I am going to look at an 2007 G35X sedan with 107K miles tomorrow. Black/black, supposedly has all options. Carfax shows no issues and some service history. Looking to pay around $10K. I like the 07 up styles and most are around $15-18K, though with less miles. But is 40K less miles worth $5,000 more?

Seems like a decent deal on this type of car, but I am still a little leery of the mileage. I have a work truck and my Wife has a 2014 Grand Cherokee so this just a fun car or something to drive when shes out on evenings or weekends. My college age son may drive it a little when he's home.

What do you guys think about a high mileage G35x? What should I be looking at tomorrow?

Thanks,

MIKE

 

It depends. Is the car properly serviced? If it was serviced properly you can expect a lot of life from the vehicle.

Has it been in an accident before? Can you get service records from the previous owner or dealer? Carfax does not provide good car history reports. Check for accident damage (paint not matching, panels not lining up, etc.)

By supposedly all the options, what do you mean? There are many packages, with all the options meaning it has the sport package, premium, navigation, and technology packages. Very few cars have the technology package, which includes the adaptive cruise control and the adaptive front headlighting system.

 

I saw the car today and agreed to buy on Wednesday for $10,000. Outside was kinda dirty, but I looked very close and couldn't see any dings, scratches, dents, etc. I'm sure I'll see some when I get to detailing it.
The inside was also a little dirty, but no smoke smell. The floor mats are worn, might be worth replacing them. On the drivers door, the black paint was all worn off the plastic bezel that surrounds the window and door buttons. Hopefully I can just get another on. The seats showed some noticeable wear, but still felt supportive, and I'm a big guy(6'2" 225lbs).
It did have every option package: Premium, Nav and Tech. Tires were ok, probably get new in the next few months, but not needed immediately.
He only has 1 key fob; I saw I can buy them online, but does it need to be programmed at the dealer?
The oil was fairly clean, the sticker said the oil change is dues in 1,500 miles. The was a squeaking when I started it, which sounds like a belt to me.
My test drive seemed fine, though due to traffic, I couldn't get much past 40 mph.

I'll report back when the deal is done.

 

With the car with the options with that many miles, the listed kbb value should be around $13000 for a car labeled as good condition from a private party. It is a good deal, but I'm wary of it.

If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. I think the car may have some issues and the owner wants to get rid of it quick and sold it about 25% below market value.

And frankly, I'm surprised a car with that many miles has never had any detectable body work done on the car. It sounds a little bit fishy to me. As you said, if you don't see any dings, scratches, dents, etc on a car with more than 100k miles than it most probably had some recent body work done to remove them. I would expect to see some wear on the body too. When I bought my 07 G35x with 21k miles from a dealer in 2009, it already had a bit of dings on the door and the bumper had small scratches, which were repaired by the dealer.

As for the key fob, you can get another at the dealer (which would cost around $200-$250) or you can get it done from a locksmith with a Consult-III computer to program the keys. Not every locksmith would have it.

 

I didn't mean it was perfect, just nothing obviously wrong with the body. The roads are filthy with grey slush and road salt and the car was coated with a layer so it's hard to tell.

He told me Carmax offered him $9,400 so he was asking for $10,500, and we agreed at $10,000. I think Carmax's low ball set his expectations low.

We'll see after I drive it for a while and get it cleaned up. I'll post pictures by next weekend.

 

Alright. It is a good deal, but only if it is in good condition. Ask him what services he's done to the car.

Usually, if he hasn't done any transmission fluid changes on the car, the transmission wouldn't last very long. By 107k miles, I would expect at least a transmission fluid change twice. The engine oil can be clean but shine a flashlight through the oil filler cap and you can see if there is any sludge forming inside. Check the suspension. Are the struts/shocks in good condition? Any knocking/squeaking noises?

Make sure you get a car wash so you can see if there is any damage on the vehicle. If you can post pictures before you buy it that would be great. Maybe some of us can spot things that may be different from stock.

 

$10k is a great deal for that car! I think the CarMax people did set his expectations low and just wants to make a few extra bucks. If you can bring someone knowledgeable with cars with you that would be very helpful.

Heck, take the thing through the auto car wash on the final test drive just to be sure on the outside. Like stated above, if it was driven hard and the trans fluid hasn't been changed in the past that is not good, but not necessarily bad. You can pull the dipstick to check the fluid and smell it. It probably won't smell fresh but hopefully not burnt smell. YOU WILL NEED A 10mm socket (it thinks it's 10) or screw socket to get the dipstick out of the tube. It is between the motor and the firewall.

If there are no records you should go through all the systems when you buy it to make it's all fresh again. Trans fluid drain and fill to start, differential fluid, radiator flush, belts, hoses, brake fluid, spark plugs,etc. you'll spend several hundred dollars but will help keep it going.

You weren't able to drive it hard. Make sure you can get on it and make sure it shifts well through the gears. Take it to redline. You will be doing it anyway once you buy it :-)

it's a great price - lots of life left - good luck!..... Oh- and the door pulls ($80) and steering wheel bezel ($25) are easy fixes that will make the interior look great again. Just did mine last month

 

I am knowledgeable about cars. I was a technician 25 years ago . Since then I've sold tools and installed and serviced auto shop equipment.
I am planning to make the deal on Wednesday. I will drive it for a week or two, and if there is some sort of major issue, I'll clean it up and flip it (I hope not).

Carfax show about 10 reports of servicing, but not much details about what was done. I plan on changing all fluids, belt (s), and spark plugs to get started.

 

Unfortunately, the rear door pulls are $80 each and the fronts are $35 each. Not sure why there is such a huge gap price difference between the two.

 

Well we made the deal today and I drove it home. I stopped by for a car wash and I vacuumed it out too. Cleaned the windows and wiped the interior as soon as I got home. I am amazed that people try to sell a car without even the most basic of cleaning.

He handed me a folder of receipts that show some good news:
Battery and TPMS sensor at 99K
LF Wheel bearing at 88K
Brake job. All fluids flushed: brake, coolant, diffs, trans, ps at 56K(needs them again)
Lots of oil changes along the way too with synthetic blend.

Between the car being filthy and the guy listing it as an "Infinty", I'm not surprised that I got it for that price.

 

 

I wouldn't read that much into it.

I have over 140K miles on my car, and no detectable dings,scratches or dents...just front end rock chips. It's mostly because I park WAY away from anyone in parking lots at the mall and work and home and don't hit things.

(now that i said that...i just jinxed myself)

Good luck with the car. Looks great

 

Looks good with some decent maintenance history. You got the deal of the month for sure!

I bought mine two months ago with 84k for $14,000 and thought I did pretty well. Nothing is selling that cheap anywhere nearby.

Enjoy it.

 

Agree that OP did quite well. Concur with you on NC prices too. I paid $14.2k for my '06x with 74k miles last March (had to go to Greensboro from Raleigh to find it too after looking at a lot of 'two guys and a gravel lot' trash) and felt like it was a pretty fair deal for a dealer sale. I'm second owner and have all maintenance records with work done on schedule by that dealer.

 

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm afraid that after a wash and back in my garage with fluorescent lighting, that paint doesn't look great. No apparent body work, just lots of little scuffs, scratched and marks. Looks like it has never had a coat of wax in it's life.
I tried to clay bar the hood yesterday. I decided to do half and see the difference, and it was quite dirty. The bar was soft from being indoors, but it is only 45f in the garage and it got too stiff quickly. The half I did looks better, but I need to wait for warmer weather to do it all. After I clay bar it, I may take to a detailer to get buffed and shampoo the interior.