I currently have a 2009 G37x that I use as an off-season vehicle (Winter months) that I am now in a spot where I need to put some $$$ into it to keep it on the road (power steering rack - for the second time, alternator + wear and tear item replacement - brakes, tires, corroded y-pipe). Adding all those jobs together even at an independent mechanic and I am spending up to almost the value of the car itself just to fix it up.
So I am considering taking it to a used car dealer and trading it in as-is. There is a dealer that has a 2007 M45 that appears to be fully loaded (even has a screen for rear passengers). The concern i have is whether I will just be trading one problem for a more expensive problem. The car has 140K kms. (about 80K miles).
Thoughts on this deal?
Need opinion on this trade-in please
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Ilya
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Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
If financially it makes sense, I'd say it's not a bad idea. However, do note that some Y50 M45's had engine issues/oil consumption issues leading to engine issues. If this car doesn't have any maintenance records, etc. I'd stay away.
Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
Thank you for the feedback. I have read about the potential oil consumption issues... I don't have a huge concern with it. I had a Maxima before that had it (just needed top ups) and BMW M-cars are known for it. But on the M45 is it excessive to the point where it is a determent to the engine?
What other engine issues could be common on this vehicle? I would have hoped, being a V8 it would have been more efficient and longer lasting. Typically (in domestic world even) this is generally the case - larger displacement V8s seem to have longer lifespan.
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Ilya
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Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
Other than that issue, as long as you are super diligent with it, you should be okay. I haven't heard anything else major that could go bad. If the price is right, this may be a solid move.
Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
They can be generally reliable. Change the oil OFTEN, and make sure it doesn't run low. They typically use 1 quart of oil every 1K miles, but I can use 1 quart if I'm doing hard driving i.e. lead foot driving..They also seem to like 5w-40 weight engine oils..diesel oil that is.
I'd own it for a year or two, or three. Then move on. 80K now is about 130K in three years. I'd get rid of it by then. Just my opinion
I'd own it for a year or two, or three. Then move on. 80K now is about 130K in three years. I'd get rid of it by then. Just my opinion
Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
I test drove it yesterday. It was very smooth on startup and drove well (though I have no reference point by having driven another one). It accelerated decently but at above 80mph it had a very noticeable steering wheel vibration - not sure if this is a simple issue of wheel balancing and tire pressure or something more. There was no vibration (at least not a detectable one) at lower speeds. It got worse the faster it got past 80mph.
The rear quarter panel has 2 areas of about 2-4" that have rust that is starting to bubble through right around the wheel well (at the 9 o'clock and 12 o'clock position around the edge (see pics) - but an unavoidable reality for Canada I guess for a car this age. All the other seams and edges were very clean. Those 2 spots do make me a bit nervous though. I don't want to have to battle rust "cancer" as that would defeat the purpose of trading the G37 for it to begin with. Or maybe I can get lucky and it will last at least a couple of years before getting much worse but that is a gamble. But if you guys believe that I might be good to go mechanically for a while then maybe the body is a risk I can take and maybe plan for a fix in a year or two.
The hood shocks needed replacing which the dealer said he would get done and the weirdest thing - he said that the car was missing an amp... so I couldn't turn on the stereo. It also has rear DVD entertainment which I couldn't test out. Seemed odd. He said he would be replacing the amp as well but odd that would be something that was missing.
Other little things... (see pics)
- rip on the left side of the driver seat bolster (funny enough this isn't the first M45 I have seen this with) - but the rest of the car was in quite good shape in the interior.
- corrosion appearing to be from the surface of the front driver side door sill... might not be a huge problem for a few years yet.
The rear quarter panel has 2 areas of about 2-4" that have rust that is starting to bubble through right around the wheel well (at the 9 o'clock and 12 o'clock position around the edge (see pics) - but an unavoidable reality for Canada I guess for a car this age. All the other seams and edges were very clean. Those 2 spots do make me a bit nervous though. I don't want to have to battle rust "cancer" as that would defeat the purpose of trading the G37 for it to begin with. Or maybe I can get lucky and it will last at least a couple of years before getting much worse but that is a gamble. But if you guys believe that I might be good to go mechanically for a while then maybe the body is a risk I can take and maybe plan for a fix in a year or two.
The hood shocks needed replacing which the dealer said he would get done and the weirdest thing - he said that the car was missing an amp... so I couldn't turn on the stereo. It also has rear DVD entertainment which I couldn't test out. Seemed odd. He said he would be replacing the amp as well but odd that would be something that was missing.
Other little things... (see pics)
- rip on the left side of the driver seat bolster (funny enough this isn't the first M45 I have seen this with) - but the rest of the car was in quite good shape in the interior.
- corrosion appearing to be from the surface of the front driver side door sill... might not be a huge problem for a few years yet.
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Ilya
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- Location: Charlotte, NC
- Contact:
Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
Wheel vibration over 80 is bent wheel(s) likely...I have that on my car right now because 3 of my 4 Incurve's are bent.
Is this thing clean title? Sounds like it might have ended up at this dealer after being at the auction...only way to explain the missing amp.
Is this thing clean title? Sounds like it might have ended up at this dealer after being at the auction...only way to explain the missing amp.
Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
Title is clean.
Bent wheel(s) plus that corrosion would make this deal a no-go. Would an inspection at the dealership be able to identify cause of vibration? The used car dealer selling it said that he would get it balanced to see if the vibration goes away.
Bent wheel(s) plus that corrosion would make this deal a no-go. Would an inspection at the dealership be able to identify cause of vibration? The used car dealer selling it said that he would get it balanced to see if the vibration goes away.
Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
Even before I got to the body issues, I was at a no-deal at the first post.
First off, to be fair Ms were built better than 5th gen Maximas and their rust issues. Their oil consumption is kind of on-par with the A33s.
Not sure which year Maxima you had, but I am just saying you can keep an M on the road without too much drama.
The issue is that M45s are very unforgiving to oil neglect. Unlike a Max, the chain doesn't rattle to notify you that they are low on oil. The engine dutifully runs at 100% until BAM! one day it starts knocking. Sometimes you catch it at the noisy stage, other times you are too late and the engine just locks on you.
The main issue with an M45 (or any other used car, really) is how well they were treated previously. Did the previous owner do their part to maintain it properly? Will it survive another 100k of use?
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Unless you have absolutely fallen out of love with your G37x, I would keep it.
One time maintenance and repair isn't a very good gauge of a car's reliability - unless you are spending that cost every other year.
I didn't catch the mileage on your G, but age-wise it is close to the M. Who knows if you won't be needing to address some big-ticket maintenance items in the M45 next year?
As an example, this month, I'm spending about $2,500 in parts to freshen up the suspension & brakes on my M45 with close to 190,000 miles on the odometer. I am doing the work myself, but if I were paying a shop, I'd expect to be relieved of no less than $6,000 USD. That's knocking awfully close to the book value of the car, but I like the car and have considered that in 4 or so years of ownership, all I've had to do is replace the tires and a power steering hose - that's the big picture view I am talking about.
I would use the above argument to pit your G37x versus any other used car, not necessarily just this particular M45.
Big consideration - since the G is your winter beater, AWD will trump RWD with all other factors being equal.
First off, to be fair Ms were built better than 5th gen Maximas and their rust issues. Their oil consumption is kind of on-par with the A33s.
Not sure which year Maxima you had, but I am just saying you can keep an M on the road without too much drama.
The issue is that M45s are very unforgiving to oil neglect. Unlike a Max, the chain doesn't rattle to notify you that they are low on oil. The engine dutifully runs at 100% until BAM! one day it starts knocking. Sometimes you catch it at the noisy stage, other times you are too late and the engine just locks on you.
The main issue with an M45 (or any other used car, really) is how well they were treated previously. Did the previous owner do their part to maintain it properly? Will it survive another 100k of use?
***
Unless you have absolutely fallen out of love with your G37x, I would keep it.
One time maintenance and repair isn't a very good gauge of a car's reliability - unless you are spending that cost every other year.
I didn't catch the mileage on your G, but age-wise it is close to the M. Who knows if you won't be needing to address some big-ticket maintenance items in the M45 next year?
As an example, this month, I'm spending about $2,500 in parts to freshen up the suspension & brakes on my M45 with close to 190,000 miles on the odometer. I am doing the work myself, but if I were paying a shop, I'd expect to be relieved of no less than $6,000 USD. That's knocking awfully close to the book value of the car, but I like the car and have considered that in 4 or so years of ownership, all I've had to do is replace the tires and a power steering hose - that's the big picture view I am talking about.
I would use the above argument to pit your G37x versus any other used car, not necessarily just this particular M45.
Big consideration - since the G is your winter beater, AWD will trump RWD with all other factors being equal.
Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
Lot of good points there... I am battling myself on this one. My brain is all over the place. lol ... I would have done all this research leisurely over the summer but my mechanic gave me hopes of a pretty economical fix for the G but then now that it is close to Winter and I need to drive it soon he did a bait and switch on me and skyrocketed the price of the job. So I feel like I am under the gun to dump it and make a decision.
The G has 230K (kms) on it. The M has 140K kms on it. It is a roll of the dice in both cases because I could replace the alternator on the G, replace the power steering rack, get new tires and brakes which it needs and find a used Y-pipe to replace the corroded y-pipe and then something else could fail at this stage and age. I was hoping with the M being 90K kms lower I might have more runway before anything serious happens to it.
Where things stand now with numbers, not finally negotiated yet - this used car dealer will give me $3500 CDN as-is for my G and will sell the M to me for $7888 and he will replace the hood shocks, get an amp, fix the 2 rust spots (band-aid fixes), balance the wheels and ideally get rid of the vibration above 80mph. That means I will owe him about $4500CDN. The alternator and power steering rack jobs will run me about $2500 and then tires and brakes and y-pipe. But then a gamble either way as anything can go wrong on either car at any time.
I'm spinning. lol
The G has 230K (kms) on it. The M has 140K kms on it. It is a roll of the dice in both cases because I could replace the alternator on the G, replace the power steering rack, get new tires and brakes which it needs and find a used Y-pipe to replace the corroded y-pipe and then something else could fail at this stage and age. I was hoping with the M being 90K kms lower I might have more runway before anything serious happens to it.
Where things stand now with numbers, not finally negotiated yet - this used car dealer will give me $3500 CDN as-is for my G and will sell the M to me for $7888 and he will replace the hood shocks, get an amp, fix the 2 rust spots (band-aid fixes), balance the wheels and ideally get rid of the vibration above 80mph. That means I will owe him about $4500CDN. The alternator and power steering rack jobs will run me about $2500 and then tires and brakes and y-pipe. But then a gamble either way as anything can go wrong on either car at any time.
I'm spinning. lol
Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
Just to confirm, it's M45x, not M45 that's RWD?
Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
This is a M45... the RWD. I didn't think that gen had an 'x' model? Not in Canada anyway... but not sure.
End of this all, the dealer and I are a bit too far off on making this deal feasible for me. I was able to convince the local Infiniti dealer to offer me a healthy discount on parts and labour since my confidence level on the independent shop has dropped with the issues I have had and how they have helped handle it.
I think I will end up keeping my G... for many reasons:
(1) "the devil you know"
(2) it is by far more fun to drive than any of the replacement options (outside of M45 I was considering a luxury SUV - older age similar to G and M)
(3) If I do change out my G I would like to have towing capability...
(4) it is the only vehicle of all the options I was considering that will fit in my garage (builder was thoughtless when designing my current house)
(5) I was able to negotiate with local Infiniti dealer to offer me a healthy discount on all parts and labour - comparable to an independent
Kind of (6) body is still relatively clean... almost everything at the age I am looking will have rust... took me a while to find a clean vehicle in this G. The minor rust starting is manageable
But all the inputs here have been a lot of help. Thank you all! I appreciate you taking your time for this. :-)
End of this all, the dealer and I are a bit too far off on making this deal feasible for me. I was able to convince the local Infiniti dealer to offer me a healthy discount on parts and labour since my confidence level on the independent shop has dropped with the issues I have had and how they have helped handle it.
I think I will end up keeping my G... for many reasons:
(1) "the devil you know"
(2) it is by far more fun to drive than any of the replacement options (outside of M45 I was considering a luxury SUV - older age similar to G and M)
(3) If I do change out my G I would like to have towing capability...
(4) it is the only vehicle of all the options I was considering that will fit in my garage (builder was thoughtless when designing my current house)
(5) I was able to negotiate with local Infiniti dealer to offer me a healthy discount on all parts and labour - comparable to an independent
Kind of (6) body is still relatively clean... almost everything at the age I am looking will have rust... took me a while to find a clean vehicle in this G. The minor rust starting is manageable
But all the inputs here have been a lot of help. Thank you all! I appreciate you taking your time for this. :-)
Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
I'll push back on some of these points. Having owned an 01 I30, and an 07 M45, the build quality and interior material choices of the M are easily worse in my opinion. The Sound system..I have mid tier 8 speaker Bose, and it does have a bit more bass than the I30/A33 from the door speakers, but the rest is worse, not to mention rear deck speaker rattle is quite common as well. It makes it sound like you have a blown speaker or something, not the most expensive fix, but something to fix never the less. Im not alone in this opinion, you can do a search about it.EdBwoy wrote: ↑Fri Nov 06, 2020 10:58 amEven before I got to the body issues, I was at a no-deal at the first post.
First off, to be fair Ms were built better than 5th gen Maximas and their rust issues. Their oil consumption is kind of on-par with the A33s.
Not sure which year Maxima you had, but I am just saying you can keep an M on the road without too much drama.
The issue is that M45s are very unforgiving to oil neglect. Unlike a Max, the chain doesn't rattle to notify you that they are low on oil. The engine dutifully runs at 100% until BAM! one day it starts knocking. Sometimes you catch it at the noisy stage, other times you are too late and the engine just locks on you.
The main issue with an M45 (or any other used car, really) is how well they were treated previously. Did the previous owner do their part to maintain it properly? Will it survive another 100k of use?
***
Unless you have absolutely fallen out of love with your G37x, I would keep it.
One time maintenance and repair isn't a very good gauge of a car's reliability - unless you are spending that cost every other year.
I didn't catch the mileage on your G, but age-wise it is close to the M. Who knows if you won't be needing to address some big-ticket maintenance items in the M45 next year?
As an example, this month, I'm spending about $2,500 in parts to freshen up the suspension & brakes on my M45 with close to 190,000 miles on the odometer. I am doing the work myself, but if I were paying a shop, I'd expect to be relieved of no less than $6,000 USD. That's knocking awfully close to the book value of the car, but I like the car and have considered that in 4 or so years of ownership, all I've had to do is replace the tires and a power steering hose - that's the big picture view I am talking about.
I would use the above argument to pit your G37x versus any other used car, not necessarily just this particular M45.
Big consideration - since the G is your winter beater, AWD will trump RWD with all other factors being equal.
The Dashboard of these cars will crack eventually from poor materials, and headliners falling is common as well. Only a matter of time for those issues. As for the Engine related issues, you'll more than likely encounter problems with the engine at some point. For some reason the VK45 is just not that durable as you'd typically expect from a Nissan. Now you're going to be battling rust as well, it's a no go to me!
Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
I am glad you were able to come to a decision you are comfortable with.
I always think of this thus: as much as we are Infiniti M owners and enthusiasts who will help each other keep our cars on the road and enjoy them; we also have a responsibility to guide potential new owners on why a specific M (or Ms in general) might not be a good fit for them.
Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
The point I was trying to make, was to offer a point of reference that there were things almost every Maxima owner had to worry about, which would not be the case while owning an M. Likewise, owning an M came with some concerns not applicable to Maximas.
However, we can agree to disagree on this one.
I cannot discredit your experiences with owning your vehicles...on the other hand, my opinion comes from having driven, worked on, and owned very many Maximas and i35s, as well as 06+ M45s
Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
My opinion: fair price if you care about odometer. Shame about the rust but you are planning on using it for winter driving anyways.
I would fix the G37x if reasonable.
I would fix the G37x if reasonable.
Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
I am in to step 1 of keeping the G... it is now at the dealership getting a new alternator since sitting all spring/summer. They are having trouble locating a reman power steering rack so brand new is the only option they are giving me... not a cost I'm willing to pay so I have asked if they can take a pre-remanufactured PS rack that is on my car now and rebuild that instead.
Then I will need to find brakes and y-pipe and maybe do that myself. Been looking around the forums and surprised that there aren't a ton of options there for aftermarket/aftermarket-performance. Not sure how much I trust the sets off eBay (at least on the forum there would be some fellow member endorsements).
Then I will need to find brakes and y-pipe and maybe do that myself. Been looking around the forums and surprised that there aren't a ton of options there for aftermarket/aftermarket-performance. Not sure how much I trust the sets off eBay (at least on the forum there would be some fellow member endorsements).
speedemn wrote: ↑Mon Nov 09, 2020 12:30 pmI think I will end up keeping my G... for many reasons:
(1) "the devil you know"
(2) it is by far more fun to drive than any of the replacement options (outside of M45 I was considering a luxury SUV - older age similar to G and M)
(3) If I do change out my G I would like to have towing capability...
(4) it is the only vehicle of all the options I was considering that will fit in my garage (builder was thoughtless when designing my current house)
(5) I was able to negotiate with local Infiniti dealer to offer me a healthy discount on all parts and labour - comparable to an independent
Kind of (6) body is still relatively clean... almost everything at the age I am looking will have rust... took me a while to find a clean vehicle in this G. The minor rust starting is manageable
But all the inputs here have been a lot of help. Thank you all! I appreciate you taking your time for this. :-)
Re: Need opinion on this trade-in please
Fair enough. I've only had one of each.EdBwoy wrote: ↑Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:55 pm
The point I was trying to make, was to offer a point of reference that there were things almost every Maxima owner had to worry about, which would not be the case while owning an M. Likewise, owning an M came with some concerns not applicable to Maximas.
However, we can agree to disagree on this one.
I cannot discredit your experiences with owning your vehicles...on the other hand, my opinion comes from having driven, worked on, and owned very many Maximas and i35s, as well as 06+ M45s
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