'03 Q45 purchase... need expert help; what should I look out for?

[q45mothman]

Greetings,Newbie here. Going to look at a low mileage '03 Q45 (<25000miles ) Price is VERY good compared to other luxo cars... I think I would be getting a better car for the money than a similar Benz or Bimmer. BUT, I'm new to the Q's, is there ANYTHING I should really look out for? ALL advice is most appreciated.THANKS!!

[elwesso]

welcome to NICO mothman!

Check out the stickies... zerothread/213450

That should give you about everything you need to know. The bottom line is there arent that many out there, so sometimes its hard to speculate if a person is having a problem that is "common" or if its a fluke sorta thing...

Overall the cars are very much trouble free. The electronics are solid, the drivetrain is reliable.. All you have to do is keep up with the regular maintenance and fluid changes (every fluid changed in the vehicle once per year) and the car will last a long time.

However the 03s are a much better buy than the 02s, FYI in case you decide to look elsewhere...

Check the service history and if youd like you can post it up. Main thing to look for is oil changes, the V8 is pretty sensitive to it and has oil consumption issues...

[q45mothman]

Elwesso, Thanks for the quick reply. I read as many threads/stickies/links as I could find and the car appears to be a real sleeper... a great car for a relatively small amount of money. HOWEVER, I did find some people talk about the oil consumption problems. How can I tell? Even if the car runs great, I assume it can still use oil. What is normal consumption for a well maintained Q45? Also, if I make this purchase, I must change ALL fluids every year?? You mean brake and coolant and ATF, etc...?? I'm great at maintenance, but that seems a little excessive to me. One more thing, I always like to keep in good with an authorized dealer (you never know when you will need his scanning, TSB advice, etc...) Like many dealers, I'm sure some are much better than others. I'm about an hour from Philly. Do you know of some good dealers in NYC or Philly I could use if I had to? Thanks again D.

[maxnix]

Get the Infiniti dealer performed service history before you even look at the car. If you think it passes muster, then have an Infiniti Senior Technician inspect it on your dime. If all still looks good, then obtain an Infiniti dealer backed extended warranty if possible.

It you cannot verify an OCI of 3,750, be very cautious.

Member's standards vary, so some things like differential and brake and PS fluid might only be changed every two years by some. Some even just drain and fill the transmission repeatedly.

We recommend without documentation and a verifying inspection to the contrary, new purchasers replace all fluids and filters for a base line.
Modified by maxnix at 6:15 PM 2/27/2007

[elwesso]

You dont HAVE to replace the fluids every year, just depends if you like changing things like ENGINES, TRANSMISSIONS, DIFFERENTIALS, BRAKE CALIPERS and so on at 100k vs 200k or more or spending a couple bills on fluids.

Engine oil every 90 days, and everything else every year.

I might be exaggerating, but if you plan on keeping the car for a while you should, its just good practice. IF you replace the fluids and keep them super fresh you dont have to replace hard parts... $200 in fluids yearly is good insurance to replacing $4000 transmissions!

I would say an acceptable consumption level is about 1-1.5 quarts/3000 miles... Basically just top it off once during your OCI is accepatble to me and Infiniti. I'd have to pull up the TSB to know the semantics for sure.

certainly check the oil level and if its low you can assume its consuming oil... Sometimes it will show up on service records... "customer complains of oil consumption" blah blah blah.

[q45mothman]

Thanks for the info guys. I really do appreciate it. I guess my main concern is the oil consumption part. I don't mind the fluid changes either. I guess I would have to get used to adding oil now and then... a little weird since my '02 AUDI V8 doesn't use a drop between changes as dictated by the engine computer. Sometimes up to 6000 miles and AUDI engines last many many 100,000 miles. I know Infiniti makes a good vehicle, but why would one car use no oil and others quite a bit. I'm sure there is a reason. Maybe only the engine designeers know for sure.

[bullittandy]

Ther's a difference between excessive and normal oil consumption. Air cooled 911's burn a ton of oil compared to a Honda, but both are normal.

Some companies say that 1 quart per 2000 miles is "normal." I'm curious if the 02 Q's are burning oil due to a defect or are just designed to burn more oil due to less oil ring tension, different metal in piston etc.

[elwesso]

I too will be interested to see if the newer generation of VK45s burns oil like the old ones... Only time will tell.

[BadQ45t]

I can tell you that the older models do not burn any oil, my 97' doesn't burn one drop. I thought the oil consumption issue was an 02' problem.

I would get an extended warranty and than if you have an issue down the road you have Nissan on the hook. I think with that low mileage it will be hard to go wrong with this ride. The only issues with an 03' Q45 is there are not many of them around, but they are turning into some killer used car values.

[Q45man1]

I just add few days ago 1/2 quart of oil after 2200 miles last oil change in my 02Q. Likewise I added 1 quart of oil after 3000 miles in Ford 5.4 V8.It looks normal to me.

[mcrews]

extended warrenty is a must. not bec ause of reliablity, but because everything is expensive. and yes, a good dealer is worth...about $5k to me in the last 50k miles.I had an 07 M35 loaner last week for 3 days!!!!!!The Q45 is really a sweet car. and you are at a GREAT FORUM. These quys are the best.

Mark

[BadQ45t]

Wow, huge diff between the F33 and G, I burn ZERO oil in between, not one drop.