Update on the Infiniti - progress!

"WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe" (wesbarton89) 03/13/2015 at 11:04 • Filed to: None

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*picture is a few weeks old. It's finally warmed up and the snow has melted.

So, my Infiniti is getting its new parts put on by my stepdad. With all good luck, it should be done today. Hit a couple minor snags in the repairs.

First, the new muffler is on. The gasket and bolts they sent were wrong, so we had to get the right ones.

The tie rod end I ordered was wrong. They sent the actual tie rod, not the end itself. We got the right piece and it will be on today.

The CV boot is on and good.

The control arm bushing is being put on today, so that should be good.

The front brake rotors are good, and the rear ones are going to be turned so they'll be good as well.

The radiator core support is being welded back into place. The housing rusted a bit, and this is extremely common in these vehicles, but it's no big deal.

There's a misfire in cylinder 2. Needs a new spark plug and maybe a new coil pack.

When the old muffler was removed, it hit the floor and smashed into four pieces. I think it's safe to say it was in rough shape.

Tires are in great condition, no worries there.

Struts are good, which is not what we were initially lead to believe. But, glad they are.

There's a new battery, which is good.

Like I said, it should be good to go by the end of the day. I've got $800 in the car, and about $275 in parts altogether. No labor costs since my stepdad and his coworkers are doing it all for free. The final things it'll need are an alignment and an oil change. Not bad for a 15 year old car with 249,700+ miles.

Funny story, my stepdad took the car to his job, where it's going to be all fixed up. His coworkers asked him when he got a Mercedes! When he told them what it was, they said, "oh, just one step below a Mercedes, excuse me!" haha. When he told them how much I paid, they couldn't believe it, and wanted the car themselves.

It'll go back for inspection on Tuesday most likely, where it will most likely pass. I can't wait to start driving the vehicle on the regular. And once I get more seat time, I'll post an Oppo review with lots of pictures and info!

mazda616 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 03/13/2015 at 11:16

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Awesome! Sounds like you got a good deal!

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > mazda616 03/13/2015 at 11:34

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Oh, you better believe I did. It's a 2000 I30. The body is straight and clean with tiny spots of rust, no dents, minor front and rear bumper scratches, and just looks great. 249,686 miles when I bought it. It's probably only been driven 50 miles or so since I got it at this point. It's pretty well loaded, and everything seems to work. So. many. features.

Leather seats, power driver and passenger. Two-person memory on driver's side. (Bit of a pain to set). Manual lumbar on driver's side. Power windows all work, quite well. Power locks. Bose stereo, CD and cassette. Working sunroof with no leaks. Working power rear sunshade. (Didn't work when I got it, but I fiddled with the track a little and got it working) Analog clock which is a neat touch. Storage for days. Even the cigarette lighter/power outlet still works. I've driven cars with less than 100k miles where that didn't work. Even has a garage homelink on the driver's side visor. Computerized rearview mirror with auto day/night dimming buttons. All illumination, exterior and interior, works. Headlights are clean and fade-free (after a couple minutes of cleaning the lenses with toothpaste at least)

Even the engine and transmission are super solid. I hope to get this car past 300k miles, and I think I will, with relative ease. And I tell you what, that Nissan VQ30 engine is one of the best sounding engines I've ever heard, for a car of that type. And I tell you what, it's got some power to it as well. 227 horses, pretty good for an NA 3.0L V6 from 2000. It's only 8 less HP than my Durango, which is a 4.7L V8.

And believe it or not, even the leather seats look excellent given the mileage on them.

I mean, really, do those thrones look like they've suffered the punishment of a quarter million miles? I don't think they do. Yeah, they're a tad bit stiff in spots, but that's to be expected. There's just one small tear in the passenger seat. It looks great.