Questions re Q45 prices

[melan]

I'm new to the world of Q45s and in looking at lots and lots of ads, I conclude that I should be able to find one in good shape with 100 to 125, 000 mi for around $3500 in a private sale. Does this sound reasonable or have I missed something? Any suggestions why this one on E-bay 330101874158 wasn't bid higher?

Brian

[Skibane]

Welcome, melan!

(Hot link to the ebay auction you're describing)

IMO, nothing about the car stands out as being a problem (other than the off-color floor mats) - I'm not a big fan of the pie-plate wheels, but that's not a deal-breaker. Sometimes, they just don't sell for what they're worth.

Has the vehicle been re-listed before, or is this the first time it was up for sale? Did the VIN turn up anything unusual?

[maxnix]

It's all about service history including the Infiniti dealer performed service history and present conditon of the vehicle as determined by you and a Senior Infiniti Technician's Inspection report.

[ILuvNkdChx]

WELCOME! If in fact you do end up buying a Q you will find no better site for information than this, so you are on the right track already. The Q is more of a diamond in the rough find than anything. They often do not sell for what they are worth simply from a demand stand point. It's not that nobody wants them...it's just the average Joe has no idea how nice these cars can be. I have people often say to me that they like my car...and the next thing out of their mouth is "What KIND is it?" Your everyday person is an idiot. And most teenagers and such nowadays think that the nicer your car looks, or the more stickers it has, the faster it goes. (Thank The Fast and The Furious) The Q is a great car but try not to buy one off E-bay, unless you can test drive it first. When you are able to see it in person you can check for things that often go wrong with the Q's like guides or injectors. Read up on many of the posts here and you will know what to look for.

[elwesso]

I dont think I would ever buy a Q sight unseen, especially if you had topay to ship it or fly a long distance... just my humble opinion....

Its not like buying a toyota camry where most of them are gonna be just fine, you have to be a bit more careful!

Heres what it comes down to... If you cna find a car that has bucnh of maintenance done, the seller is going to be losing a bunch of money (and you end up a winner)...

If you could find a Q for 5000-6000 thta has regular oil/trans fluid changes, and fresh suspension/brakes, and all other fluids replaced a couple times, then you will be a lot better off long run than buying a Q thats iffy for 3500.

[maxnix]

And to add to Wes' advice, read his excellent article about how to buy a Q45. Then you can do a lot of reading on this board to really learn for what to inspect. The service history will guide you where to go deeper.

[silver2k2]

I have been searching for the last 7 Weeks for a Q as well. As the cars get older, it gets harder and harder to find one that hasnt been abused because they are so cheap and get treated that way.

Finding one with maintenance records from new is hard as well because the orig owner most likely bought a new car after a few years since they had money to buy the Q in the first place.

When the car gets traded in and goes to auction usually all owner kept records are lost

I may just have to go with one without service records and go off the color of fluids, and general inspection of the car

You can try an contact the service department of the dealership it was serviced it maybe the have not purged the records yet. You can fax infiniti USA to get the list dealers it was serviced at for warranty work, good chance it was taking there for oil changed etc.

Good Luck.

[elwesso]

on a car that has 120,000 miles, im far more concerned about what happened between 60k and 120k. 2 major services in there, and most likely if something abused from birth has already died or is giving fatal signs. Plus, the owner who spent the $55,000 on the car back in the day is more likely to take care of the car as it should have... Plus there was warranty up to 60k so I bet that anything was taken care of thta was the least bit problematic while the factory was paying for repairs.

[DrewQ45]

Welcome, melan!

(Hot link to the ebay auction you're describing)

IMO, nothing about the car stands out as being a problem (other than the off-color floor mats) - I'm not a big fan of the pie-plate wheels, but that's not a deal-breaker. Sometimes, they just don't sell for what they're worth.

Has the vehicle been re-listed before, or is this the first time it was up for sale? Did the VIN turn up anything unusual?

Kinda surprised that no one has mentioned the chain guides issue affecting 90-93 Q45. If they haven't been changed from the old plastic to the newer metal backed guides, then it's a definate deal breaker, unless you factor in the cost to replace them. Lots of info about it on this site.

[melan]

Many thanks to all responders for the excellent info and advice. Because the closest market to me is a small one (Vancouver, BC), I'm thinking about spending some holiday time around end of June in California looking at Q45s, if I can't find anything fairly close by. In the meantime, I'm trying to learn as much as I can. The downside to shopping in the US is one Can. federal tax 6%, one excise tax 6.1% for cars manufactured outside NAFTA, exchange rate about 15%. I may just have to exercise patience and be ready when the right car comes to me. It's appealling that these cars are so little known and, in my part of the woods, downright exotic. But that makes it difficult to find one.

Thanks again.

Brian

[maxnix]

Just be aware that CA ones often have injector problems because of the weird gas.

I would recommend WA, OR, GA, TX or FL with care on the latter two. In fact there is a low miles 1996 in the paper here.

[dsagers]

I looked at that car myself. Would really like a blue Q45.

If you look at the pic carefully, the driver seat is trashed and driver door panel is rough. I tried calling the dealer and never got an answer.

It bugged me that the seller didn't shoot straight about the upholstry, so I decided to pass on bidding even though I'm within a day's drive of Vegas.

[maxnix]

IWhen the car gets traded in and goes to auction usually all owner kept records are lost.

All Ininfit dealer performed service records are archived by Infiniti if they are not available at the servicing dealers.

[silver2k2]

Correct, but I was talking about owner kept records from service at a independent shop