2003 fx45,cold start noise(fields infiniti Glencoe IL)buy or not?

[vasajev]

Hi everybody.I went today to this dealer to check this black/black 45 for 10,900$
As i tried to start the car engine started rumbling like and making noises like those old cars from cartoons.
After a minute car was ok and engine sounded good.
It pulls great,shifts great.Only thing bad is front brakes are squeaky and noisy and i can feel brake pedal vibrating when trying to brake harder(salesman says its rusty rotors lol)
Engine noise scared me a bit so i just want to see what you guys think.Is this a good price?
It will need a paint correction(has swirls) and nice detailing to look perfect but it has oem 20s which i love.
Car has been sitting at this dealer for 2 months according to carfax(salesman says they got it few days ago lol)
Forum wont let me post link but its listed on dealers website and cars com.
Thanks
Vaso

 

[Merser]

From what i have read some rumbles might occur if someone "overfilled" the oil..

Was reading some technical service bulletins and they had one on it...
Another test was to accelarate while on even/flat roads. if you get the rumble slightly it is most likely the oil is overfilled and hitting the crank...

 

[CBRworm]

There are some situations where the engines can run rough and sound like they are coming apart for the first minute or so. This rarely happens, but when it does, it is usually due to being started, moved a short distance and turned off. Like to wash the car. I have had this happen on multiple Nissan products with the VG and VQ engines as well as my FX45.

I don't know if that is what you experienced, but it can be scary. People have had their cars towed to shops only to have the cars start normally at the shop.

 

[Hondatom87]

Most likely the noise you are describing is the common lifter/chain slap/piston slap noise that is very common on fx45's
I posted my correction on this in another thread but in short its mostly due to carbon build up in the crank case and can be remedied by adding seafoam to the oil
I put a whole bottle in about 2k miles before I do an oil change.

I do this every other oil change and the noises have been nonexistent from 90,000 miles to my current 183,000 miles

I do not see this as a major issue but you can use it as a bargaining tactic

Also how many miles are on it? because 10500 seems a bit Hi for an 03 that needs work
check KBB.com for an appropriate price range

 

[myl168]

If i don't drive my 45 for 2-3 weeks there are occasions where i'll start it and it starts extremely rough(knocking) and there is a bit of the slapping noise. The first time it happened i immediately shut it off and was freaked out. I started up again and it made the noise but smoothed out after about 30 seconds. Maybe the gas in the FX you tested wasn't premium also. i'd stick to premium with techron if you can.

If i don't drive it for a week, there's usually a bit of blue smoke from the exhaust.

I've got another car that i use as a daily. I try to drive the 45 once a week to avoid all the above. My FX doesn't like to sit for more than a week.

The brakes always make noise when in reverse and braking. The brakes are usually a bit soft at first, but gain more grip when they are warmed up (ceramic pads).