I was a Nissan guy for about 9 years (owned and loved my 94 TT Z32).

Been into Bimmers for about 5 years now (selling a really clean 03 530I MSport).

I've decided to go back to Nissan & pick up an 06 or 07 6mt coupe, and think I've found one. Here's the story:

Found the car online, and it's a few hundred miles from me. It's a 2007 model, the right color, the right price (or close enough), has ~70k miles, clean carfax (no accidents or title issues), 2 previous owners and it appears to be in good shape.

Here's my concern - the seller said they had it painted to "fix some scratches". I asked for an invoice, & they quickly provided it. It's dated August of 2014 and the only notes are "repair/paint entire body". The price shown is $2800, and the body shop name is consistent with what they told me on the phone.

I'm a little worried that it needed a whole paint job, & that it only cost $2,800 ($5k has been closer to my experience).

Would anyone that has more body work experience than me (particularly from the dealer perspective) be willing to chime in with how concerned all of this should make me?

I realize there aren't any guarantees, but I'd like to get a better feel for the likelihood of having peeling paint in 12 months.

Thanks in advance - hope to be among your numbers soon

 

Nah, $2800 is about right for a good paint job if its a mask and spray. The $5000 jobs are usually done by really high end places that literally take off ever panel and paint the jams and everything. For just a respray, I'd actually say $2800 is a pretty high price. I wouldn't worry about it.

Now, if he said it was $399 from Maaco that he got on a presidents day sale, I'd run. Haha

 

Great news - thank you. Any concerns with their having it since August, or am I being "overly paranoid Rob Lowe" now?

Anything to watch out for on the 07's? I targeted 06-07 due to the oil burn off issues I read about in 05's.

Thanks again!

 

Actually the oil burning is 05-07 6mt coupes (and 05-06 6mt sedans). Its that's rev-up motor. That would be the only thing "motor wise" I would ask about. Bushings in the compression rod and lower control arms are something to keep an eye on too. They were revised for those years, but they still suck.

They only had it since august? That is a bit of a concern. What's their excuse for that?

 

Oh! Sorry - I should've worded that better - it's a dealer that has had it since August - not a private seller.

I was curious as to why they haven't sold it yet. Again, maybe just me being paranoid...

Good to know about the oil issue - any way to diagnose that on site without driving it for 1k miles?

 

Oh, the dealer has had it since august. No, I wouldn't worry about that. Its never a good idea to buy an old model luxury car unless you're an enthusiast of that particular car. They probably just haven't found the right buyer. Plus these cars (with decent miles) tend to go for a lot considering the age. I don't really see it as something you'd just "pick up" all ***** nilly. There's nothing appealing about it to someone who "just needs a car" you know what I mean? Bad mpg, expensive up keep, expensive tires, older car. Just not a good idea unless you love the car.

The oil thing you can probably get a leak down test for, but I know the ones that had the motor replaced under warranty have some kind of marking on them, so that would be a good sign. I'm an 04 tho, so someone else will have to chime in on that.

Now that I know its from the dealer, I would worry even less about the paint. If they were fixing scratches, I guarantee the paint wouldn't blend due to the age of the paint so I'm sure that's why they had to do a complete respray. No biggie at all.

 

Hey OP......what country do you live in? I am curious as they didn't offer an 03 530I MSport in the United States.

 

That makes sense - thanks for clarifying. I'll google what that "mark" is. Hopefully they will let me take it to the local Infinity dealer (the seller is a used auto place) to get it checked out.

If anyone else has anything that I should look out for or check out, please let me know.

I appreicate all of the help!!

 

I'm in the USA. That's a bit of a conundrum to me as well. The paperwork that came with the car originally said "MSport". It comes with a stiffer suspension, ///M accents in the interior (door sills, shift ****, steering wheel, etc.).

 

Oh a conundrum. I see. Well, someone spent some serious money to get a M badged car over here without an M engine so thats really intelligent. Anyway this is also a DE section, your would be car has an HR motor

 

His car has a rev-up, not an HR.

 

You need a G35driver discount double check on G engines! Or maybe i do, but I'm pretty sure its an HR

 

Haha HRs are in 07/8 sedans. The rev-up is in 05-07 6mt coupes and 05-06 6mt sedans. He's looking at an 07 6mt coupe.

 

roger that

 

Not sure what you're getting at, but the MSport & sport packages are different from the actual M5, although they all (for the most part from 99 onwards) have some ///M badging, at least on the interior. It's not like someone stuck some badges on it and tried to pass it off as if it had a forced induction V8.