04 M45 with 173k miles. Requesting advice

[maltrix]

Hi y'all new to the forum. I"m looking at this M45 close to me and wondering what you experts think.

http://providence.craigslist.org/cto/5456923580.html

I saw it today, the seller is third owner and has had it for 2 years where he's put on 50,000 miles on it(yikes?) He was pretty candid about his lack of knowledge on cars and wants to sell it because he commutes too far. Here's the carfax https://www.carfax.com/api/consumers/21 ... 0a19dc18b1

It began it's life as a leased car and there are service records all the way up to the current owner. Car runs well,there a minor dent and some scratches on the rear passenger side and a piece of trim missing from the passenger door. The driver seat is jacked up though and won't move forward, a local search around the junk yards has seats for $120 so no big deal for now. Interior is pretty good as well needs a cleaning but it is his daily right now. My biggest concerns are that I see these engines are known to burn oil and I see the current owner has had a lot of oil changes recently and it has high miles compared to what's on the market right now. If it wasn't for the extensive service history I would walk away but was wondering what you guys think. He said he'd sell it for 4k. so yeah if anyone can offer some insight I'd appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

[BlackCat81]

I'd pass on it. Not solely on the high possibility of using a ton of oil, but from a maintenance and repair standpoint. They are very difficult and expensive to work on.

[szh]

My 2003 M45 (purchased brand-new, so single owner, and overkill-maintained) is at about 176k miles right now - about the same miles as the one you are looking at.

Still running well, but it has its problems ...

The oil consumption is slowly going up - more than I would like. It used to be about 1/3 quart every 1750 miles, but I am now adding nearly a quart in that same mileage.

If it gets worse - and I think it will continue to do so - I will need to think about (a) replacing the engine because I would love to keep the car longer or (b) take a deep breath, get rid of it and move on to a current generation car.

I have the funds for a Q70L socked away ... but, at that price point, a Tesla S also starts looking interesting. My dang commute is now so horrible that I would love to get into car-pool lanes, and I'd rather get a full electric than a hybrid (was not too impressed by the M35H loaner Frontier Infiniti gave me recently).

BTW, my car has two other bigger problems that I need to also fix. Of course, any car this old is bound to have its share of squeaks and rattle ... these don't bother me per se.

First is the the driver seat. It moves back and forth, but raising it is a problem - only one side rises due to some broken part. Been meaning to take the seat off and see what it is and if I can replace it myself.

Second is a recent leak in the exhaust assembly (although it passed a smog test) - needs the left-wide manifold to be replaced. This would be the second occurrence at the same spot, I think, and it ain't cheap - well, at the dealer!

Anyway, the big question: would I buy my current car from somebody else if I didn't already own it? And, the answer is, unfortunately, probably NO.

Z

[maltrix]

Thanks for the replies. I saw an oil consumption fix on this forum using a catch pan between some vents on the engine. I didn't really study the guide in detail so forgive me if that's an incorrect summary, but does that fix not actually work or maybe only delays the oil consumption?

[EdBwoy]

It doesn't stop consumption. Just catches it in the can to stop it from going into the air stream. Oil in the intake burns and shows up as blue smoke.

[Larz]

Welcome to NICO!
The Ms from that generation are pure timeless beauty. They are by far the best body design Infiniti has ever made. However, with mileage that high one must consider the cost of replacing major components like air/con, water pump, starter, suspension, and exhaust. The life span of so may parts is approaching the end. Since it is a northern car, it's probably best to look at the under belly and check corrosion and rust damage. If you are planing to drive it daily, I would pass on this one and try to find another one with lower miles.

[szh]

The Ms from that generation are pure timeless beauty. They are by far the best body design Infiniti has ever made.

These sentiments I can totally agree with. I love the looks of my car and it is the reason I am keeping far beyond where I would normally put up with some of the problems it has.

Are these problems fixable? Sure, but it is getting expensive to maintain ...

Z

[maltrix]

Thanks for the advice guys. I passed on that car and came across this guy on ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Infiniti-M45-St ... 1806719212

Looks like a good example but wondering if too low miles is a bad thing. I assume its been driven enough to keep the seals and such from drying out but the car hasnt been registered since 2014. Thoughts on that and what would you think it's worth?