Hi all,

first of all let me introduce myself, this is my first post. I have a 1998 I30, bought it from the original owner in 2011 with 188k miles. Now it has 216k miles (!). It still runs pretty strong, I tried to properly mantain it, oil change every 3000 miles, and the usual wear and tear things, everything done at a very good and reputable independent nissan/infiniti mechanic. Only problems that the car had was a starter that went bad (after a few months of letting me know that it was going bad, so no surprise), and an alternator. All wear and tear things that I should expect to go bad. Every other single thing works just fine. I still can't believe I don't have any electrical problems at this age and mileage.

Anyway, my situation is as follows: I am moving out the US in September, but before that, me and my wife plan to do a cross country road trip from LA to NY and back, in the summer. The question is whether you think the I30 will be able to do it. There are a few things that need to be done for sure (power steering fluid is leaking a lot for example; not sure about the VCG but probably will need that as well, on our last road trip a little oil was burning with smoke on the hood, although it might be due to overfilling since it hasn't happened again).

Related to this is the fact that unfortunately there is a big dent on the passenger side back door. I didn't care to fix it because it was just too expensive, and I only really care about how the car runs and how the interior looks (interior is in incredible pristine condition, not a single tear on the leather!). So, at the moment of selling it, with 220k+ miles and a dent, I won't be able to get much out of it. If I invest now in tuning it up for the road tirp, I'm looking I think at around $1000 between tires, brakes, and such. I will have my mechanic go over it thoroughly, but I think the engine is healthy, except possibly the VCG.

Is it worth to do it, or would you recommend instead selling it now, buying another car and selling that car in september? The car I buy shouldn't depreciate much in value, so I wouldn't lose that $1k in refreshing the I30.

Personally, I wouldn't be afraid to use the I30 for the road trip. It's one of the most comfortable highway cruisers that I've had. It's also been proven very reliable (as opposed to a 3-series that I just sold), and it has lots of personality I believe, which is one reason why I'm reluctant to get rid of it yet. I also have premier AAA in case anything goes wrong, of course. But I'd also like the move that makes most sense financially.

What do you think?
Thanks and sorry for the long post!

 

Personally, you know this car, and its been good to you and knowing exactly what is wrong with is is the biggest relief, compared to getting a new car and then poking around to see what the issue may be. I mean cheapest route would be, selling this, get a solid accord or camry, do your trip and you know those arent about to depreciate much over a 5k km trip. Try testing waters and see kinda money you can even get for your I but with that much mileage, i doubt it would be much.

 

Thanks for the advice!

I am still undecided, but I took it to my trusty mechanic yesterday. He said that he wouldn't invest much in the car, but it can be kept in condition to make the road trip. Besides tires and brakes, the only thing that I would have to replace in order to be safe (meaning not dangerous) are front axles (or something around there). Engine is leaking oil, but fixing that would be too much, and as long as the levels are maintained, it should be ok. Front control arm bushings are basically gone, but replacing them would not be very useful, because they get worn by the power steering leak, which would be too expensive to fix. So I can just leave them worn. Again, all this is according to him. I really trust him because he never tries to sell me anything that I don't need.

I'll keep you posted, thanks for the answer again

 

So I decided to tune up the I30.. I really don't have much time to shop for a car right now, and I also wouldn't want to spend so much in it; I'd have to spend more than I want to if I want the other car to be as comfortable.

So today I had brakes done, new axle shafts, transmission fluid drain and refill, air filter, and new tires. My mechanic tried to inspect as much as possible everything else and apparently it's good to go.