How did you come to own your Infiniti?

[BLBRIZZI]

Here's my story of how I came to own an Infiniti: I was looking for a larger car than what I currently had (2000 Neon), yeah, I know how could I own that? I had read about the Nissan Maxima, done a lot of research, always liked powerful cars, and definitely wanted something larger than the Neon. One day, almost a year ago I decided to go to the Nissan dealer, to test drive a Maxima. I wasn't looking to buy, I wanted to be in a house first, before taking on a larger car payment. So my wife, and I went into a local Nissan dealer. I talk to one of the salesmen, tell him what I'm interested in, look at a few Maxima's, find one I like (white) can't remember what year it was, he gives us the keys and let's us take it for a test drive. I was kind of shocked, he didn't come with us, didn't run our credit, and let us just take it, that impressed me. I never had a dealer do that before, just let us go, and say bring back the car when you want. I loved it, very nice, and plush. Everything the Neon wasn't. We test drove 3 cars that day, the final one being my 99 I30t. I knew about Infiniti, but just by name only, and knew that the I30 was a more expensive version of the Maxima. What I didn't know about was the Q45, or I may have looked at one of them. Well that's my story, until I came here looking for more info about my newly acquired vehicle. Oh, and the house, yeah we found a nice one Sept. of last year. Anyone in an apt., I definitely recommend getting into a house.

Brent

[PalmerWMD]

It was about 6 years ago when I bought my first Infiniti.

I had just finished some active duty time and came to Minneapolis from Fort Sill.My life savings burning a hole into my pocket ($11,000).So I wanted to buy a nice car REAL BAD>

I had heard of Q45's before and remember really liking them, but I was really set on finding a Millenia maybe even a hi mile Millenia S.

So that is what I originally went out to find...

But I was open to other cars as well, and went to a dealer who has a lot of higher mile but kinda recent imports.I had bought from him before.

I walked onto the lot my pockets full of cash.And then I saw it!!!!

An Ivory pearl quartz 1992 Infiniti Q45.It was just standing there,completely confident in it its angelic presence.It actually KNEW it was beautiful, I could tell.It had a soul, all Infiniti's do...The sun shining on its flawless paint,.. the tiny pearlescent flakes twinkling.I opened the door with almost religious reverence, as the smell of its soft leather wafted out into the open...when I sat down into it, surrounded by its classy cocoon like interior, it was like a relevation.I <knew> then that this was my car.Starting up the engine listening to it purr, testdriving it, was an almost religious experience.

After gently patting its hood, I went to haggle for it, luckily the salesman didnt rape me too badly, he could have, I would have paid ANYTHING ( I paid $8500).

This car was meant for me and I for it.When I took it home, I was almost in a trance driving it the greenishlky backlit gauges dancing before my eyes as I drove, ( I had slept about 2 hours the previous night).

The next day in the morning I just sat in it , opened all the doors, touched the sahara beige leather, cleaned the engine bay and checked the oil about 6 times.

It was the nicest car I had ever owned....even nicer than the brand new Paassat GLX I had bought new just a few years earlier.

Fred...

[AZhitman]

I was driving a 94 Civic Si, which had served me well for 100K, but scared the hell out of me with a recent head-on accident. Knew I wanted a bigger car, but wasn't sure what.

Had 3 in mind: 92-95 Acura Legend, 2000 Maxima, 90-95 Q45. Drove all 3. Acura was my favorite cosmetically, but the Type II engine with the 6-speed is TOO hard to find, and people that were selling them thought they were made of gold... Lacking power and FWD, yuck. The 2000 Max had plenty of power, but I'd have had to get cloth interior, and NO options to be able to afford it. Plus, torque steer really sucks. Saw Quella in my office's visitor's parking lot one day as I was walking to lunch. Went over to check it out closer and almost ran into the (second) owner who was late for a meeting. Asked him what year it was and if he was interested in selling it. He said, too late, just had an offer on it this morning, and ran off.

I left my card on the windshield with a note to call me if the deal fell through. He called and said the other guy could only do $12K. I offered $13 (a bit high, but oh well) and it was done.

Had ALL potential buyers for my Civic scheduled to show up AT THE SAME TIME (evil me) and sold it the next day for $3,500 MORE than KBB retail (HAHAHAHA STUPID RICEBOYS!!!!)

[QShip]

I have liked the Q since 1989, in spite of the stupid commercials. I knew it had RWD and a 32v V8. I also knew it was governed to 155 mph, (oh joy)!

A few years had passed and I had not given any thought to the Q because I was going to GWU and they were out of my price range.

Fast forward a number of years. After moving to CT, I took a job working 2nd shift. I had a 1988 Acura Legend that I used to race the other guys home with. One night, I saw an Impala SS and a Buick Roadmaster wagon. It was the one with the LT1 Corvette engine.

Anyway, I get behind them to tag along but noticed I was getting further and further behind. I told myself this will not happen again!

During my search for Zenobia, I drove a 91 Q45T, standard and active. The active felt the strongest of the three. That is the one I purchased.

Zenobia and I cruise the highway looking for any Buick Roadmaster wagon.

[diamondj30]

in 96 i had a new altima for my wife,then iwould drive it and say we need something bigger and better.thought about the max.good car.but she saw a j30,i looked at it and said (kinda wierd looking,huh.]after looking at all the compitition i said alright lets get it.after driving a little i said.how can i make it feel like a 40K car.i forgot what we paid ,but one day i was getting a oil change and walla, there was the future antipop.it was mint 15K on it and not even a harsh bug spat or chip anywhere.interior awsome.28 grand i took it.traded inj the 94.then she said it was to big for her.so i got her a 96 200sx.and well we all know the rest.heres to jeffpalm and other for there longevity on this board.this place is so much more than it was in 96-7.super people helping super people,i like it.

[G8R45]

In the early 90's I had bought a BMW that was a maintenance nightmare. It was under warranty but I got sick of taking it to the dealer. My wife fell in love with the J30 so I bought her a 93. We had owned many, many Nissan products both privately and in our business. I started looking to get out of that BMW and traded it on a 92Q. I kept that car for years and put over 100,000 miles on her. I bought an E55 and had it for 3 years but just came back to Infiniti with the 2002 Q. I really like the car and Atlantic Infiniti here in Jax has always treated me right.

[911/Q45]

In 1990 a Mercedes dealership in Omaha, NE was trying to get an Infiniti franchise, so they took some excess Q inventory from a Ft Worth, TX dealership. I guess they figured if they sold them it would impress Infiniti corporate. With no real dealership and an unknown product, at least in Omaha, they weren't having much luck moving them. My folks had bought a Q in CA six months earlier and I was very impressed with it, so I made a smoking deal on a new Q. We drove that for 10 years until it was pretty well worn out, then sold it and got my folk's Q when they quit driving with 26K miles on it. So I've got 13 years and 160K experience with Qs.

[Rex]

After putting 206K on a Civic Si, I knew I had to have a 4 door (single dad), as I couldn't live thru another 10 years of the boys climbing in and out of the back seat. So, I like AZHitman looked at Legends (the 6 speed are fun to drive) and Maxima's, but in both cases the owners and dealers were in LOVE with them. So, I started looking at anything (Asian Import) in the $12 to $15K range. My goal was to find a low mileage used luxury car. Hopefully, at a dealer with a good warrantee. My bosses boss mentioned I should look at the J30 or Q45. I had already been looking at the I30 as they offer the Maxima strengths with the (unfortunate) Infiniti price depreciation. When he said Q45, the first thing that came to my mind was the grill-less early '90's body, which forgive me for saying so, I don't care for that look. Not to mention I wanted a newer car and finding and early 90's with less than 75K miles would be very expensive or "scary". I followed a suggestion to check out a used car dealer over near the state line, that specializes in low mile used luxury. After years of research and off hours dealer lot looking, I made my first trip and bought it the next day. 1994 Q45 black with spotless matching leather 75K miles and brand new 17's with brand new Bridgestone Potenza 03's. $13k taxes tags title and 48/48 drivetrain warrantee. Forgot to say, I figured for that price I could own a true luxury car or a 98 Accord with the same number of miles? (nothing against an Accord, but who wouldn't make the same decision?)

Rex (yes, I'm new)

[AZhitman]

WOW - Sounds like a beauty!

Rex - Welcome to NICO (blah blah blah you know the rest). Post pics!

[greg_atlanta]

I fell in love with the Q45 as soon as I saw the commercials with the babbling brooks and rustling trees in 1989. (Liked the car too).

Fast forward to December 1999... '90 Camry V-6 (good car) gets totalled in an accident, really don't have any money whatsoever, looking for something in the $5K range. See '92 Q with 130K and freshly rebuilt engine... listed at $9,900 -- out the door for about $9,500 with tax and destination fee.

Still don't have any money...

[szh]

In March of 1991, I was looking to buy a 300ZX Turbo - the new model, since I had had the 1986 some years prior to that. While heading back home one evening, I passed by Frontier Infiniti in San Jose, CA and swung in. A test drive later, I was very impressed, but the price was too high (MSRP was $39k as I recall) since I was looking to spend about $30k for a Z or an Acura Legend.

The salesman was motivated to sell me the car, and I was not totally sure why. Needless to say, after being hard to get (legitimately, since I did not want to spend the list price), I was able to get the car for $33.5k, plus a CD changer and a mobile phone essentially for cost. A heck of a deal (I saw the invoice and I basically paid about $1.5k over their "invoice cost" - excluding the mftr kickbacks, etc.), so I went for it and drove the car home that evening. Wrote out a check for it (no financing), which may also have helped.

That was the winter where we had had rain for many weekends in a row, and Frontier had not sold a single Q in 10 or 12 weeks. They had like 10 or 12 or 14 Q's on the lot and more were due in the very next day. They were seriously interested in getting some sales! The salesman told me much later that year that they never sold a Q for that low - before or afterwards.

In July 1998, I traded in the 91Q for a 95Q (lease return) and, yeah, I regret it somewhat now, although it seemed to make sense at the time since too many small things were going wrong with it and I wanted to be able to get an extended warranty on the 95Q. The 1991 handled better, was more agile, etc. Although, given the guides and other issues, maybe I did the right thing ... who knows?

In Aug 1997, I tried to convince my wife to get a G20 - she went for an Acura 2.2CL instead. Recently, she drove a G35 and is hooked - sometime this summer, we are gonna get her a G35 coupe automatic! I will either spring for a 350Z or a G35 (six-speed) or a Mazda RX-8 ... have not decided yet! I intend to have fun at some test drives!

Z

[elwesso]

It was kind of a coincidence how I got to be a Q owner.....

I was origionally looking for a cadillac (around a 94 seville or eldorado), and as I was looking on the trader, I found a green STS that looked good. So I went to the dealership and asked the guy about it, and he said that it was a piece of junk and it has some issues. And then he said that he had this infiniti Q45 out there. My neighbor had a J30 about 6 years ago, and I knew they had a 6cy, and I wanted an 8. And then he said the magical words "32 valve V8". So then I said Id keep my eyes on it. I went home, and did some research on it, and found it was actually better than the caddy, since it was RWD (which i really wanted), and some other little tidbits that dont come on cadillacs. So I went for a test drive, and as soon as I got in, the seat went back and the steering wheel went up. I had NEVER seen this before on a car, and i thought it was the best thing in the world. Then I saw the automatic thing that goes over stereo controls, and having that thing to play with I had to have it. So one thing led to another, and now it is in my driveway. I like the exteriors of the cadillacs better, but the interior of the Q is second to none. This also had some "rarer" options that apparently most standard Qs dont have, like TCS and seat warmers. So all I can say is, WOOOHOOO!!!!!!!!

I would still like to own a cadillac sometime, but these cars seem to have many less issues (northstars are known for oil leaks and head gasket problems). I could also go on for days about this, but I dont want to bore you all!!!!!! :rolleyes

[DenverQ]

I was looking again =( I had just baught a jeep grand cherokee and I didnt like it the SUZ wasnt my thing, so I was looking for a Lexus SC400 I looked for about 3 months couldnt find anyhting I liked or that was cheap enough, they thought they were made of gold as well. my friend tond me about this car, I should go test drive and it was her when i first saw her i didnt think much but as I drove her she grew on me.

They had it on the lot for so long they wanted to to take it over night to make sure I wanted it. I went back the next day and baught it for 10600( it was listed for 15,500) with 94,000 I got the 3 year 24,000 mile warranty for 1200 and they paid about 8k in repairs and I have spent about 2000 in parts myself so I figure its gonna be perfect here soon

[q45t96]

My first exposure to an Infinti was the G20. At the time Infiniti's were new and weren't selling very well. The local dealer contacted a local bank and made them an offer they couldn't refuse for company cars for their employees. A close friend of mine happen to work for that bank. I remember riding in it the first time and couldn't believe how solid and powerfull they were for a small four cylinder. I bought one sometime after that and drove it for 100,000 miles. Great car!

When the G, because I neglected it, was about to die I traded it in on a J30. It was a great car, but just wasn't big enough and it was the Q I really wanted. After 1 year I put the J up for sale and after about three months, it finally sold. The day it sold, the salesman I was working with at the infiniti dealer, called and said they had a 1996 Q45t just traded in. It had 45,000 miles and was in great condition. I bought it sight unseen. Not really smart, but it worked out fine. I paid $18,500 for it two years ago and still can't get over the solid power and wonderfull steering feel. It now has 97,000 miles and I look foward to many more miles. I am not neglecting this one.

Now it looks like I am going to have to find a 95-96 G20 for my 16 year old daughter. Less money and much better car than most smaller economical cars.

[lessthanjakejohn]

dang, I wish my dad was like "I am going to buy John a G20 because it is such a great car"

[Jason B]

Here is the compairison of all the other cars I looked at before making the decision on the Q45. This is my FIRST Infiniti and I've never had one before this.







I thought I would add my story here on what I ended up getting.

I almost bought a new 2002 S class.

I came from a '95 S class. Luckily, I bought an extended warranty on the carthat saved me from shelling out over $9k in repairs over 5 years.

Cars I looked at before making my decision:

2002 Mercedes S430: I was very disappointed. The interior felt cheapcompared to my last gen. S class. They rally cheapened it. There was toomuch plastic, less wood, cheap looking cupholders, cheap feeling storagebins below the front seats that stick out and hit your legs, etc. The cardrove nice, but there no excitement. It starts at $73k, doesn't have Hid's,doesn't have a CD changer, and honestly was bare boned. Everything isoptional, of course. If you do get the optional CD changer, it goes in theTRUNK! Overall, the quality definitely is lacking on the new one.

When they came out with the new body style in 2000, (we've owned S classesfor MANY years) it just could not compare to the previous S classes. We havewatched the quality and reliability fade over the years. So, unless you'veowned them, it's hard for anyone to understand where I'm coming from. Thenew S was truly a dissapointment. The S class is NOT what it used to be. Ialmost bought another new S... At the LAST minute, a friend told me aboutthis new Q45. The closest infiniti dealer is 70 miles away, and I went downthere and was totally SHOCKED. It really blew me away. The deal was baciallywritten up at the Mercedes dealer and I pulled out. After seeing/driving theS, and then seeing/driving the Q, it made the decision clear.

You may also find this interesting on the new S class:MB quality gone downhill - http://mbspy.bacosys.be/mbquality.htm

Another thing that made my decision even clearer was this site:www.mercedesproblems.com - If you go there and select S430, you can readcustomer complaints on the car. The same ones keep coming up - Navigationsystem turning off, on-screen display not working, electronics turning off,groan from wheels when turning, just to name a few. Then if you select S500,(same car, just different engine basically) you keep hearing the sameproblems repeated. It's just not a reliable car.

2002 LS430: Used to have a 94 LS400. Great car, no problems. I wantedsomething unique this time around and it surely is.

Audi A8 - Nice car, but a little too conservative/outdated for me. I hearthe new one will be soon.

2002 Jaguar S type: Nice, but too small. I'm still a little weary of theirreliability, even though they have improved. It looked like they shoved aFord radio in the dash.

BMW 7 - Nice car, but some of the materials inside are questionable. The new7's interior is really nice and I liked it much better than the S, but a fewthings bothered me. For example, the car I took out had the non clear-coatedwood. It was already scratched up and had small dents in it. This wasn'tvery re-assuring. The plastic on the doorsills was already chipped and hadanother color under it that was showing though. Things like that shouldn'thappen when a car has only 500 miles on it. It's too bad they just recalledthem all. I think it has potential though.

All in all, I think the new Q45 is one of the best kept secrets for the time being - also with giving you the most for the money.

http://get.to/q45

[Jason B]

[lessthanjakejohn]

sweet car, Im' not to impressed with mercedes either but then again I never new the old one..

[nuQ]

ok-my first experiance with nissan was my 77 280Z. brown rust bucket, 5spd, air, no heat(living in pa can be a slight problem, used to carry a bottle of hot water to dump on the outside windshield to clear the ice and snow. oh, and also had to snap the the wiper to clear the ice. once when driving to school, snapped the wiper which broke right off and had to drive the rest of the way with my head out the window in 20 degree weather!!!!! showed up at class with a frozen face!). anyway, that's where the love started. in 95 was really interested in picking up an se-r but my more practical girlfriend demanded a real nice se sentra that we bought and I still have. definitly a fun, economical, reliable little car. anyway, around that time i had the Z itch going on real bad again and sent away for a STILLEN catalog where i first laid eyes on a heavily modified first gen. Q. I fell in love. I thought this car is the ultimate!!! big, beautiful, powerfull, fun to drive and even a cool name,,,,the Q45. well, the girlfriend is sadly gone,,,but i'm the ecstatic new owner of the Q. i tend to keep looking over my shoulder when i park her. i think about the drive i'll take in her when i'm at work. probably not normal behavior, but would any of us be on this site if we were normal car owners????!!!!!jeff

[blackJ30T]

I wanted the beautiful black Q45 that I saw in the paper, but the mechanic said do not buy it. It looked great to me, but he said that the ABS leaked and was expensive to fix. Looked at a 63K mile Audi A8. The car was garaged for years, and someone must have out regular in it at the lot because it just would not get up off of the line, made the Q45 second gear start look like burning rubber. Drove an '87 Mercedes 420S. Good torque, but the seats and interior were worn and reminded me of an Oldsmobile Delta 88. The J30 seemed the more reasonable alternative, and Consumer Reports said that it would be a lot more reliable than the Q45.

The real deciding factor was the motor, 3 hours of labor is way too long for a plug change. I looked up the price for a used motor, and the J30 motor was $950 versus $1900 for the Q45. The Q45 is nicer, and the car to car price was close, but repairs would be a lot higher for the Q45. I was a little disappointed with the J30 mileage, and was not real happy with the brakes and handling (my old Scorpio was pretty good). The seats were also harder and smaller than the old Scorpio, so maybe I am not all that impressed. In the 5K miles that I have had the car, I fixed the sunroof (way harder than I expected), the cruise control (brake switch just broke inside), and have a main seal leak. In retrospect, I may have gone back to the Q45.

[AZhitman]

...right after you smack your retarded mechanic.

Never met anyone who knew d*** about Q's that wasn't a dealer tech or a NICO member.

[OLU40]

I had been looking for my first car since getting out of grad school a couple of years ago and finally finding a job in a bad NY economy. I should have been had a vehicle but being in school with a little brother right behind me wasn't making it easy. My favorite car before the Q was the LS400. However the Q always had a sportier, sexier nature to it. Both cars were within my reach a few times to no avail. At the end of 2001 I went to two Nissan dealerships to get the 2002 Maxima SE at the suggestion of my parents. But I couldn't justify the monthly payments with high *ss NY insurance. After cancelling both deals I was very stressed out and depressed about not being able to find something. One day I was taking the bus and got off at the wrong stop. I stopped at a street which has many used car dealerships. As I walked by one there she was. A wine colored Q45. With my luck it had to be a lemon or something. It was very clean inside and out so I went inside and asked about the mileage because it was at night and I couldn't see. The dealer said 61000 miles! Oh stop lying. What's wrong with it?! Needless to say my very first car is sitting on the members ride section that you see now. That is DESTINY:jump

[elwesso]

hey ive seen your car in the ride section. Looks great, I have the same color. I have never seen any other Q have that color, even on ebay.

[kingofsorrow]

well after i spent about 7mths hanging around the car lot at night, i decided i might as well buy one of the cars on the lot.

[OLU40]

thanks man! The color is pretty unique. I can't wait to get it the way I want it. You have a 94/95 right?

[slaughtermimms]

I happen to be in Texas for a week seeing family and friends, and I came across THE CAR!!!!!!, having been looking for a car for some time I did not pass it up. I had looked at the I30s, and many other makes and models.

As I was saying, I saw THE CAR (95' Q45) with 47,000k miles, one owner, all highway, w/ some minor things wrong. I looked into the background of the car. It was the right car at the right price ($6500)I do not know if the people that owned the Q knew what thay had. BOY WAS I LUCKY!!!!!!!!!!:ylsuper

[AZhitman]

Slaughter, you STOLE that car!!! Well done, my friend.

[elwesso]

Dang slaughter, I paid 5500 for my 94 Q with 120k!!!!

[LAQ]

ive been a german car guy and corvette enthusiast for a while, bmw 3201, 325, 535, M5, 911 sc, 928, Mbz560, 67' and 88' vettes. then i rode in a lexus ls400 one day and i decided to get a japanese car for the first time.

instead of lexus, a friend who just bought a landcruiser wanted to sell his Q, i test drove it and bought it the same day.

i tell you, this car is totally under-rated in all aspects.tonight i drove back from palm springsm just crusing on freeway. i noticed i dont get tired when driving the Q, where as german cars, and especially vette (rides like a log) i constantly feel drained.

i like different cars for different reasons, but my 92Q is overall best car.

[pimpingurz]

was a horrible mishap, that's how i came to buying my '93 j30. my motorcycle was stolen jan. 11 03. i had a 02 suzuki gsxr600. bought a 93 jeep gran cherokee a week after bike was missing. than got into a wreck two months down the road, was declared totaled. tahn called like 50 people about another jeep all were sold or had problems with. my girlfriend said infiniti's are nice. so i looked into them. same problem, they were either all sold or had problems with it. when i almost gave up on the car search and was thinking about walkin 30miles to work :bash . than out of some miracle someone calls and says they have a J30 for sale for 4900. i took my girlfriends car and drove 1.5 hrs to look at, absolutely luved it. gave him an offer of 4200 he kept whining bout how low that was, never gave me a chance to make a second offer. than said if you give me cash now it's yours. i sped to the bank got a cashiers check paid for it drove home picked up my girl drove bak and she got to drive it home. since it was her idea to buy an infiniti. btw it only have 125k miles on it. the car was in excellent condition minus the alignment and tires. paint was pratically new, the car was garaged most of the time. :ylsuper

i luv this forum!:Werd