I'm thinking about buying a used M37 (either 2011/2012 model year, would prefer 2012), and I have a question about the pricing of these cars. As I understand it, a "new" M37 will be released in a few weeks. I have read that, when a car model is tweaked/re-designed and released as a new or re-named model (e.g., as in the case of the M37 being re-named the Q70), there is typically a substantial depreciation hit to the older model years of that car. In other words, from what I've heard and been told, the re-titling of the M37 to "Q70" along with the design tweaks could cause the re-sale value/prices of older, used M37's to decrease drastically (possibly by $5k?).

Does anyone know if this is what typically occurs in this situation? If so, do you know how long it usually takes for prices of the older model years to drop following the release of a re-design? Like I said, I'm interested in purchasing an M37, but if the prices of 2011/2012 used cars will drop shortly after the Q70 is released later this month, I definitely won't mind waiting a few more weeks.

Thanks...

prices for used Infiniti are already quite reasonable [low]. I suspect their is no dramatic drop on the date of the announcement of a new model ,as this information is already public knowledge ,and like the stock market when goofs like us hear something it is already priced into the market .Don't try to time it buy what you like and makes you happy.

It's a two-fold situation to my mind. The existing M37's as well as any Infiniti vehicle will not hold a high re-sale value compared to other cars in it's calss that have an extensive pedigree and a huge fan base (Mercs and BMs). I, personally believe that Infiniti makes a much higer quality, much more reliable vehicle than Mercedes or BMW, or even Jag. Being able to get a used M at a lower price is a plus in my book. If you're looking for a used car, you benefit from the lower resale value of Infiniti models and also benefit because it's a much more reliable vehicle to begin with. However, if you buy a brand new Inifiniti, you likely will not be happy with a future trade-in or private sale of your car due to higher depreciation than other high-end cars.
As for the Q70 line making the M37's depreciate quicker, I doubt they would lose much more value just because a newer design is available. You will have those who like the Q50 front andrear end body tweeks that have been applied to the M37, but you will also have those who would not be willing to pay extra for it, knowing that the rest of the Q70 is still basically an M37 inside and out.
The only model I suspect will hold slightly more value is the Q70-L because of it's unique size that sets it apart from all but the BMW 750-L (which starts at a much higher price than any Infiniti model to begin with).

Larz wrote:It's a two-fold situation to my mind. The existing M37's as well as any Infiniti vehicle will not hold a high re-sale value compared to other cars in it's calss that have an extensive pedigree and a huge fan base (Mercs and BMs). I, personally believe that Infiniti makes a much higer quality, much more reliable vehicle than Mercedes or BMW, or even Jag. Being able to get a used M at a lower price is a plus in my book. If you're looking for a used car, you benefit from the lower resale value of Infiniti models and also benefit because it's a much more reliable vehicle to begin with. However, if you buy a brand new Inifiniti, you likely will not be happy with a future trade-in or private sale of your car due to higher depreciation than other high-end cars.
As for the Q70 line making the M37's depreciate quicker, I doubt they would lose much more value just because a newer design is available. You will have those who like the Q50 front andrear end body tweeks that have been applied to the M37, but you will also have those who would not be willing to pay extra for it, knowing that the rest of the Q70 is still basically an M37 inside and out.
The only model I suspect will hold slightly more value is the Q70-L because of it's unique size that sets it apart from all but the BMW 750-L (which starts at a much higher price than any Infiniti model to begin with).

Larz, those are all good points! I agree with what you said regarding reliability... I've never owned an MB, BMW, or Infiniti, but according to publications that evaluate vehicle reliability (e.g., Consumer Reports), Infiniti's cars tend to be MUCH more reliable over the long-term. And since I actually prefer the styling and power provided by the M37 as compared to most of BMW's/MB's offerings, it makes going for a used M37 a no-brainer.

Regarding price depreciation of used M37's -- I read an article the other day saying that the new 2015 Q70's should be arriving at dealerships around the end of this month, so I'm assuming that they'll be arriving and going on sale any day now. So if the new Q70 *does* happen to end up causing prices of older 2011/2012 M37's to drop, do you know how long it will probably take for the price drop to occur? Does that type of price drop (I.e., due to the release of a new model) usually occur immediately, or does it tend to take a few weeks to occur? The reason I'm curious is that I'm practically ready to "pull the trigger" on a 2011/2012 M37 now, but if I can save an additional $2-3k by waiting a few weeks, then it makes sense to just wait a little bit longer.

This never happens all at once, it's a gradual decline. In addition, the Q70 changes are not that big to warrant some drastic price drop. With that said, this doesn't mean that you can't get a bigger discount.

Now if you were looking at new 2014 Models and the 2015's were coming in you may see a big price decline. On used cars it's different.

dmclone wrote:This never happens all at once, it's a gradual decline. In addition, the Q70 changes are not that big to warrant some drastic price drop. With that said, this doesn't mean that you can't get a bigger discount.

Now if you were looking at new 2014 Models and the 2015's were coming in you may see a big price decline. On used cars it's different.

Yeah, I'm looking at getting a used car, so I guess I'll just have to wait for prices to drop. I've noticed that almost-new 2013 M37's are being priced in the low-to-mid-$30's, so I think it's kind of surprising that used 2011/2012 M37's haven't really dropped below the $28k-$30k range. It almost seems as if you'd be just as well off spend just a few thousand more on a 2013 M37 that's practically brand new.

Something else to consider: When the Q50's arrived, the G37s did not see a huge decrease in resale value. Since Infiniti kept making the G37s after the debut of the Q50, it made it appear that they were two different cars which safe guarded the value of the G37 temporarily, though it was clearly going to be replaced by the Q50.
In your case, the Q70 is exactly the same car as the M37 with a Q50 grille and re-worked tail lights - no major changes in the body, the interior, or features. In this case, I reckon the effect on resale values is not likely to be significant in the next 2 years.
However, when the actual re-designed Q70 debuts in the 2016 models, there could be a decrease in the resale value of your M37. By then, though, your M37 will be two years older and will naturally lose value due to its age. That leaves the aesthetic difference of the Q50 grille. I would prefer a used Q70 over a used M37 one year older, but there won't be any significant number of used Q70s for a few years and those will not include the actual new 2016 design.

I say get a new an M37 as possible and enjoy it. The worst scenario I see is that you may want the new re-designed 2016 Q70 and your used M37 will make a nice down payment.

I picked up my 2013 M37x from an Infiniti dealership with 40k miles for a little over 30k in May.... it has a few packages aside from being all wheel drive so someone dropped nearly 60k on it when it was new about a year before I bought it.

Larz wrote:Something else to consider: When the Q50's arrived, the G37s did not see a huge decrease in resale value. Since Infiniti kept making the G37s after the debut of the Q50, it made it appear that they were two different cars which safe guarded the value of the G37 temporarily, though it was clearly going to be replaced by the Q50.
In your case, the Q70 is exactly the same car as the M37 with a Q50 grille and re-worked tail lights - no major changes in the body, the interior, or features. In this case, I reckon the effect on resale values is not likely to be significant in the next 2 years.
However, when the actual re-designed Q70 debuts in the 2016 models, there could be a decrease in the resale value of your M37. By then, though, your M37 will be two years older and will naturally lose value due to its age. That leaves the aesthetic difference of the Q50 grille. I would prefer a used Q70 over a used M37 one year older, but there won't be any significant number of used Q70s for a few years and those will not include the actual new 2016 design.

I say get a new an M37 as possible and enjoy it. The worst scenario I see is that you may want the new re-designed 2016 Q70 and your used M37 will make a nice down payment.

Yeah, I did consider the possibility of selling my M37 (if I get one) after a few years to "upgrade" to the upcoming all-new Q70, so that's something to keep in mind. I think I will go ahead and wait at least a few weeks, though, just to see if even the slightest depreciation in used prices will be realized.

gwoods wrote:I picked up my 2013 M37x from an Infiniti dealership with 40k miles for a little over 30k in May.... it has a few packages aside from being all wheel drive so someone dropped nearly 60k on it when it was new about a year before I bought it.

That sounds like a great deal! Can I ask what options packages the car has?

Most of the Infiniti dealerships in the southeast are charging almost just as high of a price (around $30k) for used 2011 M37's that are also equipped with a few options packages, which doesn't really make sense. It's almost as if the Infiniti dealerships themselves are simply refusing to acknowledge that 2011/2012 M37's actually HAVE depreciated some over the last few years, and they don't seem to realize that no reasonably well-informed buyer would be willing to pay just as much for a 2011 model as they would for a 2013 model.