2003 Consumer Reports

[OLU40]

As I am sure it is no surprise to you conceited Q owners 94's and 95's have made the list of most reliable used cars in the 12-14K segment. Some bragging ammo for naysayers. What was disturbing was the reviews on the 2002 model which they state the handling and ride are not quite world class. I haven't driven one but others have stated different. Any feedback?

[AZhitman]

WOO HOO!

Gotta get me a copy!

[OLU40]

I knew you'd like that !:ylsuper

[Q45tech]

For either year Q to retail at $12-$14k they would have to be low mileage [say around 80k to under 100k] or old data.

Full dealer retail on a 94 is low to mid $9,000.......80,000 miles would only increase the price by $1,000.......40,000 miles on odometer would only add $1700 or $10,700 TOTAL.

An EXCEPTIONAL 94Q with 80k and every option might get to $11.5k retail or $9,200 Fair Private Sale.

A nine year old beauty.

[OLU40]

Consumer Reports has a tendency to exaggerate also. I looked at the nubers suspiciously as I bought my 94 with 61000 miles at 9,700.

[G8R45]

I cancelled my subscription to that rag years ago. If they think my Q handles poorly I'd sure like to know what handles well?

[OLU40]

Hey G8, glad you chimed in! Consumer Reports a rag! That's funny. How do you rate the handling and ride of your'02? They claim the ride and handling are not up to par of say a Lexus 430.

[G8R45]

The ride can be set to sport m,ode and it is pretty tight. You can't hide the fact that the car weighs 4000 pounds but Infiniti does a very good job of making it handle. The brakes are very good. It is very comfortable. She has very good sound isolation and a kick *** sound system. When I first got her the controls for the radio, climate control and navigation were a little confusing. Now that I have had the car for a few monthes it all works very naturally to me. My wife loves her Lexus but I'll take an Infiniti any day of the week. I just think that Lexus is designed for drivers without motor oil in their veins, whereas Infiniti is for "car people".

[OLU40]

I agree. But Infiniti to me is like a Japanese version of BMW. But they haven't learned to mask the weight like the German's have yet. However the German's don't even come close to reliability. That make all the difference. Ergonomics is top notch in Japanese vehicles to.

[G8R45]

That is a pretty good comparison and you are right about reliability issues. I have owned one BMW and it was a maintenance nightmare. Thank God I got rid of it before it went out of warranty.

[elwesso]

I rode in a 2000 BMW 740 for the first time a while back, and looking at it- it was the sweetest looking car, looked so comfy, and anything else good. I got in, and the seats were hard (it had like a little layer of padding and then it got real hard), and the ride wasnt was I was expecting. Im sure it could handle much better than a Q, but still, for a 50k+ luxuary car, you expect to be comfy and ride nice.

Not at all impressed, I would rather ride in my 94 Q with 120k miles.

[greg_atlanta]

You have to love Consumer reports for consistently trashing American cars and supporting Japanese cars. (The Euro makes are a mixed bag.... usually get lower reliability ratings).

I subscribed for a year and got the car issue. It's good information, but still just ONE source of information. Treating it like a bible is a bad idea.

[OLU40]

Yeah Greg, it is not the bible. You've got to read alot. Hey G8, what BMW did you have? It seems BMs these mags to hide all of their problems. Benz has been doing that for years. It ranked way low on reliability. I would either get a new Q45 or The new 04/06 LS430 with all wheel drive. I would probably feel like a traitor if I went to Lexus:rolleyes Good car though.

[G8R45]

I had a 325i. Don't get me wrong , it drove very well. It went thru rotors every 10,000 miles or so. They covered them under warranty the first time but then i had to spring for new ones. The power window switches went out 3 times. The worst problem was a smell of raw gasoline in the ****pit that they never figured out. I got rid of the car at around 35,000 miles. I never did understand the rotor warping problem. I have owned 6 MB's 3 Audi's, 2 pevious Infiniti's and 2 Camaro SS's and drove them all the same way. The only other rotors I ever had to replace were on the second SS and that was a performance upgrade to a BAER system. I just think the BMW's were built to thin and would warp very easily.

[OLU40]

Bimmer's warp quick. The new 745 has that problem now (among a whole lot of other problems)!

[greg_atlanta]

I had a 325i. Don't get me wrong , it drove very well. It went thru rotors every 10,000 miles or so. They covered them under warranty the first time but then i had to spring for new ones. ..... I never did understand the rotor warping problem. I have owned 6 MB's 3 Audi's, 2 pevious Infiniti's and 2 Camaro SS's and drove them all the same way. The only other rotors I ever had to replace were on the second SS and that was a performance upgrade to a BAER system. I just think the BMW's were built to thin and would warp very easily.

Hmmm... Q45 rotors are famous for warping pretty fast compared to other cars. In fact new Q45 had warped rotors mentioned on several long term reviews in car mags, all replaced under warranty (which is not normal for most cars, but I guess Q45s are special ).

On the '90-'96 Q45s it's a good idea to have the rotors resurfaced in between pad changes, or about every 8-10K miles.

Just depends how picky you are.

[G8R45]

Thanks for the service tip Greg-Atlanta. I personally haven't had any rotor issues with my Infinitis but I might have gotten lucky. I tend to drive a lot of highway miles, so maybe that has something to do with it. How many miles have you been getting on your pads?

[BadQ45t]

Consumer reports is great for buying a blender or a washer and dryer. For cars, their reliability data is okay but the rest, for get it. Same thing goes for their reviews or home theater equrpment, they just are not the right people to listen to if you're spending you time on this board.