wesbarton89

Hi, everybody! First post here. Wanted to share my tale of my purchase of a 2000 Infiniti I30.

First off, this goes back a couple years, when I'd first seen the car driving around. It reminded me of my Mazda Millenia that I had and loved.

Recently, it became apparent that my fiancée and I needed a second car. Several months ago, we learned that this very same Infiniti was for sale, just a couple blocks away from me. My stepdad, who is a mechanic, and car guy in general, knew the seller, who also happened to be the neighbor of some close family friends. We knew it had been sitting for a little bit, needed a little work, and he was asking $1,000 but would likely take $800 for it.

With my tax refund, I had the money to buy the car. I learned from the owner that it had a lot of miles. (249,686 to be exact! Wow!) It apparently needed new tires (which came with the car, in excellent shape, just needed to be mounted), a new muffler, brakes, struts, battery, and an alignment. The body was straight, free of dents, and only a couple scrapes on the front and rear bumpers. It was also 99% free of rust, minus a couple spots around the wheel arches, and tiny spots from hood dings, where less-than-flea-sized bits of paint had come off. No holes or anything like that. This is remarkable, because I live in the mountains of Maryland, where snow can be on the ground from October through April, and we can see a foot or more during the worst winter months.

The interior was just as surprising. The leather seats had minimal wear, which belied the mileage on the vehicle. Slight cracking on the bolsters, and a very minor tear on the passenger front seat. There was some wear around the dash where the radio went in, but nothing too bad, and the panel where the window switches sit on the front passenger side was cracked a bit. Nothing more than cosmetic, basically.

Everything worked. I mean, seriously. The one-touch open and close windows and sunroof performed without an issue. The rear sunshade took a light bit of fiddling, but I got it to work within minutes. The garage link appeared to work, as the lights lit when I pressed the buttons, but I don't have a garage to truly test it. All lights and signals worked fine as well, no problems. All seat functions including power and memory also had no issues. Looking good so far.

So, I got the money, as I said, and I bought a battery. I started the car up and drove it home without any issues. Took it for MD inspection, which it failed, as we knew it would. We found out all of the REAL issues with the car, and they were... wait for it.

• Brake rotors needed turned
• CV boot needed replaced
• Inner tie rod end needed replaced
• Muffler needed replaced
• Control arm bushing needed replaced
• Radiator core support rusted out (common issue)
• Needed an alignment
• Headlights oxidized, needed cleaned or replaced

I got all the parts I needed, which cost me approximately $160 or so, not including the $100 battery I bought. So, altogether, I have close to $1,100 in the car. It runs great overall, shifts smoothly, and the only issue there is a small misfire in cylinder #2. It could stand to have a spark plug replacement, and coil pack replacement, and an oil change. The car was really well cared for, and before me, stayed in the same family its whole life, the first owner owned a dealership, and serviced it regularly with records. It still has the original owner's manual, warranty manual, and other books in a leather cover. I love this car, and it's my second Infiniti overall.

All the parts are finishing up being put on today at my stepdad's shop, so no labor charges thankfully. The old muffler came off, and when it hit the floor, smashed into four or five pieces.

I cleaned the headlights with toothpaste on a rag, and that brought them right back to life. There's some minor fading in a couple small spots still, but only noticeable if you're right up on them.

I think for what I have in it, I did pretty well. Here's some pics of the car I have taken so far.










I'll reply to this post with more pictures.

wesbarton89

Here's the rest of the pictures.

punrein

It can be expected that something with that many miles on it is obviously going to need a few repairs. If you're mechanically inclined, however, I think you'll do well with this car.

wesbarton89

Yeah, it did need some repairs, but luckily everything apparent was minor and fixable in a couple days, and it's all been taken care of. Tomorrow I'll be taking it in for an alignment and reinspection.