Balzak

Which is better in your opinion? and why? Is it b/c of loyaty, quality, prestige, etc.?

SharpLS-96

To me, Infiniti=Nissan=Datsun :eek: So you know where my loyality is. LS mainly for quality and reliabilty.

healerhand

Infiniti Q45 is a great car at a great price, but Infiniti loose its value very fast. LS430 is slightly more than Q45, but i think LS is better.

Horta

With out a doubt the Q45 looses its value more. When I was looking to by my LS400 I looked at the Infinities. You could definitly get a newer with fewer miles Q45 for the same money. The real problem was the way they hold up. Honestly the materials used buy infinity are not comparable to our Lexus.

I saw the leathers and trim in Infinity in such poor condition and yet I never saw a Lexus in that poor of condition.

Now I know your asking about 2002 models and maybe this new Q45 is MUCH better than the old one but sorry a companys history says a lot.

Now if you compare and Ultra LS430 vrs a Q45 the Q45 will hold up more. The $12,000 Ultra option only has a $2,500 residual for resale. So you loos Ten grand by driving it off the lot. WOW!

Below is a copy and paste from the Dealer Official price guide the Florida Black Book. Here you see where you add value to the car for cetain options.

Add Options



2001 LEXUS 430
Base Original MSRP: $54,005
Body Style: 4D SEDAN LS
Mileage: 19,101
Back

* Select all options that apply to your vehicle and click “Continue.”

ULTRA PKG - LS + $2,500.00
W/O SUNROOF - $750.00

Balzak

the Q45 has more power: 4.5 liters @ 340 hp

and the LS has 4.3 liters @290 hp


thus proving the superior engineering....

SharpLS-96

Thats got nothing to do with it. It's the brains that go into the 4.3 engine that counts. That's like saying a taller basketball player is better then a shorter player which is not always true. You have to look at it in all angles.

LOTC

but when they tested both cars the LS still came out faster,so the drivetrain must really not be doing its job on the Q45,but dig the headlights

UTGS400

I would never buy an Infiniti and here is one of my main reasons:

The old general manager of Infinite is now the used car manager of Lexus. When I asked him why he would leave his GM job to become a used car manager his reply was he couldn't stand selling cars that he did not think were high quality. After years of doing so, he came to the point where he would rather take a pay cut in order to sell cars he could stand behind. Now if someone who worked for Infiniti for 8 years says they are poor quality, I have to believe him. Even while he was the GM, he pushed my family away from the Q45 and into an LS400.

jtparkes

Consumer Reports and JD Powers both seem to rate infiniti's reliability as equal to that of Lexus, so I don't think you could say that infiniti is a poorly made car.

The new Q45 (2001 yr) is reputed to be a major advance over the previous, which was apparently not quite up there with the LS. I did spend a lot of time sitting in the Q45 (could not drive one, alas...) and the interior is VERY nice. Plus, if you're looking at the goodies in the UL package it is about $15K cheaper.

Few if any cars have the resale value of the LS400/430. Not the Acura, the Infiniti, or BMW. The resale value of the Q45 is probably worse, because not that many are sold, and thus not many people are looking for one.

LexusBuyer

Just to illustrate the points here, I just finished off a long process of deciding on the Q45 vs. the LS430. In doing so I compared the lease vs, buy benefits of both. Here's some numbers that shocked me:

For a 39 month lease with 12K miles/yr the residual values where:

Q45 (base + nav system): 41% through Infiniti financing, 45% thorugh Chase.

LS430 (base + nav + levinson + lexus link): 51% through Lexus financing.

Obviously, the financing companies believe that the residual value of the Q45 is much worse. However, just to see how things looked at BMW & Mercedes, I talked to dealers there as well.

BMW 745i: 61% residual
Mercedes E430 (didn't look at S): 59% residual

So, a simple comparison of the major brands puts Inifiniti at the bottom, and Lexus in 3rd.

Interestingly enough, with the numbers I was better financially (in terms of net present value) to buy either the Q45 or the LS430. It was better to lease the 745 or E430.

LexFather

Dude, cause a car has more power makes it better?

290/4.3=67.4 hp per liter
340/4.5=75.5 hp per liter

Not a huge difference. The Q45 for all it's advertised power has never beaten an LS in the 0-60 sprint. The Q45 has finished dead last in every multi-car comparo.

Q45 is a good car, but for 60-70 car I want panache and some sort of status and prestige, the Q has hardly any. They need to make the car either a luxury car or a sports sedan, they keep trying to do both and the car ends up failing.

2 buds and I checked the car out last month, I listened to them for the sake of my being biased some comments

1. Not worth the $$$$$
2. Looks weird
3. Lovely wood work
4. Small feeling on the inside
5. Cheap feeling seats, hood and trunk.
6. Nice 18" wheels

We checked out the 7 and we all agreed it was work 16k more than the Q

Now the 20k less M45 has a identical interior and the SAME engine. The Q45s value will now decrease even less. From my understanding, they will change the front and rear facias for 2003 (only 1 year after it came out). Changes=declining value....

I honestly think they should drop the Infiniti brand and take the VW approach to selling expensive cars under Nissan. Infiniti=no one really cares.

Silver00Spike

Use common sence, when a guy is working for Lexus, of course he is gonna tell you that Lexus is sooo much better in every way! Is he selling Infiniti or Lexus? Poor quality in Infiniti? Do you want to see the pics of my 1993 infiniti j30 with 186, 000 MILES? PLZ SAY YES SO YOU CAN FEEL STUPID. People think my car is in amazing condition. The seats look so good, the leather has very little faults in it after all this time.

hyperopt

Infinity is a good car line. When properly maintain, the Q is reliable but less reliable than the LS. It cost more to maintain the Q than the LS, thus, reflected in the Q's lower resale values. I almost bought a Q but backed off and bought a LS instead. I am very happy with my LS. I would pick the LS over the Q any time even though the LS costs more.

DROD2045

why did my reply get deleted?

NVMYGS3

I would take the Q45 because there's less of them around. Regarding resale value, I think we put too much value on re-sale value because you shouldn't buy a car to sell. But I do think that overall, LS430 is a better car but man, isn't the Q45 like 5-6K less? that combined with rarity, and that'll do the deal.