Just hypothetical meaningless discussion lol…

Not saying I’m ready to sell mine yet, but I feel I am being faced with the possibility in the next year or so. Between my failing clear coat paint, and potential front shock replacement within the next year (I had them replaced in 2019 with OEM and new mounts but no springs…but the boots have started to tear and collapse).

Non the less, I’ve gotten it to near mint condition interior wise at this point. And the engine (other than the slow to accelerate issue hopefully figured out soon) is pretty solid.

But it’s like damn: being we’re in 2023 going to 2024, 199x just feels so old lol. Granted, 90s foreigns are holding up better than some of the 70s and 80s domestic vehicles, that were the same age when I was in high school, and were complete rust buckets inside and out. My first car was a 87 Buick: it was rusted fully at the top from front to back. Burned a tank of gas within 150 miles and leaked/burned thru a quart of oil at the same time lol. And that was in 2005-2006. Sold it for $200 eventually lol.

Is it better to get it to tip top shape and then sell it, sell it as is, or simply hang onto it as to not waste the effort put into it? In addition: if I went that route, I’d need to be sure I have another vehicle ready to get into. My year newer Deville isn’t ideal for racking up miles like I’ve done on the Q. Many dealers don’t even seem interested in a trade in, unless I’m going to the wrong lots? Though getting $500 “value” would be an insult lol.

I wish I was able to swap cars like iPhones. It used to be hard to get the latest iPhone, but companies are giving them away for not much down with only semi-reasonable credit lol. Issue is, the sluggish economy we’re in makes me not confident getting into a car payment. Plus I’m more focused on trying to relocate than taking on another vehicle anyway.

I couple of years ago I decided to stop dailying my Q and get something I wouldn't want to modify. So I picked up a Benz S550. Prob the best move I have made in a while. Now I have nice air suspension during the week, and the slammed coilovered Q for weekend stuff. Realistically the wheels on my Q are worth four times what the car is worth, so no point in selling it, plus always nice to have a back up car.

You'll never get a worthwhile offer from a dealer, that's just how the industry works. In order to make any money on selling it they need to pay you significantly less than what it's worth. If you're serious about selling it you'll have to list it somewhere that the (small) enthusiast section of the population that would actually be interested in it can see it. This would be places like Radwood and classic Japanese vehicle enthusiast groups.

Your best options to sell are either via Cars & Bids or BAT

If it's got significant clearcoat failure I doubt BaT will accept it.

Just accept that it's not an investment. With clear coat failure, it doesn't matter what you do, unless you paint it. But unless you have a buddy who paints, you'd never get that money back selling it. I think your realistic options are to:

-Run it in to the ground and assume near zero resale value.
-Maintain it mechanically and cosmetically to make it just good enough that you aren't embarrassed to drive it and keep it as a daily.
-Keep it as a second car, and do enough to it to suit your comfort level and makes you happy.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, posted this and then got too busy (and I haven’t driven the Q since last month, which I hate letting it sit because the first few seconds of startup is rough) lol.

But yes, the top clear coat has declined rapidly. And like was said, I just don’t think my area (poor Midwest town that gets occasional snow and ice) has the market to get the price I would want. coastal California, and the sunbelt seems more popular.

Not to mention, I’ve heard scam horror stories with private sales and I also wouldn’t be too eager to trust someone to test drive it lol.

Most likely: I’m probably just going to end up keeping it until I get it more fixed up. I just don’t want to sell something that has issues because that’s when the lowballing starts. $1,000 is what I brought it for, but can’t see selling for that amount. I’ve seen ads online with good shape ones going for $2,500-$3,500 on car lots.

Hopefully by next year, my credit will have improved enough to consider financing something under $5 or 10,000, which actually goes pretty far from a lot of early 2000s vehicles. I’d go with a M45 or Pathfinder if it came down to it. Hell even the rear wheel Hyundai Equis is slick lol

The lack of parts also hurts the resale value for the G50 Q45s. Oddly enough, 03-04 Y34 M45 prices seem to have gone up lately. Use to be able to get one for around $5000, but lately asking price seems to be around $8000 or so. The Y50 M45 prices seems to to be around $9K-15K.

cbird805 wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 03, 2023 3:01 pm

The lack of parts also hurts the resale value for the G50 Q45s. Oddly enough, 03-04 Y34 M45 prices seem to have gone up lately. Use to be able to get one for around $5000, but lately asking price seems to be around $8000 or so. The Y50 M45 prices seems to to be around $9K-15K.

Well, essential engine parts aren’t too hard to come by: but the suspension is. I just had to source 1 control arm from UAE, the lower rear which is the only one used to adjust alignment. Had a hell of a time finding it, and even though it was just the bushing and I have a spare one, I likely save more on labor just buying the part which was $80 something.

I seen a few similar in the 2000s+ online going for $5-7,000 on dealer lots. The M45s are beautiful, but they’ve often commanded a higher price than the Q45s. However, the 03-04s are excessively rare…I just wouldn’t feel right getting one. Then again, with interchangeable parts it could be worth it.

I had a 2003 M45, bought it for $4400. I had 80k miles, though. I had it until some jackass mechanic cracked the exhaust manifold, which meant it would have cost me about $6000 to fix in California. The two I see on CL are both asking for over $8000. The 2006-7 M45s sell for less, which I find odd. There's a couple G50 and Y33 Q45s, also. They're asking for $2200-3500. Yeah, I was mixed about the Y34 M45. It was definitely fast, but the Q45 seem to handle better, especially when the rear loses traction. The shorter wheelbase probably had a lot to do with that. I've been looking for a M56, but they're hard to find. I've heard they're not as fun to drive, with all the electronic nannies.

cbird805 wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 03, 2023 11:42 pm

I had a 2003 M45, bought it for $4400. I had 80k miles, though. I had it until some jackass mechanic cracked the exhaust manifold, which meant it would have cost me about $6000 to fix in California. The two I see on CL are both asking for over $8000. The 2006-7 M45s sell for less, which I find odd. There's a couple G50 and Y33 Q45s, also. They're asking for $2200-3500. Yeah, I was mixed about the Y34 M45. It was definitely fast, but the Q45 seem to handle better, especially when the rear loses traction. The shorter wheelbase probably had a lot to do with that. I've been looking for a M56, but they're hard to find. I've heard they're not as fun to drive, with all the electronic nannies.

Ha, never heard of a M56 til you said it. Looks like there was only 3 years of production, but at 420 hp…doesn’t sound wimpy at all lol. Though I could imagine, it probably doesn’t feel as fast as it seems.

Regarding the m45s, I can’t remember what year it was, but I had a mechanic friend who would get Infinitis in from auctions. I noticed the dashboard on one m45 was cracked, couple dash/arm rest controls had paint peeling off it, etc. it just appeared prematurely worn interior. But it could just be neglect. However seems like a common thing in those years.

Btw how does someone crack an exhaust manifold? lol.

Not sure how they managed it, but the right side exhaust manifold was cracked after some maintenance work. But it apparently was a common issue with the Y34 M45 and also the F50 Q45. The Y50 M45 (2nd gen) V8 has a completely different exhaust manifold/catalytic converter configuration, which addressed the issue. And of course they not interchangeable. I knew it wouldn't pass smog, so I ended "retiring" the car, through the Bureau of Automotive Repair's Consumer Assistance Program. T

The Y34 M45 and F50 Q45 had almost identical dash/center console, BTW.

Q451990 wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 09, 2023 12:39 pm

Just accept that it's not an investment. With clear coat failure, it doesn't matter what you do, unless you paint it. But unless you have a buddy who paints, you'd never get that money back selling it. I think your realistic options are to:

-Run it in to the ground and assume near zero resale value.
-Maintain it mechanically and cosmetically to make it just good enough that you aren't embarrassed to drive it and keep it as a daily.
-Keep it as a second car, and do enough to it to suit your comfort level and makes you happy.

I completely agree. Rarely do you buy a car as an investment. It’s a liability. I put over $7,000 in the engine and thousands more into making my “91” Q45 to look and run like the day it was built. It’s a hobby, I enjoy it and that’s how you have to look at these type of cars. I drive it only on dry sunny days and put 500 miles a year but I truly love looking at it and the nostalgia and memories to me are priceless.

Infinitiace1992 wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 06, 2023 5:24 pm

Q451990 wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 09, 2023 12:39 pm

Just accept that it's not an investment. With clear coat failure, it doesn't matter what you do, unless you paint it. But unless you have a buddy who paints, you'd never get that money back selling it. I think your realistic options are to:

-Run it in to the ground and assume near zero resale value.
-Maintain it mechanically and cosmetically to make it just good enough that you aren't embarrassed to drive it and keep it as a daily.
-Keep it as a second car, and do enough to it to suit your comfort level and makes you happy.

I completely agree. Rarely do you buy a car as an investment. It’s a liability. I put over $7,000 in the engine and thousands more into making my “91” Q45 to look and run like the day it was built. It’s a hobby, I enjoy it and that’s how you have to look at these type of cars. I drive it only on dry sunny days and put 500 miles a year but I truly love looking at it and the nostalgia and memories to me are priceless.

Yikes…You don’t wanna know what I do to mine lol. It’s not abused but, I’ll just say I’m close to 350,000 miles. But it’s coasted beautifully thru it. I’ma believer luxury cars should be driven as much as possible for best experience and to maintain (highway, not city of course…potholes, traffic, and bad drivers will wear a car down in 50,000 miles lol).

But yeah, I do consider it a hobby. I’m just not ready to give up the Q yet lol. I’m one of those OCD types that wants to get everything fixed and like original…then consider selling it. I don’t want to give it away as is (and it’s not in bad shape at all, just a couple annoying recurring issues: a/c high pressure hose leak (which I was able to putty up, and it went from running out where the clutch won’t engage in a day, to now lasting for a month before it starts to run a little low). and the engine bogging issue.

It seems the paint job is the most expensive issue I’ve faced. I’ve been able to get around the $2,000 “suspension overhaul” with eBay, but there’s no way to get around sanding and painting. And I don’t have the means to complete it myself. However, $1,500 for the roof isn’t all that bad. Overall looking at $3,000 for a complete makeover of the paint.

I’m almost about to get a side hustle just to do that lol.

$3000 is a bargain basement price for a complete paint job. I would be scared of the quality of both the labor and the paint itself, and am assuming that means that everything is going to be masked off instead of removed. Then again, investing 10K in a quality paint job when the vehicle is maybe worth half that just doesn't make financial sense, although I'm looking at doing that to my '90 in the next year or two because I really enjoy the car and plan to keep it for a very long time.

My Q45 is about as basic of a Y33 ever sold in the US market. It is a 1997 with no options. 211k miles. Cosmetic condition is good. It had been well kept for most of its life until became an "old car" and someone before me drove it into the ground. I'm not even sure what a 1997 Q45 is worth in my area (middle Tennessee) but it has to be less than my investment.

I paid $2500 to purchase it in May of 2022. I've put 15,000 miles on it. I've spent $2600 on repairs and $800 on consumables. The cost of those repairs includes exactly 0 hours of shop labor. No shop wants to work on this car, and I know I cannot keep up with it forever.

fontana dan wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 22, 2023 12:30 pm

My Q45 is about as basic of a Y33 ever sold in the US market. It is a 1997 with no options. 211k miles. Cosmetic condition is good. It had been well kept for most of its life until became an "old car" and someone before me drove it into the ground. I'm not even sure what a 1997 Q45 is worth in my area (middle Tennessee) but it has to be less than my investment.

I paid $2500 to purchase it in May of 2022. I've put 15,000 miles on it. I've spent $2600 on repairs and $800 on consumables. The cost of those repairs includes exactly 0 hours of shop labor. No shop wants to work on this car, and I know I cannot keep up with it forever.

lol, I will say that the 97 Q45s I’ve seen in yards aren’t particularly spiffy. In fact, I feel both 97 and 98s aren’t particularly appealing or common to find (at least these days).

Why do you say no shop wants to work on it? Is it because the difficulty or hard to find parts?

Ryantzer wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 13, 2023 7:24 am

$3000 is a bargain basement price for a complete paint job. I would be scared of the quality of both the labor and the paint itself, and am assuming that means that everything is going to be masked off instead of removed. Then again, investing 10K in a quality paint job when the vehicle is maybe worth half that just doesn't make financial sense, although I'm looking at doing that to my '90 in the next year or two because I really enjoy the car and plan to keep it for a very long time.

Yeah it’s definitely not getting a $10,000 paint job lol. And that’s not being cheap, but it’s too many other things that could go into. Hell, I would rather buy 20” or bigger rims than to be dealing with this. I’m only trying to go the next step above spray paint at this point lol.I had my Maxima painted for $750 a few years ago. It’s no factory Pearl paint but, it’s a nice white that has held its 5 year warranty well. Unfortunately rust, bubbles and rock chips are requiring another touch up in the near future.

In other topic: I think I have finally figured out the issue with the lack of power. After some additional research, I believe the coils will need replacement again. I was reading a Mazda site and the guy wrote a whole thesis on how coils can go bad, without actually triggering a misfire. And that’s what I feel is happening in this case. The “new” ebay coils I brought last year were affordable knock offs, but those and Mazda’s cheap ones can go weak after only 30,000 miles, apparently. I just know because it seemed that was the last thing I replaced that made the issue fully go away, now it’s back. This time I’m going to get the whole 8 set plugs and coils all at once, and not rely on 60,000 mile intervals.

Do yourself a favor and get a quality brand - Denso if possible - there are so many cheap Chinese parts out there that pretty much any brand other than the original equipment manufacturer is going to be hot garbage that lasts a few years at most.

98_Q45 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 22, 2023 10:12 pm

lol, I will say that the 97 Q45s I’ve seen in yards aren’t particularly spiffy. In fact, I feel both 97 and 98s aren’t particularly appealing or common to find (at least these days).

Why do you say no shop wants to work on it? Is it because the difficulty or hard to find parts?

The word seems to be that the 99-01 Q45 is more desirable because it has some updates and more standard equipment. The 97-98 were some of the only Inifiti cars ever sold without a timepiece on the dash.
Shops will deny looking at the car because of its age, or that it is an obscure import, or that the parts are not available. One euro mechanic told me "Those cars are gone. They had expensive problems and parts are hard to find."
Oh well, I'll import parts and fix it myself.

Also, definitely go with the most high-quality parts you can find for your car. Especially electrical and engine related components.

fontana dan wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 25, 2023 4:35 pm

98_Q45 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 22, 2023 10:12 pm

lol, I will say that the 97 Q45s I’ve seen in yards aren’t particularly spiffy. In fact, I feel both 97 and 98s aren’t particularly appealing or common to find (at least these days).

Why do you say no shop wants to work on it? Is it because the difficulty or hard to find parts?

The word seems to be that the 99-01 Q45 is more desirable because it has some updates and more standard equipment. The 97-98 were some of the only Inifiti cars ever sold without a timepiece on the dash.
Shops will deny looking at the car because of its age, or that it is an obscure import, or that the parts are not available. One euro mechanic told me "Those cars are gone. They had expensive problems and parts are hard to find."
Oh well, I'll import parts and fix it myself.

Also, definitely go with the most high-quality parts you can find for your car. Especially electrical and engine related components.

Just seeing this finally (I been away lol). I don’t blame ya on that at all. Even though the “euro” mechanic is calling the kettle black lol. I’ve known people with Mercedes, BMW and Audis have way more expensive issues than the Q45. Always seems to be the turbos that causes complete meltdown. I think Infiniti went conservative enough with the Q45. Also most people I know with those Euro cars never drive them outside of their state hardly lol. I knew a guy with a Benz, dude would never wanna drive much further than around the block.

Even my other vehicle, Cadillac Seville STS: it is more technically fidgety than the Q45. The shock absorbers, while readily available: have sensors. I had to swap the rears from air to basically what my Q has: McPherson. Then there’s sensors in the front gone bad, the Egr valve gets clogged after a few thousand miles, and I can’t put the in dash DVD like I have in the Q because it would require a $250 kit plus steering kit. So I’m stuck with stock but, I don’t mind considering it comes with a CD changer.

I feel the Q looks more intimidating under the hood initially, but once figured out it’s pretty easy. Like past couple days: I been thru hell and back changing out the alternator twice. But it only takes 30 actually minutes to uninstall/30 minutes to reinstall. But when dealing with coolant, make shift pivot bolt nuts (my original holder cross threaded, so had to resort to super gluing a nut to the back of the alternator, doesn’t hurt it) and cleaning oil gunk: while trying to fix a harness that the wires got mixed up on…Well it can turn into an all day job.

But I won’t touch it on the Seville or Maxima as it requires lying on your back half the time.

98_Q45 wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 06, 2023 9:53 pm

I think Infiniti went conservative enough with the Q45. Also most people I know with those Euro cars never drive them outside of their state hardly lol. I knew a guy with a Benz, dude would never wanna drive much further than around the block.

I feel the Q looks more intimidating under the hood initially, but once figured out it’s pretty easy.

Hahaha, German cars like to quit out of nowhere. My parents have a 2007 Beetle with the i5. It is a neat engine, but last year it went from running fine one day, to a crank-no start the next day. Turns out it somehow fried all of its spark plugs and a couple coils overnight. How does that work?

I love the simplicity of the Q45, and I don't really understand how the G50 and Y33 got a reputation for unreliability and expensive problems. I blame Nissan parts support, and other generally iffy Infiniti products from the 2000s onward.

The only part of the Y33 that throws me off is the engine controls. There seems to be some idiosyncrasies to them, and electrical parts such as injectors, coils, and MAF sensor causing weird problems. I've been fighting a P0171 and P0173 since I bought my car, haven't been able to get to the bottom of it.

fontana dan wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 09, 2023 1:45 pm

98_Q45 wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 06, 2023 9:53 pm

I think Infiniti went conservative enough with the Q45. Also most people I know with those Euro cars never drive them outside of their state hardly lol. I knew a guy with a Benz, dude would never wanna drive much further than around the block.

I feel the Q looks more intimidating under the hood initially, but once figured out it’s pretty easy.

Hahaha, German cars like to quit out of nowhere. My parents have a 2007 Beetle with the i5. It is a neat engine, but last year it went from running fine one day, to a crank-no start the next day. Turns out it somehow fried all of its spark plugs and a couple coils overnight. How does that work?

I love the simplicity of the Q45, and I don't really understand how the G50 and Y33 got a reputation for unreliability and expensive problems. I blame Nissan parts support, and other generally iffy Infiniti products from the 2000s onward.

The only part of the Y33 that throws me off is the engine controls. There seems to be some idiosyncrasies to them, and electrical parts such as injectors, coils, and MAF sensor causing weird problems. I've been fighting a P0171 and P0173 since I bought my car, haven't been able to get to the bottom of it.

Back to your comment lol…

But yes, Euro cars are GREAT when they are new and working properly. But I’ve known people with older Benz/BMWs/Audis and it’s not just simple repairs. Get a $5,000 bill and end up trading it in. I think part of it is just the irony of marketing luxury and reliability, leads to people abusing/neglecting them and then having to pay a specialist to fix it. “Many” people who drive Euro cars, don’t know s*** about cars in the first place. To them, they’re just driving a label.

That said, concerning your issue: maybe check the fuel regulators. I know one of mine gave me starting issues for the longest. One isn’t so easy to get to, it’s under the intake.

I’ve been checking prices of other Qs and they’re still selling for 2,500-$4,000. I’m not in a position to go car shopping just yet though. But this impending paint job is definitely a concern. Almost considering driving it to Mexico to get re-painted, or close as I can get lol

I've bought a fuel pressure gauge and some fuel line to test that but I haven't gotten around to it. I'm still trying to understand the failure mode on a bad fuel pressure regulator. The engine runs great except every few months it will pop the CEL with P0171.
One thing I absolutely love about my Q45 is the brilliant, original Ivory Quarts paint. It is so sharp; the car was kept in a garage for many years. I hate that I have to park it outside, and it will break my heart when the sun ruins it. I'm close to just sticking this car into storage and buying a beater for daily use.
This is not my car but the paint is in similar condition. Take a look at the listing, this Y33 is immaculate.
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3oRogm ... finiti-q45

Whew wee that is STUNNING! I recall seeing one like that years ago in arizona at the salvage. Looks like it died due to the a/c belt cutting the lower coolant hose and it must have overheated. Shame, but I wanted to get the wheels off it because it had the same as pictured with the mirror shine. But I was trying to rehab the steering versus cosmetic stuff at the time. With some detailing and polishing, I can get my wheels to shine in sunlight and nighttime, but it’s fairly pitted.

I think Infiniti needs to bring the 45 back. I know they’ve technically done it by changing it to the m45 and then q50 luxe and such, but the 45 needs its own come back.

Similar to how Lincoln brought the Continental back. Unfortunately these days, no matter what car they bring back: it’s loaded with so much electrical and technical stuff it’s hard to tell how lovable it could actually be after 100/150,000 miles