When I got mine towards the end of 2017, it seemed like they were fairly more “common” (at least on the west coast).

It seemed like in the past year or 2, it’s become even harder to find at salvages anymore. Fortunately I get most of my stuff online anyway, and have pretty much got all the necessary parts from the yards during the first 2 years I owned it (stuff like good condition front seats and the 99 back seat with headrest upgrade).

I guess I’m seeing a trend where pre-2000s cars are simply considered “old”. But even a 2002-2003 car is technically 20 years old now.

I know we’ve had the discussions already about why the Q was a low production foreign, and that’s what makes it great. It’s just weird though. I almost feel like I’m driving an antique…but yet it’s still my daily driver (though I actually alternate between it and another vehicle which is also 20+ years old, but also rides like a champ).

Whole moral of post: I’m getting curious to upgrade but for now: I’m not ready lol. Doesn’t help that the makers constantly push new designs every 2 years, like iPhones. And some of the things like reading airbag codes: The dealers seem to have updated to newer machines that can’t figure it out.

I think they all go through this cycle. I used to see a handful of Q's on the road. Then I joked that it's more common to see them at the pull-a-part than on the road. Now I wish I had scavenged even more cheap parts, because the only one I see now is in my garage. My Mom used to drive a 1988 Maxima - that body style ran from 85-88, and they were very popular - like Toyota 4Runner popular these days. Now it's a rare treat to see one, so it happens to every car.

That will be even more true of today's models. In 1990 even a fancy car had maybe four computers onboard, and only one that might need to communicate with a repairman. By 2000 those numbers were maybe 20 and 4. By 2010 probably 50 and 6. In 2022 it's hundreds, and great numbers of them are talkative. Couple that with the ever-shrinking amount of copper in the harnesses, and all that data becomes a guaranteed recipe for intractable gremlins and early obsolescence. Needless to say, many of the issues will be the sort which no modestly-equipped DIYer has a prayer of sorting out. I'm sooooo glad I'll be too old for this business by the time the 2020 models hit 15 years old.

One quick demonstration of where it's already going:
Q: The KR20 Altima turbos have been out since '19, so why are there no tuning packages available?
A: Because between the electric IVT, VC and smart Boost hardware, the ECM no longer has full control over the engine.
'Nuff said.

Yeah I never see these cars. I'm 22 years old and can't recall ever seeing a Y33 on the road before I found mine on craigslist in May of this year. I had only seen promotional photos from back in the day. I had little hope of ever finding one for sale.
Since then I've only seen 2 others on the road.
I get what you're saying about this car feeling like an antique. Everyone assumes it is a Lexus, they don't even know what a Q45 is.
At one point while searching for parts I called a local eurasian mechanic shop. He said "1997 Q45? Those cars are gone. They had expensive problems that people did not want to fix."

fontana dan wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 16, 2022 5:54 pm

At one point while searching for parts I called a local eurasian mechanic shop. He said "1997 Q45? Those cars are gone. They had expensive problems that people did not want to fix."

I think he got it mixed up with one of the BMW or Audi’s lol. Not a whole lot on the Q45 is really “expensive” to fix except (in my experience) a neglected or abused suspension (still can’t forget the $4,000 quote I got to fix one bushing aka: the quote being to replace ALL control arms). And of course the heater core was like 1 of the 9 lives I’ve used on this one.

Though, I can say it’s had far more gremlins than my 97 Maxima. Partly from previous neglect, other parts from faulty manufacturing (why make a heater core with plastic hoses, and a starter that’s inaccessible).

But of course that’s why they discontinue models and turn them into something new, like the M45 then to the Q50.

I have friends with far newer cars with far premature issues: One guy has a 2019 Lincoln Continental: interior like a leer jet. But sunroof stopped working. $1,800. Another guy I know had an Audi and the convertible top needed to be fixed, then the turbo went out a year later. He traded it in for a Mercedes. I’m like: it’s beautiful but good luck with that down the line haha! Lot of people with those cars don’t even drive them outside the city limits though. Sometimes I think they feel they are doing them justice, but I think it just hurts the car more. My Q45 was a city only driver, and it showed. It took me 3 months to whip it into shape so I could get it to drive from Phoenix to Florida. And even then it STILL wasn’t technically 100%. But it did it smoothly without breaking down.

One Infiniti I say is the likely an antique: The j30. I really wish they had made more, and I almost brought one before I had the Q45. I seen them more often in the early 2000s, but they are certainly becoming prehistoric now.

VStar650CL wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 16, 2022 3:32 pm

That will be even more true of today's models. In 1990 even a fancy car had maybe four computers onboard, and only one that might need to communicate with a repairman. By 2000 those numbers were maybe 20 and 4. By 2010 probably 50 and 6. In 2022 it's hundreds, and great numbers of them are talkative. Couple that with the ever-shrinking amount of copper in the harnesses, and all that data becomes a guaranteed recipe for intractable gremlins and early obsolescence. Needless to say, many of the issues will be the sort which no modestly-equipped DIYer has a prayer of sorting out. I'm sooooo glad I'll be too old for this business by the time the 2020 models hit 15 years old.

One quick demonstration of where it's already going:
Q: The KR20 Altima turbos have been out since '19, so why are there no tuning packages available?
A: Because between the electric IVT, VC and smart Boost hardware, the ECM no longer has full control over the engine.
'Nuff said.

Wow, HUNDREDS of computers? That’s wild lol!

I do talk about that with a friend of mine sometimes. Like, what will become of the $95,000 Lincoln Navigator that comes with a refrigerator, 20 years from now? lol. But of course we know: is it really age or miles that affects? Seems age (and dormancy) does worse than miles in my experience.

I have been suggested to get into auto mechanic repair as a career, but I just…idk. I do it as a hobby, but I have seen the frustration that mechanics go thru on a daily basis. I don’t know how they do it, other than the big payday that comes around. Just the level of brain wrecking just seems so intense lol.

Also I notice some cities/states are worse than others. Unless it’s just the times. It used to seem like I could pull up at any mechanic shop and get something done that day. Atleast where I live in the Midwest now, even the dealers are booked 2 weeks out, few really has time to figure out what’s going on with a car (partly why I find myself throwing parts at issues sometimes).

But I’ve noticed in some bigger cities in the south or Texas that has mechanics on every block, you can usually get in easier. Sometimes the work ethic is different. Some mechanics don’t mind working on 5 cars at once, others only do 1 at a time. I have learned I get better results when it’s just 1 at a time.

I had a 91 in 03 & there were a couple here & there. Today, in my daily 95, not even the middle aged employees at Chick fil a know what it is. My receipt reads "tan sedan" or "gold sedan". I haven't seen another one locally since I bought it a year ago.

HeavyDuty wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 17, 2022 10:36 am

I had a 91 in 03 & there were a couple here & there. Today, in my daily 95, not even the middle aged employees at Chick fil a know what it is. My receipt reads "tan sedan" or "gold sedan". I haven't seen another one locally since I bought it a year ago.

Yes the 95s are even less common in some areas. Though I do see them sometimes moreso than the 97-01s.

It would be nice if Infiniti came out with a a Q45 remake lol. Not the Q50 Luxe. A Q45 lol. American cars have been on that roll a lot.

At this point though, an upgrade is on my horizons but…this lagging economy in my home state area is just putting so much on hold.