F50 Q45: Need tip on buying a 02+ F50 Q45

[vzuptnguyen]

i really want a 05 q45, but it is such a rare car to come across here with a black/black and premium package.

i may have to settle for a 02-04

which years should i look out for?

ive read that the 03+ have automatic opening trunks, and the 02 does not. is this true?

is the 02-03 more prone to oil consumption problems?

anything else? im guessing the 02-03 would be out of warranty for the bumper to bumper coverage.

is the ecm and pedal upgrade available under the powertrain warranty or the bumper-bumper warranty?

[vzuptnguyen]

also i am looking into buying one out of state.

does anyone have experience with dealing and negotiating out of state sales.

i would image it would be harder to negotiate online.

[maxnix]

Read the sitcky above. The most important feature of any car which should be reviewed first is the Infiniti dealer performed service history. In particular, verify the3,750 mile OCI. Any other anamolies will help guide the senior Infiniti technician who does the final inspection.

Secondly, if you are dealing with a Nissan or Infiniti dealer, by all means negotiate for a Nissan backed extended warranty if you can. I bought one of my cars in Brooklyn when I lived in Seattle from a private party and had plenty of conversations and photographs, and of course the review of the service history.

The 2003 and later F50 are probably more diesirable, not so much for the doo dads, but because of the electronics and final drive. Just remember condition and service history should trump color and options every time. As the years went on, fewer were produced until just over 60 were brought in for 2006.

[brymax]

i really want a 05 q45, but it is such a rare car to come across here with a black/black and premium package.

i may have to settle for a 02-04

which years should i look out for?

ive read that the 03+ have automatic opening trunks, and the 02 does not. is this true?

is the 02-03 more prone to oil consumption problems?

anything else? im guessing the 02-03 would be out of warranty for the bumper to bumper coverage.

is the ecm and pedal upgrade available under the powertrain warranty or the bumper-bumper warranty?

Oh hey, I have a suggestion.

Buy my 02!

Read my latest post "To Sell... Or Not to Sell".

I'm considering selling my car.

Disclaimer: I haven't fully conceded to the idea of selling. I really love my car and the idea of selling freakin kills me. Like I said, I'm considering it.

Anyway, I just hit 50K miles, got some factory warranty left, and my car is freakin cherry!

And I'm in Irvine!

In response to your questions... Uh... "Auto Trunk"? Mine opens with a button on the door or my remote.Is that what you mean?

As far as oil consumption. I had my oil changed right after buying my car and a short time later the freakin thing was REALLY low. Tustin Infiniti went through this whole change, fill, monitor consumption process for like a month (Free of charge) and determined that most likely the SCHMO that changed my oil before, didn't put enough in and I just didn't figure it out until it was almost a problem. It's been fine ever since. Burns about a qt. every few months. Totally normal for this car, I'm told.

I had Tustin Infiniti run the background check on my car and found that the pedal issue and the other factory recall issues were in fact done. The acceleration hesitation issue was a service bulletin but was not something the factory paid for. They quoted me like $1,400, but said if it wasn't a major issue for me, it wasn't really a problem for the car. Mine does sometimes hesitate when you punch it, so I just use the Trip-tronic down-shift. Works way better anyway.

Tustin Infiniti also did for free;Exh. Manifold replacementStarterSeat belt guidesAnd a bunch of other crap.

Hope this helps.
Modified by brymax at 9:11 PM 6/13/2008

[vzuptnguyen]

i heard 2002 was the worst year to buy a F50 though. anything else wrong with this one?

[vzuptnguyen]

would you guys consider buying a q45 at 170,000 miles?

it is a 2002 with 172,000 miles at $9,500

i hear nothing but good news from these engines so i was wondering if it is not too bad.

anything know to be bad at those high a mileage? frame, suspension, engine...

[brymax]

i heard 2002 was the worst year to buy a F50 though. anything else wrong with this one?

I don't about that "Worst year stuff".

What I did hear from the Chief mechanic @ Tustin Infiniti is that the Q45 was the best car Infiniti ever made and whatever problems the Q did have, Infiniti had worked out by 05 and the 06 was really the best one to have.

Personally, I haven't had any real problems with my car. I've had it for 9-10 months and it's been in the shop 4 times. But not due to breakdowns. I learned here in this forum to go do the background check at a dealer after your purchase. I did that and learned contrary to what the car broker I bought the car from told me, my car WAS still under warranty. Once I found that out, I had them go thru the whole car and do everything they could. So far, I think about $7K worth of repairs has gone into this car. Of that, I kicked out about $2K. The rest was warranty paid.

I recently had the belt tensioner / guides replaced. But I just did it because it rattled.

I guess you just gotta go with your gut. I was in the market originally for a 02-04 M45. I love that model. I drove a couple, but it was little tight for me being 6'2". Then I came across a Q45 and drove it. It was OK but sparked my interest. I went on Edmunds.com and read consumer opinions on the various cars I was considering, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus. I didn't see 1 bad thing written about the Q45, or the M45 for that matter.

I just happened upon my car thru AutoTrader.com. As soon as I saw the pic, the price and the low miles (33K) I knew I would buy. I actually called the broker and gave him my AMEX # for a deposit to hold until I could get up to Anaheim and see it. I drove it once and cut the deal on the spot.

I haven't looked back and love this car. It's just no longer practical for me and cutting back expenses to buy a house is more important.

Go with your gut.

[Victor]

The old rule of thumb is don't buy the first year of a new model, give them time to work the bugs out. A reliability report I posted here a while back listed the 2002 Q45 as the only unreliable Q45, but they didn't test every single year so there may be others. The early 90s Q45s weren't as bad, the later first generation being better because they don't have the chain guide problem. The most reliable were the second generation 97 to 2001. From what I read on this forum the 2002 and maybe other third generation Q45s had an oil use problem.As anecdotal evidence you see more 2002s for sale than any other third generation, must be a reason for it.

[mcrews]

The old rule of thumb is don't buy the first year of a new model, give them time to work the bugs out. AAs anecdotal evidence you see more 2002s for sale than any other third generation, must be a reason for it.

Woooowwww.... There are more 02 for sale because 1. the lease is over 2. trade every 4-5 yrs 3. more 02s than any other yr.But not because they are a crappy car....that's false logic. Yes, the first yr is always a shake down yr

but nice try!!!!!

[brymax]

Woooowwww.... There are more 02 for sale because 1. the lease is over 2. trade every 4-5 yrs 3. more 02s than any other yr.But not because they are a crappy car....that's false logic. Yes, the first yr is always a shake down yr

but nice try!!!!!

Yeah, I gotta agree with you on this one.

Funny thing is, I always hear these opinions that seemingly bag on my model Q, and then I look where they're coming from and it always seems like they're coming from these guys that spend countless hours here in this forum talking about the countless hours they spend with their head under the hoods of their cars rebuilding this and modifying that.

Personally, I haven't had to stick my head under my hood. My car doesn't have issues. Granted, my car still only has 50K miles, but it's just so funny to listen and learn.

But hey, whatever. That's what makes America what it is. We all have opinions and we all think we know what the hell we're talking about.

I play racquetball in what some might consider the upper ranks in the west and the country and we have a forum very much like this one. One thing you hear there is people talking about racquets. This ones better than that one. This year is better than that year.

Here's what is also the same. A racquet that makes a guy play crappy, look like idiot and make his elbow hurt, might in fact be THE racquet of choice for the #1 player in the world.

It's all opinion.

[mcrews]

When I got my F50 2 yrs ago my girl friend had a brand new lexus LS430.mybe an 05 i quess.She loved riding in the Q. much more than in the lexus. and we all know how much more cool stuff ANY 05 luxo car has over an 02. The fact is, as you said brymax, the F50 is a great car.

My plan is to put another 70-90k on this 02, and then pick up an 06 cheap!!!

[brymax]

When I got my F50 2 yrs ago my girl friend had a brand new lexus LS430.mybe an 05 i quess.She loved riding in the Q. much more than in the lexus. and we all know how much more cool stuff ANY 05 luxo car has over an 02. The fact is, as you said brymax, the F50 is a great car.

My plan is to put another 70-90k on this 02, and then pick up an 06 cheap!!!

I kinda dig the 05-06 as well. But the tail lights changed from the style mine has and it just doesn't look as cool. IMO.

We're actually kinda eyeballin Lexus right now as 1 of our options. Kinda looking at the RX400h hybrid.The consumer feedback on Edmunds.com is pretty good on that car. I'm just going to have to drive it I guess, cuz we're kinda wondering how tight the back is going to be with the baby-seat in the middle.

My ML350 is totally tight. Anytime someone has to sit back there next to the baby-seat they basically have to put their elbows directly in front of them. We have one of those baby seats made by Recaro racing seats. It's awesome but it takes up a lot of space.

[vzuptnguyen]

thanks for your help guys, but ive jsut realized ls430 with ultra luxury package arent that much more expensive than q45. and i never knew it had much more options and accessories.

some minor ones i like that the Ultra luxury package offer are:

-automatic swiveling vents-rear vanity mirrors (like nissan president)-automatic front and rear headright-smart key in which u never need to use the key periiod

theres so much more crazy features over the Q, i was just listing a few minor ones that caught my attention.

btw, the 11 speaker mark levinson audio sucks. it nicely surrounds you, but quality is horrible.

[ahmed_wasim]

I am also planning to get an 04+ LS430. But I would stay away from UL as the air suspension fails and its 1000 bucks to replace one shock

[vzuptnguyen]

when it fails. i will get aftermarket air suspension of course, so i dont mind =]

[brymax]

I've been eyeball'n the new 2009 Chrysler Aspen Hybrid.

It'll be the 3rd edition to this model. So far nobody has anything bad to say about these SUV's and I'm wondering why. Is it because this model just hasn't been on the market long enough. Is it because the owners of these cars are perhaps owner's of other domestic cars, so they don't know that Japanese and German cars offer much more?

What is it?

Anyway, I like the size and the look, and now Hybrid.

Anybody know anything about this truck?

Sorry, you guys got off onto Lexus.