just bought I30

[i30can]

Hi guys,I just bought a 1996 Infiniti I30 and am looking forward to my first Nissan vehicle.Right away it needs shocks and struts as I am all over the road. I called for a quote and it is quite expensive. It has 240,000 miles on it but seems to be mostly highway miles as it just had a compression check and the engine is in great shape and most things work good on it. I am wondering if I should pay the money for the repairs and what you guys think in terms of how long this car will last.

Thanks

[rxm6]

Hi, welcome to Nico.

240k is way up there!!! But with just highway miles, good maintenance, and a gentle touch you may last for a while longer. Just remember you get back what you put in.

How much are the repairs? What needs repairing besides your struts? For a strut replacement, you are looking at about $750 - $950 for the whole job including the struts. Don't pay more than that.

Good luck!

[i30can]

I have been quoted over the phone $1200Cdn for all 4 struts(shocks), which is right in line with your estimate. I will check out a few more places though. People are saying I'm crazy paying that much on a car that has that many miles on it, but I like driving it, the Bose sound is awesome, and it has a very nice firm feel to it, and has a lot of nice features. I'm kind of worried after I read here that it is basically just a Maxima repackaged, but I guess Maximas must have been reliable for them to do that.

[rxm6]

Yes it is a maxima repackaged...your just getting a different look. Also...you are getting a few extras like the interior upgrades as well as VLSD for your drivetrain.

It is true you have a lot of miles on your engine but of course you always have the option of a rebuild or even a 3.5 swap from a newer maxima/i30. Of course these are both costly and, if you don't want to do the work yourself, may be out of your price range. Also, with the struts, I would recommend buying them seperate and then having a shop do the labour. Shops around here have priced me anywhere from $275 to $500 to do the labour. I ended up doing them myself and I didn't think it was very difficult but then again, I'm somewhat of a nut. I ended up buying my shocks for $350 and if I had a shop doing the work for $500 that would put my total at $850. Also, I bought performance shocks, if you purchased just regular shocks I'm pretty certain that if you shopped around, you could find your shocks for between $250 and $300. It wouldn't be that big of a savings, but it might be enough to buy you a tank at the pump!

[i30can]

Oh so I have a VLSD on my car? So it should be better on snow and ice?I didn't know that. I actually don't know much about the car, the guy didn't have an owner's manual with it.

[maxhopper]

If you look on the data tag on the engine bay fire wall (on the passenger side), it should have code for the body (A32), engine (VQ30DE), paint code, and transmission. Look at the code for the transmission, and if it ends with a "V" then you have a VLSD transmission.

[i30can]

Thanks Maxhopper, I'll check that out.

I have one more question, do I have to put premium gas in it, or is mid-grade or regular good enough?

Thanks,Dan

[rxm6]

You can put any gas you'd like in it, but Nissan and Infiniti recommend 91 or above for best mileage and performance.