mileage and is mildly engaging to drive. Manual Accords and Camrys are also on the search list but I stumbled across this machine last night
I dunno much about Maximas in general, but I would run from that one specifically. It looks like it's been jumped Dukes style. There's a reason there's 3 photos of the headliner and none of the front of the car.
Yeah, not that one.
V6 even with manual won't get better than 25 mpg. I'd focus on something else if mpg is the goal
In reply to John Welsh :
The goal is high 20's low 30's and space for two rear facing car seats. I'm looking for a balance of efficiency and comfort, I don't want a 40mpg rattletrap.
Ah, yes, two rear facing seats limits choices
4 Door Sports Car...
While that may not be true Maximas on the whole are pretty sweet and un/under appreciated. That one looks like it has had a hard life (true of many Nissan products) conceptually good but avoid that particular one.
I'm getting a hint that the car might have some stories to tell.
A Maxima or Altima that appears to be well maintained is a rare sight in these parts. I'd look for something else.
I noticed even the new ones have the 4DSC thing written on them. Nissan and I don't share a reality I suppose.
I would run away from that one, but I do want to like that era of Maxima. Potent V6 with a MT. They are mostly trashed now though.
I'd hold out for the Camry, Accord, or my favorite of the bunch, a Mazda 6.
M2Pilot said:
A Maxima or Altima that appears to be well maintained is a rare sight in these parts. I'd look for something else.
Nissan does seem to cater to people who don't have credit good enough for a Mitsubishi 
They are all trashed, except for a small handful of Z cars.
If I'm being completely honest I find the level of neglect Nissans receive actually intriguing. They don't seem to be well maintained usually but they seem like they are cockroaches, hard to kill.
Camry or Accord are of course both smarter options, a manual Mazda 6 might even be a smarter choice but aside from timing chains, VQ stuff and obvious neglect why not a Maxima?
Good chassis, fugly though.
Floor board rust is very common on that generation, but pretty easy to fix. Powertrain is pretty solid, the first gen VQ35DE may consume oil and at this age and mileage may need timing chains/guides. The plastic part of the guides do break with age. They will rattle and chew through the timing covers for quite some time so there's plenty of warning.
I don't remember off the top of my head if 2006 had the helical LSD available, but it might. SE was the correct trim level. If you want to add one, the one found in the Sentra Spec-V drops right in (same trans minus the bellhousing).
Pete. (l33t FS) said:
M2Pilot said:
A Maxima or Altima that appears to be well maintained is a rare sight in these parts. I'd look for something else.
Nissan does seem to cater to people who don't have credit good enough for a Mitsubishi
They are all trashed, except for a small handful of Z cars.
Yes, I agree. And then when they reached the used car market it just goes even further down the slope of neglect, abuse and sketchy DIY repairs.
Based on the recent "what highway cruiser should I get?" thread responses, what about the Chevy Impala? They're also not attractive and they're probably even less engaging to drive than the Maxima but I don't know if those things really matter here.
TBH, the last Maxima I drove reminded me a lot of a Chevy Impala..
I'd be looking hard for a clean Saab with a turbo 4. Gas is just gonna get worse and Saabs are a great place to consume highway miles safely and with a nice "euro" feel.
Hard find now but they did make the first gen mazda 6 with a MT and V6 in sport back and actual wagons too, finding a maxima that's not entirely clapped is a tall order anywhere tbh.
In reply to JtspellS :
A hatch with a stick and the 4 cylinder would be my pick of first gen Mazda 6 flavors.
...just don't buy one that's even sniffed winter road salt.
It might not be what you want to hear, but its what I believe in...
Buy a southern, rust free hybrid like this $5k Prius w/157k and take it north with you. That could be that you tow it north with the GMC and then sell the GMC as a rust free vehicle up north. Or, just drive the Prius as a second car headed north. The fuel required at 42 mpg might be cheaper than renting a tow dolly.
At 6'1", rear facing kids seats fit behind me as the driver
Before you say it's not big enough, know that they sell a 2" receiver hitch for Prius to accommodate bike and cargo carriers.
Gen2 Prius buyers guide
What do we know? They started out as Datsun 810's with the L series 6 cylinder from the 280ZX as a RWD car and a few had manual trannys.
Then one year it becsme the Maxima and the FWD version came out. Some early versions had awful velour couch seat cushions then they were called the "4 door sports car".
Is that the info you were looking for?
In reply to BlueInGreen - Jon :
I drove a 6 with that combo (MT, hatch and the 2.3 I4) and it drove so nicely. Had so much more feel than the Accords and Camrys I drove. I really felt like they nailed that chassis. I didn't buy it, but only because the seller was asking way too much.
Another option is the Impala with the DOHC 3.6 they got at a certain year, maybe 2009, IDK but you can look it up. Lots of power and decent MPGs if I remember right.
In reply to John Welsh :
Prius is an absolute no go for me. 6 speed maxima peaked my interest as being fun to drive and double the fuel economy of the Yukon. I don't need 40mpg I need an engaging cruiser with 3 pedals that is also not European(unless it's a TDI) or not an overhead cam GM product.
RacetruckRon said:
In reply to John Welsh :
I need an engaging cruiser with 3 pedals that is also not European(unless it's a TDI) or not an overhead cam GM product.
Sounds like you're looking for an Accord
Here's an interesting outlier. I liked these when they were newer...
2000 Altima w/manual This is the smaller Altima before it grew to the current size. At the time Maxima was the Camry size car for Nissan and Sentra was the Corolla size. This Altima was sized in-between the two. The engine is the 2.4L in fwd form. The same engine as rwd Nissan 240sx and Pickup truck of the time. I torque engine with a manual added. Not awesome on mpg but a pretty good driver.
The ad is rather incomplete with typo in miles but if the 12,500 is really 125,000 could be interesting. The price is high like most thing but this car will be slow to sell. I'm sure no one is out there looking for the same car.
Rare, but I'm not sure that translates to "worth a premium" but Mazda CX5, manual trans. asking $10.5k
Mini Cooper Countryman manual
SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) said:
RacetruckRon said:
In reply to John Welsh :
I need an engaging cruiser with 3 pedals that is also not European(unless it's a TDI) or not an overhead cam GM product.
Sounds like you're looking for an Accord
Or a 2004-2008 Acura TL-S.
