My 1997 Q45 - Give Me Your Opinion

[paxjea]

So...here's a link to the '97 Q45 I puchased a few days ago. I would like you to take a look at the car for me and with as much as you are able to discern (hopefully some Jedi Mastetrs among you...), try and give me your thoughts.

I paid $4400 for this car at an auction, and purchased it without actually seeing it. I had a budget of $9,000 on a car, and I figured I would leave the difference aside for repairs/maintenance if needed. Hopefully I did okay.

Here's the link: http://www.directbynet.com/vehicles/762797_Q45/

Let me know guys.

Thanks.

[oldmako]

Dude, that's my car!

Actually, mine is a 99. Slightly diff rear end and the xenon headlights but essentially the same car...almost as purty as a 99.

It looks nice, but on these finicky bishez looks ARE only skin deep. Hopefully the previous owner was an anal whack job (linear) who polished the fins on the alternator and strained the transmission fluid through coffee filters weekly.

In other words, there may be plenty to "rehab". Take the car to your local Infin dealer and have them run the VIN. They ought to provide you with a printout of everything ever done to the beast at a dealership. This can be a good baseline from which to start. It can also be worthless which is one of the fun things about owning one of these. Consider it a starting point.

I took my car in and was amazed at the nit-noid stuff they pointed out (a tenth grader could have seen it) while they missed some fairly big stuff and didn't even hook it up to the gee-whiz for some diagnostics. Plus the service writer was a gal all of about 18 years old. How much did she know about cars?

Try to determine if the car is worth rehabbing. By that I mean the big expensive stuff. The engine obviously, but they appear fairly stout. You seldom read a thread here about a crapped out engine unless someone did something heinous...not impossible of course...but they seem to be fairly bulletproof. Fuel and and ign issues can be expensive to repair. The trans however seems to be the cars pricey limp d!ck. From what I read here, they seldom last over 150K and cost 3 grand or so to replace. Then the rear end at something like 1500 and the driveshaft (go figure) at a grand. Those are full tilt boogie prices. With creativity and a junk yard you can come in significantly less but with more peril. Up to you.

Then there's the rubber bits in the front end....shocks, mounts, tension rods etc. Minimal aftermarket support so..maximal outawallet yank.

Now that your forehead is sweatin and your sphincter is eatin' cushion I ought to tell you that once the car is "right" it's sublime and relatively trouble free. My beeotch is incredibly smoooooth on the road and I am very very happy with it. It cost me a front end....but so be it.

If you can afford a parts car and like to wrench then you are way ahead of the game (for metal stuff and misc parts). But there is no escaping the rubber reaper.

Read up and relax....I love to toss bombs. The old threads will make your head spin and give you a spastic colon until you figure out that they are usually talking about the cars big brother...the 90-96 cars. They go like hell and put our candy ***'d BarbieQs to shame. But, it sounds like they have more problems. Of course they are older and tend to have higher mileage too. Just try to keep the cars straight as you read a thread.

You bought a nice car at a fair price. Perhaps a bit high....but that will be totally dependent on what it needs. In any event, it's probably worth rehab.

there's my two cents.

[Victor]

I would personally never buy a used car sight unseen but it sounds like you got a pretty good price if the car really is in good condition. However the Kelly blue book prices they quote in the ad are higher than what I see in this link, plus Kelly blue book values tend to run higher than real market value here in California. Then you have to add shipping too, plus you live in California and don't know if it will pass smog tests coming from Arizona.http://www.cars.com/go/search/...ycler

[Victor]

My mistake, I posted the Kelly blue book for a 1999, this is the correct link to a lower price for a 1997, which is lower than what they show in your ad.http://www.cars.com/go/search/...ycler

[Victor]

One thing that would give me concern is the car doesn't have license plates on it and they didn't list a VIN number. If you look at all the con artists scams on craigslist they always have the license plate obliterated or removed in the photos. If the car wasn't registered you may have to pay fines and penalties to get the pink slip. even though you aren't the one that caused the problems. Happened to me on a car I foolishly bought before I new the importance of making sure you have good title and the cars registration is current.Carfax is a starting point, but don't depend on the info. That car I mentioned had been in three accidents but the Carfax was clean because they only show accidents that were reported to insurance companies.

[paxjea]

Victor, the VIN is on the webpage I linked...third line down from the top: http://www.directbynet.com/vehicles/762797_Q45/. Check it out. The title is clean. These guys have a pretty decent reputation, and I've spoken to a lot of other people, all of which have been pleasantly satisfied with their previous purchases. Also, there weren't any complaints filed with the local DMV or the BBB with them.

Thanks for your advice though...good lookin' out.

[Victor]

Sorry, I missed that VIN. You can call Infiniti customer service and they can give you the vehicles repair and maintenance history for work done at an Infiniti dealer. You can also run a Carfax but take the results with a grain of salt because their reports are based on accidents reported to insurance companies and smog tests reported online. Once you get your car let us know if you are satisfied with your purchase and the ad properly described the cars condition.

[BadQ45t]

You got a steal of a deal. What you need to do is see what the Infiniti deal has done to the car. If there was not 60 or 90k service records, find yourself a good 3rd party mechanic that can flush the transmission (not just dump, flush) and change all other fluids. Get the plugs changed out, in-cabin air filter, air filter, gas filter. You can get alot of the parts from everythinginifiniti (look for the links) which is actually Scotsdale Infiniti but they can mail order the parts to you cheaper. Have the mechanic also check the torsion bars, if the rubbers parts have not been serviced you can order all new bars or have the rubber replaced (it is close to a wash between the parts price and the labor to get at the rubber).

Next thing to figure out is are any of the shocks leaking yet. Probably they are and are shot. So you cannot go down to your local guy and score new shocks as they didn't see enough of these to make afternmarkets in the US. If you plan to keep this awhile and want to make the car handle really nice, you can get set of KYB SR Specials from folks (personal e-mail me [email protected]) and you can get them, but they are expensive. Than again the stock ones even with the discount from Scotsdale are going to run you close to $500...either way your shocks are done and you need to replace. I also lowered my car and with some good aftermarket springs, but the main thing is that your shocks are history.

This is a great car. i have had my 1997 for 8 years and it has been completely trouble free. Just get it up to speed, maintain it, and you will get many more years of trouble-free rides out of it. Oh, and don't even think about burning 87, bite the bullet and use the good stuff.

I see your out in the desert, I don't know of any good aftermarket mechanics, but if you have the opportunity to get it to West LA I can recommend my mechanic who knows the car well and will do your right.

[NightRiderQ45]

So...here's a link to the '97 Q45 I puchased a few days ago. I would like you to take a look at the car for me and with as much as you are able to discern (hopefully some Jedi Mastetrs among you...), try and give me your thoughts.

I paid $4400 for this car at an auction, and purchased it without actually seeing it. I had a budget of $9,000 on a car, and I figured I would leave the difference aside for repairs/maintenance if needed. Hopefully I did okay.

Here's the link: http://www.directbynet.com/vehicles/762797_Q45/

Let me know guys.

Thanks.

I hope you got a good deal. They have been trying to sell that car on eBay for two months. The busted fog light in the front throws me off. If that is busted and didn't care to fix it, they surely are not going to fix big ticket items. Everyone else already posted good info for you to follow so you should be ok if the car is solid.

[maxnix]

Did the 1997 not have a moonroof?

Best pictures never shown are from underneath while on a rack and the interior valve mechanism through the oil addition opening. Color of ATF and PS fluid and coolant also critical. Why all are replaced when last fill is unknown.

You will do well to consider adding an auxiliary ATF cooler. Read Skibane's excellent post on ATF pressures and cooler configurations.

[NightRiderQ45]

Did the 1997 not have a moonroof?

No the 98 didn't have one either which sucks. 99 started with the moon roof. Only if I've seen this site before I purchased my 98 I would be in the model with the maple wood trim and wood steering wheel. Man I love to see that combination.

[oldmako]

Those are sweeeeet to be sure but I think that combo only came on the AE model. My 99 has the moon roof, and what I think is a nicer looking rear end. But I am glad that I did not buy a t model. Too much aggravation, complexity and expense for me.

[NightRiderQ45]

Exactly! I did know NOT to purchase the t model lol. I did a little research on the difference in struts...that alone made me not want to purchase the t. The only thing that I hate about the 97-98 Q's is the unpainted ashy rocker panel. Man, that throws a nice clean paint job off. On my 98, I painted over my rocker panels so my body look like the 99-01.

[paxjea]

Victor, the VIN is on the webpage I linked...third line down from the top: http://www.directbynet.com/vehicles/762797_Q45/. Check it out. The title is clean. These guys have a pretty decent reputation, and I've spoken to a lot of other people, all of which have been pleasantly satisfied with their previous purchases. Also, there weren't any complaints filed with the local DMV or the BBB with them.

Thanks for your advice though...good lookin' out.

[maxnix]

Check it out. The title is clean. These guys have a pretty decent reputation, and I've spoken to a lot of other people, all of which have been pleasantly satisfied with their previous purchases. Also, there weren't any complaints filed with the local DMV or the BBB with them.

You really don't know where to have the Infiniti Senior tehcnician probe more deeply during his inspection without the Infiniti dealer performed service history. Nice to verify the 3,750 OCI and other fluid and filter changes.

[elwesso]

Seems that the later Q trans last a little longer, maybe due to the less HP and less weight of the Y33 compared to the G50?

Anyway, with a cooler and regular fluid changes I dont see why it cant go 200k, which is not bad out of an AT... Saying they seldom last 150k is a blanket statement, which overall that may be true because most people dont take the time to do the $60-$80-$100 annual fluid flush to keep the transmission running good for years to come..

I would definitely be a lot less concerned about buying a Y33 sight unseen than a G50, thats for sure!!!

I think you emailed me about this, and like I said, you're probably going to have few mechanical PROBLEMS, its going to be mainly keeping up with maintenance things.