Nothing on the SS maintenance wise will be over 500-600. Labor is pretty cheap because of the LS platform too. The infiniti is a nice car but it will probably cost more out of warranty.

 

One of the main reasons that I selected this car(SS)...no DOHC, 5 feet long timing chains, buried water pump, hydraulic multi cylinder shut-down, varible timing, rear mounted a/c evaporator, all wheel drive t/case incorporated into the trans, front and rear differential, complicated high labor bull ship for me.!

 

yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes and yes...All that plus its bad@#$

 

The LS and it's accessories are pretty bulletproof but if they fail, there's lots of room to get in there and work.

It's like driving a car with one foot in 2015 and the other in 1995.

 

Well The Charcoal Canister is above the rear end so when that sucker goes out your rear end cradle may need to be removed or lowered to get it out. But that might not be for 100K miles. SS have not got that old yet, but G8's are right in that zone.

 

The SS is on the Zeta Platform which the newer Alpha platform is sorta-kinda based on. Currently GM is beginning to use the updated Alpha 2 Platform. Great stuff indeed. The SS is a fantastic car. Don't hesitate to buy one if you find the right deal for you. Just make sure its not a flood car and you'll love every minute of it.

 

............... Just make sure its not a flood car and you'll love every minute of it.

 

The Q50 will feel a lot more refined than an SS. I have a coworker with a Q50 and the 3.5 V6 and it was a great car. Very fun to drive, refined, etc. The SS is very fun to drive but don't expect a lot of refinement. Its louder, less refined, and has a lot of the GM interior bits that you'll find across their entire line up (ie, it doens't feel like a luxury car). Regardless, I would have never considered a Q50 over an SS as I wanted a big V8.

 

I did consider a Q50, briefly, I thought it would have a V8, like my Q45 that I had before the SS. I may have gotten one if it did, because, I liked my 2002 Q45 with the sport suspension.

 

It's not "scheduled maintenance," but there is the heater core. Check the threads on it. Then again, I had to remove the front fender to get to the heater box on my relatively simply designed 50 year old car.

 

I think the only high risk high dollar high pain item most of us might be concerned with is the electric power steering rack.

Granted there's a recall covering '14-'15 and some '16s (but not mine and many others), and the '17s are not affected. But it's still an expensive item if it fails, a pain in the butt to do, and unique enough that replacements may get scarce.

Anything LS3 or 6L80/TR6060 related I wouldn't be too worried about. And general maintenance and repairs are easy enough on this car vs say my Fbody, where half the engine is buried under the cowl. Water pump, plugs, alternator, serp belt, starter, most every engine sensor, all super easy to do. No messing around with timing belt/chain replacements, no carboning of the valves from direct injection. LS's are just a joy to work on in comparison to the now ubiquitous modern DOHC VVT DI 2.0 turbo. Simplistic enough in design, but reliable and easy to make power with.


EDIT: Also maybe add the magnetic shocks ('15-'17), looks like replacements are somewhat pricey.

 

I think the only high risk high dollar high pain item most of us might be concerned with is the electric power steering rack.

EDIT: Also maybe add the magnetic shocks ('15-'17), looks like replacements are somewhat pricey.

I'm buying a used SRX for my wife and I purposely shopped for one without the mag-ride suspension for that very reason.