11th Aug 2006, 10:46

I've owned a 1994 Q45, and the only thing that seems to make sense it that the antifreeze was never changed or allowed to get dangerously low, this may cause the heads to warp and most likely burn out the head gasket. I'd try some auto parts store and ask them for a head gasket repair product in a can or bottle. (I sold my 1994 a couple of month back with 188,000 miles, other than routine maintenance, it was a great car)

3rd Aug 2009, 21:44

Quite obviously this owner did not do his homework and did not understand what he was buying, nor the cost of restoration to working order, nor the car's condition, evidently.

More a comment on an ill informed purchase than a comment on a particular car model.

12th Jan 2018, 15:30

I'm commenting on a very old review, so my opinion is not useful for the original reviewer, however I'd still like to mention it as it may be a very useful thing to know when dealing with used car repairs. The original reviewer mentioned a few points about the car: low miles despite the age, female doctor driver, supposedly needing a head gasket job and a full suspension job as recommended by two garages, of which one was a main Infiniti dealer.

The first question to arise is: if this was driven by a female (or male) doctor, which makes sense for a high end luxury car, how come the whole suspension needs replaced at only 90000 miles? Some bushings may need replaced, but all shock absorbers, springs, etc? A doctor will never race the car and always drive it carefully, and even so it's unheard of for a whole suspension to be worn this early unless it's an Aston Martin for example.

Then the second and even more obvious question comes in: a bad head gasket is not impossible, but that means the car was badly maintained. Or, this is a doctor's car, surely they had all the expensive services done at the main dealer, so how come the cooling system got bad and blew the head gasket? The answer is easy: notice how the owner says: it leaks oil badly on top of the engine. He doesn't say "the engine was consuming coolant". The poor owner had no idea this was not a head gasket issue, but an engine cover seal issue, an inexpensive and not uncommon repair on Japanese cars. A head gasket will never leak oil outside the engine.

In other words, the owner was fooled by both garages to believe the head gasket was bad. A very common problem with garages. Don't believe a main dealer cannot cheat. Same goes for the suspension: there was some wear but nothing major, but the main dealer will always tell you to replace all parts if there is a little wear on them. Be very, very careful bringing an older car to a main dealer; they will always tell you to spend a few thousand dollars on parts that are still good for several more years.