Hey Scotty,
I know that Toyota's and Honda's are an all better vehicle than Maxima's but I really like the 2002-2003 Maxima's. On Youtube I've seen countless 2000-2003 Maxima's with 250k miles + on them. I've even read countless blogs of people who are in maxima clubs/communities vouch that they have been lasting 250k+ miles with not much maintenance and problems. Is it ok to get a well taken care of one for a daily driver for myself? Or are they too old and problematic when price of maintenance, price of parts, price of labor and longevity are concerned?
They were made much better back in the day before they started lowering their quality, but I wouldn’t recommend one now as a high running daily driver, especially if you intend to put 20,000 miles/year (even if it was a Toyota).
With that said, if you must have one, look for one with very low mileage & mandatorily have it inspected by a professional mechanic, before purchase.
I am not a fan of those, but having said that they were definitely better built back then. Normally I wouldn't recommend buying one but if you really like it you would still be better off with it than a newer Maxima.
They tend to burn a lot of oil. Mine does. Not as reliable as Toyota. Rough ride but sporty. Think I would buy a Camry even if more expensive
The fifth generation Maxima is probably the last Maxima year I would consider.
Renault began its collaboration with Nissan in 1999. But the generation you are looking into came out in 2000, where Renault had little less influence on its design and manufacture.
