Considering a (used) 2006 M35, what should I look out for?

[awesomelyhumble]

Hi all, I'm new to the site but a fan of the car! I've been shopping around for a 2006 M35, and aside from the obvious used car shopping criteria, I'm wondering if there are any specific wears to the 2006 M35 that I should look out for (for example, I know there was a recent recall on the throttle sensor).

Thanks!

[Larz]

Obviously, you will look for the one that has least mileage and a well-kept appearance so no need to go into that. If possible, obtain a CarFax report. That should tell you if the car has been in any accidents, how many times it has changed owners, and maybe even some history of work done. Depending on the mileage, you may need to do some catch-up on the maintenance. Things like transmission flush, coolant flush, power steering flush, and brake fluid change to name a few. I'm NOT saying you HAVE TO do these, but you will need to check them to see if they are needed and do them gradually in the first year.
One good idea is to take it to an Infiniti dealer for an oil change. If you bring your own oil, they do the work and provide a new filter for about $30. But they will also do their multi-point inspection which tells you about brake life, tire life, suspension, and host of other maintenance items and the service rep should be able to pull up any repair history on the vehicle if done by an Infiniti dealer. That will give you a good starting point without the expense of paying a mechanic for an inspection.
Also, since you're buying used, look for speakers on the front seats, NAV, and HID headlamps as this ensures you have the expensive options and packages which won't raise the price much on a car 8 years old. Check the headliner for stains that may indicate a previous leak problem.
I highly recommend shopping at CarMax - they don't keep cars on the lot that have multiple or are about to have multiple problems. The actually do a full inspection instead of a wash / wax that corner lot dealers do. I bought an extended warranty form them that covers my car to 125k miles or 6 years from purchase date for less than 3k dollars and it covers more that the Infiniti extended warranty. I have used it only once for a starter and the battery it killed and my bill was about $200 for everything repaired at the Infiniti dealer. My service guy says he has worked with CarMAx waranty for his clients often and they have a good rep for holding up their end of the contract. You pay $100 deductible for not using the CarMax garage, but you get the work done by an Infiniti dealer and that's worth the deductible. After 8 years, there aresome pretty expensive parts that could go titz-up and repairing / replacing them is a bloody fortune if you don't have a warranty that covers them. For instance, one headlamp assembly with install is nearly $1,000 (with the HID AFS system) but CarMax warranty covers it with $100 deductible at the Infiniti dealer.

[pedsemdoc]

Awesomlyhumble:

I pulled this from a previous post of mine when someone asked about buying a used M (they didn't specify the year) so it's not really plagiarism...
The M35 is an awesome car, with plenty of power for most, but I LOOOVE my V8, just a little bit more a fuel hog. Hey, but I can live with that for the extra power!!!

I have a 2006 M45-bought used at 41k miles, it is my daily driver and is now at 83k

I replaced my rotors and pads at about 45k miles (many complain that the OEM setup is too small for effectively stopping such a big/heavy car) , search Brakemotive kit for a more economical but effective setup

I have experienced a little of the tramlining many have described, but have the RSA crap tires that most on the forum have complained about--will be replacing those in the next few weeks or so.

I have NOT had oil consumption issues, but put in a catch can, because these motors do burn a small amount of oil.

I have NOT had the front (driver's) seat rail problem (poor weld for some which breaks and seat becomes loose)

I have NOT yet had a problem with the front wheel hubs going bad.

I LOVE my car and have done quite a bit of maintenance on it myself (much of the help from the DIYs Ilya has posted on the site: brake job, belts, oil (once--just a pain to get the plastic lower cover off 'cuz it's fastened with like 21 bolts), drain and filled transmission fluid, exchanged power steering fluid, replaced in cabin air filter, replaced the hood struts, and have done the Nav hack the old school way--cut and spliced wires (didn't use the aftermarket wire harness)

Sooo, with about 92k miles on the car now (still love this car!!!):

Have replaced the rotors and pads (just front pads were bad, but the Brakemotive kit is so cheap, I just replaced everything, plus I painted the rotor hats and the calipers black) or you could go with the Akebono big brake kit (BBK) too, which looks really noice!

Haven't changed the tires (too cheap) but they've held up well despite being the crappy RSA ones (last oil change at the dealer they were at 16/32 all 'round)

Getting barely any oil in the catch can... Although VK motors seem to have more of this problem vs the VQ

Still no problems with the seat rail.

Had to change my passenger front wheel hub, pretty easy DIY, but broke off the wheel sensor bolt, so had to drill out a new one. Plus, it took a while to get the old hub out 'cuz that sum bich was stuck/rusted in there reallll tight.

Noticed that the black plastic coating on my LEFTmost Homelink button on the rearview mirror is flaking off.

Once had the fuel tank issue (tried to fill it up once and the gas tank nozzle kept stopping as if the tank was full--stopped trying and went back to fill it up a few days later and had no problems) has not happened ever again.

Got the accelerator pedal senor/throttle recall done and I think it's more responsive.

Other maintenance done:
Bought some breathable seat covers for the front seats (wanted to protect the leather some, but still feel the cooling and heating)
Changed my PCV valves
Changed my spark plugs
Changed my rear differential fluid
Planning on changing out my driver side headlight, got hit by a big chunk of metal thrown up by a semi and cracked it.

Good luck with your search and let us know if you decide on joining the club!!
It is an awesome car and you'll be quite pleased with it.

Craig

[vasekvi]

+1 on what larz said. However the difference in deductible for repair between carmax and infiniti is $50 I'd you get the extended warranty. That's what I did when I got my M from CarMax a month ago.

I had them do a few things for my car under the initial 30 day warranty and they gave me a loaner vehicle. My to do list was as follows. They fixed everything.

1. Driver side rear tire inside-out (remounted)
2. Rattle in rear subwoofer area (Idk what they did they used some remote stethoscope and found the sound source)
3. CD player not loading. (replaced CD player)
4. Creaking sound at front right during light braking at 20 MPH (resurfaced rotors and pads)
5. Rear brakes squeak in reverse (replaced rear rotors and pads)
6. Engine making tapping sound when warm (ordered fuel damper (on my advice which I got here regarding what I thought the fix would need to be) which will be here on the 23rd, so I will report back on that later)
7. Fluttering sound when left side windows are open - still unresolved.

My car has 49000 miles and I got the warranty till 150,000 miles.

If you're looking at an 06 why don't you look at the 08 as well? Or maybe the 09 with the 7 speed automatic?

[awesomelyhumble]

Awesome suggestions, thank you so much! I was actually considering a 2005 G35 coupe, but it seems I can get a 2006 M for close to the same price (maybe $1000-$2000 more), and I would much rather have the M35. I'm on a pretty tight budget, and a 2006 M35 seems to be the upper limit of what I can afford. The issue is I'm seeing a few of them (on Craigslist) with 110-145k miles, which is part of the reason I started this thread.

I'm seeing some models have the double 5-spoke wheels, and others have the 8-spoke wheels. Not sure if it's a package option, but I'm learning more. :-)

[mexillis]

just buy my M45 and call it a day...

[nemeios]

I'm seeing some models have the double 5-spoke wheels, and others have the 8-spoke wheels. Not sure if it's a package option, but I'm learning more. :-)

The 19" double 5-spoke wheels came with sports package. the 18" 8 spoke wheels were the standard.

Here are the details of various packages - http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2007/inf ... s_options/

I bought a 2007 Sports model and am really happy with it.

Good luck in your search.

[vasekvi]

What mexillis said. Both cars get bad gas mileage. And if you're not getting the 7AT you may as well get the M45