hakk97se

As stated, my mom is not satified with her 2k3 Maxima SE. She is uncomfortable in the seat, doesn't like the placement of the seatbelt, lack of knee room getting in and out, feels the steering is too tight, and feels that the car is overall just too big.

What are her other options in the market? A replacement must have CLOTH seats (can't tollerate the leather/plastic smells), 4-doors, reliable/low-maintenance, fold down rear seats, good overall fit'n'finish. The leather issue rules out pretty much all Lexus, Infinity, Acura, BMW, Mercedes, etc cars as far as I know. Reliability/low-maint mostly rules out VW/Audi. How about a v6 accord (ugh). She's also yapping about a Chevy Malibu, but I can't see how in good concious let her buy an american car. It looks like crap and will break in a year, right? She doesn't like the styling of the recent Camry's or Avalon's, but feels comfortable in them, more or less. A 4th gen max is a possibility, but she says that driving around in my car is better than hers, but still "not good enough."

Help

CanadianMoFo

Since she is a mom, a snazzy new Mazda 3 might be nice. Well priced fun transportation.

Also if she wants to stick with Nissan a 2k4 might be good. The seats are quite different than the 2k3.

sascuderi

Nissan Murano
Subaru Forrester
Better yet, see if Infiniti can get you a G35 sedan in cloth. I think they do ship a few cars this way. Smaller than the Maxima, better performance, and she'll look real good driving it!

JMAXIMA

trade cars with her

KsuMax

Mazda 6, g35 cloth(they DO come in cloth), v6 accord, and an acura tsx or 3.2 tl, not sure if you can get the tl in cloth.

MaximamixaM

Tell her to plant her right foot to the carpet, in the 2003 Maxima. Maybe it will set her priority's straight. If not, hand her your car keys. If not that, try a Accord or a base Avalon.

hakk97se

Thanks for the info guys.. I will definitely check those out. The new 2k4's are out of the price range. G35's probably are as well. I've heard that the quality is a problem on the new Mazda's. Forrester might be interesting. Prolly check out an accord too..

Any more comments/suggestions are welcome as well!

happyricefob

iTrader: (7)

neon srt-4?

Ludacris

iTrader: (11)

Ultimate Mom mobile.

2k2kev

from some of the issues she has sounds like she's not going to be happy in any car... have her test drive a volvo s-40/s-60. The seats will be the most comfortable she's ever been in.

Ludacris

iTrader: (11)

A Malibu would be a waste of money...it scores near the bottom of comparison tests when it has just come out, it's already a few years behind the competition. Seriously what's the point. Plus I sat in a Malibu...uncomfortable seats.

She sounds like a Camry person...

hakk97se

She had a 92 Camry since it was brand new and totalled it a few months ago. Her hips and knees got messed up in the accident, so the bolsters typically found on "sporty" seats, even as mediocre as the maxima seats, are a bit much. She sat in a friend's 92 camry also, after the accident, and found that it was not very comfortable as before the accident. So far, she has been comfortable in Lexus ES300 seats (unfortunately for her, leather), and Mitsubishi Galant seats, which I think are the most uncomfortable things known to man.

And I agree, the Malibu has got to be crap. She showed me some C&D review saying that it wasn't, but i would need a lot more convincing before I would even go look at one. Bleh.

Ludacris

iTrader: (11)

Every review I've seen says the Malibu is just satisfactory quality-wise...but still behind the import offerings. Not worth the money, my friend rented one for a week up in Canada and he said it sucked. Quality was really lacking, I forget in what ways tho. Some of those gen ES300 had cloth seats...might be a bit hard to find but they have them out there.

Here's a comparison test of all the major family sedans from Edmunds.com I think the Malibu was 7th out of 10 iirc.

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/compa...ghtbanner.1g.*

LeX

iTrader: (14)

I would say 3.2TL, Mazda 6.

BOZOnPJs

how about a mini suv like a rav4, a vue, or cr-v. she will have room, not too big of a vehicle, and plenty comfortable. i sat in my friend's 2k3 cr-v the other day and was quite impressed at the interior room.

Kevlo911

iTrader: (36)

Mazda 6( Igot one, well it's my sis's) It handles great, it is the most reliable car in Europe. Seating is almost perfect, I like the Altima seating better. But no torque. Get her an Altima, that was the car i was trying to find for my sis but the Gay dealers in the area would not go for my price.

sk24iam

Take a look at the g35's or if she wants used go down to a 4th gen.

hakk97se

Ok, today we are going to check out the G35 Cloth (found one at the local dealer), the Subaru Forrester XT, and maybe a Volvo S40/S60. The mazda's have been rejected for reliability and big seat bolsters. The CR-V has also been rejected for looks and a difficult rear door. She sat in a Altima 2.5 and hated it, but she will give the 3.5 and maybe the Murano a try.

I will send her to Honda/Acura later (I only have so much time/patience ). Can anyone confirm that the TSX comes in cloth? I couldn't find any info on that. And does it have big side bolsters? I would think it does because it's supposed to be sporty.

Thanks again for everyone's input, I'm feeling much more confident that we can find her a car now.

maximalex

iTrader: (1)

I say Camry or Accord.

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

QUOTE=hakk97se]the quality is a problem on the new Mazda's.

Any more comments/suggestions are welcome as well![/QUOTE]

My wife just got a Mazda 3s....car is sweet, handling is outstanding and pretty good power for a stock 4-banger. Features and layout and seats are nice.

Do not think your mom would like it though.....ride is fairly stiff/rough due to 17" rims, Eagle GS-A's, and sport suspension on the S model....also, IMHO doesn't look like a "mom" car - more like a 20-somethings car....style is fairly progressive. Just tell her to get a 4-cyl accord, like millions of other moms drive and are happy with. She obviously doesn't appreciate the power of the maxima, so why spend the money to get another 6-cylinder...just get a 4. My mom has always loved her Accords and Civics, and I really liked my previous Integra and Accord coupe (though not as much as my maxima)...

On a related note, we did a TON of research on various cars before she bought her Mazda and did not see anything suggesting there is a quality problem with it...in fact I have checked out the car closely and build quality appears to be excellent. In fact, the engine in the 3s (different than the "i" model) has received very good reviews from pretty much everywhere.

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

not trying to be rude, but I notice she seems to be concerned with "seat bolsters"....No way to ask this nicely, so is your mom a "big girl"? - I.e. would she prefer a wider seat? If so, go with an american or european car...most jap cars tend to have narrower seats. My wife's previous Jetta had very wide seats (and was a piece of crap, also).

Again, not trying to be rude...no way to ask that politely...

Jaws

Volvo s60 base model.

white m3 guy

iTrader: (6)

How about swapping leather seats for cloth i got black clothes seats i would love to swap

hakk97se

Not really, the seats in the maxima are almost too big for her, it's just the overall configuration of the seats and the bolsters putting pressure from the sides. That's what bolsters are supposed to do, give you lateral support. But the support that it provides pushes on injured joints causing pain, especially over longer periods of time.

Regarding Mazda quality, if you have off-topic access, I recommend reading BrianV's review of his mazda which he just got rid of.

She does appreciate the power in the Maxima. She upgraded from a 4-cyl camry, and would really prefer a 6-cyl if possible.

Today was reletively successful I would say. We test drove a G35 with cloth, a 1-year old G20, looked at a S40 and S60 but they didn't have any cloth ones on the lot, and sat in a 3.5 Altima and Murano.

Amazingly, the Altima was more comfortable for her, and the Murano even more so. She test drove the Murano SL 2wd with cloth and felt totally fine. Parking that size of car seemed ok for her, and she liked the ride and most of the features and the styling. Backing up was an issue due to lack of visibility in the back.

So she is going to continue to look around, probably test drive an altima again, and probably also the Volvo's and the Accord/TSX. We were offered a good deal on the Murano, but it seems like if you were going to get one of those, might as well have the 4wd option and some better headlights.

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

Well obviously some people are gonna have issues with any car.....
Look around the maxima forums.....hellofalot of people with blown MAfs, easily chipped paint, cracking fog lights, warping brake rotors.....doesn't mean we all have a problem with "nissan" quality.

Before the max I had owned an Accord and an Integra.....and went to the forums etc....there are people there who HATE their accords and integras and always have problems. I had the Integra for 5 years and the Accord for 4 and never had any significant problems with either (never went into "the shop")....

Obviously every car, no matter what, has some owners that hate it, have a ton of problems with it, etc.....

But I wouldn't base a claim that Mazda has "poor quality" simply on the basis of one person who had one model of one year of a car.....

That said, it's yo mama's money, yo mama's confort, and yo mama's style that matters here, so don't bother giving too much weight to anything that one person (including me) says....

blizz20oma

iTrader: (1)

I don't know that I'd represent the quality of a company by the first factory turbo they've made in a while. Although the fuel mapping on the RX-8 seems questionable in the same way - they both run very rich from what I understand. In the RX-8, I believe this is primarily to prolong the life of the cat with the high exhaust gas temps coming from the rotary. In the MSP, I dunno...just to be safe?

I don't know that any of the other mazdas have that issue but I'd doubt the 3 and the 6 would. Vehicles like the miata, protege, and 626 have always marked good on quality/reliability as far as I know.

I believe the only main option in the TSX is navigation. 99.9% sure you're stuck w/leather there.

Hope she likes the accord because she's running out of cars.

DTR Maxima

is the new TL-S out of price? if not check it out, they are really nice cars.
accord V6 is another obvious option she should really check out. come with cloth, quick, 4door, very reliable.

also, have you thought about a wrx wagon? they are pretty cheap, allwheel drive(women like that usually) not big, 4doors, quick, fold down rear seats, reliable, and amazing seats. i think you should def. check one out. they seem to fit her criteria pretty well. you can get a real nice 03 for about 20k with under 10k miles.

Deagle

iTrader: (1)

Subaru WRX STi. 300 ponies to all 4 wheels. Or you could get the Lancer Evo, the WRX's main competition.

happyricefob

iTrader: (7)

how about an used IS300? you can probably pick it up around 20k or maybe lower...

ugh...no.

.45

I had the "privilege" of driving a Malibu (had to get the Owner's manual out to ID it as Malibu - seriously) last Tue - Fri, a Hertz bus. rental with ~3K miles on it and BWWAAAAAA...what a POS! A low-end, under powered, mundane, 4-banger automatic with the build quality (fit-n-finish) of a mid-1970's Pinto. Tell your ma to "run away" from this possible choice, it's REALLY bad!

What's the deal with that auto tranny shifter on the so-called Malibu BTW? When sittin' in the driver's position with your hand on the shifter it's comparable to sitting in a 1968 Ford PU with a 3-speed manual (hand position, not that it matters...is way right and waaaayyy too high).

To your question; sounds like your mom is going to have to "shop by the seat of her pants." (i.e. go out and test-drive to get a feel for what she likes/wants/needs). Good luck.

PS - How many of you fellas remember when Malibus were capable of being "real" cars?