Thinking about buying a '94

[RustyBucket]

I'm looking at buying a '94 Q45 for sale near me, so I figured I'd ask the Q45 community for their input on this decision...

It's a 1994 with 260,000KM (161,000 Miles). It's not perfect (of course), the things that are wrong with it are:- noisy rear strut- left valve cover gasket seems to be leaking onto the exhaust manifold- Brake pads seem a little low- Rust on the rear wheel wells. There is a 1" hole in the rear corner of the left rear wheel well, the rest seems to be surface ( a bit of paint bubbling on the rear door sills)

The asking price is $4500. Is this a fair price for the car ?

Are there any issues that I should be on the lookout for? I've read the thread on thinking about buying already.

[silkysmoothyjud]

Its gonna need some work to say the least, fp, wp, injectors, tune up. Offer 500$ with no part replacement history, otherwise no more than 2k, but the body better be pretty. Hell, for a couple thousand more, I'd probably sell you my totally restored, lowered, alpined, vipered alarm one....

[elwesso]

4500 is way too much for a car with basically no service history and a rusty body...

How are the rest of the cosmetics? Interior? Are you keen on spending about 2000 on just the items you mentioned...?

Mechanical problems arent terribly difficult to deal with if you are willing to do the work yourself, but when you start getting into rusty body panels then the value kinda goes down quick....

BTW welcome to NICO!!

[Q451990]

Welcome!

$4500 is outrageous given the mileage and condition. How difficult is it to import a car from a salt-free area of the US?

Heath

[TellarHK]

I'll just jump in and agree with the others here. That's way, way too much to pay for a 1994 Q that isn't in near immaculate condition. The seller might get that from someone who doesn't do some research, but it does sound like the kind of car that could spontaneously cost you two grand or even more to get on the road some morning. And I say that as someone here who doesn't believe you need to spend the ludicrous amounts a number of people on the forum say you do. In this case, offer $500-1000 _if_ the car runs well on a test drive and you can afford to _lose_ $500-1000. Otherwise, skip it.

[AZhitman]

I concur with the prior posters.

Eve a well-maintained 94 woud have a hard time fetching that kind of $.

Rust is the deciding factor, sounds like a parts car, not a future daily driver.

[RustyBucket]

Call me a fool if you like, but I talked the seller down in price a bit and bought it.

Honestly, in the local used car market, $500-1000 is what non-running and/or pre-1990 cars go for. Around here, the $4000-5000 range is what you can usually get an early 2000s cavalier or sunfire. I'd rather go Japanese, up the luxury ladder and sacrifice a few years and miles. I don't know what this car would fetch on a used car lot, but I looked at a similar age Lexus ES on a lot with a price tag that was at least a grand or two more.

I think the idea you have about the rust is worse than what it actually is... There is one piece in the rear corner of the left wheel well that will need patching, the rest of the rust is about 4 or 5 small spots on the rear door sills, each about the size of a fingernail. The rest of the body is solid and straight. The interior is also in excellent shape, the only wear visible is a bit on the driver's seat.

It came with maintenance records from the past 4 years or so (mostly from the local Infiniti dealer), as well as a serivce manual. It looks like I made a mistake checking the pads (I was looking through the rims) the brakes were done a little over a year ago, along with the front struts.
Modified by RustyBucket at 12:34 PM 12/30/2009

[silkysmoothyjud]

I paid 2k for mine, and Im glad I did after the injectors started dropping one by one fuel pump went out, starter, brakes...you name it. But this site saved my monkey a**. Check out Q45.org too, it saved my thousands of dollars. I would say I spent about 4k on the car after the initial investment, doing it all myself, paint, new interior and all mechanical and electrical. But it would have cost me at LEAST 10K if it wasnt for this site....

[TellarHK]

Well, good luck. And when you run into problems, come here and see what people can offer up.

The Q's are incredible cars, and really durable in most respects. On the other hand, some things are a real bear to try and replace or maintain. The biggest problem you may run into, is that a lot of the service on a Q isn't exactly "backyard mechanic" easy. Even replacing the windshield takes more work than most people would ever imagine.

Buying used, high-end Japanese cars is my own personal method (Mazda 929S, Mazda Millenia, now a '94 Q45) but these kinds of car come with very specific risks and benefits. I hope you got the guy down really significantly on cost.

[AdamLowther]

Hey Rusty,

I am in Regina too and saw the same car up there. I have a 96Q and have had a 91Q as well. I am more than happy to talk cars or help you wrench one day if you need it.

The Q is a great car, best of luck. Drop me a line: [email protected]

[RustyBucket]

As promised, here are some pictures!

Adam, I sent you an e-mail... I don't think I've seen your Q around the city, but I'll be keeping my eyes open a bit more now that I drive one. Between the two of us, we probably account for half the G50 owners in the city

[elwesso]

looks like a decent car, especially the interior!