joeyg

Hi, I am intending on purchasing the 2002 Maxima SE in Icelandic Pearl in the next few months & have been researching the car as compared with others. The Maxima on all accounts except one, appears to be an outstanding automobile. My concern is that I have found literally hundreds of complaints on this web site concerning poor quality paint jobs on the Maximas that result in much higher than average chipping of the paint. This problem appears so serious that a web site has been created to complain to Nissan about it.
www.maximapaint.com.
My question is considering this paint issue,would you buy another Maxima knowing what you know now about the paint?
Also, any 2002 owners out there finding this same problem with your cars?

Thanks in Advance

Joe

madmax2k1

Poor paint quality seems to be an issue with a majority of new cars, take a look at the Acura TL and Lexus IS300 boards. The Maxima is the best value if you're looking for a sporty 4door car, I would invest in a 3M guard to be applied on the hood and front bumber, that will protect your car from paint chips.

soundmike

iTrader: (24)

I have the 02, had it for a little over a month and almost 3000 miles on it.

Yes, the paint chips quite easily. I've already got 3 on the hood and 4 on the front bumper.

I also accidentally brushed on my door edge when exiting the car and that chipped too. (I was carrying my portable cd player with me... so you can imagine how easily that chipped the paint)

The 3M protection is a good resource as many have suggested. It's expensive if you have it done professionally but it's well worth it IMHO. I don't have it however, can't afford it yet.

Since most chips occur on the hood i've decided to just get one of those plastic half-nose mask/bra's for the Max. Another poster suggested you could find it in Pepboys. I think it's called Carflector, made by AutoVentShade.

mike-777

I have the 2000 SE and did get a few chips soon after delivery. However, in the past 1+ year I've gotten no more?
The glass is thin and chips easily though. The paint problem as I see it, is that the clear coat is way too thin to offer any protection to the base coats.
To keep the paint reasonable, lots of maintainance is required - more than on other cars I've owned.

Colonel

The paint is bad, but protect it from the get go and you'll be fine.
I got the 3M within a month and seem to have done much better than most on this board. Its a shame such a good car gets such a crappy skin! BTW I agree its not just Maxima, but that should not matter.

On a side note I had some after market paint work done on my Max and for some reason it does not seem to chip like the rest of the car......

joeyg

So you'd all buy another Maxima even with the paint issues?

CanadaRocks

I have a 2002 Maxima GXE, 250 km's on it (that's 150 miles), so it's probably too early to tell, but for what it's worth, I haven't seen any chips. I am being pretty careful with not banging things into it (like CD players), but I am bracing myself for that first chip.

I actually had settled on the Maxima, had my deposit down, and then discovered this paint thread which I had missed previously. But I went ahead and bought anyway. Actually, I leased -- if I had been paying cash or having to own the car after the warranty is up, I probably would have been more careful. I can't imagine Nissan busting me at the end of the lease for paint chips that are their problem in the first place -- and if they try, they can sue me. Or

I love this car. It is so solid, so cool, so refined inside and out, it's a bloody rocket and I am still breaking it in. I almost want to take it out on a track, which I have never even considered before. So JoeyG, my suggestion is go for it -- I test drove and/or researched the '02 Altima, the '02 Camry, the '02 Accord, the Grand Prix, yada, yada, and I am sooo glad I settled on the Max. A great midlife-crisis-but-still-need-room-for-kids kinda car.

One other thing: ask yourself what sort of people sit here on any given night, reading and posting to this board, and complaining about paint chips on their 3-year old cars? I'll tell you -- the kind that you would want to look after your newborn baby. ****. Perfectionists. Y'know, the perfect lawn types. But would they get really get rid of their Max? No Way!

MichaelAE

iTrader: (1)

Yes.

dyama

I was reading all posts related to paint chipping on the 2k+max.and I can confirm that it is true since I just washed my new 2002 se (2000kl)and noticed three different stone chips over my stone deflector and the paint shipped all the way too the pimer coat.I must admit that it breaks my hart since we have not even had abrasives on the highways yet...:

jkratzer

I have had my 2K1 Max for 3 months and I noticed several very small chips on the front bumper and a couple on the front of the hood. On the bumper they look like indentions more than chips but on the hood they are chips. I'm getting the 3M clear film applied to my car real soon. For the $300 bucks a shop here in town will install the product to my hood and front bumper. I just can't stand the look of regular black vinyl car bras.

cwerdna

Can you point me to the URLs of these message boards you're talking about?

I'm considering buying a 2002 Maxima or Altima V6, 2002 Toyota Camry V6, 2001 or 2002 Honda Accord V6, or maybe a 2001 or 2002 Acura 3.2TL.

The message I see here (esp. the 19 page long one) are a bit disturbing to me.

z@forgetaboutit

I was looking closely at a black 2002 GLE driven by a dealership general manager. The car has 6000 km on it.

The paint damage was minimal, IMHO. I saw one chip, and several small nicks. I imagine they are easily fixed by very small dabs of touch-up primer/paint.

About putting on the 3M stuff, I say a Max whose hood looked a little different in color than the rest of the body. I saw "many" cracks running from right to left on the hood. I'm guessing that what I saw was my first 3M (or lookalike) application of hood condom. I don't know what bugged me the most - the cracks, or the paint color difference. It'll sure stop rust from the top down, but it looks a little odd.

dave

I would still buy the maxima even with some paint chipping issues.

NJ_MAX2000

Come on guys, I think you guys have the wrong impression here. It's not like the paint is falling off the damn car every time you start it up...it's obviously chipping from something impacting the surface of the car. Sure, maybe the clearcoat is a little thin, but if you have rocks flying at your car at high speed, it's gonna happen! It's totally unavoidable and should not deter you from buying the most kick-a$$ car in its class. 2002 Camry V6? Come on man, did you just become a grandfather? Do you like driving in the slow lane? Accord V6? Think you'll be able to find your car in the parking lot? Acura 3.2? Why pay that much?

Buy the Max or the Alti, drive it for a week and then come back and post on this board about how awesome your new cars are...trust me, you won't regret it.

soundmike

iTrader: (24)

I doubt if that's the 3M. But it could be.

The one i saw, of a different brand, looked like clear plastic lamination. The only visible sign that it was there was the lines where the protector would end and usually gather dust/grime.

I doubt it'll change the paint's color however.

soundmike

iTrader: (24)

I agree. The Max is still of great value inspite of the paint problems.

However, i would have to admit that compared to my 2k Black Civic (which i sold in favor of the Max) the Max's paint chips far too easy. I've driven the civic on dirt roads, beaches and lakes and the most damage i've seen is just dirt (or in this one case, white dust... had a white car there for a minute hehehhe).

I've only had the 2k2 for 1 1/2 months and already i have close to 10 chips (from my last post that's quite a lot of chips gained!) and several scratches.

But overall i'm proud of the Max and would definitely get one should the need arise again.

NJ_MAX2000

Yeah, you're basically weighing the quality of the paint versus the overall quality of the car. Of course, any car from any manufacturer can be a dud. So far, my 2000 Max has been completely problem free and extremely fun to drive. I think that is way more important than the paint job. If you're really worried, do like some of the people here have suggested: get the 3M installed. I have 1, 1 chip on my hood that I know of, and I did it myself by accident .

The fact that this car is totally kick a$$ more than makes up for the small problem of paint chips. Like I said, it's not like the paints falling off of these cars (that'd be another issue). These people are getting hit by rocks, sand, twigs (you crazy people)...

I wouldn't even consider a Camry or Accord over Alti 3.5 or Max. I would be shamed to no end to be caught in a Camry, the ultimate "I'm old, I'm sensible, and I have a family" statement car, but then again, I'm only 20.

soundmike

iTrader: (24)

LOL!

Personally tho, i could see myself driving an Accord. Given the right exterior modifications that car can look sweet. But the interior doesn't suit me very well.

Me getting the Max says a lot about who i am... and i guess everyone else here at the .org

NJ_MAX2000

Come on man, if these guys are thinking about Camrys, you think they're the type to be putting exterior mods on the car? Accord says 2 things to me:

(1) I'm sensible, responsible, and boring. I don't need to or want to go fast. I work 9-5 and I enjoy golf, old movies, John Tesh, and sleeping before 10 PM.

ORRRRR......

(2) YO, yo, Yo, I be RiCe As ALl helLZ! ChEk My pHAT AZz RiDe Yo! HeLlz YeAh...MuH DuBs Be SLAMMIN! WhAt? U WanTz To RaCE? HelLz NaH, MuH PaRenTz AiN't PaY 4 ShIzNAt! I PaID 4 AlL DEeZ ModZ SeLLin DrUgZ sOn!

Lol

I personally like the Max's interior. The design is cool, very clean, very well laid out and thought out. The interios is also very roomy...I've sat in the passenger side a couple times and realized how much space there is in this car.

soundmike

iTrader: (24)

Hmm... never thought of it that way. It's just that i saw this dark green Accord with a nice set of wheels. Wasn't really riced out, it just had that "elegant" look to it. I really liked it.

Driving it is another thing though. It's just not fun. Not to mention it's like a dime a dozen out there.

Quote:

ORRRRR......

(2) YO, yo, Yo, I be RiCe As ALl helLZ! ChEk My pHAT AZz RiDe Yo! HeLlz YeAh...MuH DuBs Be SLAMMIN! WhAt? U WanTz To RaCE?

Definitely not my style

I like being a sleeper. (Finally! i can say that about my car! LOL! - last time i said i like my stock civic to be a sleeper everyone made fun of me) hehehehe...

NJ_MAX2000

lol They must've thought you were sleeping at the wheel when the light turned green

Menasor

iTrader: (2)

I have quit a few chips on my car....after some STUPID! with gravel didn't cover it up and a lot of it flew on my window and hood. Held p pretty well considering all that stuff flew and hit most of the front end of the car. Get whatever car you want, accord, camry, cl, tl it doesn't matter to me cause it's your car. Ilike the accord but I will take a maxima over an accord. I didn't buy the a maxima for the paint, i bought it for the engine. Good luck on whatever you decide.

MONTE 01&97 SE

iTrader: (1)

The paint has been an issue on Max's since the 4th gen's came out and continues to on 4th and 5th gen's. Nissan seems to have changed something in their pocess between 3d and 4th gens definately has in the interior quality. So if you are a diehard Maxima fan its something you have to deal with for now! Or buy something else!

cwerdna

Hahah... <ducking for cover> I'm turning 27 this month. I actually drive a 91 Camry V6 right now so a 99 hp boost would be quite nice. It was my mom's old car.

As for driving in the slow lane... no I don't. But I live in Washington state and unfortunately people drive way to slow here. On city streets, what ticks me off is when people are going way below the speed limit (like 25-30 in a 40) in the fast lane in clear weather w/no cars ahead. It's really common here. On the highways people drive way too SLOW compared to driving in LA (where I went to college for 4.5 years).

Regarding riced out cars, be sure to check out the Hall of Shame at http://www.riceboypage.com/ .

Ack, and nobody gave me the URL to the TL and IS300 message boards where people are complaining about paint.

SC2K1

iTrader: (5)

I have 3k on my 2K1 and noticed a few more clearcoat chips on the hood after it was cleaned today. The paint may not be the best quality but everyday driving is gonna subject the paint to a lot of things. I am still definately happy with my car and would get another if I had to do it all over again.

TimW

iTrader: (6)

some of us have problems that have nothing to do with gravel. yeah, sometimes the paint/clear just falls off. My car hasnt been too bad on chips, but in one spot the clear has just peeled off. this is on the rear of the car. go figure.

I've seen the cars lined up for the paint inspector, there are lots of issues that are not related to rock pecks... consider yourself lucky...

sascuderi

2000 I30, 15,000 miles, silver, only on chip on hood. Does Infiniti do a better job with their paint?

jnm2kse

Well at lot depends on your commute, where you drive, how fast etc....prior to June of this year I was making a 5 minute commute each day...hardly any issues with paint.....now tack on almost 2 hours each way to that commute and the chips are unbelievable!

Granted they were repaving Rt3 for a good part of the summer...the most serious damage id where a bigg ole rock gouged my hood and actually dented it. Some of the spots on my hood are actually getting a little bit of rust also.

I gotta get a bra for the wheels....mismatch paint be damned.

MichaelAE

iTrader: (1)

Might want to go searching for that yourself. I don't think a large number of maxima.org members do significant browsing on those other boards. Most of the paint complaints rether car manufacturers are word-of-mouth complaints from friends and co-workers.

B1GMATT

Just found my first chip and I'm at the 550 mile mark. I'm quite upset but at least it's small (like the head of a pin). Its driving me nuts bc it's dark paint. Also it's the first place my eye goes when I look at the hood.

cwerdna

I did look around a bit and found very few active message boards TL (didn't bother w/Lexus IS ones yet) and none w/the volume of complaints that I see here. Umm, the web is a very big place w/millions (or billions?) of pages, an URL would help.

MichaelAE

iTrader: (1)

rocketingMAX

2002 Max owner here. paint job pretty good. not great. the car's been running for 2 1/2 months and i got a small corner about to chip My second MAX. i wouldn't really sweat it. my paint jobs dont cost much.

cwerdna

Hmm, it seems unreasonable to me to need to repaint a car after just a few years (not clear how long that is). I drive a white 91 Camry (as I stated earlier) w/91K miles and the paint is still in good shape, w/very few dings or chips.

MichaelAE

iTrader: (1)

Paint jobs don't cost that much? What planet are you from? j/k. Actually, a car like the Maxima can cost between $2-$4K for a good paint job. By this I mean sand all paint off and paint from basecoat up.