Hey folks,
I recently joined this forum because I plan to purchase an fx35 soon and hope to learn as much as I can before and AFTER doing so. So any advice as I continue this "purchase journey" is greatly appreciated.
I finally got to test drive one a couple of weekends ago. The car was a 2006 going for $9K with just under 120K miles. The road feel was about what I expected from what I've read: good handling & responsiveness, taut steering. The bad: noticeable shudder under moderate to hard braking (likely warped rotors); really bad corrosion in the undercarriage and engine bay. Those last two things are what concerns me about high mileage cars registered/owned/driven in northern states.
I've attached a couple of pics of the undercarriage. Folks tell me if my concern is bit off and this level of corrosion probably isn't anything to worry about.
one odd thing: reaching the seat controls from the drivers seat were unusually and uncomfortably tight. I'm not a big guy nor have big arms, but reaching my hand between the seat and the door paneling was very tight and almost painful. Has anyone else noticed that? or am I missing something there? lol
Oh also I had asked about room in the engine compartment to do minor work - access to drive belts in particular. Datman did reply there should be room and it is. I was very nicely surprised to see just "how" roomy the engine compartment was! Especially after looking at the compartments of other cars I was considering - the Lexus RS350 - no way! That engine compartment was ridiculously tight and so were a couple of other cars... nixed off the list of consideration.
This leaves the only other cars of interest (albeit lesser): Acura MDX, Audi Q5 and maybe a really cheap Ford Edge/Lincoln MKX.
After researching and reading more, I think I've narrowed it down to what I'm looking for:
∙ 2007 FX35
∙ less than $8 or $9K
∙ exterior color black, silver or liquid copper (burnt orange?)
∙ interior has to be that fabulous brick/black ( or all black if I simply can not find the B/B at the right price point)
∙ options: touring, hands free and tech package. would love to have the sport & touring package too
∙ minimal corrosion and rust
∙ fairly clean body paint and not too abused leather.\
Is that too much to ask?
Thanks all for your help on here in my ongoing search.
https://app.box.com/s/ibieqkru2bw7oni3pq3dzbu6h7oc82v7
https://app.box.com/s/r8uspkdb9nruccg2hs82i9fih7fkmg3s