Poll, what have you spent on repairs and maintenance for your Q45?

[Victor]

I have read just about every recent post on this forum. Some of the stuff scares me when posters say expect to spend $7000 up front to get a used Q45 into excellent shape and then another $2000 to $3000 a year to keep it that way. I just helped my daughter pick out a 2000 Q45T with 49.884 miles on it which she paid $8900 for. I thought she got a good deal but after reading some of these posts I wonder if we made a mistake. The reason we bought it was it was supposed to be in the top ten percent of reliable cars, but if you have to expect to spend $2000 to $3000 a year on repairs and maintenance that does not fit my definition of a reliable car. Did the people who are spending these amounts just get stuck with a lemon or is everyone experiencing these costs? I was considering replacing my J30T which has 191,500 miles on it and has cost me almost nothing in repairs and maintenance with a lower mileage Q45, but maybe I should just keep it even though it will soon get to the nickel and dime stage.So if you would be so kind as to post how many miles you have put on your car since you acquired it, how many miles it has on it now, how much and for what you spent on repairs and maintenance, and are there any repairs you put off but know you will have to do eventually I would appreciate it and probably other readers would too. If you have any opinions as to what year Q45s are the most reliable and what years one should avoid if any that would be useful too.

[AZhitman]

$10K in 5 years.

$6K was paid for by extended warranty, and the rest was tires, brakes, hoses, belts, and incidentals.

97-01 seem to be the "bulletproof" Q's, but a case could be made for the 94-96 as well.

Toss in 90-93 with the caveat that the chain guides have been done.

[NightRiderQ45]

Purchased my 1998 Q January 05 with 93k on it. The car was very solid. It is April 08 and my car has 175k...peep the signature, I keep it updated everytime the motor rolls over.

I haven't spent thousands of dollars on my car and I d@#m wouldn't purchase a car if I knew I had to throw in $7-8k AFTER purchase. Things replaced while I had the car..- both strut mounts $40/piece from Justin- left stabilizer link $35 AAP- altenator $100 from AAP- valve cover, throttle body, IAC gaskets $50 from Justin- including labor, I've spent close to $1500 in 3+ years.

I will do a major tune up on my car once that joke stimulus check comes in May. Like AZhitman stated, our 97-01 Q45 are a lot more solid compared to the earlier models. So stop worring and make sure your daughter keep up with the maintenance schedule and just drive

[maxnix]

Did the people who are spending these amounts just get stuck with a lemon or is everyone experiencing these costs?

I was considering replacing my J30T which has 191,500 miles on it and has cost me almost nothing in repairs and maintenance with a lower mileage Q45, but maybe I should just keep it even though it will soon get to the nickel and dime stage.

There are no lemon Q45, only ones that are abused and ones maintained to varoius degrees.

You will soon be spending large on a transmission and probably a power steering rack if you have not been replacing the fluid regularly. How about the brake fluid? ABS units are expensive also. Running something until it brakes is not maintaining it.

I replace my tension rod bushings a little more often than Dennis, but do some of the other stuff less often. It all depends on driving environment and desired performance from your vehicle. I keep mine as new as possible.

[Victor]

I replace my power steering fluid once every two months when I refill the reservoir after it leaked out of a slow leak from the power steering rack.

[Rex]

2 things to take into account.

First, the scary dollar amounts are almost always a result of the previous owners deferred maintenance.

Second, this was a $50k car when new, the parts (and labor) have not gotten any cheaper than they were in the early 90's.

I've owned 3 Q's.

Put ~50k on one. No big expenses here, mainly because the guy that had it before me treated it as well as he did his Ferrari. The cumulative repairs/maintenance costs was ~$1500. Had I had them done through a dealership the plugs, suspension (tension rods, upper links, shocks, springs, etc), belts (and pulleys), etc would have easily been closer to $3k parts/labor.

Put ~20k on the 2nd one, and aside from the transmission (~$3k, due to a cut ATF line), just basic maintenance, plus 1 belt and pulley. Again the previous owner took GREAT care of this car.

I only had the 3rd one a couple months before pressure from the HOA pushed me to "thin the herd" (using too many overflow parking spots). It's the one Greg (AZHitman) referred to in his post.

Keep in mind, most of these cars are bought by people seeing a great deal on used luxury car. The people selling (usually 2nd or 3rd owner) have just been presented a large "upkeep" bill. They decide that they'd rather sell a car that "seem to run fine" though the dealer just told them it needs ~$2k in up keep.

The decision most make is to either pay for it to stay alive for this year OR the next 5+ ... too often they pay for the former and hope for the latter.

[qsiguy]

Spent very little for the first 4-5 years....

Then I took it from my wife, started modifying, boosting, etc. Now I've spent...a lot. but no more than some others I've just read. Probably $5-6K in the last year but that includes the turbo.

I've had it pretty easy.

[qship96]

Search for one of my previous posts where I outlined almost every single expense for calendar year 2007 -total was just under $6,000....and all were preventative or routine in nature, the Q has NEVER broke down in 212K miles.

[StarPD]

Victor,your daughter's 2000 Q45 is now 9 years old.Parts wear, gaskets shrink and dry out, plastic and rubber deteriorate with age. Did you really think you could buy a 9 year old $50,000+ car and not have to replace worn components? Or did you think parts on a $50,000+ car would be as cheap as those on an old Ford or Chevy?

Unfortunately, too many owners negect maintenance while they have a car during its first few years of life, especially luxury cars. Frequently they are not "car people" and don't have a clue. As long as it runs, everything is okay to them, then they dump it before it costs them for their foolishness, which the next owner ends up paying for. The damage from that doesn't "heal" itself, nor does even maintaining it after the damage has been done change things. That's why it's essential to get a complete service history on a USED car considered for purchase, and even then, to realize that BOTH mileage and time take a toll on cars, and that will necessitate component/parts replacement in addition to regular upkeep maintence. Things like trans, cooling, steering and brake system flushes, in addition to oil/filter changes, wheel alignment, wheel balance, belt and hose replacement, as well as tuneups are not cheap on a $50,000+, 4,000 lb luxury V8 car. Neglecting them eventually leads to failures and major expense.

Truth is even cheap cars are expensive to maintain PROPERLY. If you had a J30t that had 191,000 miles on it and never spent money, you are:A. VERY luckyB. it is probably pretty much trashed by now and due soon for expensive repairs, especially considering that it likely has "HICAS" rear wheel steering.

That it survived this long without repairs is a testament to Infiniti quality, but even that doesn't last forever.

You might be better off making sure your daughter's 2000 Q45 is PROPERLY (more than the owner's manual calls for) maintained, and buyng a cheap car for yourself that you can get parts for from Checker or Autozone cheaply. If however, you want to drive a great luxury car, and are willing to pay for that luxury, you can't do much better than a GOOD Q45. I find nowhere that expensive luxury cars are cheap to operate and maintain though.

Remember: "TANSTAAFL".

[Q45denver]

Always good to buy the best maintained car you can afford. Have spent many thousands on my 1990 mainly due to need for two relacement engines and many injectors.

Haven't spent anything other than oil changes on my 1995 which I've had for 4 years. However, it needs a water pump and valve cover gaskets.

[Haitian_King]

Uh, how much is an "assload" in US dollars?

I'm kidding. I didn't spend much during my first year of ownership. But the second year? Let's say my first fiscal quarter of 2008 wasn't that cheap. So far, I'm about $2200 into my $3k budget. But I'm picking up a lot of slack left over from the PO, as well as my own ignorant negligence from the beginning.

Properly taken care of, Q's can last quite a long time. I don't have very many expenses, so my job is really only useful for my car and my alcoholism.

[oldmako]

Ballpark of $2200, but I was rehabbing a 120K mile car.

Take a look at my sig and you can see everything I have done. All items are what I consider routine and normal given the mileage of the car. I am guardedly optimistic that I am done spending big money for a while...hopefully the next year or so.

These cars get very high marks for reliability in consumer reports. We tend to focus on the negatives here on this forum because most of the threads pertain to busted cars, but overall Q's have an excellent reputation for reliability.

Last week I met a guy who was in charge of the service department of a local Infiniti dealer and all he wanted to talk about was what a great, trouble free car his 99 t model has been. He picked it up as a lease trade in a few years ago. He said the BarbieQs (FY33s) are the best of the bunch as far as reliability goes. So, if it takes some extra ching to make it right, and it lasts and doesn't break....then the money was well spent.
Modified by oldmako at 12:53 PM 4/24/2008

[bullittandy]

You didn't make a mistake. In fact you bought one of the most reliable cars there is. There are several hysterical people here and there are several people who expect their 10- 20 year old cars to function as new. If your daughter is sensitive enough to distinquish the minute differences that happen when a car ages then you'll have to spend a lot of money to make it new-but I don't know many people that think like that.

I've got a 97 with 237K that I bought at 194K. It has had two mechanical failures, the ABS relay and a license plate bulb. I have replaced the valve cover gaskets, knock sensors, spark plugs, front suspension and changed all the fluids. I now have to replace the rear shocks which will cost about $300 in parts, $500 parts and labor if i took it somewhere.

However, if I wanted my car to ride AS NEW then I would replace all of the suspension arms in the rear for their new bushings but if you've seen how complicated the rear suspension is on these cars is then you'd know that is not a good investment for a small increase in ride quality.

[goody90q45]

These cars get high marks for reliability in consumer reports. We tend to focus on the negatives here on this forum because most of the threads pertain to busted cars, but I think that overall they have an excellent reputation for reliability.

In May I will have had my Q three years and even though I've spent $6000 in that time to bring it up to par I've really only had two problems that put her out of commission- leaky fuel injector lower o-rings, twice.

About $3500 was spent the first year, $2500 in year two, and this year I've only had to spend $500 with almost half of that for upper links. At this point I'm pretty confident nothing is going to break and I should be able to get by with just plentiful fluid changes and normal maintenance items (brakes, battery) for many years.

On the flip side, I've learned a lot in the last 3 years and bringing my 90Q up to speed will be much cheaper with the same results.

[Q45tech]

Members missed all the fun of the pre NICO and pre easy WEB, precable modem, Ebay era*. I had driven my Q 200,000 miles by mid 2000 AND spent $20,000 on Q, most of which occurred after 100,000 [1997] only $8,000 including ext warranty purchase. Tires were the killer as the Michelins only lasted 15-20k and were $120 each................$2400 in tires in 100k. Brakes were about the same as pads were so dusty that by 20k they were done also.

Upper links lasted 25k, tension rods 60k

My parts collection was so small it fit on one small shelf.

Yes Ebay started in 1995, but my 1st cable modem was not until late 1999.

[Victor]

Well the day after my daughter bought the car I changed the engine oil, oil filter, air filter, and had the differential fluid flushed and refilled. I didn't have time to do anything else as my daughter had just come back to California on spring break and had to get back to the Air Force Academy in Colorado and left the day after she bought the car. She came to California to buy a car rather than buy it in Colorado because there is a larger selection of luxury/sporty cars in Orange County, California, and the cars have no rust on them as compared to Colorado where they salt the roads, plus luxury cars are cheaper in California. In fact the percentage of luxury cars on the road in Orange County is twice that of the average for the rest of the country. If you are in the market for a used luxury car it might be worth the trip to Southern California.My daughter drove back to Colorado in one day, just stopping in Las Vegas to see a show and sleeping in the car at a rest stop for three hours. She said the back seat was very comfortable. She drove mostly at 80 miles an hour and didn't have any problems. The previous owner had the car inspected at an Infiniti dealer just before he sold it and gave me the printout. The only problems noted were the tension rods, one rear strut had a very small amount of leakage, and one rubber belt was worn, and it needed new wiper blades. I verified the printout by calling Infiniti.Well I'm glad to hear the second generation Q45 is the most reliable. My daughter actually wanted a third generation Q45 because of the 340 HP engine, but from what I have read the only one she could have afforded, the 2002, is not very reliable. I see more 2002s for sale than 2003 through 2006 combined, and at a lot lower price, which tells me something.

[maxnix]

... the Q has NEVER broke down in 212K miles.

I am glad you never seen that, Jethro!

[maxnix]

I see more 2002s for sale than 2003 through 2006 combined, and at a lot lower price, which tells me something.

There were more 2002 F50 sold than any other year and 2003 had major revisions.

[paranoidjack]

I bought my '00 anniversary with 72k on it, I have 145 k now in 1 year 11 months.

I have done nothing out of failure, only pre-emptive work.

I replaced the shocks (big money, adjustables), and all bushings.

I ordered tie rods and ball joints, but needed none of them yet.

I am religious with top-quality fluid changes.

The car is fantastic, as someone else said, bulletproof. Operates 100% consistently all the time, which for a 145k car is quite impressive.

[Q45tech]

After 18 year and 4 months my stater failed today luckily I banged it into to starting to get home and retrieve my spare to a late afternoon exchange.

Now Rack and PS pump and 4 injectors, 7 coils, 2 ignitors are all the remaining external components as built in Jan 1990.

Two of the brushes were worn to the numbs nothing left and the unit literally exploded from dust pressure on disassembly.

Think we can safely say that ~~ 300-320k is the upper limit on starters?

[StarPD]

After 18 year and 4 months my stater failed today luckily I banged it into to starting to get home and retrieve my spare to a late afternoon exchange.

Now Rack and PS pump and 4 injectors, 7 coils, 2 ignitors are all the remaining external components as built in Jan 1990.

Two of the brushes were worn to the numbs nothing left and the unit literally exploded from dust pressure on disassembly.

Think we can safely say that ~~ 300-320k is the upper limit on starters?

Maybe, maybe not. I think a lot depends on how often the starter is used. Car used for short rips in town all day won't get the starter life that one used for long highway trips does. Alternators OTOH are a different story. I would expect that alternators are much more mileage dependent than starters.

Am I wrong?

[Warspite]

Picked up my '94Q at 211K two years ago, and it's up to 225K now. The following has been done over this time period, with the most expensive work just completed recently:

Repairs:Transmission mount, tension rods, knock sensors (plus one hose, didn't need full plenum job), rear brake rotors/pads, kingpin, fuel filter.

Upgrades:Tokico blues, Stillen strut bar, K&N cold air intake, '97 Bose head unit.

New tires/wheels: 350z stock wheels, with Toyo Proxes4 (higher load factor than standard Bridgestones).

Religously maintained with quality fluids (Castrol GTX, new rear-end diff gear oil, etc).

Misc: Odds and ends off EBay, seat the dash covers, power window switch. etc. Little DIY stuff.

Bottom Line: for the REPAIRS (which included the install of the new struts - Thanks T3!!!!) was $3,200. This is OVER 2 YEARS! Average it out, and the numbers are rather attractive for an old Q. With gas approaching $4 a gallon, I do less driving, so I intend to maintain and hold on to my Q for quite a while!

Regards-Terry

[maxnix]

I would expect that alternators are much more mileage dependent than starters.

Am I wrong?

Depends on maintenance also. How often is it cleaned? How often and in what state is the battery replaced?

[qship96]

Who cleans their alternator? And how? What does that accomplish as far as longevity, the brushes wear by use either way?

[maxnix]

Who cleans their alternator? And how? What does that accomplish as far as longevity, the brushes wear by use either way?

A consecientous owner blows away the debris that collects on the front especially with compressed air. Good to do when the area between radiator and condenser is llikewise cleaned annually.

It's all in the previous posts. So much there for the newbies!

[96Qowner]

Still have the original starter on my 392K Accord.

I know, I know, different car, etc. But nice job, Dennis!

[maxnix]

Still have the original starter on my 392K Accord.

I know, I know, different car, etc. But nice job, Dennis!

Yeah, me too on my 1990 Legend with 183K.

Good to know when a starter will fail.

[Q45tech]

I can assure you a Lexus LS400 [90-97] starter won't last 300k we love them because of the 7 hour under plenum labor cost to replace vs <half that for a Q.

Yes Virginia, I4 and V6 are significantly easier and less expensive to repair.

So think and think again before buying a vehicle what size and type of engine you want to pay for, and keep paying for as long as you own the vehicle.................not to mention V8 insurance surcharges.

[maxnix]

I can assure you a Lexus LS400 [90-97] starter won't last 300k

So off topic, but typically how long do they last and do you attribute the shorter life to heat soak or lesser build quality?

[qship96]

A consecientous owner blows away the debris that collects on the front especially with compressed air. Good to do when the area between radiator and condenser is llikewise cleaned annually.

It's all in the previous posts. So much there for the newbies!

Well, I clean the trash between rad and condensor with a garden hose, engine also...maybe my alternator gets cleaned by flushing at that time? Who knows, but it is original at 212,000 miles- doubt a alternator blowing owner will get any extra miles for their time.