Thinking of selling my Q :(

[1990QOwner]

Hi all, as you have seen my previous posts, my Q has some serious problems:

1. The new engine was installed poorly.2. The radiator is shot and need to be replaced.3. The head gasket is possibly blown. (due to overheating from shot radiator)4. Injectors are possibly bad5. There are several fuel leaks under the plenum6. Leaks power steering fluid, ATF, Engine oil, and of course anti-freeze.

These are just the beginning. The previous owner did not take care of the engine and components. I am debating between just selling it or trying to fix it and go without wheels until I can get around to fixing it. I figure it will take at least 5k to fix it up to a reliable condition.

I hate the thought of parting with my Q so I have come up with an alternitive: I found a identical car on ebay that is one year newer, the owner is selling it for parts or repair and I believe it will go for under $500, here is the ebay link to that auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...wItem. I ran a report on this car and it shows that it has never had any insurance claims or anything like that but it is about 2000 miles away from me .

This is where i need all of your help. Should I get the other car and take parts from one and fix up the other or should I sell out and buy a newer one with a better history than the one I have? I do not want to put any money into the one that I have because it is in such poor condition. Please give me your input. Thanks for all the help.

[goody90q45]

If you've got the money here's a nice one in L.A. that's a lot closer and you could drive home. L.A.and San Diego are a lot closer than Florida and there's been a lot of good deals. If you have the time to wait, be patient and one will come up.

http://losangeles.craigslist.o....html

If you have the room and the resources, you can figure on getting a minimum of $600-$800 if you part your Q out (the easy stuff) and a lot more depending on how much your willing to remove and ship. Good luck.

[Q45man1]

[QUOTE=goody94q45]If you've got the money here's a nice one in L.A. that's a lot closer and you could drive home. L.A.and San Diego are a lot closer than Florida and there's been a lot of good deals. If you have the time to wait, be patient and one will come up.

http://losangeles.craigslist.o....html

I can check this Q45 for you if you're interested and provide you details. It's in my neck of the woods. Good luck shopping.

[1990QOwner]

I am seriously considering that one on ebay but I have a problem: It will be a while before i can get it and I am wondering if one of you guys lives near by Jacksonville FL and could store it for me for a while til I can come and get it?

[elwesso]

The question of if you will be able to sell it depends on how honest you are... If you tell everything that you tell people youll be lucky to get $500 out of it.

Heres the thing.. if your Q is nice cosmetically, which is becoming more and more important to me since mechanical parts are getting cheaper by the day, it may be worth just swapping in a new motor thats ready to rock, than buying another Q (and buying a whole new set of problems).

You can probably swap in a new motor for 2 grand that will be trouble free for the next 100k. If everything else on the car (brakes, suspension, etc) is pretty good, then I may try and fix it up. it all depends, its not like these cars are really hard to find..

[Q45tech]

Swap in a new motor for 2 grand?

The parts for a JDM: water pump. belts, seals, hoses, gaskets, Knock sensor and harness, new fuel hoses, chain and oil pump guides, spark plugs cost almost 1.5 grand. and the labor is another grand to install them on the JDM engine.

All those things need changing if you expect the JDM engine to last another 100k.

Injectors are always an addition plus the transmission [will it last another 100k].

Since we use 15 cents per mile as standard maintenance and repairs......the next 100,000 miles will require $15,000 [Less with discounts and some doityourself labor].

Sugar coating the cost to do it right is the worst thing you can do for a new owner.

A 4000 pound exotic engined V8 is not cheap to drive or maintain

[maxnix]

Heres the thing.. . since mechanical parts are getting cheaper by the day....

Really? Not according to Nissan and Joe. Nissan is driving the G50 parts upwards to get us to junk them and to empty inventory of a now 12 year old model.

A 4000 pound exotic engined V8 is not cheap to drive or maintain

Shouldn't this be a sticky, or at least part of the buying a Q45 post?
Modified by maxnix at 9:42 AM 10/23/2007

[qship96]

[QUOTE=maxnix]Really? Not according to Nissan and Joe. Nissan is driving the G50 parts upwards to get us to junk them and to empty inventory of a now 12 year old model.

What short-sided thinking of Nissan Motors-nothing like genocide of your own race to handicap building the brand.What a contrast to Mercedes,where part of their mystique and prestige is created by the shear numbers of vintage models running around with the help of company restoration facilities to rebuild the classic models,and parts availability for vintage models available at every dealer in the USA-hell,my local dealer doesnt even stock a simple brake shim kit for a 1996Q-what a joke! Imagine leaving your car for a few days at the dealer for a simple pad renew because they dont stock a lousey shim kit!

[elwesso]

Really? Not according to Nissan and Joe. Nissan is driving the G50 parts upwards to get us to junk them and to empty inventory of a now 12 year old model.

Since more and more cars are coming off the road, and most of the parts last so long, used parts are becoming mroe plentiful. That is my point.

4 years ago when first got my Q you'd be damned if you could get a fuel pump controller of MAF for under $100, now you can do it all day and chances are it will be a solid part.. At the end of the day, its probably a wash, it just seems to me that people are almost giving parts away for Q45s.

[1990QOwner]

.. it may be worth just swapping in a new motor thats ready to rock, than buying another Q (and buying a whole new set of problems).

Here is the problem: It already has a used motor in it that has 30,000 miles on it which was installed 2000 miles ago. The kid that installed it had never even hardly looked at an engine before.....I suspect that head gasket was blown before he ever put the engine in.

The question of if you will be able to sell it depends on how honest you are... If you tell everything that you tell people youll be lucky to get $500 out of it.

Looking around than even if it was in tip top I could only get that out of it. And when it was sold to me than all I was told is that it had a new engine so I picked it up for 3 grand. The body and exterior were in excellent condition.
Modified by 1990QOwner at 9:47 AM 10/23/2007

[maxnix]

...it just seems to me that people are almost giving parts away for Q45s.

I obvioiusly need to meet more of your friends! But a G50 cannot live by used parts alsone. There are wear items.

[1990QOwner]

Well, this is what I'm up against: I can sell my Q and loose $2500 that I already have in it. Or I can start swapping parts out for new ones and put $3000 more into it and than have a extreamly nice car. I think I will start swapping the parts out for new ones. It looks like I'm going to start with a radiator and a ATF cooler.

[qship96]

never understood the value in replacing old worn failed mechanical parts with other old worn parts nearing the same failure-do it ONCE,with new parts,and move on

[1990QOwner]

never understood the value in replacing old worn failed mechanical parts with other old worn parts nearing the same failure-do it ONCE,with new parts,and move on

Ok, So what about an Engine? If you put a new engine in it than the engine will way outlast the car wont it?

[qship96]

that is quite an extreme example you used,but if the engine is well maintained from the beginning,it should outlast almost every mechanical part in the car-I for one would not replace an engine in a car-at that point I would get a new vehicle.I was referring to starters,alternators,compressors,blower motors,calipers,pumps,motors,etc

[qship96]

from looking over your various posts regarding all the issues you have with your Obviously the purchase was made without a tech examining the car for failing/failed systems....I would be inclined to find a better maintained example and start over,less headaches and time wasted trying to triage a neglected worn out carcass

[1990QOwner]

So you think it would be cheaper to get a totally different car and take the $2500 hit on this one?

[greg_atlanta]

Yes, say goodbye to Q world.... unless you can afford to have two cars and make the Q a "project car".

[1990QOwner]

The more I think about the project the more I don't think I'm in for it. I have a secondary car and a shop but the shop cannot be plugged up for more than a day or 2. I will probably just get a divorce with this Q and go find a better looking one with less emotional problems ....but i will have to keep this one til I have it paid for.

[Romeo5k]

... it just seems to me that people are almost giving parts away for Q45s.

Hey wes... can u give me something for my Q.. nothing beats $Free.99. Next.... with all those problems on that car, theres a whole lot to think about besides price of parts... Thik about labor. Who is really gonna do all the labor. If you, goood. If you plan on paying someone, i say hell no!Also, if you fix all that stuff u named wrong, hows the interior, you like it? Hows the exterior you like it? No point in fixing and putting $5000 in a car that at the end of the day, you have to start doing cosmetic work on. Last time a car gave me this much probs, i sold it

[Haitian_King]

I paid $25 for 4 injectors. Averages out to $6.25/injector.

The list price that Joe has for a 90-96 HVAC is $600. I paid $10.

Very nice Burl Wood kit 3pc. - Don't know the actual price, but I paid $25.

The most expensive part that I bought for my Q was the NICO ECU.

I bought a First Gear start for $47.

Q parts are great.

I'm thinking of buying up old Q's and if I can't fix them, at least part them out.

1. I'd be helping out a lot of people on the board, as well as those who helped me.

2. If I buy the car cheap, I can at least break even or maybe come out in the black (financially, not covered in oil.)

I just need a place to store the car while I pull the parts.

[1990QOwner]

Ok, Is what I have decided to do is to just replace the head gasket and get the radiator rebuilt. I think that if I do this than It will only cost a 3-4 hundred but I will have a car for a while longer.....I will be doing all the labor myself with the help of one of my mechanic buddies. Let me know if any of you have anymore suggestions.