Average Life span of an Infiniti?

[jenniferm]

Hello, I am very interested in purchasing a 2000 Infinity I30. This vehicle is in pretty good condition with 86,000 miles, two owners; no accidents reported.
The dealer is asking $5,395.00. I will have the vehicle inspected by my mechanic to verify it's a safe and well running vehicle but I am not familiar with these vehicles and no one else that I know is either. I have heard that if well maintained these engines can go 300,000 miles... is that true? What is the average life span of this engine when well maintained?
Thank you for your help,
Jenn

[elwesso]

There's a lot of "if's" there.. Normally the cars get trashed long before the engine is mechanically bad, including engine peripherals failing..

Welcome to NICO. You posted this thread in the Q45 forum, so I'll move this to the I30/Maxima forum.. The VQ engine in the I30 is pretty good, one of nissan's better engines of that era, and to my knowledge they are pretty good cars overall.

[jenniferm]

Thank you for responding and getting me to the correct forum

[A33 Cefiro]

The Maxima/I30/5 are pretty reliable so long you maintain them. I personally think if you take care of a car, it will last you around 300,000 except certain imports. Some are just of poor build quality. Cars from Nissan are usually solid. The VQ was actually one of the better engines they had. The transmissions are known for failing every now and then, but it's not something that affects every car like lets say Hyundai engines when you dont change the belt exactly every 60,000.

Overall, the only thing to be on the lookout for on the Maxima/I30/35 is the ignition coil, MAF sensor and the occasional light bulb (these cars are known for going through many bulbs.). These are normal maintenance things though.

What I would be more concerned though is how long has this car been in storage, and if there is anything that may arouse in the future. While one may want a car with low miles, the problem sometimes becomes that if it was stored for a long period of time, certain things tend to fail because they rot away.

Good luck with the purchase. BTW try to knock down the price a bit. $5300 for a 11 year old car seems kinda ridiculous for me. $4500-4900 seems like a more reasonable deal.

[jenniferm]

Thank you for replying. When I first started my vehicle search I was very surprised at how much more a used vehicle costs today verses what was in the market four years ago. I have been looking at all the dealerships and the only vehicles that are within that mileage range and price have been in some kind of accident.
They originally were asking $5,995.00 and I talked them down to $5,300.00. I just took another look at the carfax report and it shows the last mileage report is from 02/05/2010 so this tells me the car has been sitting for almost two years for whatever reason. When I take this vehicle in for a third party inspection - if there is any rot will they be able to tell me or will it only be known until it causes a complication?

[A33 Cefiro]

I would say the higher prices are because of the economy. Oddly enough, cars in my area are too expensive or too cheap.

The best thing to do is analyze all the reported mileages to see how much it has been driven. When you take it for an inspection, the areas of concern would be the belts and other components made out of rubber. Usually they start cracking when they sit too long. Fluids would probably have to be changed if the dealership hasn't done so already. Truthfully it would need a tune up. Then I'd be concerned with the brakes as sometimes the discs can rust.

[jenniferm]

I will make sure to explain that to my mechanic so they are sure to check that out and let me know of any concerns before I purchase the vehicle. Thank you so very much for taking the time to help me and answer my questions. : )

[Alexco87]

I've had my 2000 Infiniti I30 for 3 years now. I bought it with 205k miles. Most people wouldn't do this but since my first car was a 99 infiniti i30 which had 235k miles when it was given to me and i drove it for a year with no problems until i Totaled it speeding HAHA.. I decided to buy the 2000 A33 version. I now have 265k Miles and my engine still runs Strong! I do my own oil changes Fully Synthetic and I try to use 93 Octane fuel to keep injectors and pump clean. The biggest issue ive had with the car was the Suspension. I changed all struts and coils myself and spent about 600 bucks. Other than that just maintness of breaks tires and fluids. My Transmission still runs strong Engine Beautifully and i know ill reach 300k Miles before the car gets junked. I dont plan on selling it since i wont get much for it and i love this car. Plan on Staying Nico for life!

[loystock]

I have a 97 and 99 I30s, both with original engines, transmission, exhaust, ignition coils, fuel injectors and MAF sensors. Knock Sensors in both cars have been replaced as well as O2 sensor in 99 I30. Starters were pulled out when they became 'sticky' and refurbished by cleaning the assembly and the lubricating the mechanical side with Lihtium Grease. It's very important to follow the recommended maintenance requirements. I change fluids every 2 years.

[car5car]

95% of dead engines were "killed" by their owners.

[audtatious]

Make sure you run the VIN past a Infiniti service center to see what records they have on it.