buying used - service records

[brianVA]

Seeking some purchase advice:

We're looking at buying a 2006 m35/45 thats still under factory warranty. Most of the cars around town were prior leases bought from auction being sold by used car dealerships. Should we expect these sellers to have the service records or is that something an infinity service dealer can look up for us with the vin. Do they do that upon request or do we need to pay for inspection that will include that?

Also, can any m35/45 still under factory warranty qualify for elite extended or do they have perform the (expensive) certification?

Thanks a lot everyone. We've just started becoming familiar with the M35/45 and love the car (both trimlines). Really excited about becoming owners.

Brian

[jmcclain01]

Odds are the service records are not going to follow it through the lease return and the auction. Your best chance of getting service records is by buying it from an individual. If, some how you can find the dealer the care was serviced at then you should have access to all the records, otherwise I think you're out of luck.

On the warranty, that's the expensive part. Any work they have to do to the car to get it to certification level is covered by the price you pay for the warranty. When we bought ours, we had it certified and they did about 10 hours worth of work to it to get it up to the level they require. Even if the maintenance has been done, if they don't have it on record they have to redo it, it's required by the warranty company. You won't have to pay for any of this work, so don't worry about it.

[brianVA]

Thanks for the response. So do you know whether you buy the elite warranty and then go get the car certified with cost covered under the warranty or visa versa? I ask since I was wondering if I could buy the warranty from any US dealership or stuck buying local.

On the warranty, that's the expensive part. Any work they have to do to the car to get it to certification level is covered by the price you pay for the warranty. When we bought ours, we had it certified and they did about 10 hours worth of work to it to get it up to the level they require. Even if the maintenance has been done, if they don't have it on record they have to redo it, it's required by the warranty company. You won't have to pay for any of this work, so don't worry about it.

[NightWatch]

If the car was serviced at an Infiniti Dealership the service records are available as they follow the vehicle VIN number.

[jmcclain01]

Thanks for the response. So do you know whether you buy the elite warranty and then go get the car certified with cost covered under the warranty or visa versa? I ask since I was wondering if I could buy the warranty from any US dealership or stuck buying local.

I bought the certification from the dealer, not sure if that's the same thing as an elite warranty. Mine is the Infinti warranty and they require a certain amount of work to be done to the car before they will certify it. At my dealer, they don't do all that work until the purchaser agrees to pay for the warranty. Once the deal is done, then they do all the work required for the certification. Again, I'm not sure if that's the same as the elite warranty or not.

[NightWatch]

There's a difference between "Infiniti Certified Pre-Owned" and purchasing the Elite Warranty. Very few pre-owned vehicles are ever " Certified" When I bought my new M I was originally looking for a Certified Pre-Owned 2008 and neither one of the two dealers I went to had any.

[brianVA]

If the car was serviced at an Infiniti Dealership the service records are available as they follow the vehicle VIN number.

So if prior owner didnt get it serviced at a dealership and there is no paperwork with the car, is the factory warranty voided? This is important since I am buying the car under the assumption that there is time under the factory warranty which reduces my used car risk.

Thanks for the help.

[NightWatch]

The burden of proof would be on you. I would not buy ANY vehicle - under warranty or not - that did not have service records. You can only tell so much about how a vehicle was maintained by looking at it without tearing down the engine.

[NightWatch]

Also... If these are "Lease" vehicles and every lease I've seen includes scheduled maintenance... Why would they not have service records? Why would someone pay out of pocket to have the service done rather than take it to the Dealership and have them do it under the terms of the lease?

[jmcclain01]

Also... If these are "Lease" vehicles and every lease I've seen includes scheduled maintenance... Why would they not have service records? Why would someone pay out of pocket to have the service done rather than take it to the Dealership and have them do it under the terms of the lease?

A lot of leased vehicles are never serviced. In a lot of people's mind why would they service it, even if it's free it still takes time and effort, if they're going to return it at the end of the lease. At most they do oil changes every once in a while. Just the risk you take buying used.