Why are Infiniti's so inexpensive?
 

I notice some of the folks on this board have them, and I saw a nice newer infiniti that I liked. It seems like I can get a lot of car, without a lot of miles, for a (seemingly) incredible price. Why do these things have very little resale value? Are they really troublesome or something?

People will pay that price.

Cause they are Nissans and don't have the image of a lot of cars.

The G35's are nice, but after 3-4 years they start to show some age.

I'm looking at late 90's early 2000 Q45's going for 5k-7500, with less than 75K miles. That seems very cheap to me for a full sized luxury car...

Thats to old, I don't know anyone who owns anything older than an 05.

I don't think they are the kind of car you want to buy 10 years old.

I dunno, but I'd much rather have a Z-car than a G-car.

agree on Infiniti's resale
 

I was looking at a highway car as a replacement daily driver. Maxima's hold up well for lots of miles.... but their resale is much higher than a an Infiniti I-35. Two years ago I found an '03 I-35 with 10,000 miles, lots of accessories, for less than '02 or '03 Maxima's with lots of miles.

My previous mode of car hunting was to find higher end cars with huge depreciation. Q-45's were on the list. I ended up buying a Lincoln MVIII. It was 5 years old, 50,000 miles and bought it for $9000. It was a $50,000 car new.

A friend of mine just picked up a 2004 G35 a couple of weeks back and loves it. It was $2500 cheaper than the equivalent BMW 530's he was looking at, and they were all 2003 MY, so before the changeover.

I agree that the Infiniti name doesn't have the same snob appeal/cache that BMW, MB or even Lexus have. But I also think there is more to it than that. Apparently the G35 is significantly more expensive to insure than the equivalent BMW, Audi, MB or Lexus. It gets comparatively bad fuel economy (EPA 19/26 - with real world economy in the 18-19 range). This particular model also chews through brake pads and rotors - and the awd version is even worse than the rwd. I think these cars are a lot more expensive to operate over the long run than a used MB or BMW.

My brother just bought a 99 Q45t. They had to replace the Alt and a front suspension component (don't remember what). Other than that, the car runs great. It has been on a road trip or two and my dad says he likes it bettern than his 210 E320. I drove in it last weekend when I went ot visit. Very quite and isolated. Rides smooth as glass. Fit and finish was quite good (even after 9 years and 100K.

Same with Acura's very decent cars for a great price.

G35 vs. I35
 

I got a G35 loaner from the dealer and drove it for a day. It drove very well. I think they are loosely based on the Z car chassis.

A person in my carpool also has one. It is a nice car, but feels much heavier than the I35. The carpool person gets 20mpg on the same trips I get 26-27. (This is 70 miles each way, 60 of it highway at 70-78 mph). Some of the difference may be gearing also.

I got mine pre-depreciated at about 1/2 of what she paid for her '07.

Infiniti's have one of the worst residual values on the market.
The values drop like rocks since their cars have no brand recogintion.
G, Q, F??? Who know's what they are?

Must be a local market: Around here they generally have a higher resale value than comparably priced cars.

B