Should I?

"WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe" (wesbarton89) 11/02/2014 at 19:34 • Filed to: None

0

50

I may be able to get an Infiniti i30 for $800. It's a 2000. Needs exhaust, battery, brakes, and Struts. Any experience on these cars here? I had the j30, which was the predecessor, but I'm not sure of any similarities. Any help?

Nibby > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/02/2014 at 19:35

0

IIRC these are essentially fancy Maximas.

bob and john > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/02/2014 at 19:35

0

go for it. infinitys are pretty durable from what I hear

jkm7680 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/02/2014 at 19:36

0

Parts should be readily available, it would make a good flip for sure.

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > Nibby 11/02/2014 at 19:46

0

No, the I30 was a Nissan Cefiro, not a Maxima. The I30 was RWD, unlike all Maximas of the time.

Nibby > Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready 11/02/2014 at 19:53

0

No, it is FWD. http://www.cars.com/infiniti/i30/2… http://www.edmunds.com/infiniti/i30/2…

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > bob and john 11/02/2014 at 19:55

0

They absolutely are. My Infiniti J30 was very durable.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/02/2014 at 19:56

0

Not a lot of similarities from what I know.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/02/2014 at 20:00

1

Sounds like a good deal. I would say screw the exhaust and save yourself some money. Thats what i did with my winter beater

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > Nibby 11/02/2014 at 20:01

0

Oh, for some reason I thought it was a different platform and RWD. Never mind.

Doug DeMuro > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/02/2014 at 20:02

2

There are some big differences between the I30 and J30 — most notably the fact that the I30 is front-wheel drive...

Aaron James > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/02/2014 at 20:07

0

As long as you have another 2000 bucks to get it all sorted out then go for it. The problems you know about are just scraping the surface.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Doug DeMuro 11/02/2014 at 20:12

0

That is a big difference, yes. Though with our winters, maybe that's not so bad.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/02/2014 at 20:27

1

Once upon atime I worked for Infiniti. These are great. Parts are fairlycheap. They're easy to work on. They're not prone to leaking. My biggest complaint is that they're not a great amount of fun and look a little bland. I would be surprised if you went over $2k fixing thisthing up. Go to an exhaust shop for that. Might be fine doing just brake pads as the rotors usually last through three sets of pads. Maybe find some quick struts for less than $100 each. I don't know your skill level, but I would say someone with a skill level of 3/10 could tackle all of this in a day.

cbell04 > Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready 11/02/2014 at 20:41

0

thats the j30

cbell04 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/02/2014 at 20:58

1

I have owned a couple maxima's and my rents owned an i30. Good cars but like any car in disrepair it can turn ugly. Only issues I had was mainly clutch related but I'm assuming this is auto because most were. Brakes can be done for about $120 bucks with simple tools. Exhaust is easy as can be but like all cars the cats are expensive but I never had to replace. It will definitely throw a check engine light for an air intake or exhaust sensor at some point of ownership but all (3 total) are easily accessible and pretty cheap on the vq 3.0's (1995-2002) if its the 3.5 (2002 and up) then price goes up a bit but nothing to worries about. Coil packs will go eventually around 120-160k miles but that's true for any car and they are super easy to diagnose and you only have to replace whats bad no need to do all six.. Long story short I beat the hell out of mine and sold them with super high miles and they never once stranded me and lived loooooong lifes after me. 1992 se five speed stick 140k then totaled 1995 gle auto 166k sold but saw it daily for years afterwards 2000 stick 150k sold to friend that put another 50k of hard miles before he sold it to another friend that still drives it and has to be at 250k miles at this point.

cbell04 > cbell04 11/02/2014 at 21:05

0

oh and on my 2000 I put struts, drilled and slotted rotors with better pads, cat back exhaust, intake, a aftermarket flywheel and "stage 1" clutch and snagged a set of 350z rims for it. Was no hotrod but moved along nicely and handled well for a 4 door. can dig up some photos of it been meaning to anyhow been 6 years since I sold it.

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > cbell04 11/03/2014 at 06:24

0

I knew the J30 was, the I30 I mistakenly thought was similar.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 11/03/2014 at 06:52

0

I actually don't mind the looks too much. Whatever maintenance I can't do, my stepdad can. I may offer $750, but I want to get it running and get under the hood before I make any offers. It doesn't have to be super fun or anything, it's just going to be a second vehicle to save on gas.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/03/2014 at 09:33

1

Thenget it, it soundsjustabout perfect forwhat you need.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 11/03/2014 at 12:34

0

Good deal. I like my cars to coddle me a bit, to be honest, so the leather seats, good stereo, and sunroof are big positives. I drove by the car last night. It was dark, obviously, but being that the car is white, I could make out the body fairly well, and it looked good. I didn't spot any rust or anything like that. Like I said, I'm going to look everything over with a fine tooth comb. One thing I have my eye on is the radiator support, I believe it is. I've heard they have a tendency to rust a bit. I figure I'll be out maybe $400 in parts and maintenance, depending on what it needs, so I think $750 is a fair cash offer. I have no clue what the mileage, so I may adjust my price based on that, just to be safe. High mileage doesn't really concern me, as I know that those engines can go up past 200k miles without too much issue.

I'm hoping I get it. From everything I've seen, they're decent cars. And I would especially take your opinion to heart, considering you worked for the company. It'd be my 2nd Infiniti, and if it's as good as my J30 was for the most part, I'll be pleased, especially if I can get it for a good price.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > cbell04 11/03/2014 at 18:24

0

I'd like to see those pics. And I don't think maintenance should be too bad, as long as the engine and tranny are in good shape. It uses a timing chain, I think, instead of a belt. Hopefully that will last longer. The body looked fine from what I saw.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time 11/03/2014 at 18:25

0

Passing MD inspection though would be difficult if I decided to forgo the exhaust.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Aaron James 11/03/2014 at 18:28

0

$2000? Really? I seriously doubt that. Unless the engine is blown or the tranny is out, I don't think I'd have to worry about an EXTRA two grand in repairs to get it good to go. I really don't. I think I'd have to get a pretty bad car for that, but if it needed that much, I wouldn't even buy it to begin with.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > jkm7680 11/03/2014 at 18:39

1

It would be a good flip for sure, but it'd probably be my summer DD. It looks to be a really nice car, and has more than what I look for in a car. I did some research, and it doesn't look like there's a lot of issues, thankfully.

Aaron James > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/03/2014 at 18:39

1

How much do you guess? I've been there, nice cheap car, needs a little work, ends up being an insatiable money pit. Just be prepared to shell out some bucks.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 11/03/2014 at 18:41

0

Yeah, I have realized that. It's FWD, compared to the J30 being RWD. The I30 is a bit bigger, and comes loaded with a few more features. (rear sunshade, some models seem to have Nav and HID headlights, also side airbags, active headrests, etc), and overall it looks to be a good value.

cbell04 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/03/2014 at 18:42

1

Consider me motivated. Know I have a digital pic of the 95 and 2000 parked together but most my pics are old school film up until around that time. Didn't buy a digital camera until I had my kids. Think I may dig out the old film too been thinking about them and wondering what's in the random boxes I stored.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/03/2014 at 18:55

1

Its a fancy maximal, which is to say very well made and well equipped

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Aaron James 11/03/2014 at 18:56

0

I'm figuring about $400 for parts depending where I get them, maybe $500 if I'm really unlucky. My stepdad and I will do the work ourselves to get it up and running, as he's pretty much a mechanical genius. It needs struts, battery, exhaust, and brakes. I'm going to look it all over with a fine tooth comb before I make any decision. If the engine runs super rough, or the transmission doesn't shift like it should, or at all, then I'll probably just hold on to my money. The battery shouldn't be too expensive. The struts will probably be the most costly. As far as the brakes are concerned, I'm hoping it's just the pads that are worn. That's a cheap fix. Depending on how bad the exhaust is, it could be up to $150, depending on whether it's the catalytic converter, resonator, or the manifold. And the struts and exhaust, I can always do later on. I might be able to get by for awhile, depending how bad they are.

Like I said, I will look everything over. I'm hoping I don't get nickel and dimed on it, but it's certainly possible. I mean, a replacement engine would probably cost a grand tops, and I can get a used tranny with <60k miles for $500, or one with 90k-ish miles for under $300. So, I really think I'll be ok as far as costs go. Of course I'll do a complete fluid flush and change, and check all the lights, power features, etc. just to be safe. I'll make sure that nothing leaks either. I don't want to drive it home from the seller (all of three blocks, lol) and throw a rod.

I will certainly keep an eye out for anything that could be bad news. I do appreciate your comment though.

Aaron James > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/03/2014 at 19:01

1

Make sure to take your step dad with you to check it out. If it truly only needs what you already know then your parts cost seems pretty close. Just be careful it could end up needing way more than you bargained for. Proceed with caution. Good luck with it, I've also had very good experiences with cars that need work so it can go either way.

Aaron James > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/03/2014 at 19:03

1

Also you can browse around on Rockauto.com to get a good idea of parts cost.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Aaron James 11/03/2014 at 19:14

1

Oh, I absolutely will bring him with me. I'm going to bring him, jumper cables, a jump box, a spare battery if necessary, a bunch of fluids, and some tools. The car does at least have new tires, so that's an expense I won't have to worry about. I will tell you something, I (and my family) have generally had better luck buying vehicles private party over buying something from a dealership. Sure, there's bad either way, but not always. I had a '98 Mazda Millenia S, I bought, paid in cash, $1,100. Needed a battery and a headlight. It had over 200k miles on it, but it drove super well. I loved that car, and it drove better than some new cars I've driven. I've owned a lot of vehicles (if I buy this one, it'll be either number 9 or 10, I've lost track), and driven even more, of all varieties. FWD, RWD, 4WD, SUV, sedan, coupe, convertible, pickup truck, minivan, old, new, small, big, luxury, economy, mid-level, pretty much every type of relatively easily accessible type of car, so I like to think I have a pretty good feel of a well-made vehicle. I'm hoping, if I do get it (which I'm not even sure of at this point), I won't be in the red on it. My biggest worry is that it breaks down completely a month after I buy it, and the best I can do is hope to sell it for what I paid for it.

Things like a CEL don't bother me too much. I can easily get that fixed. On my Millenia, the CEL was on so much, the bulb ended up burning out altogether. Car still ran perfectly fine, but apparently that was a common thing with that car. Only if the light is on and the car isn't running like it's supposed to, do I actually look deeper into it. I'll always run an OBD on it regardless to be safe, though.

Basically, I try to do what I can to keep from getting hosed. I got taken terribly once on a car, and that's all it took for me to wise up. Safety is my biggest priority, and then comfort, efficiency and utility. As far as utility, I have the Durango, and it's safe as well, but it guzzles gas, and putting 30-40 miles a day on it eats gas quickly.

Sorry, kinda rambled there, lol. But I'll do my homework on it and hope I don't lose out.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Aaron James 11/03/2014 at 19:15

1

Thanks! I will keep that site in mind.

jkm7680 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/03/2014 at 19:24

0

Got any pictures of it?

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > jkm7680 11/03/2014 at 19:26

1

This is not the actual car. It's this exact color and look though. It was super late at night when I got a chance to drive by it, so I couldn't get any pics. But, that's exactly what it looks like.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > jkm7680 11/03/2014 at 19:28

1

Interior:

jkm7680 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/03/2014 at 19:31

1

Not a huge fan of the interior, but it looks like a nice color combination.

I'd say that if the title is pretty clean, and you've got a good idea of the budget that you're going to be working with go for it!

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > jkm7680 11/03/2014 at 19:45

1

I hope it's a clean title, and yeah, I do think I have the budget worked out, so if I can scrape up the cash, I think I will go for it. I do like the interior myself. I just really like the turn of the century Japanese luxury car interiors, myself, and I think the analog clock is a nice, classy touch. I hope the interior on the car I'll be looking at looks good, but if it doesn't, oh well. I will definitely get a new steering wheel cover though. I think the wheel is a little plain in just one color, and one of those chrome/woodgrain $10 Wal-Mart steering wheel covers will do the trick. I had one in my J30, and it really improved on the looks, so I think it'll help here.

cbell04 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/03/2014 at 20:30

1

Ok found a few but missing a few good ones. Only thing I'm worse at than taking photos is storage of said photos.. Pics with the 350z were taken at a buddy's shop just before someone bought the 95 gle I had just picked up the 2000 se and brought them there for a detail as he had all the goodies to do the job properly. Now that you got me started I'll keep peeling the onion that is cbell's ridiculous method of storing digital and film pics.. Have one really good folder of when I started to sell the 2000.. Detailed it and took good photos to list it but like I said a buddy snagged it up before I listed it.

Blizzak Beast

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > cbell04 11/03/2014 at 20:33

1

Looks like a Nissan family for sure. Nice collection, and nice looking cars!

cbell04 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/03/2014 at 20:44

1

Thanks and the 4th pic down is my buddies white 98 photo bombing mine:) We all loved Nissans between my buddies we had Maximas, Sentra SER's, stick 4x4 Pathfinders, 350z's, 240's, 300z's, jacked up frontiers even an Altima ser and an altima 3.5 coupe, j30i, g20... sure there is more I'm missing but was good times.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > cbell04 11/03/2014 at 20:46

1

I had a J30, I loved that car, and I actually just did an Oppo review on it a few days ago. They make really good cars overall, from what I've experienced.

cbell04 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/03/2014 at 20:53

1

Shit wrote i but his was a j30t "for touring":) was pretty nice needed stick though but his had bbs style factory wheel spoiler and some fancy for its time suspension + 4 wheel steering. Always liked it but had had only owned one auto in my life (the 95 gle) and just couldn't do it again and a swap was to much for me as I helped (read witnessed) a friend swap a blown maxima from auto to stick and it was kind of a nightmare (days turned to weeks turned to months) even with two perfect and near identical donor cars.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/03/2014 at 20:57

0

Move to Michigan where you dont have to get stupid inspectons

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time 11/03/2014 at 21:03

1

Ha! Good suggestion, but I'm Ohio by birth and there would be a plague upon my soul if I ever moved to Michigan, even with the rich automotive history there.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/03/2014 at 21:04

0

Do you like Ohio State? Cause if not then you are welcome here :)

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time 11/03/2014 at 21:06

0

I don't follow college sports often, but I am a passive fan of OSU, and I love their marching band.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/03/2014 at 21:07

1

Looks like you've got it pretty well covered. I think the i30 might be a bit better than the j30.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/03/2014 at 21:09

1

Fair enough. Im a die hard Michigan fan. Its passed down through the family

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 11/03/2014 at 21:13

0

It's been 4 years this week coming since I totaled my J30, but I still vividly remember driving it, and it was a blast. I'm hoping that this is just as fun, and that the change from RWD to FWD doesn't affect driving dynamics too much. I'll find out once I drive it. The I30 is definitely larger, and more traditional in shape, not quite as visually striking, but if it is as fun, then that doesn't matter, and if it gets me where I need to go, then I'll be as happy as a pig in slop.