Best and worst car ive ever owned, i said to my mechanic buddy as we labored over the front end of my '02 Q. I also told him to remind me never to buy an infiniti again. After we finally installed the last of the tie rods and links and strut boots and in the process had to take apart the whole front end, the feeling of accomplishment quickly waned as i made note of the rest of the long list of maintenance items that should be done within the next month or so. Dont get me wrong, its not that i didnt enjoy scowering the internet for parts that i didnt have to mortgage my home for, or trying to figure out what was going through the minds of the engineers that designed this gem of an automobile. Its just that it has been so damn time consuming. And theres something else that really bothers me. Why are these parts so frikken expensive? i was looking at the coil spring that we were compressing to change the boots on the strut and trying to figure out why it would cost $300!! To put this into perspective...a Cadillac Escalade front coil spring which is a considerably beefy part costs $33.00 each to replace!! It is an insult to my intelligence to have me believe that the infiniti part should cost 10x as much as a light truck counterpart. And thats the way it is with every damn part on this car. It is a proprietary nightmare. most parts can only be purchased from infiniti and they price gauge you every step of the way. This car is definitely a love/hate relationship. You gotta love it to justify ownership. But i have to say if i had a choice between my Q45 or my '98 vette i would take the vette hands down. Due to the fact that although its a world class car its cheap and easy to maintain. Some may say that japanese cars are the best, but at what cost? I shudder to think what maintenance would cost on my Q if i had to pay the dealer.
Well, sorry for the rant and long post but im cold and sore from the days events and my brain hurts. BTW The car handles like new again at 117,800mi. Gotta love that sport suspension. :)