tuna55
Dork
12/17/10 3:34 p.m.
belteshazzar wrote:
tuna55 wrote:
fastmiata wrote:
Nissan Maxima SE: you cannot kill one of these cars.
Can to! The only guy I know that bought one had the auto weld the input shaft to the case sitting in the driveway.
lies!
okay, maybe not a lie, but definitely an exception to the norm.
For DD duty a Maxima is an excellent choice.
As a matter of fact I am having this exact possible discussion. A Maxima, Aurora and LS came up as possible bigger four door options. I dunno...
LS's look good on paper, but imo it's an intentionally under-engineered Jag, and all that that implies. At least it's RWD. But it will be broke more often, harder to find parts for, more expensive to fix, than the other two.
The Aurora will/should be cheap, but thirsty and slow. And leaky.
Maxima will be more efficient, more reliable, and faster than the Lincoln and the Olds. If all three are in tip top shape, the Nissan will ride the worst. HOWEVER, both the Olds and the Lincoln are more likely to be tired and loose at comparable mileage unless they've been thoroughly gone through. So the slick way they slid down the road 8-12 years ago might not be so relevant anymore.
tuna55
Dork
12/18/10 8:26 a.m.
belteshazzar wrote:
LS's look good on paper, but imo it's an intentionally under-engineered Jag, and all that that implies. At least it's RWD. But it will be broke more often, harder to find parts for, more expensive to fix, than the other two.
The Aurora will/should be cheap, but thirsty and slow. And leaky.
Maxima will be more efficient, more reliable, and faster than the Lincoln and the Olds. If all three are in tip top shape, the Nissan will ride the worst. HOWEVER, both the Olds and the Lincoln are more likely to be tired and loose at comparable mileage unless they've been thoroughly gone through. So the slick way they slid down the road 8-12 years ago might not be so relevant anymore.
They are all rated about the same for fuel economy, by the way, and my buddy with a '02 Maxima (auto) never broke 20 mpg. He also had the aforementioned transmission issue, so I am not ready to accept that they're that much more reliable either.
In reply to ReverendDexter:
If i found a 3.0 cressida wagon with a manual, for $1,500 that was a good runner I would just HAVE TO buy it!
The last generation aurora was a pretty nice car, even the V8 cars (northstar based) get upper 20s for mpg on the highway. The interior is well done and the prices are probably lower now that olds is defunct. I am a little biased though, I thought it was a nice upgrade from the intrigue my mom used to drive. Might be larger than the maxima.
upwardlymobilehome wrote:
In reply to ReverendDexter:
If i found a 3.0 cressida wagon with a manual, for $1,500 that was a good runner I would just HAVE TO buy it!
The 3.0ltr cars were only available as automatics. The third generation however can be had with a manual.
tuna55
Dork
12/18/10 5:28 p.m.
Nitroracer wrote:
The last generation aurora was a pretty nice car, even the V8 cars (northstar based) get upper 20s for mpg on the highway. The interior is well done and the prices are probably lower now that olds is defunct. I am a little biased though, I thought it was a nice upgrade from the intrigue my mom used to drive. Might be larger than the maxima.
That's where I was living, but then I thought about the RWD and stick shift goodness in the LS and I wasn't so sure.
This is all to potentially replace the turbobrick, by the way. I am hijacking the thread now, sorta. My apologies.
In reply to tuna55:hijack away, I'm following this!
I haven't seen anyone suggest volvo turbo wagon yet, so here it goes... May I sugest a volvo turbo wagon from the 90's... I use my 91 as a daily driver, I paid slightly less than your thread price for it (everyone says I overpaid but oh well), it has about 80 miles on it, heated seats, blah, blah, blah. It is an automatic though but you can get them w 4 speeds if you can find them that is.
tuna55
Dork
12/18/10 7:59 p.m.
plance1 wrote:
I haven't seen anyone suggest volvo turbo wagon yet, so here it goes... May I sugest a volvo turbo wagon from the 90's... I use my 91 as a daily driver, I paid slightly less than your thread price for it (everyone says I overpaid but oh well), it has about 80 miles on it, heated seats, blah, blah, blah. It is an automatic though but you can get them w 4 speeds if you can find them that is.
That's what I (not the OP) am looking at replacing. The thing seems hell bent on destroying itself, and I am sick of mail ordering EVERYTHING when I need it to get to work! They local place did have the upper radiator hose. Luckily. It fits from 1991-1991. Seriously.
It's a nice ride. If you ignore the 80's luxury interior that deteriorates quickly, and the fact that a 250 HP 14 second monster means some tradeoff in lag and such, they are neat cars. They handle pretty well and they're definitely unique, I am just getting sick of the part situation and the random parts destroying themselves situation.
For example, may I present my present exhaust situation. I have a 16T off of a S60 or something on mine. More boost, more power, everything. It's a slightly (really slightly) different exhaust pattern. The original isn't 2.5" and this isn't 3", so flanges and pipes to fit the new exhaust housing are impossible to find. Right now, I am using the original three bolt flange with the holes carved out into slots, I've welded a 3" pipe to that that's about 5" long, and slipped the original downpipe inside that and tried to weld up the gap with it in the car. The result is a leaky noisy POS. Muffler shop sais "good luck". I said "no way, let me see what you have" and proceeded to try each and every flange he had - no go. None of the auto parts stores had anything, and that car is too new for the yards.