Y50 Owners! Need feedback on 2002 Q45 Purchase

[phisig]

Hey guys, I am about to pull the trigger on a 2002 Q45 as my daily, and want some feedback. I had a GS400 in the past, and really enjoy a big body JDM crusier. I've been wanting something a little more professional for daily use, so I can keep my 350z garaged.

I found an 02 with 115k on the clock and its clear that there hasn't been much service done recently besides oil changes. The owner clearly doesnt know much about the car, and says he rarely drives it. I did do an extensive test drive and check of the car. There are so many bells and whistles on this car its hard to check everything! Its got the nav pack, sport suspension, sunshades, and reclining rear seats.

Here's what I found:- Shimmy in the steering wheel at speed - I would assume I need an alignement at the very least, do these cars go through tie rods and ball joints?- Rear shocks are blown (it has sport suspension) and seem to be chattering/banging around, almost like someone installed it wrong- Brakes are toast- Spare tire in trunk is underwater - I read that a few owners had this problem - I would guess its a bad seal some place?- HID not working. I would assume bulb, but someone mentioned these can have Ballast issues.- Exhaust leak- Front tires getting low- Coolent and Oil low- Are the clocks backlit? It didnt light up at night- All interior gauge lights seemed dim to me, even on full brightness.- He told me he hadn't done the timing belt yet, but I thought these were on a chain?

You guys would also know best as to what these are cars fetching on the used market. And how much am I looking at for parts and service. I think most of the stuff I can do myself. The brake job is a PITA, but I could turn the rotors and toss on pads. The shocks seem to be the most pricey at 200 a piece. I think I can grab cheapo HID bulbs on ebay and be ok for a while.

And ONE MORE QUESTION - What kinda everyday MPG are you getting with your Y50's?

What do you think guys, send this one back, or pull the trigger????

Oh and if Pioneer is still on here, shoot me a PM, I sold you some racing harts a while back and would really like your feedback.

Modified by phisig at 11:33 AM 11/8/2009

Modified by phisig at 11:47 AM 11/8/2009

Modified by phisig at 2:18 PM 11/8/2009
Modified by phisig at 3:07 PM 11/8/2009

[qship96]

I would not pay more than $5000 for that car....too many neglected items to warrant spending a penny more than that. I think you are better off looking for a much better maintained example, and skipping the 2002 model alltogether as many improvements were made in later years that can be had for reasonable $$$$.

[phisig]

If you think this car is worth 5k, what would a better more well maintained example sell for in your opinion?


Modified by phisig at 10:58 AM 11/13/2009

[Q45tech]

To me any 7 year old car with 115k is only worth 10% of brand new MSRP. Then you subtract the repair cost to restore.

Professional technican should document the $3k-$5k in needed repairs.

[maxnix]

Hey guys, I am about to pull the trigger on a Y50 as my daily, and want some feedback.

You say Y50, but all of your questions are about the F50 model.

[phisig]

Whoops, clearly I am a newb, F50 I mean!

[mcrews]

I have an 02F50 Sport w/ 183k I bought at 40k.I love it. I has been relatively problem free since ballasts went out at 110kHowever, I had an extended warrentee to 100k and I followed the scheduled maint like clock work.

Here's what I found:- Shimmy in the steering wheel at speed - I would assume I need an alignement at the very least, do these cars go through tie rods and ball joints?NO - unless driven hard- Rear shocks are blown (it has sport suspension) and seem to be chattering/banging around, almost like someone installed it wrong

not good but fixable- Brakes are toastSeveral owners complained about warpped rotors. I have never had a problem w/ brakes BUT i dont drive hard AND I have replaced pads BEFORE they even hit the wear bar. also replaced rotors w/ plenty of metal on them.

- Spare tire in trunk is underwater - I read that a few owners had this problem - I would guess its a bad seal some place?

THis is the 3rd time I have heard of this. mine is bone dry.

- HID not working. I would assume bulb, but someone mentioned these can have Ballast issues.

Bllasts blow out at 90-110k

- Exhaust leak

this is IMPORTANT. one of the techs can double check me BUT it could be a cracked manifold? if so manifold is $700 + from joe and labor is booked at 7 hours.

- Front tires getting low

- Coolent and Oil lowMy coolant hasnt gone low....ever.F50 has a 'looser' engine to get the 340hp. If owner dosent have oil chang records........I'd brobably walk. These 4.5l s tend to like a little oil with their regular diet of octane.

- Are the clocks backlit? It didnt light up at night- All interior gauge lights seemed dim to me, even on full brightness.- He told me he hadn't done the timing belt yet, but I thought these were on a chain?

You guys would also know best as to what these are cars fetching on the used market. And how much am I looking at for parts and service. I think most of the stuff I can do myself. The brake job is a PITA, but I could turn the rotors and toss on pads. The shocks seem to be the most pricey at 200 a piece. I think I can grab cheapo HID bulbs on ebay and be ok for a while.

And ONE MORE QUESTION - What kinda everyday MPG are you getting with your Y50's?

I get 25+ on the road maybe 18 in town. but I'm on the freeway about 60%.

[Infinitiguy19]

The day is soon upon us where we will be seeing new F50 and FGY33 owners that bought the cars for $800. Weird though because I don't see too many FGY33 abused as much as I see F50 and G50 Q45's. But I only see what I see on craigslist and the NICO forum but I don't work on them daily.

[phisig]

I dont think we'll see $800 F50's for quite a few more years. Whats the cheapest you guys are seeing a running F50's for?

[Infinitiguy19]

Haven't paid attention to prices really but they seem to go for ~10K. It all depends what kind of Q you want though. I would recommend the 1996 Q45 for starters because its the easiest to diagnose but maintenance is about the same as the rest of the 1990-1996 Q45's. Then there is the 1997-2001 Q45 which is good too.

[phisig]

I dont think we'll see $800 F50's for quite a few more years. Whats the cheapest you guys are seeing a running F50's for?

[BadQ45t]

Run away from this car, quickly and now. Your going to be looking at way too many issues. While your will not be able to find many other 2002-2006 Q's out there, keep looking. The type of issues your talking about on the 2002 will be way too much headache. The cars sold so poorly that their resale value is crap, but they are good cars of properly cared for. Use autotrader and cars.com sites and search the entire country. I'd look for a good CA or AZ car where some old guy bought one and took it to the stealership for all repairs. My personal favorite place to find a used car is Palm Springs where old rich 65+ year old guys put low miles on cars that are garaged 100% of the time.

[mcrews]

Jeff 's post is spot on.This is a classic 'older person' new car purchase in 02-06. I 02 it was very much a 'sleeper'.They take them to the dealer for everything. Then they get bored and want another car. since they usually paid cash or a large down payment, they don't really care about resale. (which is lousy....NOT because of the car but because of how Infiniti/Nissan promoted it)

But an F50 that hasn't been maintained is TROUBLE..

Im a second owner on mine. The guy was 68, worth $$$$$$ and saw a bmw 740l Alpine that is son had just bought cheap. He picked up the bmw keys and thew the Qkey to his son (makes $2m a yr as an attorney) and said "thanks for trading".THe son knew I was looking for another used Avolon and called me. Told me to take the train down to Oakland from Sacramento and 'pick up my new car.' the Q had 40k on it. He had printed all the service records and had the title.

I have 183k on it now and it has been touble free since 110k when the ballasts went out. All the major 'issues' were covered under warr and the extended warr. that went to 100k. Three different ecm s and the rear end noise. also the hesitation upgrade.

IMHO, it is the best value for the dollar in the used lux sedan market.

[NightRiderQ45]

I echo everything he said. With all of the problems the OP listed, you are looking at $3-5k for parts and labor off the top. No way! I would purchase a 02 unless it was highly maintained. If I were to purchase a F50, it would have to be a 05 or 06(very hard to find) only! By 05, all of the bugs were fixed and I've never heard of ANY issues with the 05/06 model. I have a Y33 and I haven't had any major issues with my car at all. Heck my radiator just sprung a leak. If I were to rehad my suspension at one time, that's where the bid dollars are at.

[phisig]

I think you guys are right, I talked to a good indi JDM mechanic and it sounds like those repairs aren't going to be cheap. The big thing being the active suspension. He refused to even do the job and said I should have infiniti take care of it, but would be happy to do everything else. Then you tack on an HID ballast, fix the exhaust, plus all the other little things and you've spent way more than a clean example would cost. Not to mention I didn't tell you guys the body wasnt in the best shape either, it had been keyed on one side and has been repainted on the other! Both bumpers, hood, and drivers front fender all had evidence of past paint work.

I wish more of the F50 Q's were located around me. There aren't very many in my area for sale at all, so that makes life hard. They all seem to be all out in Cali. What I am seeing is the ones that are local have gotten into the hands of people who haven't taken car of them and just run them into the ground.

[Infinitiguy19]

That F50 Q45 seems like a good candidate for "Cash for Morons", To bad its over.

But if you want a good OBD 2 car then find yourself a 1996 Q45. If you want a damn fast car with little electronics then find a 1990 Q45.

[phisig]

I think I am set on either a F50 Q45, 1st gen M45, 2nd gen GS, or an RL, i might consider some other things too, would like to keep it in the Nissan family though. I feel both the last generation Q and M have many of the same features we see in todays lux flagships. I'll most likely grab the best deal I can find. I hope its a Q though.

[maxnix]

I talked to a good indi JDM mechanic and it sounds like those repairs aren't going to be cheap. The big thing being the active suspension.

Think these are expensive to maintain, con't get a Benz, Audi, or a Bummer. Only the G50 had active (semi-active,really) suspension as an option.

[BadQ45t]

I gotta tell you if you find a late model Q or M in Cali someone will go look at it for you and then you can fly out and drive her home or have it shipped. We don't have ice/snow issues, no salt on the ground and the people that buy a new Q45 in Cali tend to be over 55 and not into driving cars hard, plus take them to the dealerships more then they need to.

I have helped several people get cars out of Palm Springs, man those old farts love the local Infiniti, Lexus and Acura dealers....it would be worth it if you found something clean that you can still get a waranty. I'm in the Bay Area, other members in LA and around, we'll help check one out if you find it.