New member and a few questions

[vog]

Hello all. Just wanted to introduce myself to the community. My name is Jordan and I'm currently driving a 1999 Honda Accord coupe. I put a reserve deposit down on a 2006 G35 coupe 6MT today, but I'm having a couple of reservations about my decision and was looking for some input from G35 owners.

I've test driven the car a couple of times and really enjoy the car (love the seats). It seems to be in great shape mechanically, and most everything on the outside seems to be in good shape. However, there a couple of issues bothering me about the car. Before I got in for my test drive today, I decided to pop the hood to see if the previous owner had performed any basic mods. I got the hood about 12 inches up before it began scraping against the fenders and wouldn't go up any further. My first inclination was that the car had been in a front-end collision, however, the carfax history report is clean. Upon closer inspection of the front-end, it does appear that the front bumper has been touched up in two different places, but I can't tell if there's been any collision.

The car has just over 14,000 miles and is a one-owner out of Florida. The dealership has the car stickered at $25,999. After chatting with them today, they've agreed to "work on shining up the bumper" and getting the hood fixed so it will clear the fenders. The sales manager claims that the problem on the hood is probably due to the hood springs being bad? I'm not entirely sure what he is referring to, but he said they would send it out to get it fixed today. Does this sound like an accurate resolution to the problem? I couldn't ever get the hood open to actually see the springs, but he claims they're similar to the ones on the 350z (which I haven't seen either). I told them I'd pay $21k for it after the repairs and they countered $22,963 (plus a $400 "document fee").

So, here's my questions: 1) Does $23,400 seem like a reasonable amount for the G? It's a 2006 G35 coupe 6MT, Bose stereo, 19" wheels, 14,147 miles. This is my first true car purchase and I'm kinda freaking out about making a bad decision.

2) Has anyone experienced the hood problem without having some sort of collision?

The reserve deposit that I have down on the car is refundable and is essentially a placeholder for me until the car is fixed and I can come inspect it. The only other vehicle I'm currently looking at is a 2009 WRX (I like the G35's styling, engine reliability and price better, but after today I'm reconsidering). Any recommendations are welcome and extremely appreciated!

[tollboothwilley]

I would say that it seems very fishy that the hood isn't opening/closing without scraping. Def seems like there was a previous accident. I haven't ever seen a G35 or 350Z with that problem.

Carfax does have a warranty but I don't know what that really does.

I think given the circumstances you could get $22K out the door(including doc fees). Let the dealership know that you are looking at other cars and if you want the G tell them you will just buy the other car if they don't meet your price point.

[SVTCOBRA]

Would shoot for between KBB trade in and PP.

Perhaps the hood and front bumper have been taken off to be resprayed at one time. Not sure. Does sound a bit fishy.....Carfax is a tool, but not all accidents are reported to carfax. Seems like I heard there are some states that it is not done in and I think VA is one of them.....I would do some more googling if I were concerned.

Welcome to Nico!!!

[pfarmer]

The reserve deposit that I have down on the car is refundable and is essentially a placeholder for me until the car is fixed and I can come inspect it. The only other vehicle I'm currently looking at is a 2009 WRX (I like the G35's styling, engine reliability and price better, but after today I'm reconsidering). Any recommendations are welcome and extremely appreciated!

I would stay with a 'G' over a WRX, just not this 'G'. If you are having problems with something you can see, then in my mind I would suspect there are things about this car that you can't see. However if you are still considering it, then take it yourself to a body shop and to a good mechanic of your choosing, not theirs. Let the body shop tell you why the hood scrapes.

Perry

[vog]

Thanks for the advice guys. They're supposed to give me a call on Tuesday or Wednesday and let me come back and take another look at the car after they've fixed the problems and cleaned it up. They actually just got the car in last week and haven't even put it out on the lot yet because the owner had been using it as his personal vehicle for the week.

I may take my digital camera and snap some pics of the front-end of the car......particularly the gaps between the hood/fenders and bumper. At first glance, I thought the gaps between the bumper and hood were a little large and maybe that was causing the scraping.

[kmckis1029]

i used to do body work ... i would install parts... but my first thought was either they respainted the hood and didnt align it right, or worst case, there is some frame damage... the thing about the "hood springs" (im assuming they/you are talking about the hinge that connects the hood to the car) could be plausable if it was just mis aligned...

i once had a rav4 i was rebuilding... the fenders, the bumber, the hood, lights, and tire skirts ect all went on perfect... then when i tested to see if the hood would raise the same thing you described happened... turned out the guy that was suppose to straighten the frame back didnt do it all the way... probably needed 1 more inch of frame pulling for the hood to clear...

[vog]

i used to do body work ... i would install parts... but my first thought was either they respainted the hood and didnt align it right, or worst case, there is some frame damage... the thing about the "hood springs" (im assuming they/you are talking about the hinge that connects the hood to the car) could be plausable if it was just mis aligned...

i once had a rav4 i was rebuilding... the fenders, the bumber, the hood, lights, and tire skirts ect all went on perfect... then when i tested to see if the hood would raise the same thing you described happened... turned out the guy that was suppose to straighten the frame back didnt do it all the way... probably needed 1 more inch of frame pulling for the hood to clear...

I can't say I'm a carfax expert, but I sure hope a car with frame damage would get reported by the DMV, insurance group, body shop or somebody. That definitely sounds plausible though. I think the car was in Florida for it's entire ownership before it hit the auction round and ended up in Virginia.

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure what the guy was talking about when he said hood springs. The only things I've ever seen holding a hood to a car are normal hinges and sometimes hydraulics. I had a carbon fiber hood on my Accord at one point in time and we had difficulty aligning it with the stock hinges. If the hood is misaligned on the G35 (which is what I'm assuming at this point), then it's been taken off for some reason. It's either been replaced or repainted.

[G_whizz]

Welcome to your new home!

My advice...go with your gut feeling. It also seems fishy to me and certainly sounds like this car has been in some sort of accident. Especially if it had a front end accident...I would walk away and keep looking...don't settle, be patient.

Otherwise in the back of your mind it will ALWAYS bug you.

[vog]

Welcome to your new home!

My advice...go with your gut feeling. It also seems fishy to me and certainly sounds like this car has been in some sort of accident. Especially if it had a front end accident...I would walk away and keep looking...don't settle, be patient.

Otherwise in the back of your mind it will ALWAYS bug you.

Thanks G_whizz.

I'll let you guys know how it all turns out next week.

[telcoman]

Welcome to your new home!

My advice...go with your gut feeling. It also seems fishy to me and certainly sounds like this car has been in some sort of accident. Especially if it had a front end accident...I would walk away and keep looking...don't settle, be patient.

Otherwise in the back of your mind it will ALWAYS bug you.

+1



vog

Welcome to NICO

My $.02 is to walk away from this car.Sounds to me perhaps someone drove it thru a garage wall?

I didn't listen to my Dad many many years ago when looking for my first car.He advised me not to buy that 58 Ford with the police intercepter engine but I didn't listen. It turned out to be the biggest POS car I ever owned.

If you read posts on this site for awhile, there are some here on NICO that you would never want to purchase a vehicle from.

Keep looking and try to get one with a warranty.

Telcoman

[vog]

+1



vog

Welcome to NICO

My $.02 is to walk away from this car.Sounds to me perhaps someone drove it thru a garage wall?

I didn't listen to my Dad many many years ago when looking for my first car.He advised me not to buy that 58 Ford with the police intercepter engine but I didn't listen. It turned out to be the biggest POS car I ever owned.

If you read posts on this site for awhile, there are some here on NICO that you would never want to purchase a vehicle from.

Keep looking and try to get one with a warranty.

Telcoman

Thanks Telcoman. I know what you mean about purchasing cars from forum members. There are plenty of people who maintain and really take good care of their cars, but there are also just as many who drive their cars very hard and run them into the ground. In searching for my new car, I've tried staying away from used cars like STI's or anything that's been modded because I know the odds are higher that they've been driven incredibly hard and probably wouldn't make for the best used car.

I liked this G because it was a low mileage out of Florida, so I'm assuming it belonged to an older person or someone who used it as a weekend car only. I was hoping this would mean that is was treated well and in good shape, however, that's not looking like the case. This G is still under warranty, but it's a 2006, so I'm not sure how much longer the powertrain warranty is good for. I think it's a 4-year warranty? Either way, I'm now leaning towards just backing off and searching for another one.

[tollboothwilley]

Warranty is 4 yr 60K

Power train is 5 yr 70K

As long as you don't think that the car has been in an accident I think its worthy of purchase.

I would check the paint. Use your hands, most of the time you can feel a difference between factory finish and aftermarket work. My body shop guy does a much better job of keeping the paint nice and smooth.

[vog]

Warranty is 4 yr 60K

Power train is 5 yr 70K

As long as you don't think that the car has been in an accident I think its worthy of purchase.

I would check the paint. Use your hands, most of the time you can feel a difference between factory finish and aftermarket work. My body shop guy does a much better job of keeping the paint nice and smooth.

Thanks for the info on the warranty tollboothwilley.

I'm unsure if it's been in an accident or not. On one hand, I've got a clean carfax. On the other hand, I've got a touched up bumper and a hood that can't even open without scraping the fenders. I really see no way that the hood could get in the position that it's in now without having had some type of collision though.

When I noticed the touch-ups, I ran my hand over the paint. It's definitely rougher around the touch-up spots compared to the rest of the bumper. Whoever did the body work didn't do that great of a job.

My dad also informed me today that the driver side headlight was sitting slightly above the fender whereas the passenger side headlight was flush with the fender. The touch-ups on the bumper are also on the driver's side. Why dad didn't volunteer this information while we were at the dealership, I'm not sure.

[tollboothwilley]

Sounds like it was definitely repainted. I would guess that it was in a very small fender bender, but you never can be certain.

Honestly, I think you should pass up this car and keep on looking. The right G is out there for you, in better condition.

[vog]

Sounds like it was definitely repainted. I would guess that it was in a very small fender bender, but you never can be certain.

Honestly, I think you should pass up this car and keep on looking. The right G is out there for you, in better condition.

After taking in the advice here and speaking with my dad this evening, that's what I've decided to do. Spending $20,000+ on my first car purchase and having it be in less than perfect condition is not a situation I want to be in. I'm gonna try and run by the dealership tomorrow and pick up my deposit.