Q45 2005 Questions

[JTC3400]

I'm looking at buying a Q45. From what I have read, they are reliable, while being a little more fun to drive then a LS 430. I'm going for a 2005 because I hear they fixed a lot of small problems the 2002-2004 model had. I have not needed to use a car in many years, living in NYC my whole life but now I am in GA. After a lot of research I've narrowed it down to a Q45 or LS 430... possibly a 2004ish BMW. (Some say to steer clear, others say they are excellent and have no reliability issues)

I have read mixed things on this board, so I'm asking here:

1) Is a Q45 reliable on the parts that really matter? I can live with a headlight being locked in the forward position, the voice command going out, or the rear sun shield not going up when I push the button, but I need the essentials to work.

2) How should I go about covering this thing? Will most dealers give a warranty, or will Nissan/Infiniti sell me another coverage plan?

3) What things wear out the most and how much do they cost? I hear the headlights can be expensive to replace, anything else to watch out for?

4) What is a fair price for an 05 Q45 with 74,000 miles in good condition? The dealer wants 13,000 and its been on sale for a while, how far do you think I can get them down?

Any advice you can give would be helpful, I'm in my 30's and have been driving friends cars as a refresher, I never needed to drive in New York so I'm pretty out of touch with cars. I know I like large, powerful and comfortable sedans.

[BCC93QT]

7-9k would be reasonable. The longer they have it the more they are willing to get rid of it at a loss. Consider the fact less Q45 were produced in 05 than the bmw and LS430 so the Q45 is going to be harder to maintain and to find parts for in the coming years. It will be a rarer car of the 3.

[S_PerezQ45]

I have a 2002 Q45 its a great car! head turner. Ive had many compliments on my car but a price for that i would say try n get it to 10K. Gas for me is like 50-60 each fill up. probably fill up close to every 2 weeks and i drive every day. Very fast car too V8 great interior has alot of features such as heated seats and all that. I love the car but the only thing is finding parts for this car is hard and very expensive. For example i need Lower control arm bushings and infiniti doesnt sell them by them selves they sell the whole Control Arm together. parts are expensive but as long as u take good care of it it should be fine. The miles arent that bad. I bought my Q45 for 7K it had 140K on it. isnt bad i pay 300 a month with a 1K down payment. Great car very good room inside. Its up to you, you dont see these cars out there anymore thats why i get so many compliments. Ive only seen 2 in my city but they were stock i have G35 Rims on mine and lowered it a bit. overall a great car just a bit pricey to take care of.

[JTC3400]

Thanks for the replies. Any tips to lower the guy down to 9 or 10k? that's like 30-40% less then he wants, pretty huge drop. Best I can say is "You have had it advertised a long time with no buyers, plus you know it will be hard for me to find parts for so you need to come down"

Also, is there any way I ca buy or renew its warranty? I'm in the army so don't make a lot of money. I save about $1000 a month, not looking to spend thousands of dollars on replacing a transmission. On the other hand, I just can't see the logic in buying a reliable yet lame little new car for 16-20K when I can get a beautiful powerful sedan for 10-15k.

I found a private seller who wants 9900 for a 2005 with 126k miles.... 50k more miles but 3k less money, any recommendations? Should I avoid private sellers or think it could be a good deal if I bring a mechanic with me to inspect the car?

[BCC93QT]

Depending on the dealership the salesman usually makes commission. Since the price has dropped a few times already he won't make a dime whether he sells it for 13k or 10k. Bring a $100 bill into the dealership. Tell JUST the salesman this is yours If I get it for THIS price. Gotta leave the sales manager out. You can buy an extended warranty when you speak to the finance manager person which can be included in a monthly payment.

[JTC3400]

Thanks for the tip, I'll try that.

[seldomseen]

Keep your focus on a clean, low mileage '05/'06 Q45. Private or dealer purchase are both good if you can find the right '05/'06 Q45. The majority of issues that affected the '02-'04 Q45 still affects the '05/'06 model years. The changes for the '05/'06 were a minor exterior refresh. You'll still want to keep an eye out for: oil consumption, dash board cracking, driving seat movement, ballast burn out, wheel bearing failure, cd changer failure, GPS screen failure, etc. With regard to pricing, just conduct a KBB, NADA, Edmunds pricing analysis for each car your considering and offer a price that you think is fair based on the data you obtained. Keep in mind that the Q45 is an expensive vehicle to maintain/service. Particularly due to the small number of Q45's that were manufactured. Hence, if you're a soldier with a pay grade less than E/6 or O/3 you might me in for some major headaches. Unless you can do car repairs yourself.

[dnudelman]

I've always found the best way to buy a car:
1. do your research
2. drive a lot of that model, even ones you don't intend to buy so you become familiar and listen for things out of place. Keep the radio off when test driving. Roll down the windows when making slow speed turns.
3. Pay in cash
4. Be prepared to walk, there is always another car around the corner.
5. Expect things to break.
6. Locate an independent mechanic that knows your car model
7. Strongly consider a buyers inspection by that same mechanic. Be prepared to pay up to $200. I think thats better insurance than an expensive aftermarket extended warranty.

[SurfinGator]

I have an 05 that I bought last spring. $13,500 for a one owner Premium with 63,000 miles. All the services done by local dealer car was purchased from. You can find pristine one owner Qs out here, just have to keep your eyes open. That said, might be easier and wiser to find a Avalon or Camry Limited. Generally, only one who can really work on Qs are Infiniti Dealer. Many shops will say they do, even Nissan dealers, but they don't know Qs. I dropped $2000 in mine doing the 60,000 mile ... spent another $700 on a side air bag light that went on about three weeks later. You can drop money fast on a Q .. or a BMW'er ... or a LS430. These are $70,000+ cars and the parts are priced accordingly. I go back to unless you have the cash to spend when something dies, the Q would not be my primary car to depend on. Or a LS430 ... or 7 series BMW'er.

... my primary driver around town and to work is a '02 Toyota Sienna with 179,000 miles. Q is weekends and trips. I LOVE MY Q45!!! Blows up the LS430, no comparison. so if you can find an inexpensive backup car or scooter ... go big man. otherwise my advice is save the cash and the headaches from owning a used luxury car.

[BadQ45t]

I think you can easily count on a well maintained Q45 for everyday use. My 97' has so few issues it is not even funny. The way a car was broken in and kept up is crucial.

The BMW will be the most problematic one, you do not want to own one after 60k. The warranty is easy there are some links here but you can also use the web and find a dealership in bum-F!ck Egypt that sells warranties cheaper, you should try to get one so you have some peace of mind.

My dad had a L430 and it is rolling coffin, very quiet, does everything very well, but pretty darn boring. The Q45 will be more fun and more exotic.

Next, there are independent mechanics that can work on these cars depending on where you live. My local general mechanic has worked on lots of 1st and 2nd gens and now has 2 3rd gens coming to him. He's got the books and right computers. There will be some occasional things that only can be done at the stealership but overall you can find someone to help you.

Last, if that car has been on the dealership floor for awhile that means they are starting to lose money on it every single day it sits. Figure out what you really want to buy it for, maybe 10k and just go in and play hard ball. You want to buy XXXXXX out the door and just say here is the check for it, let's do it. If you're not a cash buyer go to your Army Credit Union and get pre-qualified for it so you are as good as a cash buyer.