I'm getting my Q back tomorrow. It's been in the shop for some time now and the bill is astronomical. I'm serious when I say that when I found out how much it was I lost my breath. Many different things were done and some things weren't. The AC compressor I got from someone here didn't work at all(money down the tubes)and the tension rod bushings weren't done. The engine work was completed and my suspension work was given an A by the Mechanics. ( I knew it)

I've put so much money into this car over the last three months that I could have bought 3 used ones. That's not mentioning the money over the last year. I can say I have a ten thousand dollar car now and really mean it! Well I'm tapping out for a while because I simply can't keep this up. I'm fully depressed at what mechanics charge for labor and the bullcrap hours they say they worked when I know damn well a book told them how many hours that job should take. They do a great job, but no way they worked that many hours on the car... No Way!! They got those hours from a book and they took each job as if it was being done individually instead of all at once when everything was already taken apart and easy to get to.

No way I should be charged 1 1/2 hours for removing the plenum each time an under the plenum thing was done when the fricken plenum was already off!! It's that kind of crap that makes me snap. And don't give me any "got to pay to play" stuff either as I've put a ton of cash into this car, more so then most would ever put into a car during it's entire life. My Q has been well taken care of and the restoration started a few months after I got it.

Just goes to show that if you can do it yourself, ... then do it yourself.

I'm happy that I have the money to pay for the work and happy that my car got done what it needed, but damn. How about something back from Infiniti for keeping their car in the public's eye. Wouldn't that be nice?

Anyway, I get to drive my car again tomorrow.

red

You gotta pay, if you wanna play

Man, I know how you feel. I added up all the money I ahve spent on Lola and Layla, and I did 90% of the work myself. I am driving around in a $9,000.00 Q45, with another $9,000.00 Q45 in waiting.

Look at it this way, I spent nearly $40K on the I30t with interest and payments, and I prefer to drive the Q's.

Now, the C5 only cost about $34K, and it is WAY more fun that all the other cars put together (don't kick me off of NICO for saying that). It remembers which remote is mine, and which one is Evie's. If I use Evie's keys, it goes to her radio station, and seat/steering wheel/mirror settings. I am buying a module, that lets you roll up and down the windows from the remote, so dropping the top is much easier.

If you were driving a Lexus, you would ahve had to pay$10K for the car, THEN put another $5k in it to get where you are with the Q.

redmanfx wrote:Just goes to show that if you can do it yourself, ... then do it yourself.

That is so true, even with simple things like oil changes. How can you be sure you're getting the Mobil 1 you paid for or that your plastic underbelly pan is properly reattached? The only way to be sure of anything is to do it yourself, unless you find someone you trust -- I have yet to find anyone like that in the town I moved to, but I'm still looking.

My inherent dislike and distrust of other humans (and free time) has forced me to learn a great deal about the complicated beast that is the Q.

Book rate economics is how shops work, unless you specifically make other arrangements. You may have actually come out ahead, because few first time mechanics can beat book rate on involved jobs because they have to learn as they go. But overlapping labor should not be charged in any event.

The tension rods are easily replaced by yourself once the new bushings are pressed in. For that, you should be glad.

Now go drive and enjoy your car!
Modified by maxnix at 8:52 AM 8/2/2005

i got reamed by a mechanic once. Let me rephrase that one of the times i got reamed by a mechanic, i charged it and had another mechanic verify that i got reamed and disputed the charge and my cc company reversed the charge

sorry for the misfortune their Red.....We are all there with you and with the number of miles on your car I think you are still doing very good. My car is looking to suck more $$ to fix the AC and give it some other preventative TLC so hopefully it will be trouble free for many more miles to come.

T3 and Jerry Tucker are about the only places you can count on, everywhere else is a roll of the dice.

I agree with you on that.

I feel pretty lucky with the mechanic I have here in New Haven, CT. First off, I bought the car from him. He owned one for 8 years and another guy who works there use to manage the local Inifiniti service desk. The shop routinely works on MB's, Jags, BMW's, Audi, Rolls and Porsches. They have no prob with me buying parts and shipping them to their shop. In fact, They let me keep parts in their basements for 6 months while I saved up to do the work. If anybody in CT needs a good foreign car place, contact J P Motors

Picked up the Q and wow,.. what a car! No more gas smell as the injectors are done, along with a ton of hoses, new wiring harnesses, knock sensors and so much more. EGR system was completely cleaned out along with the valve covers being resealed. No more oil leaking in with the spark plugs. New rubber booties over the plugs to replace the old ripped up ones.

As a bonus(due to the large bill) my interior door locks work correctly now and the steering wheel and seat move out of the way so you can exit the car and readjust when I get in. That never worked before. They felt bad I got charged $400.00 for installing an AC system that did not work. Another bust bought from a NICO member.(I had purchased that before I swore never again).

My car now drives better than it ever has and it has done nicely.

Things I've done since getting the Q:External Tranny coolerNew Radiator FanUpper and Lower Radiator hosesNew AirboxFuel Filter, spark plugsNew Fuel pumpFuel pump control unit(got as a spare just in case)A couple of fuel injectorsRadiator CapJeff's Tower strut braceAll the under plenum hosesKnock sensorsO2'sWiring HarnessesResealed Valve covers4 Tires4 BBS rimsJDM transmissionTranny mountNew antennaSmaller diameter drive shaftConverted From active suspensionStripped the car of all active suspension partsT. BluesUpper control armsTension rod bushings(finally)California Custom sport springs(Lowered the Q)Slotted RotorsHawk brake padsStainless steel braded brake linesBlue racing brake fluidSpeed bleedersSunroof SwitchSunroof WinddeflectorFloor matsTwo front seats(Which I haven't even picked up yet)New battery post cablesAC compressor and Clutch(That don't work)Cans and Cans of BG BK44Plastic under coverJWT TCU, JWT ECU(which had problems)Tinted the windowsand allot of other little stuff I can't even remember along with hours and hours of cleaning and tinkering. So I think I've gone above and beyond for only having this car 1 1/2 and not making $50,000 a year.....

red

Modified by redmanfx at 9:25 AM 8/3/2005

Modified by redmanfx at 9:28 AM 8/3/2005

Modified by redmanfx at 9:31 AM 8/3/2005
Modified by redmanfx at 9:33 AM 8/3/2005

red, glad to hear you're rolling again. when your Q brings a smile as you're driving--not just any car could do.

Glad you discovered what a restored to OEM new Q45 is like. Few really know.

I am constantly amazed with what running defects some members will tolerate. Like Q45tech says, "...different standards."

Now a moment of silence for another lost active and a moment of cheer for another restored G50.

Some people are reluctant to put the effort and funds into what it takes to restore them, but the one that do are amazed at the performance levels thus attained for so little money in sum.

Here are some practical things left to do:

Reupholster front seats(instead of switching them out)$550Get AC system working(entirely new system with labor)$1200New wood trim dash($320)Paint the Q($1500)

So close to the point I want to be at!

Then of course there is the wish list which I'm not going into at this time.

Red

Red nice list as i personally know more to come.what up w/the smaller diameter drive shaft?reupolster seats in leather is alot more expensive $700+ per seat

redmanfx wrote:
Reupholster front seats(instead of switching them out)$550

Where'd you find that price? A local place wants $300 for ONE bottom cushion only.

Red, seems like you'll be set up nicely now! One of the things I really like about my guy, he's charges the book rate, wether it takes longer (usually, since we sit there and talk the whole time, lol), in wich case, as Maxnix said you make out better off, or shorter than the book calls for. Obviously, since I've known him for a long time, worked with him, and referred countless customers, he's kind to me.

RobertsnewQ wrote:Where'd you find that price? A local place wants $300 for ONE bottom cushion only.

He could be "ball parking", but some places charge less if you remove the seats or even less if you remove the carcass and then re-install the new cover yourself.

jamesmost wrote:Red nice list as i personally know more to come.what up w/the smaller diameter drive shaft?reupolster seats in leather is alot more expensive $700+ per seat

The drive shaft is was an experiment basically. I had to either get carbon fiber one at $1700 or my current one for $400 or so and, ... well I chose this one. It's smaller in diameter but is made for the Q. So there are no weakness issues. I'll have to research the company I got them from, but they are west coast and in a couple of my archived threads. Very recomended company.

The guy who is doing the seats is a local yocal and get whole hides at discount. I'm getting 3/4 hide for around 275 and 275 for the work. I'm having the bottom seat and two panels of the back rest of the drivers seat done as well as the bottom seat and two panels of the back of the passanger seat done. He gets real good leather that comes dyed already. I have to have an extra panel done on the passenger side done jsut in case the color doesn't match exactly. That way the front will at least be uniform. The back seat is mint and doesn't need any work.

And yeah I was lucky to find this guy!

red

"Get AC system working(entirely new system with labor)$1200" ???

Compressor, evaporator, condenser, HVAC fan, all lines including expansion accumulator tank, dryer, and thermo-switches? $2400+ in parts alone.

redmanfx wrote:No way I should be charged 1 1/2 hours for removing the plenum each time an under the plenum thing was done when the fricken plenum was already off!! It's that kind of crap that makes me snap. red

This piit of your is well taken a bill were under plenum job each charge plenum removal when plenum was removed only once is a mistake at best fraud at worst

Red... Call me or email me about the springs i want to hear what you think about it!

911/Q45 wrote:T3 and Jerry Tucker are about the only places you can count on, everywhere else is a roll of the dice.

T-3 does a good job but the hours charged are very similar to book rates... for my recent work it was 3 hrs for front shocks, 4 hrs for brakes/rotors, 4 hrs to remove plenum and replace 2 fuel hoses, about 3 hours for fuel pump. But it's not economical for me to invest in a bunch of tools to do the work myself unless I had a second car available so I could take my time fixing things. (And hard to gain experience working on one car).

I've spent about $18,000 in maintenance over 5 years on my '92 Q including routine stuff and tires (plus $8,500 purchase price), so I've spent a little less than I would have buying a new $25,000 Accord V-6 or Maxima -- but not much less. (And I'm too cheap to fix the A/C).

The painful thing is if the car gets totalled, that $26,500 will be worth $2000 if I'm lucky... whereas a 5 year old car would be worth $8000 - 10,000. That's the hard part.

$500/mo car payments (+ higher insurance) will be perfectly affordable in a year or two!!

OK. Maybe AC "System" was incorrect. How about Specific Broken or non-working AC components plus labor. ($1200)

red

redmanfx wrote:How about Specific Broken or non-working AC components plus labor. ($1200)

And the finer detail is how they will determine what is broken, damaged?

I can assure you that over 15 years of life EVERYTHING [AC] will have broken or become so degraded that it should be replaced........so the question is do you just bite the bullet and do it all at once or do it in 3 - 4 operations..........when ever you replace compressor go idea to do hoses and dryer at same time and a new dryer every time the system gets opened for more than 30 minutes.

In fact a new dryer ever 4-6 years should be mandantory to stretch the lives of the things not replaced.

As I keep pointing out the only thing not replaced on my system is the evaporator...............but that could change any day now. I budget for it every Summer [in the last 5 years] and so far so good.