Nissan Maxima vs. Toyota Camry vs. Subaru Legacy?

[pacem]

I am looking for a 5-speed that gets good mileage like 29mpg and is easy to service, that's very important as I do almost all work myself.

I narrowed down my choice to Maxima, Legacy and Camry, circa '96-97 years.

Maxima is sort of performance oriented, Legacy is practical and utilitarian (but I don't care for AWD so that limits me to '95 models with 2.2L) and Camry is average and reliable.

All 3 gets very positive reviews on carsurvey.org


How hard is it do do basic maintenance like brakes, spark plugs, radiators, timing belts, etc. stuff you replace over 5 years or so of car ownership, assuming I get one with 100K miles?

 

[poison]

From my experience with my Impreza and from talking to people, Subaru is far easier to work on than most cars. A basic comparison would be that it takes me 15 minutes to change my Imprezas oil, and 45 to change my wifes Passat oil.

A friend and I changed the springs on my Impreza, all 4, in his garage, in 45 minutes. It took him and his friend 4-5 hours to do the springs on a Passat.

It comes from Subarus rally heritage. They are essentially tamed down rally race cars. Everything must be easy to change quickly. Originally the Legacy was Subarus rally car, but now it is the Impreza.

I am not mechanically proficient by any means, but I did my own 30k mile tune up myself.

Subarus have torquey engines, but do not get the gas mileage that a Toyota or Nissan 4 cylinder will get. On the upside, they get great UOA's and last forever.

I wouldn't be afraid of the AWD. Subarus system is very reliable and i regularly see the old early 80's Subarus with AWD around with a couple hundred thou on the odometer.

I am super happy with my Suby, and am confident I will buy another when the time comes...

 

[seotaji]

the thing is poision, that pacem isn't talking about servicing a passat, which are totally different cars compared to the ones mentioned. apples to oranges.

i'd say that the camry would be the easiest to service after working on a friend's 96 maxima.

all the parts you mentioned aren't too hard to replace in either car.

i've never worked on a legacy before, so i couldn't say anything about that.

 

[kenw]

I would say the camry as long as it's the i4, but i'm kinda prejudiced (i have had 3 camrys and a highlnader). The v6 can be a booger on getting to the rear plugs, but then almost any transverse v6 is anyways. It's not like you have to do it a lot though.

the riceboys seem to have a bigotry against US built camrys, but I will tell you that if you do your own work (riceboys typically can't) a US built will be easier to find parts for; and there ARE differences in some parts. A US built camry VIN starts with 4, japan built start with J.

 

[sbc350gearhead]

Well....I have a 99 camry, and I can't recommend it, as it has been very very unreliable......but it is fairly easy to work on as new cars go. The 5 speed stick is only available with the 4 cyl on those models IIRC. (mine is an auto) My camry easily gets over 30 mpg on the freeway (best so far is 34), and with a stick it may be even better.

 

[Drew99GT]

Maxima. More power, funner to drive. Plus, it's got timing chain/hydraulic lash adjusters, so no messing around with timing belts and valve adjustments like on the Toyota. The Subaru? I just don't know. The ones I've driven just didn't do anything for me (haven't driven an STi

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[ November 21, 2004, 07:56 PM: Message edited by: sbc350gearhead ]

 

[JohnBrowning]

Camry especialy if it is a 4 cylinder. Everything on them is easy to reach. The fastners are really high grade and seldom snap, shear, corode badly or twist. The parts usualy last long enough that it is usaly the third owner of the car that gets stuck fixing things. Parts are easy to come buy because of the shear volume of Camry's sold.

The Maxima would be my second choice. They are almost as durable as a Camry and in some cases depending on the year more fun to drive. THey typical had a higher content level. Their fastners are not as good as the Camry so expect to use an easy out more often as the car ages. Usualy they are harder to work on then a Camry.

The Subaru's durability was hit or miss for a long time!! You either got one that was good to go for 300,000 mile or it nickeled and dimed you right out of warranty.Traditionaly they used some really cheap fastners and when you did need to replace something you usualy ended up with snapped of bolt heads!!

 

[pacem]

I was thinking about Maxima but then read that it requires 91 Octane. That might be a problem, as I am a cheap soul. Other than that, it seems real nice.

It then seems than the Legacy, circa 95 or 96 is a good choice. It has a conventionally mounted engine vs. transversally mounted engine in Toyota.

Camry, on the other hand, is larger. I was puzzled by its tiny filter, but then I imagine bigger ones are available.

 

[kenw]

quote:

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Originally posted by pacem:
I was thinking about Maxima but then read that it requires 91 Octane. That might be a problem, as I am a cheap soul. Other than that, it seems real nice.

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> the Camry v6 likes 91 but runs fine (with a bit less umph) on 87. The i4 needs on 87 (or less!)

.......Camry, on the other hand, is larger. I was puzzled by its tiny filter, but then I imagine bigger ones are available.
[/QUOTE]

>yes the filters on all camrys are a bit small, although they have been that way forever and don't seem to have posed a problem. You can easy use larger. The main DYI issue is that Toyota has never figured out how to mount a filter properly....invest in lots of rags.

The camry is not an even compare to the max. It is a step down in market, the max equivalent is the avalon. I don't think the max has a i4, the camry does. about 80% of camrys sold are i4. In the used market, tho, the camry probably holds a bit more value making them closer in price than when new.

 

[Babaloo]

pacem, I think the question is: are you willing to pay 20 cents more every gallon for 65hp?

The I4 Camry has a rating of 23/31 with 125hp (87 octane) while the V6 standard Maxima is 22/27 with 190hp (91 octane).
If you decided to go with the Maxima, 97 and 98 will be the better choice if safety is your concern. It has a better safety rating than the 95-96. Also, look for leaks at the transmission area as some 4th Gen Maxima (95-99) owners experienced a problem with the differential bearing. Other that that, no common problems AFAIK.

 

[poison]

quote:

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Originally posted by seotaji:
the thing is poision, that pacem isn't talking about servicing a passat, which are totally different cars compared to the ones mentioned. apples to oranges.

i'd say that the camry would be the easiest to service after working on a friend's 96 maxima.

all the parts you mentioned aren't too hard to replace in either car.

i've never worked on a legacy before, so i couldn't say anything about that.

---

I know, my point is that the Subys are incredibly easy to work on, probably moreso than any car I've seen since my Dads 68 Dodge Dart and Plymouth Valiant when I was growing up.

I was just using the Passat as a comparison.

 

[pacem]

I know, my point is that the Subys are incredibly easy to work on, probably moreso than any car I've seen since my Dads 68 Dodge Dart and Plymouth Valiant when I was growing up.

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And that is the decisive factor for me.