97_GXE

I've been considering 'upgrading' to this car for awhile. I really like the body style, especially the touring model. It was in production around the same time of the i30/35.

But, there's some things about it that I'm not sure about. For one is parts. Is it something that are readily available? Then, I know it runs a v8 which would get less gas mileage...but could feel extra power. It's a car you don't see on the road very often either, which gives it a bonus rare feel to it.

Also, I've seen these at salvage yards and the engine looks like a ***** to work on. Wondering if anyone is familiar with this car and can tell me if it'd be worth investing into based on parts cost/availability and ease of working on.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

I have never worked on one and your questions got me curious. You probably know that it is a rear wheel drive car, so almost everything for the chassis and suspension is different.

I was looking on M45 Factory Parts at parts for a 2000 model. I did not see any "part no longer available" tags on the suspension parts. I'm sure you will probably find "part no longer available" on trim items, just like you do on the Maxima.

I then went to Rock Auto and they seem to have all the parts. So it looks like you wouldn't have any problems finding new parts. But finding junkyard parts could be a problem because of the relatively small number of cars made.

97_GXE

It's very hard to find these cars at yards. I usually see about 1 or 2, when lucky.

I see one for sale in my area, and it's super clean. I don't know if I'll be able to get everything together financially in time to catch it, but it looks like a decent upgrade. I know technically it's a Nissan Cima, so wondering if it uses some i-30 parts in the engine.

Infi30t

I had a 1999 touring... Key word, had. They are plagued with knock sensor issues, coil pack problems, suspension issues, couple more that luckily I didn't figure out. It was an awesome car, don't get me wrong. Strong motors, super comfortable, rare. If you get one, be prepared to spend $1500+ to tune it up and get it in working order. Go on the q45 nico forum and read the loads of pages about the car.
You may think I got a bad Q45t by the end of this, but I found a well maintained one that only had knock sensors and coil packs that flared up occasionally or under heavy load, and it only had 93k miles... The knock sensors won't throw a check engine code, neither will the coil packs. So keep that in mind if you go looking for one. Bring a scanner with you as the codes will be in the computer as pending.
Hope I was of some help and didn't kill your excitement on the Q.