Good morning

I have never owned an Infiniti but have admired the make for years. At present I am deciding whether to sell my 2005 RL and buy the 2006 M45.

Although I like the technology, appointments and ride of the RL, I want a more powerful V8 engine then the V6 of the RL. Of the different brands I have researched, I have found that the M45 is similar in size and attributes to the RL but has a much larger and better engine and transmission.

The dealer with whom I have visited, has given me the following prices for the base M45 with journey and tech options.

MSRP Invoice BASE $43,322 $47,150 JRN $2,370 $2,750 JOURNEY PACKAGE TCX $3,619 $4,200 TECHNOLOGY PKG-XM TMB $61 $80 SPC SAVER TRUNK 50S $0 $0 50 STATE EMISSION Freight $650 $650 Total $50,022 $54,830

My questions to owners of the M45 with personal knowledge of the RL is whether, engine aside, is the M45 less than, equal to or actually superior to the RL in other ways and is the price given to me a fair price?

Welcome to NICO. Some additional details on the M45 may be found at http://www.m45forum.com

Here is a couple of comparissons that may be interesting:

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vd...ber=5

http://www.newcars.com/review_....html

While I have not driven the M45, I spent a number of days in the M35 and was highly impressed.

carbuff wrote:I have never owned an Infiniti but have admired the make for years. At present I am deciding whether to sell my 2005 RL and buy the 2006 M45.

Although I like the technology, appointments and ride of the RL, I want a more powerful V8 engine then the V6 of the RL. Of the different brands I have researched, I have found that the M45 is similar in size and attributes to the RL but has a much larger and better engine and transmission.

The dealer with whom I have visited, has given me the following prices for the base M45 with journey and tech options.

My questions to owners of the M45 with personal knowledge of the RL is whether, engine aside, is the M45 less than, equal to or actually superior to the RL in other ways and is the price given to me a fair price?

Welcome to NICO!

Here is a thread on prices that may make sense to review.

zerothread?id=142283

Inre your other other question, both the RL and M45 are excellent cars in their own way (although I do not have personal experience with the RL, but have looked at it carefully.)

My wife is an Acura fan and I am an Infiniti fan. For different reasons. My wife believes (and I kinda agree) that the RL tends to be more luxurious inside and has more of the refinements you might expect in a true luxury car.

However, I believe (and my wife sorta agrees - as much as wive's do ) that the M45 is a driver's car and has the performance you might want and expect in a high-performance sedan.

So, it boils down to what you want: extreme creature comforts or the high performance. I know that at our house, the answer would be different based on who you ask!

Z

Thank you for your responses. I read them with inerest. I also read every review I could find published in the various threads and on different forums.

Today, after completing my reading of reviews of auto mags, I made my decision and ordered the base M45 with the Journey and Tech packages.

It was not an easy decision for me to make because I think that this will be the last car I will buy and I wanted the "best" I could afford. Time will tell if I made the correct decision.

I am eager and excited to drive my M45. However, because of the color combination I ordered, a car was found in a distant city and must be transported to my local dealer.

After I put some miles on it, I will give you my impressions.

Thanks again for your input.

Cool!

Looking forward to your driving impressions ... and, as always, pictures would be good!

Z

carbuff, I hope you enjoy your purchase. If any of us can be of further assistance to you, please ask. Supporting the Nissan/Infiniti community is what we strive to do.

Take care and let us know how things turn out for you.

carbuff, welcome aboard - You're going to LOVE the M.

I'm in Phoenix as well - Perhaps you'd be interested in joining us when we do some club events (drves, dinners, tech days, etc).

Also, we'd LOVE to have you brring the M out to the show on March 18/19 at Firebird. Details are in the National Meets forum here...