Getting My First Infiniti (I Hope)

[BearOnWheels]

Hello All.

My first new car was a Nissan Frontier about 9 years ago. It lasted. I loved it. Now I think I am moving up in the world. I am wondering if something is a good deal, but is $26,989 too much for a really slick 2007 M45 Sport? It's all black and very nice, but I don't want to get into more car than I can handle.

I hate talking to car sales people too, but I'm in SoCal, and this guy says he'll deliver from Chandler, AZ, and can do financing. Is that common for small shops?

Sorry for the complete noob question, but any and all feedback is appreciated!

-Bear

[wizard8873]

What mileage and options does it have?

[BearOnWheels]

Well, it's got 47,226 miles, and for options I'd say check out his listing (reads like a book). Google Millennium Auto in Chandler AZ and theres a link to it in the middle of the page. I'd post a link but apparently some sites are touchy about that (found out the hard way - everyone is so sensitive!)

[wingFeather]

Considering some of us paid $60,000 for our M's - I'd say that is one heck of a deal. Go for it!

[BearOnWheels]

Did you get a chance to take a look? What did you think. Sad to say but this is like the biggest thing I've ever considered buying, so any and all feedback is appreciated.

He had a lot of other really great stock, so I guess I want to be further convinced (or see if someone thinks I should go with something else they have?)

[BearOnWheels]

Thanks Lineup. I did some checking, and that BBB report didn't look to bad to me for a smaller dealership. I have worked retail before and only one complaint in the last 3 years is actually pretty good (especially for boutique dealerships).

I am still searching the market for the right car, but he still has the M45 in the showroom at Millennium. I may head out again next weekend if I have the time and give it a twist down some desert freeway. He also has a 2006 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C230 Sport that I have been wanting to test drive, just to get an idea what the difference is when driving different makes of higher end cars. I love motivated sellers - they'll let you drive the warehouse if you want.

Tell me though, I have heard that Carfax reports are not always terribly accurate? For example, fender benders that cause no damage to a car but put a black mark on the car's record for a problem that isn't really there. I guess I am asking if we should be swearing by carfax reports or simply at them?

Guess I am missing the old fashioned test-drive-take-it-to-your-favorite-shop method. I'm bitter. Having a painful time trying to sell my truck because of a "gentle nudge" on the record from years ago. It'll go another 190k miles, easy, but that bump cuts the KBB value by like a third. I can take the hit, but why do so if I don't want to.

-BoW

[EniGmA1987]

If you are in southern California I would say check out Riverside Infiniti. They have some great cars, great service, and good sales people who aren't pushy at all. Talk to Jim there if you get the chance, he let me take 2 cars out for 20 minute test drives on all manner of roads. I even hit 110 in the test drive and he was totally cool with it.

Also I think that price is a little high for an 07 model with coming up on 50k miles. Quite a few other people here have paid that much for their M's with only 30k miles and some good options. Personally I got a kinda high milage car, it has 70k on it when I bought the car. But it has all options except for rear seat DVD players, and I got it for 20k even

[riggz]

Take the Carfax with a grain of salt. About the only thing it's really good for is title checks and a quick list of any maint. done by a dealer/shop that reports to carfax. I had a 2002 Frontier that had been involved in a rear end collision, had to have the entire bedside, tailgate, bumper, lights, etc. replaced & repainted. $6k worth of work on a $13-15k truck. When I traded it in, the carfax showed nothing about it.

My 07 M45 showed no history of body work, however I can clearly tell it's had both front and rear bumpers replaced and/or repainted.

[Arsenal_fan]

If this car has the extended factory warranty, then that may justify its high price...
Otherwise, I wouldn't jump into this deal.

[Ilya]

Take the Carfax with a grain of salt. About the only thing it's really good for is title checks and a quick list of any maint. done by a dealer/shop that reports to carfax. I had a 2002 Frontier that had been involved in a rear end collision, had to have the entire bedside, tailgate, bumper, lights, etc. replaced & repainted. $6k worth of work on a $13-15k truck. When I traded it in, the carfax showed nothing about it.

My 07 M45 showed no history of body work, however I can clearly tell it's had both front and rear bumpers replaced and/or repainted.

Same here. Front bumper has definitely been repainted for whatever reason.

[EniGmA1987]

If the accident isnt reported to insurance and the DMV, it wont show up on carfax. Even then I suppose there can be mistakes made on entires.

[myother45isalesbaer]

Hello All.

My first new car was a Nissan Frontier about 9 years ago. It lasted. I loved it. Now I think I am moving up in the world. I am wondering if something is a good deal, but is $26,989 too much for a really slick 2007 M45 Sport? It's all black and very nice, but I don't want to get into more car than I can handle.

I hate talking to car sales people too, but I'm in SoCal, and this guy says he'll deliver from Chandler, AZ, and can do financing. Is that common for small shops?

Sorry for the complete noob question, but any and all feedback is appreciated!

-Bear

Tons of good sound advice by others. Here's mine. NEVER, EVER buy a car without getting your hands on it, taking it for a test drive and if you don't know what makes a good one from a bad one pay a certified mechanic to look it over. DO NOT TRUST the dealers or their hype. Forget about price and everything else until you know that car is for you. Only way to do that is see it drive it and have it checked out. My opinion. I'd run away from this deal so fast my shoes would be smoking. There is always another car down the road. Take the emotions out of the buying equation. Good luck.

[maguzma]

Remember that DMV laws are different in AZ than CA. So if they car never had a smog check in CA it will require one. And if there are engine issues and the car does not pass CA emission test you have to pay to get it onto the road. In addition, in AZ all car issues do not have to be reported to DMV as required in CA. For instance, in CA if the car had an accident that exceeded 750.00 it has to be reported to DMV. The easy way around it if you paid for the body work/damage/engine problems out of your own pocket and told the repair facility that you will fill out the applicable DMV report(s). For a reputable body shop/dealership they would decline and fill out the report (since it is the law). Secondly, you still have to pay tax and DMV fees. So for the M45 you are talking almost 30k for the M45. I live in SOCAL also (San Diego) and my hobby is to help my introverted engineer friends buy cars. I have been doing for over 5 years now and have save my friends, on average, over 3k on their cars (a lot more on new cars). Some people like gamb|ing and I like getting the best out the door price from dealerships (my addiction). So I kinda know the SOCAL auto market and the dealership scams/power plays. A year ago I even had one dealership drive the car to my friends house with doughnuts and the paper work. All she had to do is sign the paperwork. So I would be careful buying a car out of state. But if you really want the M45 then run the VIN and then offer them 24K for the car. As long as you finance from your bank/savings and loan. If they counter for 25K then you might to consider. When buying from a small dealership you must pay close attention on the finance charges too. You may feel you are getting a great deal on a car but if you read the purchase contract you might see a finance charge of 4-6K dollars. Where as your local credit union will charge 1,100-2,200 hundred bucks. The MBZ C230 (Sport) in SOCAL are real cheap since they are a dime a dozen. So maybe you should investigate them. They are quick, better on gas mileage and with the right package fun to drive. When I had my MBZ and would take it in for the schedule maint they would always loan me a C230 (10 bucks for 3 days). I liked the new sport model with the AMG package. The small V6 manual was real peppy. But at the same price as the M45 you can get into a 2010 C300 or 2009 C350. More power and better body style than the C230.

[EniGmA1987]

The Benz dealer may loan you another C230 for $10 (for 3 days), but if you buy an Infiniti in SO Cal they should loan you a most recent model year G37 sedan for free for as long as work is being done on your car with no questions asked and no hasstle, reguardless if it is a CPO or not. If they dont at your dealership in San Diego then they are just slacking

[riggz]

If the accident isnt reported to insurance and the DMV, it wont show up on carfax. Even then I suppose there can be mistakes made on entires.

I don't think the DMV has anything to do with accidents showing up on CarFax unless it's changing the title to salvage or totaled. And my truck was repaired under someone else's insurace but still didn't show up. It's all based on IF the repair shop reports it, which I doubt they are legally required to do.

[jhuerto23]

look else where. I've seen cheaper places here in the bay area on craigslist.

[EniGmA1987]

But dont buy from Craigslist...