1996 J30T Good Buy????

[scottd]

I am thinking of buying a 1996 Infiniti J30T. 118000 miles. $4900.00.Anyone know what I should look for, or if there are any known problems?Car looks immaculate.

[squeefoo]

Not real familiar with them other than here at NICO. Overall sounds like a good car. I saw some real good deals in yesterdays paper. 1995 J30 with "low, low" miles $6995 and 1994 J30 "mint" $3995. Yours sounds like a good deal, plus it's a T. I'm sure the J guys will be here soon.

[rebar71]

Check on the timing belt. Chances are you'll need to have it replaced ASAP. They are rated for 105k miles. And there are a couple other items that should be changed out at the same time - like the water pump. If those things need to be done, you may be looking at an additional $1000. Still a good deal for the amount of car your getting.

Others will have more info.

I've had my '93 J for about a year now and I love it! I paid $6000 (icluding tax/licensing) out the door for it - with about 91k miles on it - just broke 100k last month. But before I even went to the dealer to look at it, I called around to the local Infiniti dealers to find out what the maintenance history was. It was well taken care of - including a new timing belt AND new transmission at 70k. So I figured it was a good pick up.

Each day I drive my J - which is every day - I love it a little more. It is a sweeeeet ride.

[driverdriver]

This is my 9th year of ownership with my J. Somethings to consider if purchasing the J you are looking at:

(a.) Get the service history and make sure all fluids have been changed as per interval.(b.) Make sure that the timing belt has been changed (very important).(c.) Check the transmission carefully. J30's in warmer climates have high incidence of transmission failure.

Your "t" model won't have the HICAS steering, it was only availbe in '93 and '94.

[elwesso]

This is my 9th year of ownership with my J. Somethings to consider if purchasing the J you are looking at:

(a.) Get the service history and make sure all fluids have been changed as per interval.(b.) Make sure that the timing belt has been changed (very important).(c.) Check the transmission carefully. J30's in warmer climates have high incidence of transmission failure.

Your "t" model won't have the HICAS steering, it was only availbe in '93 and '94.

Yes, and with that said add a external tranyn cooler immediately upon delivery.....

Look inside the oil filler cap and let us know what you see... Take a flashlight..... You should see maybe a litlte bit of brownish looking stuff, but not a lot of it and NOTHING black...

[metaverse3]

It is a hearse.. heavy. Not exactly a barn burner..poor on gas. Expensive on parts. The 105k timing belt change has already been addressed in posts above.. Every 105k..kevlar timing belt and waterpump every 60k.. I own a 93 J30T. I'd rather drive my maxima hence my wife drives it solely.. Of course, I have a 5spd 92SE, so, the difference is night and day... but on the side of comfort and luxury, J30T takes the cake. Drive the car first and form your own opinions. There is no comfortable position for me in the J30.. 6ft 3 and 285 pounds... except when I step outside the #@$!(#&$& CAR ! If you are into class, go for it..you won't regret it.. if you are looking for a beater around town..wrong choice..

[scottd]

Well, I bought it. Thanks for all of your advice. The guy I bought it from did not like it as much as his Mercury Sable????????? He had it for three months, and was kind enough to replace the serpentine belt, and water pump for me.

[rebar71]

Didn't like the J as much as a Mercury Sable??? Isn't that a Ford Taurus??? Unbelievable!

Coincidentally enough, I was actually considering a Taurus before I bought the J. I needed a 4 door sedan and had no idea luxury could be had so cheaply. I love my J.

I still don't understand why Infiniti cars don't seem to hold their value like Lexus and Acura. Maybe they do now, but 90's models can be had for a song while a comparable Lexus or Acura go for twice as much.

[Jesda]

The Sable is bigger, has cheaper parts, and is great for the winter. The transmission is trash.

[AlabamaDan]

I had a 95 J that I loved. True it wasn't the best performing car I had, but I loved to drive it. As a RWD I liked the way it felt, looked good, and I thought dependable.

The door window relays (?) do seem to go bad often, not the motors - a relay.

The leather on the doors seems to have some issue that causes it to wear out easily. If you have a habit of resting your elbow on the door panel - break the habit quickly before you wear a hole in the leather. Trust me. I saw it on almost every J I looked at.

If I had a big enough garage, I'd buy me a Q to add to my stable.

I think those guys who don't like the J....well they're just not J-people.

[AlabamaDan]

What color is it? Post some pics?

Does it need any fixing up? I have a few parts lying around.

[carlos_knology]

The door window relays (?) do seem to go bad often, not the motors - a relay.

First, welcome aboard - good to see another J around here.

About the quote above, I think Danny meant window regulators. I haven't heard of any power window relay issues. Is there a relay?!

In any case, the window regulators are a common failure, easy to fix yourself. Check out my J30 site. http://www.fuzzycats.com/j30.htm

[AlabamaDan]

window regulators...yeah that's it!