New member, just bought 99 Q45t

[r3dbaba]

Hi, new member here, like the title says, I just bought this

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http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&csDlId=&csDgId=&listingId=74578386&listingRecNum=13&criteria=sf1Dir%3DDESC%26mkId%3D20019%26stkTyp%3DU%26mdId%3D21806%26crSrtFlds%3DstkTypId-feedSegId-mkId-mdId-yrId%26rd%3D100000%26zc%3D53719%26rn%3D0%26PMmt%3D1-1-0%26stkTypId%3D28881%26sf2Dir%3DASC%26yrId%3D20196%26sf1Nm%3Dprice%26sf2Nm%3Dmiles%26isDealerGrouping%3Dfalse%26rpp%3D50%26feedSegId%3D28705&aff=national&listType=1

I wish I had found this forum before I pulled the trigger, but for the most part, the car seems fine - no engine light, clean autocheck, the shifting while driving was smooth, all the electronics working fine, tires in good shape. I had a friend that knows about engines take a look at it as well. All checked out. The car has only had two owners previously and it was a transfer in the same family, they claimed to have kept it garaged. There was some rust on the driver side rear area with a quote of $700 to fix and the dealer agreed to pay $250 of that. The only other thing is that the antenna is broken, but it seemed to pick up radio stations well.

What I would like to know are
1) What are the things I should look out for going forward? (I read the sticky for 99 Qs but it was hard to get the information needed from there

2) I would like to upgrade the stereo to something more modern (navigation, mp3/cd changer) while keeping the steering controls. Any good ideas of stereos to use? Also, not a must-have, but one that I can use an ipod with would be nice.

3) How do I go about fixing the antenna? I would post a picture of it, but the dealer is taking it to the body shop and I won't have it for a few days.

I should also add that I live in Madison, WI and only plan to drive the car in summer.

Apologies for the long post, just wanted to give as much information as possible. Thanks in advance for any help.

[r3dbaba]

Can anyone please help me? Thanks

[paranoidjack]

congrats! You've bought a pretty bullet proof car. Not much breaks on these.

They have coilpack issues. You'll notice this pretty much only at idle, and the car will hesitate. It feels like a car hiccup. It doesn't really hurt anything, and many owners have reported this issue coming and going.

As far as stereo integration with your steering controls, your best bet is to call an MECP certifified install shop local to you and ask them. Shops that sell product will be able to give you better information.

What else to look for? Not much. Seriously - these cars are very reliable.

[paranoidjack]

The most important thing with these larger vehicles, as with any vehicle, is to replace fluids regularly. Better to use lower quality fluid with more frequent intervals than expensive fluid and leave it for 50k. Fluid changes = looooong life q45.

[Skibane]

Has part of the antenna broken off, or is it just not extending and retracting automatically?

[r3dbaba]

It's broken off.

[BadQ45t]

So the antenna needs to be replaced. Nissan made these MUCH better than older models as they are pretty reliable, but not when broken. So you can add an aftermarket one or you can buy a Nissan/Infiniti one. You can get it mail order from everythinginfiniti.com which is Infiniti of Scotsdale. Aftermarket options also include a non-retractable one for cheap.

As for the rest, how many miles are on the car and what records do you have????? That is the most important thing. we can help you from there so update that part of your post.

Last, for the replacement of the stereo, you can do a nice GPS/iPod double DIN unit, but getting the steering wheel controls is a PITA. You can keep the Bose speakers with a special box they put in, you need to find a shop that knows what they are doing. Or you have to remove the speakers and re-wire them as the Bose speakers are in there with amps built into them. I have toyed with the idea of changing out my 97' but just haven't wanted to spend the money. iPod is a given with any of these units, but plan to spend a grand installed.

[r3dbaba]

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far. The car has ~79000 miles in it. Clean auto check ( see the original post for everything that was checked, you can also follow the link to see pictures of the car if you're interested).

For the radio, after researching for the past couple of days, I've decided to go with a KenWood DNX6960.

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http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037BHZLQ

It has full ipod integration and good reviews. I was thinking of using a PACs or Axxess steering wheel interface, but I couldn't find any info to suggest that they will be compatible. It comes with a remote, so that will have to do.

[BadQ45t]

You have pretty low miles so that is great news. If you don't have information documented that shows all fluids (brakes, power steering, transmission, rear end, coolant) then it is time to all of those. You either do it more often with conventional or use highest quality for longer drain/fill intervals. Much of that is how much you're gonna drive it...if you're going to drive it alot my suggestion is just use Mobile 1 and drain/fill often, if you're gonna make her a garage queen go with Amsoil or Redline highest quality fluids.

As for the stereo, you have to decide if you are keeping the Bose speakers or not. You can easily keep them by purchasing a special device, should be able to score one from Crutchfield or hunt around Amazon. If you choose NOT to keep them you will have to pull all the speakers and probably re-wire them as well since the speaker units have the power built into them.