Is the Infiniti J30 much more reliable than the Q45?

[Victor]

I read both message boards and it seems the posters have more problems and more varied problems and more expensive to fix problems who own Q45s compared to J30 owners. Plus many of the problems Q45 owner have make the car undriveable, whereas J30 problems are mostly annoyance type problems where you could still drive the car if you can put up with them. Seems if you read the posts that you have to be prepared to spend thousands a year on maintenance and repairs for a Q45 compared to maybe hundreds for a J30.Anyone have experience with both cars who can confirm or refute my observation?Is the reputation for reliability on both cars based on they were expensive cars to begin with so the original and current owners were willing to spend more money or had more money to keep them running, whereas a cheaper car wouldn't have been maintained as well or would have been junked the first time it got a major problem?

[qship96]

The J is a little 6 cylinder average performing car, less expensive to operate than a 8 cylinder high performance Q. With the J, You pay less, but you get less.

[maxnix]

Nice interior, nice body, medium performance. Some more problems in different areas. Both are realiable.

[IceCubeFoSho]

Our 1991 Q45 which never had the timing chains replaced was rock solid in terms of reliability. The only other owner was our dentist and he only put on like 40K miles, whereas we drove it to about 156K miles, so I can only say from personal experience, since ours had a good history, that Q's are very reliable when maintained well, as with most other Infinitis.

Now of course a flagship car would cost more to operate because you have a brand new 8 cylinder engine, and the J30 had the VG30DE 6 cylinder that was already in the Fairlady Z, and the 300ZX. Plus all the amneties that a flagship had could break down over time, more stuff pretty much means more things that can go wrong.

Like I said, I never had a problem with my older Q, I sold it for a Y33 because it was just getting too old and I really liked the Y33 styling and couldn't afford to keep two V8 Premium Unleaded cars, so one had to go to my lawnmower for $2500. That was a sad day...

[gniknave]

I've had 3 1990 Q's [all of which either had the guides done before I bought them or I did it myself]. None have left me stranded for anything other than the Level 10 transmission failing on my 2nd Q. Even the cheapy economy 4 banger SOHC 240sx I had left me on the side of the road 5 times. Reliability with a used Nissan/Infiniti product usually has a lot to do with the maintenance history as well as current owner upkeep.

[paranoidjack]

I have had a 96 j30 that I drove from 80k-140k, and my current '00 AE Q that I've had from 72k-150k.

I rehabbed (voluntarily) the entire Q suspension and all rubber components with OEM. I didn't HAVE to.

I did nothing on the j30-except the knock sensor went leaving me with a car that felt like such a piece of crap I was irritated enough to just replace it.

My vote is Q all day long-reliability is the same, mainteanance is slightly higher because of 25% more engine....but more reliable? I don't think so...and I've beat the hell out of both.

[Q45tech]

My Q has been flat bedded only once in 18.5 years that was 2002 when a brake line failed, jumped once in 1994 when left at an airport for a month.

That plus $45,000 in repairs and mainteance made it a very reliable car over the years.

[Jesda]

Better handling, arguably nicer interior, and lower running costs than G50 Q45.

It has one thing all Q45s will never have: BALANCE.

Think of the Q has a hammer and the J as a dancer. One might be better at crushing rocks and make more entertaining sounds, but the other is more elegant and precise.

[gammer_ghn]

I read both message boards and it seems the posters have more problems and more varied problems and more expensive to fix problems who own Q45s compared to J30 owners. Plus many of the problems Q45 owner have make the car undriveable, whereas J30 problems are mostly annoyance type problems where you could still drive the car if you can put up with them. Seems if you read the posts that you have to be prepared to spend thousands a year on maintenance and repairs for a Q45 compared to maybe hundreds for a J30.Anyone have experience with both cars who can confirm or refute my observation?Is the reputation for reliability on both cars based on they were expensive cars to begin with so the original and current owners were willing to spend more money or had more money to keep them running, whereas a cheaper car wouldn't have been maintained as well or would have been junked the first time it got a major problem?

The Q is much nicer than the J ide take a Q over a J any day haha. You gotta pay for what you drive, a J could cost the same as the Q to fix if you dont want it to work like a bucket...

[Q45tech]

"Better handling" Say what"Have you bothered to look at the J30 and Q45 motorweek utube videos.

The " brand new 90Q walks all over the brand new 92 J in every category including stopping distances and slalom and lane change. Both were T versions with HICAS.The J30 inferior front suspension compared to Q and of course the Michelin Sport tires vs Bridgestones.

Of course the majority of Q and J are so abused and degraded from near new that any example comparison would be a dismal guess at best.

[Victor]

The Motorweek video someone posted says the J30 is the most enjoyable to drive of any Infiniti.

[craigztoyz]

I have a really nice 1 owner 93 J30 with 4 wheel steering, black on black on black, leather, everything, really nice car, I have it sitting, cuz I hate the back of the car. Ugly as hell. I had a 90 Q45 for 5 years, then stripped it 3 years ago to store motor for a rx7, now it is in a Z. If it gets wrecked, or I get bored, I am putting the Vh45, 5spd and all from the Z in the J30, and use the Z rims, unless bent, and that I think would be a very fun car to drive. It just looks like a great project, more hood clearrance space then the Z32, and much better x member space. Just imagine for a minute---- J30- VH45 w 8 lbs of boost and a 5 spd. That would be an ultimate sleeper sedan. Sorry for the rambling....

[gniknave]

The Motorweek video someone posted says the J30 is the most enjoyable to drive of any Infiniti.

I'd have to highly disagree with that. Especially if you have mods on the Q.

[IceCubeFoSho]

I found offroading in a buddies Qx4 much funner than cruising around in a J30 that has a very... oddly shaped back. It has grown on me though, just its not the funnest Infiniti.

Or eyeballing the milf in the QX56 hehehehe

[Jesda]

The J is more balanced and predictable around corners. The Q likes to go from massive understeer to snap oversteer, while the J transitions smoothly and predictably.

Modifications improve both, but thats not the point of discussion.

The J also offers more steering feel.

Between the J and Q, I'd have the Q because I'm a fan of blunt objects. I'm also fond of the CTS-V.