PreOwned '03 G35 sedan, A LiTTLE HELP PLS

[redmethod52]

i just Turned 20 on 9/12 ... but durung the summer i worked about 14 hours a day 7 days a week for the full summer... and bought a '03 G35 sedan from a Infiniti Dealer ship. This is my 1st real car... my previous car was a '92 nissan stanza ... ever since i bought it ive had numerous small Problems w/ it...

1) the compass sometime is backwards... that doesn't bother me b/c i use it, but because its not workin properly,

2)when im goin up my driveway, there is a diffrence in hight, and theres a small lump, my front left drivers wheel makes a sound, like the shox are bad...

3)once the car sits for a while, and i start it... i let it warm up for about 5 mins before i move it, but once i reverse out of the drive way and im on the street, i put the car into drive and i hear a pinging noise, ** the dealership chnged the rear axles but its still making the noise...

4) On the chrome and glass on the car theres water stains, i just tried getting it off w/ windex but that didnt work...

******what i've noticed was that the rear bumper is a slightly diffrent color, then the rest of the car, when i asked the dealer, he stated that they dont deal w/ cars in collisions... but i did not notice this @ the delership, i noticed it once about a week and a 1/2 after i bought it...*****************



someone pls help me...

[thintzen]

bought it at the infiniti dealership in lynbrook right (atlantic)??? i bought my car there as well pre-owned. had some of the same problems with the paint and the whole collision thing. turns out my car was hit also, and the only way to truly tell was to take out the trunk lining and seeing the spikes that were shaved down. as far as the mechanical aspects, theyre really good over there in diagnosing problems, so take it into service and tell them all. you should still have warranty.

[NSR240sxe]

Welcome to NICO!! Congrats on the G35

[BigWill]

Congrats on the purchase, sorry to hear that you are having so many troubles. Just a thought on the compass... was the correct location code ever programmed into it? There are instructions in your owner's manual on how to do this.

Good luck with the rest!

[Q45tech]

Important to learn how dealerships [service department] work! They have three sources of revenue: YOU, Nissan Warranty, and intercompany transfers [since they sold you the G35 used].

The used car lot on the dealership is the highest profit division, followed by the parts department, then service, bring up rear is new car sales [unless they are the only Infiniti dealership within 100 miles].

Warranty work pays the dealership fewer HOURS for the same job than the book time for customer paid work. Nissan volume discount.

The service manager can be a big help in persuading Nissan to pay for things they normally wouldn't or he can just be neutral.

[jhoke]

The sticker on the windshield appears to show the car is certified preowned. That should take care of the mechanical issues at no cost to you. As for the paint problems, the dealership is required to disclose any information they have regarding collision damage prior to the purchase. It could be the repairs were done somewhere else and the dealer has no actual knowledge. You can obtain a printout of all work done at any Infiniti dealer from any dealer. Check carcareonline on how to remove water spots. Vinegar generally works on the windshield but I wouldn't use that on the paint.
Modified by jhoke at 1:41 PM 10/4/2006

[C-Kwik]

As for the paint problems, the dealership is required to disclose any information they have regarding collision damage prior to the purchase. It could be the repairs were done somewhere else and the dealer has no actual knowledge. You can obtain a printout of all work done at any Infiniti dealer from any dealer.

This would probably vary state to state. I know in California, this is not the case, The only thing I've ever found here requiring anything like this is if there was frame damage to the vehicle and IF it wasn't properly repaired. There's a bit of room for interpretation there and it would be contigent on if the dealer reasonably should have or did know about this. Check your local state laws on this one.

As far as the bumper paint is concerned, bare in mind that they use a flex agent in the paint for bumpers so it can expand and contract as the bumper heats and cools. Flex agents tend to have a light yellowish tint to them, so if the bumper had been repainted for any reason(possibly a scratch or something) then it could easily discolor or fail to match. I've seen factory bumpers have slight mismatches, but have not been as much of an issue now. Most good bodyshops have been able to minimize this issue as well.

[jhoke]

That's surprising. California is generally a lot more consumer oriented than Missouri is. What should help is the certified pre-owned disclosure and inspection. I know on Lexus certified, they have a list of items that must be inspected and disclosed to the purchaser on what was found by the inspection and the repair made. I would assume Infiniti would do much the same, but I've never purchased an Infiniti pre-owned so I'm speculating.

[ezflow]

Not sure why you let it idle for 5 minutes. Big waste of gas. You should be good for go in 30 seconds. Best to let a car warm up under load. The entire drive train has to warm up, trans. and rear axle, etc.

[Q45tech]

Preowned certified means they kinda checked things on the list, not on list not checked............just means normal wear and tear rates are not abnormal for the miles.A tech looked for things to charge Nissan warraty to replace/repair. What wasn't a warranty was presented to Used Car department to see if they wanted to pay [their discounted rate] to repair/recondition.

Every young man woman owes it to themselves to work a Summer as a used car salesman or detailer or porter. What you learn will last a lifetime.

[Jzera]

DId you ever find out what the pinging noise was?

I just purchased a pre-owned '03 G35 and just noticed the pinging noise when I cornered sharply and when I backed up.

Also I noticed a noise when it rains and I hit a bump that sounds like a bad shock, however I took it in and they couldn't find anything, sounds kind of like what you were talking about. Did you ever find out what the problem was?
Modified by Jzera at 9:59 PM 10/8/2006