Bye Bye Infiniti QX4, hello Infiniti M45 !

[uvacarbuff]

Well, we have been contemplating selling my fiancee's Infiniti QX4 for some time. We put it on Craigslist last weekend for full KBB Private Party excellent value... the next day we had a couple come see it and they paid us full asking price!! We already knew we wanted to replace it with another Infiniti, we were going to buy a slightly used 2006/2007 M35 or M45 and put about 50% down and finance the rest... We test drove a 2006 M35x and a 2006 M45, both were nice, but both were a little over $30K. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a glistening Garnet Fire Metallic 1st Generation M45. It had "Certified Pre-Owned" on the windshield... it was begging me to check it out. She didn't even know what it was at first, so I explained to her how I longed for one of these cars when they came out in 2003. Remember the commercials? "The new Infinit M45, the 340hp Muscle car is back. The muscle car with brains." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g3IE6kgbLc We asked the salesman for the key and he told me that this was the fastest car they had on their lot. I remembered the 0-60 was impressive, so I went online with my phone and got some quick stats while we were waiting for the key. 340 hp, 333 ft/lbs of torque, 0-60 in 5.8 seconds and the 1/4 mile in 14.1 seconds. To make a long story short, the test drive won us over. This car had a sticker of $54,000! It has the Navigation, Voice Recognition, Adaptive Cruise Control, cd changer, heated and cooled seats, moonroof, xenons, chrome 18 inch wheels, etc etc.. basically every option you could get! It even has emblems on each side that say "Gold Edition." I ran the carfax real quick and it was a 1 owner car out of southern Ohio... thank goodness it wasn't a local Chicago car! So we were able to pay CASH for it.. no financing!! And we have a 2 year / 24,000 mile bumper to bumper CPO warranty! Needless to say, this car is awesome. She loves it, I love it.. and the Fleetwood loves sleeping next to it in the garage. 2: Regards,Elias
Modified by uvacarbuff at 2:27 PM 2/26/2008

[nmgoodthing]

Congrats and Welcome.

I still love my Qx4 She's a great SUV.

I'm not to sure what the "Gold Edition" is all about? Never hard of it. Sounds like a dealer promotion or something. Take that off!

You definetly have a rare color and you will love this car. Be sure to read up on some of the issues w/ the old gen M.

[uvacarbuff]

Thanks! I did read through a couple years worth of threads last night!

I am glad we got the CPO warranty. If any issues come up they will be covered for the next 2 years or 24K miles.

Do you know if Q45 17 inch wheels would fit our cars? I am looking for a nice winter wheel / tire setup for next snow season.

[DRIPS]

if you dont mind, what did you pay and what is mileage?

[uvacarbuff]

Got it for $18,500 out the door after taxes, title, etc.

It has 60Kmiles.

[nmgoodthing]

That's about right for a loaded M.

When it snows, I have to leave my M home She is horrible in the snow.

[uvacarbuff]

I am thinking of buying a set of 17 inch wheels with Michelin Arctic Alpin snow tires next Fall.

I have the same tires on my heavily modified Roadmaster and it got me through the winter with no issues.

[CakeDaddy]

thanks for that youtube commercial(sp) Never seen that before and nice purchase.

[regtwelve]

Never seen a red one in real life but they sure look hawt online

[szh]

The Garnet Fire is an outstanding color!

Z

[Andrew224]

Welcome!

Wow, great color combo! I think you made a good decision getting the '03 M, you will be very happy with it (and you saved quite a bit of money over a newer one). What dealer did you get your car from?

I'm pretty sure the Gold Edition has all the emblems plated in 24K gold. Which incidently, looks much better on the red than it would on any other color.

There are a few of us from IL on this board. I've had my '03 M almost 3 years and I love it more now than when I first got it. I also have a '01 QX4 a couple years ago after getting my M stuck in the snow one too many times. I can't decide which vehicle I like better. The QX4 is unbeatable in the winter but the M feels like I just got a brand new car when it comes out of the garage in the spring (I wish it would stop snowing already). It's funny, it seems that quite a few people have a 1st gen M and a QX4.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask, there are many helpful people here.

Andrew

[uvacarbuff]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

This forum has tons of great info, I have been browsing like mad for the last 24 hours.

[mahmudb]

Congratulations on your new car! That looks like an awesome color. Not a bad price either. Seems like Ohio has a big Infiniti dealership cause my M45 is also from Ohio. Our previous 99' Q45t was also from the same dealership as my M45.

Also I agree you need to be careful of Chicago cars. We bought an 04' G35x and the muffler looks like it needs to be replaced soon. Its all rusted.

[uvacarbuff]

Thanks! We bought this one from Infiniti of Lisle.

I am going to undercoat it once it gets warmer outside. I use the KBS three step system. Takes a full weekend, but the results are amazing, much better than POR 15.

I did the entire undercarriage on my Fleetwood show car and my Roadmaster daily driver with KBS and both look like mirrors underneath. On the Fleetwood I used the Gloss and on the Roadmaster I used Semi Gloss. I will most likely use Semi Gloss on the M45.

[Andrew224]

Both of my Infinities are from Infiniti of Lisle. Nothing but good things to say about their sales and service depts. But seeing that you had a QX4 before and you bought another Infiniti there, you probably already know that.

Andrew

[uvacarbuff]

Just thought to give an update! 13,500 miles later the M45 is still doing great. In November we put a set of Dunlop winter tires on and it blasted through the nasty Chicago winter with ease. Three months ago we put new pads/rotors all around at a high end independent shop for 1/2 the price Infiniti wanted. Other than that, all it has required is gas & oil changes. No oil consumption issues thus far! We wanted a second set of wheels & tires for the summer, so we bought some take off G35 sport wheels with the TPMS and already mounted/balanced. It gives the M45 a sportier look to it. We also had the windows tinted last summer... Overall it has been a great car for Nicole. She loves the power & luxury (heated/cooled seats, voice activation, NAV, disctronic cruise, etc etc). I like the fact that I do not have to worry about fixing it because the CPO warranty covers everything except interior parts. Hopefully the next year of ownership will be just as nice! Take care,Elias

[Mark Linkous]

Elias,Your Girl's M looks quite nice and I am glad to hear you guys are happy with it. I think the rims look quite nice as well. Very cool that you have the Premium/Technology packages. Especially with the 2003 model, this was quite rare as most were not so equipped. My car has the same packages and I have been quite pleased aside from how little it is worth now compared to when I purchased it.Cheers,ML

[ArbitrageMan]

Go Hokies!

[uvacarbuff]

Go Hokies!

LOL!

I was also surprised at how bad these cars depreciate.. oh well. She wants a M45x or A8 next year so we will see how that pans out.

[ArbitrageMan]

I was also surprised at how bad these cars depreciate.. oh well. She wants a M45x or A8 next year so we will see how that pans out.

When I was shopping around last October for a second generation M45, I had my theories for why these cars were such a bargain. My thoughts were that of course the economy was tanking, but also that people didnt know about the car. I never even thought about an M45 until I was browsing cars on ebay, and found a few M45s for very reasonable prices.

The used market for these cars only started in earnest when these cars begain coming off leases. If you leased a new 2006 M45, you probably did so in summertime of 2005. A three year least would mean the car was back on the market early fall 2008. There just werent that many used cars around before that.

So I think the supply is going to lead the demand a little. When more of these things are seen on the roads, more people will take a look at buying one. Plus I dont see any M45 commercials on TV. I guess the G is Infiniti's bread and butter.

[fiveliterbeater]

dude, i don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but i think you should keep the G35 wheels on there all year long! the original M45 wheels look ugly in my opinion.when you put those G35 wheels on there, they make the car look like its getting ready to race!beautiful color choice too!!!

[CakeDaddy]

I've seen maybe two with that color of Garnet Red here in town and both were driven by women. Very sexy & Very rare. Especially the tech&prem pkg on the 03. Someone ordered this car and wanted all the bells and whistles. So, very rare and just add to what my neighbor NMGood said about the gold edition stamp….. Not sure if that was an option on this car. Im guessing that the pin striper/gold plater added that after his work. And just to combat what the previous post'r said.... I do not think anyone’s opinion is bad new. Keep the OEM wheels. The car looks good with both sets in my opinion.

[uvacarbuff]

Thanks!

We are keeping both sets of wheels & tires. The OEM chrome 18s have Dunlop winter tires on them and the G35 sport wheels have summer only tires. Makes it easier to swap them for the correct season.