Used 2008 Journey RWD. Is this a good buy?

[phantom76]

I am new to this forum and have done a thorough reading of this forum over the weekend.

I found a 2008 Journey RWD with 69K miles for an asking price of $17000 at a dealership. Is this a good price? Would you recommend buying with this relatively high mileage? I intend to keep it for atleast 3 to 4 years and planning to take it on long drives. When inspecting the car, would you recommend anything specific that I should look for?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[EXceptional]

I'm not sure about the price. Whereabouts do you live?

look for signs of sun-roof leakage.

check the tilt steering wheel.

listen for a hum, after the motor comes on, it could be the fuel pump.

if it has crappy Dunlop tires on it, be prepared to buy a set of tires.

[phantom76]

Thanks, EXceptional.

It has Good Year tires on it.

I live in suburbs of San Francisco.

[Audimontreal]

I would ask for records maintenance and history of the previous owner
Having a carproof or carfax is also nice to have
Take the VIN number and run it by your local Infiniti dealer
Make sure 17 or 18" tires, brakes, oil change have been taken care of
Is it a base model or does it have any packages/options
It is a very reliable car just cover your bases with the basic inquires

amazing car!

[phantom76]

I got the car fax. While the car fax is clean, it had 4 owners before! The first one drove for 30k miles and the others about 10k each before selling it. I will check with the dealer to see whether he has the service records.

It is the base journey model. Does not seem to have any additional packages.

[XIS]

4 owners before is interesting. I wonder if they were short leases? (never leased, so not sure how short of a duration you can choose?)

Does it have Bluetooth? Bose? Heated seats? (you need those in SF in July!)

[phantom76]

The last 3 owners seem to have purchased it.

I took a test drive yesterday and I looked for signs of fuel pump noise, sun roof leakage and steering problems. They all looked fine. The car was pretty nice to drive - the low end torque was amazing. There was a minor scratch on the dashboard, but everything else looked and operated nicely.

I checked this time a and it does have Bose audio, navigation and heated seats (I wrote the previous post before physically inspecting the car). I will probably evaluate with a mechanic before making a decision.

[XIS]

I wonder if their body shop can remove the scratch?

The price seems better now that it has Nav and Bose, etc

[Audimontreal]

Actually OP said the scratch was on his dashboard... Not sure how you can fix that maybe with a special resin? Like the ones available to fix damaged and cuts on leather seats?

Regarding a scratch on the car's body then any bodyshop or professional detailed can easily and safely remove a light to medium scratch by buffing or wet sanding making sure they do not go thorough the clear coat...