Thinking about buying 2007 M35x. Questions!

[5point9limited]

Hello all,
I am thinking of pulling the trigger on an 07 M35X with 107k. The interior is in nice shape except for the broken front seat that they are going to fix. Yesterday, in NJ, it was in the teens. I started that car and pulled out of the spot. Gently.
We got onto the highway within 20 seconds of starting and I GENTLY gave her gas. I noticed a HARD shift from gears 2-3. I drove it a total of about 20 miles and once the transmission was warm, it ran perfectly. Is this normal? The car has had regular maintenance at the dealer throughout its life. However, I didn't see any transmission, differential, or transfercase maintenance. I would do that myself if I bought it.

Are there any other major items I should look into? I know bearings, front driveshafts, and CV boots are common. The dealer just did a bearing.

Any input is appreciated!

[pedsemdoc]

This question gets asked a lot, a few folks have had some hard/lagging shifting/transmission issues, BUT that is not particularly common for this car. (some of the strange shifting patterns have been fixed for some with a reprogram at the dealer, I think there was either a technical service bulletin or recall for this some time ago, IIRC, but's it's been quite a while and I don't keep up as regularly with the Y50 platform maintenance since I've got an M37 now.

Cracked, broken dashes seem to be the most contemporary topic lately. The other pricey item is if your auto-leveling headlight motor goes out (can't just replace the motor, it's integrated into the headlight, so you have to buy a whole new headlight)

There are a few more common complaints that seem to come up a little more regularly
may want to search the threads, but to start with:

post6743772.html?hilit=questions#p6743772

post6749064.html?hilit=buying#p6749064

post6631419.html?hilit=buying#p6631419

Two words: pre-purchase inspection...worth every cent

Welcome if you end up buying it and good luck with the search if you don't, these are great cars IMO. You won't be sorry as long as you do your homework and due diligence.

Craig

[ZMQguy]

Mine does the exact same thing when it's cold. Just let it warm up a few minutes and all will be well. My only complaints about the car are an extremely poor Bose stereo and poor gas mileage. Other than that I absolutely love it. Can't for the life of me figure out why ppl drop 20k+ on a new Chrysler 200 when this is twice the car used.

[EdBwoy]

... Can't for the life of me figure out why ppl drop 20k+ on a new Chrysler 200 when this is twice the car used.

I'm of the same mindset. I can buy a brand new vehicle, but not the kind I like to drive.

5point, if you can get over the transmission behavior, you will find that this is a really good value platform.
However, I have a duty to say this - despite these transmissions being very reliable, the few major issues we have seen reported on this forum have been mainly from AWD owners.

[midnightclub619]

Fortunately, I haven't had any transmission issues, although, I thought I did summer of last year. Turned out to be something totally unrelated to the transmission (Right Catalytic Converter). I've been lucky but my transmission is still going strong at 107k. I did have to replace both CV axles just last year. I also replaced my Transfer Case, since I thought that was the issue at the time but turned out to be the Catalytic Converter. So the Transfer Case might not be an issue that is the norm for our cars. End Links might be something you want to get checked out. Outside of that, been very happy with this car and will run it til it can't run anymore.

[Larz]

My 07 M35 had no issues to speak of. I religiously kept up to date with all maintenance and the only repair came at bout 90,000 miles - a starter. It was still running and looking brand new (see my pics) until it was destroyed by a drunk girl at just over 100k miles. I still have my 2009 M35 and it has just now crossed 100k miles. In the last 2 years, it needed a new battery, O2 sensors, and the passenger outdoor mirror needed a new motor. The only frequent issues I recall seeing from those models are the AWD models and oil loss in the M45 models.