03 M45 The Good, Bad and Ugly

[goldensndm45]

Wanted to get a community response on their top three likes and dislike about the 03-04 M45. (if any) Looks included.

[auditech10]

Looks, power, comfort, and mostly its a fairly rare car.I personally have no dislikes except maybe there not being much in the aftermarket community. For some thats a good thing though.

[GJEMD]

Wanted to get a community response on their top three likes and dislike about the 03-04 M45. (if any) Looks included.

My take on the Y34 M45 is they will end up COLLECTOR CARS of the current16-26 age range gear head. My son is 21 and his Gen is a Vtech generation. The Ultimate car is a Skyline. I believe well preserved Y34 M45 will be at Barrett Jacksonin 30 yrs just like GTOs are today. My last visit to Nissan Corp showed less than 7000 Y34 M45 were imported. The Y34 and the Skyline predate Nissan at Prince Motors acquired by Nissan in the Mid 70's.

These are very special cars and seem to be getting more special as time passes.one dislike: The lack of fresh Air circuit in the climate control. Crack the windows!!

[CakeDaddy]

Looks, power, comfort, and mostly its a fairly rare car.I personally have no dislikes except maybe there not being much in the aftermarket community. For some thats a good thing though.

The good: Power, Torque, Unique Style,

The bad: Who needs a damn cassette tape deck.Trunk release/struts suck.Making U turns will embarrass you due to the horrible u turn radius.

[auditech10]

HaHa you never drove a Volvo S60R yet, lol. There is no such thing as a U turn!I agree with the casette and the trunk, but these two are very minor, as the trunk can be very annoying at times.

[szh]

The Good:

1. Power. Smooth, clean delivery of power and torque make this car accelerate quite nicely!

2. Totally unique looks. Instantly recognizable on the road. Will end up being quite a rare car and therefore create a cult following (like the M30).

3. Price-performance. For what I paid, it had no peer. Still does not - in the used-car market!

4. Seat comfort in the front is excellent. The leather breathes right!

The So-so, the Bad and the Ugly (and most of these are minor - with the exception of the oil issue):

1. Poorly maintained engines will burn oil. If it gets really bad, Infiniti will replace the engine if pushed a lot.

2. Rear-seat and trunk room is not as large as I might like, but pretty useable. Just less than the same-era Q45.

3. Dated suspension and handling, compared to the newer M, but most people will never take it to the limits to find this out anyway.

4. Trunk struts are weak and will fail eventually. Either get Infiniti to replace them under warranty, or install the trunk opener system (the price is very right!) from Jason Burtman (www.burtmanindustries.com).

5. Costly electronics repairs if they fail - get an extended warranty for sure.

Z

[nmgoodthing]

The other only drawback that I can come up with for this car is the brakes. For a beast like this I would have expected larger rotors. If hard breaking at high speeds is kept to a minimum you should be fine. Due to the smaller size of the rotors and the weight of the vehicle they tend to get pretty hot and warp. Other then that this car rocks.

[vzuptnguyen]

The good: Power, Torque, Unique Style,

The bad: Who needs a damn cassette tape deck.Trunk release/struts suck.Making U turns will embarrass you due to the horrible u turn radius.

lol i need a damn cassete player to plug in tape for mp3 device =p. i wonder if the M has a blitzsafe and USA spec or any type of harness that plugs from the radio to a mp3.

as for makign bad u turns, think of it as having ur car get noticed more =p

[ProvidenceLeaf]

lol i need a damn cassete player to plug in tape for mp3 device =p. i wonder if the M has a blitzsafe and USA spec or any type of harness that plugs from the radio to a mp3.

as for makign bad u turns, think of it as having ur car get noticed more =p

No Blitzsafe or any other mp3 direct adapters for the M45. I miss it. I had the sick IPOD set up in my TL-S. There is someone on here that did a nice install with the Harmon Kardon adapter though...

I saw your goodbye thread at AZ...I knew they were going to close it on you. Did you find an M to buy yet?

[vzuptnguyen]

No Blitzsafe or any other mp3 direct adapters for the M45. I miss it. I had the sick IPOD set up in my TL-S. There is someone on here that did a nice install with the Harmon Kardon adapter though...

I saw your goodbye thread at AZ...I knew they were going to close it on you. Did you find an M to buy yet?

yea, the mods are biased.

its crazy, there are 3 former AZ users on here. you, me, and some other guy who had his CL totaled. no im still checking prices. maybe if i wait till fall again, it lower more. plus i cant get the student loan till then =p

[cremecreme]

dont forget me..that makes 4 former AZ owners...i had a TSX...super slowwww

[Mark Linkous]

The Good: Positively absurd value for the money, wonderful powerplant, advanced technical content, profoundly comfortable front seats, outstanding fit and finish, classic lines, and rarity.The Bad: Back seats are smug to put it kindly. The stereo; well Bose is a four letter word. The dreaded oil consumption fears. On the subject of consumption, gas mileage can be painful if driven with a heavy foot.The Ugly: The prospect of owning one of these cars without an extended warranty. Some of the repair bills if not under warranty may yet exceed the wholesale value of our cars in a few years. Imagine a long block replacement w/o a warranty. That is saying nothing of the Nav, ICC, etc... Listen to Szhosain about getting the extended warranty. I know I would not have even considered this car without a long warranty. The 30,000 mile service intervals are ugly to your checking account.A Great Weekend to All,Mark