Looking at buying 03 M45. What to look for?

[virulosity]

Hello,I am looking at buying an 03 or 04 M45. First of all, are there any design changes between the two years? If not, I will be getting an 03. Also, I was wondering what items go bad on these cars, and what I should check for. I will be looking at higher mileage cars. One I am most excited about is an 03 with 60k miles for $12.5K, but I notice the previous owner installed an aftermarket intake (looks like Blitz SUS filter from what I can tell). Thanks for any advice!

[virulosity]

After finding the search button (I didn't see it!) I have found everything I am looking for. 03's burn oil (sometimes) and may have bad fuel gauge. If that is it this seems like a pretty reliable car.

[Jungle_DJ80]

I have an 03 with 33K miles, daily driver in NYC area. Here are the nagging problems with mine.Look out for:1. Oil consumption at high revs/ highway speeds.2. Worn or defective trunk opening air springs/ dampers.3. Worn idler pulleys making noise.4. Seat rails/ power seats. Loose or jerk when accelarating/ stopping.5. Interior fit and finish. Center console, glove box, shift knob, etc. Generally, Nissan fit and finish - poor to acceptable.6. Maintenance records showing recommended dealer performed service is a must. Transmission maintenance requires dealer!7. Overall poor brakes. For a car of this caliber, the brakes are very, very deficient. Do not expect to stop with sports-car like performance.8. Missing or broken engine bottom wind cover. Oil change mechanics take it off and never replace it or the bolts that hold the panels in place.9. Missing defective muffler hanger supports or hanging rear muffler. This car should have had 2 rear tailpipes instead of one expensive, humongous & heavy muffler. Chrome tips also suffer when carrying 2 rear occupants and having to back up on a grade or incline. 10. Soft rear springs make car sag when adults are in back seat.

Otherwise, it is a "Sleeper" sedan and catches many by surprise. I generally drive conservatively but on occassion, I've "slapped" V8 mustangs, cayennes, blown-RoverHSEs, Hemi 300s, Bmer5s, Mercedez500/550 off the line with 1 or 2 car lengths ahead in about 3 to 6 city blocks (1/4-mile???). Maybe people around here don't drag race very much or do not know how to drive what they've bought.I average about 20.2mph with premium gas and 25mph with NYC traffic on a 90-mile round trip daily commute.It is a nice dependable car but I would not pay more than "Blue book" for it since support and parts will be difficult to get taking into account the small sales numbers this model brough to Infinity back in '03/'04.

[CakeDaddy]

I have an 03 with 33K miles, daily driver in NYC area. Here are the nagging problems with mine.Look out for:1. Oil consumption at high revs/ highway speeds.2. Worn or defective trunk opening air springs/ dampers.3. Worn idler pulleys making noise.4. Seat rails/ power seats. Loose or jerk when accelarating/ stopping.5. Interior fit and finish. Center console, glove box, shift knob, etc. Generally, Nissan fit and finish - poor to acceptable.6. Maintenance records showing recommended dealer performed service is a must. Transmission maintenance requires dealer!7. Overall poor brakes. For a car of this caliber, the brakes are very, very deficient. Do not expect to stop with sports-car like performance.8. Missing or broken engine bottom wind cover. Oil change mechanics take it off and never replace it or the bolts that hold the panels in place.9. Missing defective muffler hanger supports or hanging rear muffler. This car should have had 2 rear tailpipes instead of one expensive, humongous & heavy muffler. Chrome tips also suffer when carrying 2 rear occupants and having to back up on a grade or incline. 10. Soft rear springs make car sag when adults are in back seat.

Damn... Nasty list! I agree with number 2 & 6. Mine has been excellent and I have near the same mileage as you.

I've "slapped" V8 mustangs, cayennes, blown-RoverHSEs, Hemi 300s, Bmer5s, Mercedez500/550 off the line with 1 or 2 car lengths ahead in about 3 to 6 city blocks (1/4-mile???).

Please excuse me but I’m going to call you out on beating mustang GT’s or as you say V8s. It aint happening. Our M’s are luxury sedans and in no way shape or form will it beat a GT or "V8" Mustang.. Sorry, and as for the "550" Benz cars.... The Benz 550 cars have 382hp & pushing near 400lbs torque. I've driven the CLK500,Cls550 & E550 on a few different occasions and they are damn fast.

Our Ms are fast, but I’ll pass on racing any 550 Benz or the GT "v8" Mustangs.


Modified by CakeDaddy at 8:41 PM 1/4/2009

[regtwelve]

I'de forget about beating 300C's the fast E class or new generation mustangs. Ive raced them all. You can run with a previous gen mustang GT but only at highway speeds. All of these cars are quicker off the line. You will however have no problem beating civics with big mufflers.

[Double E]

Jungle did a very good job with that list. The only thing I'll add is that many of the issues he has may not have (or ever?) show up on an 04.

I have some of them though....

Major deign changes are that the ICC system can be tuend off in an 04 and not an 03 (is that right?) and the cd & casette Tape locations are reversed. More 04 units came with NAV, I believe and I think a paint color or two were added for '04

[F1SportsFan]

I have an 03 with 33K miles, daily driver in NYC area. Here are the nagging problems with mine.Look out for:1. Oil consumption at high revs/ highway speeds.

I had the same problem, fixed by replacing the engine under warranty

2. Worn or defective trunk opening air springs/ dampers.

I have the same problem, will be replacing with more powerful lifts to open the trunk all the way at the push of a button.

3. Worn idler pulleys making noise.

Same for me, just replaced.

4. Seat rails/ power seats. Loose or jerk when accelarating/ stopping.

Same for me, is there a fix for this?

5. Interior fit and finish. Center console, glove box, shift knob, etc. Generally, Nissan fit and finish - poor to acceptable.

My car is still pretty tight on the interior.

6. Maintenance records showing recommended dealer performed service is a must. Transmission maintenance requires dealer!

Agreed!

7. Overall poor brakes. For a car of this caliber, the brakes are very, very deficient. Do not expect to stop with sports-car like performance.

Same problem for me, warped rotors are no fun. I may try slotted rotors next to see if that helps.

8. Missing or broken engine bottom wind cover. Oil change mechanics take it off and never replace it or the bolts that hold the panels in place.

Mine's still good to go.

9. Missing defective muffler hanger supports or hanging rear muffler. This car should have had 2 rear tailpipes instead of one expensive, humongous & heavy muffler. Chrome tips also suffer when carrying 2 rear occupants and having to back up on a grade or incline.

Fixed with custom exhaust!

10. Soft rear springs make car sag when adults are in back seat.

I never have adults in the back, so I'm not sure if I have the same issue.

Overall, I could not believe how many issues we had in common. Great job on putting together a comprehensive list!

[saeedakobiakov]

3. Worn idler pulleys making noise.what kind of noice?i replaces drive belt this summer and this winter on cold wet day it sound the same squeaking noice.what could that be?idler pulley make squeaking noice?thanks,Caug.

[F1SportsFan]

It was a quiet squeak, I could barely hear it inside the car and it kind of came and went. The Infiniti dealer did the diagnosis when I was in for an oil change.

[Mark Linkous]

Hello,I am somewhat surprised that the braking system is under scrutiny. At the time of introduction, the magazines which reviewed it gave it good marks for braking. (60-0 113 feet Motor Trend 2003) http://www.motortrend.com/road....html

There has been a propensity for warped rotors however. This is a fairly heavy sedan. Also, fade seems to be an issue during high stress conditions.

I suppose for those who plan to keep their M for the long, long haul, the Brembo kit for the F50 Q45 works without modification. Kinda tempting for me since I paid near 30k for my 2004 and is now worth less than my Home Theater rig.Cheers,ML

[Mark Linkous]

Jungle did a very good job with that list. The only thing I'll add is that many of the issues he has may not have (or ever?) show up on an 04.

I have some of them though....

Major deign changes are that the ICC system can be tuend off in an 04 and not an 03 (is that right?) and the cd & casette Tape locations are reversed. More 04 units came with NAV, I believe and I think a paint color or two were added for '04

Double E is spot on. There are however still 2004's out there with Warranty remaining. This is huge as you can easily add a Infiniti extended warranty quite easily. And of course is a huge safety net. 2004's still seem to fetch a few grand more.ML