Is this a good deal?

[boostedsc3]

I came across a 97 Q45. The car has been in the same family since new so it's technically a two owner car with 71000 original Florida miles. The car looks very clean and is supposedly in excellent condition. They're asking 3000 but I think I can get it for 2500. I already ran the Carfax and that came back clean as well. I've always liked these cars but never looked into buying one until now. I'm just wondering if this is something I should jump on?

[Q451990]

to NICO!

A 20 year old car is always a risk, even with low mileage - but it can be worth it if you know what you're getting in to. Was the oil changed regularly (at least once per year), what other maintenance history can you get? The most common failure items on that series of Q is bad coil packs (causing a radom misfire code) and bad knock sensors.

Good luck!

[my12by60]

The price for the vehicle sounds good based on mileage and condition. You might be able to drive it for 20K or 30K more miles and have no major expenses. Or you could spend $2K per year for each of the next two or three years to replace 20 year old OEM components that wear out or fail.

If the car has all OEM suspension and you plan to own it for a while, you will probably end up spending $1,500 to $2,000 to replace the OEM struts on all wheels. The front end has a few other parts (bushings, bumpers, etc.) that can also be worn out and expensive.

Any issues with the power steering system can also be expensive.

If you have the ability to do some level of mechanical work yourself then you can manage ownership expense a bit.

I bought a 2000 AE for $3,500 in late 2015. The car had 100k miles but the seller had a full maintenance history from inception. So I could see all of the major components/systems that had been replaced including suspension, power steering system and cooling system. We have 115K miles on the car now and have not had any major repair bills yet.

[BadQ45t]

$2,500 for that car is a good deal. As stated you should expect to replace the struts and shocks and the tension rods, which are not expensive. There is little to no aftermarket support for this car, but shoot $2,500 is the price tag on a tech package on a new Infiniti, not a whole car!! My 97' has 110k on it and i have done the suspension with coil overs, tension rods replaced and the steering rack was leaking so I had that replaced. Engine wise knock on wood the car still run as smooth as silk. I took the old radio out and put a Pioneer double DIN radio in that does streaming and added bluetooth connectivity for about $500 installed out the door.

At that mileage pretty hard to get hurt, just know if they owners are still running the 20 year old suspension that is going to need to replaced and you cannot find Monroe, KYB, etc down at your local parts store. It is OEM or coilovers. Also know that this is only a 4 speed transmission so gas mileage isn't stellar and you will need to feed super unleaded..if these are issues you should move on to a newer Altima or Maxima that have more aftermarket support and don't require super (new Max does drink super)

[AZhitman]

^ ALL good advice.

Plus, we're here to assist with any repairs / maintenance, so you can save if something does need to be fixed.