yah most of em are japanese

[mute]

1997 infiniti j30

1997 ford taurus SHO

1995 toyota camry

what do you guys think?

can i get info on the infiniti j30?

all i know now is a RWD 210 hp 3.0 V6

nothing other than that and i dont plan on modifing it its perfect from factory for me

[Variance]

The J30 was based off of the second-generation Nissan 300ZX (which is why if has the same powertrain). As far as I know they're pretty rare (rarer than most cars in its class sold around the same time). I hear they're not really the roomiest cars out there.

Here's some info on it:

http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/used/re...ex.cfm/id/2183/

[Flybrian]

I know someone who has a J30. His previous car was a Geo Metro 3-door, so a grocery cart would be an improvement. Regardless, it seemed to be a decent car, yet with a truly compact feel inside and a very tiny trunk for its size.

[ocnblu]

J30. If you can find one in brown, and put Bob Marley stickers on it, you can call it The Baked Potato.

[Bimmer325]

Out of those, the J30 is the one to go with.

[Sixty8panther]

J30 all the way bro.

It's got the best powertrain, it's RWD and it's very unique.

The Yamaha V8 in the SHO is very tempermental esp. at high miles and the cars pretty much suck in terms of reliability and ease/cost of maintenance.

As far as the Camry, well... dude it's a Camry. You might as well buy a T-shirt that says: "Mindless Sheep". It's boring, predictable and worst of all very over rated.

[mute]

i thought it was a kawasaki tuned v8? meh

i like the camry and i dont need anything spectacular

the j30 def seems pretty nice i dont mind almost no trunk and as long as i can slide the seat back im good

[Sixty8panther]

I guess this is a better way to lok at it:

If you're going to spend more than average on a car in purchase price and maintenance then might as well make it something worthwile... the Camry's the ANti-Enthusiast car while the J30 will leave a smile on your face for years to come!

I love my Infiniti Q45. (although I've been without it for almost two days while they replace the O2 & knock sensors under warranty.)

[regfootball]

The Yamaha V8 in the SHO is very tempermental esp. at high miles and the cars pretty much suck in terms of reliability and ease/cost of maintenance.

since I a 99 sho I am actually qualified to speak on this, unlike others. If you like the SHO, all you have to do is make sure any deficient Camsprockets are 'fixed', other than that its a very reliable car. 5% of owners had issues with cams and improper manufacturing tolerances and poor sprocket to cam design. I owned one for 75k miles and had no issues with anything. My brother in law had a 97 SHO he bought new and ran up to 160k before it needed some tranny work. he did that and gave the car to his nephew who is still driving it. My guess is its close to 180k miles now.

It was a good touring car. The Yamaha V8 was an absolute kitten of a motor. Using the word tempermental is an outright lie. It roared when you wanted sporty, but when you needed to just cruise it would settle in and literally at times on trips you absolutley could not hear the motor running it was so smooth and quiet. At 90+ mph the engine ran as smooth as 30mph. I have yet to encounter an engine that it could not match in smoothness. It ran to redline no problem and could run there all day, and wasn't wheezing at 4000 rpm like a GM pushrod v6. IT WOULD run at 7000 rpm all day if you wanted it to, and it would not faze it. As far as ease of maintenance, Neither I nor my brother in law had to take any part of the motor apart for any reason (like MANIFOLD GASKETS) for example, so it cost nothing and it all fits orderly under the hood anyways. You should never have to expect to take apart a 'modern' engine to fix anything these days. Mine probably burned maybe 2-3 quarts of oil TOTAL for the entire time I owned the car, if even that. None of my Fords ever burned any oil to speak of, even my 89 SHO didn't take any oil.

If you are in any way still taking interest in the SHO, PM me and I can send you some informational links on what to look for in used ones.

Edited March 9, 2006 by regfootball

[regfootball]

you ever consider a used Seville STS or Aurora with a northstar v8?

[bobo]

The '95 Camry is of that particularly good generation. This would be a safe way to go. As for a used anything with a Northstar, it would be very expensive for repairs.

[regfootball]

The '95 Camry is of that particularly good generation.  This would be a safe way to go.  As for a used anything with a Northstar, it would be very expensive for repairs.

you know, i guess if one is looking at 8-10 year old cars, then yes, repair costs is an issue. Cause if you are buying a used car that old you can pretty much bet you'll have to fix something on the car at some point during the time you own it. I always come at it from the newer side, so sometimes I forget that.

[!!!TED!!!]

1997 infiniti j30 YES

1997 ford taurus SHO MAYBE

1995 toyota camry NO

[Flybrian]

the j30 def seems pretty nice i dont mind almost no trunk and as long as i can slide the seat back im good

Are you talking about folddown rear seats? The J30 lacks those. Fuel tank placement, a la GTO.

[Sixty8panther]

Reg:

I've known three people who owned SHOs.

(They were all early-to-mid 1990s V6 1st gens. for the sake of fairness)

1. Mike: (buddy at collage) loved his car untill it developed serious drivability problems. He took it to a few local Ford dealerships and they all pretty much told him to go F*** himself. WE don;t work on those... the motor and ECU etc. is from Yahama.... go talk to a Yahama mechanic. As if there was such a thing as a Yamaha car dealer. OF course talking to mechanics who work on small displacment Yahama motors adn Bikes was of no help. Last I hear from Mike before he changed colleges and wento off to Florida was that he was getting rid of his "tempermental" Yamaha-Ford and getting a Grand Prix GTP.

2. Boris: family friend who is also a car fanatic. His garage burned down and took his beloved Merkur XR4Ti with it. He took the insurance money and bought a Mazda 626... then got bored with the Mazda. He bought a used 1994? SHO in green with a 5-speed and low miles. Loved the car. Had nothing but great things to say about it. Until lit burned to a crisp in the parking lot at his work. The next dayhe heard about some recall which had not been performed to hsi SHO and how without this repair a lot of SHO catch on fire... even with the car not running.

3. Another friend of a friend back in collge. ONe time at a party we got to talking about cars and he mentioned how his SHO eats transmissions like a Dodge Grand Caravan. Also liked the car but said it was a bitch to own.

So ther you go... I'm not saying I'm an authority on the car... these are not first hand experiences but they're very telling of typical Ford Problems.

one more thing Mute:

The only reason why I ruled out the J30 when I was looking for a car was that I HATE timing belts. WTF is a rubber band doing actauling my valves? That's bull$h! and pathetic.

The Q45 has a timing chain just like almost every other car I've ever owned.

But all three of your potential cars will at some point need that rubber band replaced. Cost is usually $300-$800 depending on the car.

[mute]

well sly i was talking about the second gen the catfish one so those probs were fixed a lot and as long as you take it in on purchase you can make sure that itll be fine

and i can get free replacements on timing belts.........

thanks soooo much guys for the info its really more helpful than you know

[lauren]

Are you planning on buying one or something?

I used to have a 95 Camry. I loved it. But...it's still a sedan.

[mute]

well i kinda have the camry to drive but its under my sis's name i want something with more power so tthe taurus and j3o come in but i may end uo buying her a new car and keeping her camry

Edited March 9, 2006 by mute

[lauren]

well i kinda have the camry to drive but its under my sis's name i want something with more power so tthe taurus and j3o come in but i may end uo buying her a new car and keeping her camry

for whatever reason, the 95 camry seems to get better gas mileage than the 94.

I didn't have an LE or anything. It was a DX or something. Just regular. It's very comfortable and reliable and safe. I really like it...but there's a reason theyre so popular.

Camrys are like @ssholes-everyones got one.

[z28luvr01]

.....and they all stink *da dum crash* :rotflmao: