Bought a 2004 M45 and thinking about selling Lola

[Jeff Williams]

I hate to think about it, but I don't really need Lola any more. I just picked up a sweet 2004 M45 on Christmas eve.

I may pull off all the custom parts and sell them separately, if there is any interest in them:

2.25" polished stainless exhaust systemNICO ECUZ32 Aluminum calipers and cross drilled rotorsSTILLEN Cold Air BoxWald 3-piece rear spoilerStainless Steel mesh grilleCali Custom lowering springsAdjustable upper links (front and rear)18" x 8" & 18" x 9" ASA Revolution wheels & tires with 75% tread20" X 8" 5-spoke custom chrome wheels & tires with 90% tread

I also have many spare parts for the Q.

MAFDoor controlsECUTCUBCMradioclimate controlblack headrestsgrey floor mats

Probably a lot more stuff too, but I don't recall exactly what I have.

She has given me 107,000 trouble free miles on top of the 97,000 miles her previous owners enjoyed. The front bumper was re-painted a few years ago and the new paint chipped terribly. I just never bothered getting it repainted. The hood had a little damage caused by my wife hitting a truck retread on the interstate. It broke the passenger headlight, driving light, parking light, and dented the hood. It has been repaired, but the new paint does not match very well and has turned dull. The rear bumper was tapped by a 16 year old kid, that promised to re-paint it if I didn't call the cops (That never happened), and there are some small stress cracks in the paint in the center. There is one door ding on the passenger rear door. The wheel and seat easy entry/easy exit looses it's programming and has to be reset often( I think it is the door LAN module or a loose wire in it). The remote has a dead battery and does not lock or unlock the doors. The transmission is the original and is filled with Amsoil synthetic fluid. I use Mobile 1 synthetic oil, since I changed from Amsoil a few years ago. She has not seen anything but synthetic oils since her fist few oil changes at the dealership. The water pump. valve cover gaskets, knock sensors, fuel injectors, and all the hoses and belts have been regularly maintained on her. She has even been under the care of Byron at T3. I do all my own maintenance, but the knock sensors and under plenum hoses were left to the expert.

I have loved this car for many years, and her twin, Layla before that. I would never trade my time in the first gen Q for any other car. Many of my escapades have been shared here. on this site.

I can easily say that NICO and all of it's members have saved me at least $5,000 in repair costs on Lala and the same on Lola.

I just hope my experience with the first gen M will be as good. I am thinking of calling her Lana.

What do you think?

[AZhitman]

WOW.

Lana is soooooo damn sexy!

And damn you for tempting me with another Q.

[Jeff Williams]

I thought of you when I found the pearl white M45, Greg.

Thanks, The 03-04 M's are the perfect upgrade from the 90-96 Q45 in my opinion.

I pulled off the 20" chrome 5-spoke wheels for the stock polished 18's for now. I guess I am getting too old for the harsh ride of the 20's. They do look good, though.

[AZhitman]

Agreed. The Y34 is a worthy successor to the G50.

What are you looking to get for ol' gal?

[Jeff Williams]

Well, she has been a good car, but I won't lie to you. She will need some TLC. I would personally paint the hood and bumpers.

The tires are about half life. I run Nitto NT555's on her, which are fairly expensive. The rears are a 285/40/18 because I was going to add the 4.11 rear but never got around to it.

The transmission shifts fine as long as it is warm, and I don't do too many WOT runs, but at 203K, I wouldn't run her down the drag strip any more.

The interior is great, the A/C works fine. She has a new battery and the alternator is only about a year old.

I have a small interest in the local "U Park U Sell" lot, and Ben there thinks we can make some money off of her, but I would rather sell her to a NICO brother.

He said he could get $2,500 for her as-is, but I would take off the fun stuff I added over the years, first though.

For you, Greg, make me an offer with our without all the stuff.

I can get her delivered to Dallas for pennies. Ben has a couple cars he is picking up there for his lot, and he can take Lola West when he goes to pick up his other cars.

[qship96]

Jeff, I have always liked the look of the ASA ar1 wheels....please comment on their quality if you would{ both structural integrity and finish quality/durability}.....thanks

[maxnix]

Nice color on the M.

If it had the VLSD, I might own one.

[Jeff Williams]

Well, I love the look, as it is similar to the factory BBS wheels, but the clear coat is very thin and susseptible to flaking and peeling. Tire rack has a great warranty, but the wheels are a little old to force them to swap them out.

[Jeff Williams]

Nice color on the M.

If it had the VLSD, I might own one.

Hmm, I never looked into it. The traction control prety much keeps the tires from spinning.

[Bigmike40]

Nice looking M!!! I love the color, I am partial to the pearl white, my Q45 sports the same paint scheme. Congrats!!

Mike

[Marv007]

Sweeeeet! But where does that leave us for obtaining FSTB's?

[longlivetitus]

That's wicked!Could you upload an interior picture?Right on!Longlivetitus

[szh]

Agreed. The Y34 is a worthy successor to the G50.

I found that to be very true!

That is why I jumped on the Y34 bandwagon after my previous two Q45's ... over six years ago now (wow, time flies!).

Z

[szh]

Sweeeeet! But where does that leave us for obtaining FSTB's?

Good point!

The Y34 already has a FSTB, so Jeff will not be making one for that car any time soon.

Z

[szh]

I pulled off the 20" chrome 5-spoke wheels for the stock polished 18's for now.

I too prefer the look of the OEM 18" wheels on the Y34 ... the look "fits" better, without over-powering the overall look from the side.

Z

[MinisterofDOOM]

Nice M. I like those 5 spokes but 20'' is a little big for the Y34 I think.

Now it's time to grab a razor blade and get rid of all that gold.

[Jeff Williams]

What is up with the gold package and Infiniti's? My last Q had the gold package on it too.

I can still use Alabama Dan's Q for a template for the strut bars. I contacted another supplier yesterday to get a new batch going.

Here are some shots of the interior.

I love the heated and cooled seats.

The grey woodgrain is growing on me.

I got rid of the steering wheel cover. It was a little too much for me.

Here you can see that the Intelligent cruise control is slowing me down a bit. That is a strange feature, but I got used to it after a few hours of driving, and now I like it.

Here it is on Christmas morning in Kansas City. Stock wheels and a couple inches of snow on it. Now it resides in my warm cozy garage, next to my big block 72 Vette.

[maxnix]

Hmm, I never looked into it. The traction control prety much keeps the tires from spinning.

Yeah, but traction control (computer activated braking) does nothing for the car when powering out of corners.

Bet your Vette's have PosiTraction.

[maxnix]

I love the heated and cooled seats.

Be sure to include those filters along with cabin and engine intake on your annual filter change.

I still prefer the Y34 to the Y50 as far as style.

[Q45man1]

Nice looking M. I love the styling of the old M. Congrats and welcome to the VK family!

[Jeff Williams]

Yes, the 2000 Vette has active handling, traction control, and torque management systems. All of these can be turned off or I can put the car in "Competitive Mode".

Here are a few shots of me running with the "big dogs" on the Tail of the Dragon near Gatlinburg, TN. I am in the convertible. The guy in the ZR-1 was amazed when I told him my car has an automatic transmission in it. I was pushing those guys up and down the mountain all day!

[yodawill2000]

Looks like they were sucking up all the leaves for ya !!! That seems like a overheat waiting to happen on that Black hardtop in the first pic.Nice looking Vette man

[AZhitman]

That yellow one looks to have some sexy mods!

Jeff, I love the Smoke interior trim, always have... When i was at IOS, a lot of people who looked at the M hated it. It looks SPECTACULAR on a Wheat interior... Mmmmm.

[TBrack]

Damn Jeff I'm so jealous, that is my #1 favorite Infiniti ever made. I know she's in good hands

[paranoidjack]

You know what?

I think that car just settled it for me too, that's the next car I'll be into after my Q.

Beautiful car, rims look GREAT on it.

PS: I'd call her "LUna," as her beautiful pearl off-white reminds me of the moon on a clear night.
Modified by paranoidjack at 2:15 PM 12/31/2009

[AdamLowther]

Beautiful Car. That will be the next one for me as well.

A couple of questions, which make more sense here than on the M forum as you have the Q as a reference point.

1) the pic you showed of the interior dash at night, shows the RPMS at about 27-2800 at ~75MPH. This seems a little higher than my 96Q, but then I am used to KM/h not MPH. Do you find the gearing at highway speeds similar?

2) Hows the reliability compare to the 96 Q? I am aware of the oil burning issue, and obviously a historically poorly maintained car will give more future problems than a well maintained one, but that maitanance itself, is it better or worse than the second gen Q?

3) Id be looking at a first gen M45 as the second gen looks too much like the M35, and I like the styling of the first gen. Looking around it would seem that 70K to 120K miles is the range for a 2003/2004 M. Whats the lifepan of these cars? is 200K a reasonable expectation?

4) in your research did you come across major reliability differences between the 2003 and 2004 or pretty much the same?

Thanks! Again the M forum doesnt have a sticky like we do which would explain the specific issues which each model year and issues ect.

Cheers

Adam

[MinisterofDOOM]

What is up with the gold package and Infiniti's? My last Q had the gold package on it too.

Yeah, I don't get it.

I was actually able to remove the gold from my Q's emblems without even removing the emblems, just by scraping them with a razor blade at a ~90* angle. No damage to the chrome beneath, but the gold flakes off.

[marksport]

You can always install a VLSD from a 350Z like I did.

[redmanfx]

Damn Jeff, you'll make me feel like the old forum guy now if you get rid of Lola. Like one of the few old farts when I joined NICO still left that owns a Q still. If I can get the Calipers and rotors to fit on my 92 then I'll have a home for them if you part them out.

[maxnix]

You can always install a VLSD from a 350Z like I did.

Yeah, all the electronic traction control and anti-yaw nannies are only a guard against incompetence as none are a performance enhancers.