Hi guys,

I'm new to the forum. Been doing quite a bit of reading over the last 3 days as I'm about to (*hopefully*) become an owner of an 03 sedan with MT.

It will be my first car (been driving for 9 years now, but it wasn't my own).

Here is my dillema... I want to get the car inspected and I'm torn between what would be better, this place: http://www.safecar.ca/whatwedo.htm or Simone Performance Imports which as I read on here has a good reputation. The first place will do engine diagnostics while SPI I would assume knows the car better but wouldn't include an engine diagnostic in their inspection.

Any thoughts/opinions would be greatly appreciated espically from those who've gone through the used car experience.

A little more about the car... it's a 1 owner with 60,000 kms; it's a private buy. Can't wait to have it in my driveway already but of course I have to be patient with the nitty griddy stuff. And until everything is finalized I am containing my excitement, but believe me, once it's oficially my car, you'll hear from me!

Alex

 

an 03 sedan with 60,000 dammnnnnnn thats looow. I would go with simone since he knows our cars better but both are equallly good. I green light from either is good enough. Just base it on your location and which ones closer

 

simone... since they know our cars and will be able to check for all the problems that are common with Gs... whereas the other shop might have an "engine diagostic" but won't be looking more carefully in the right places. eg. our headlight crack, oil value leak etc.

btw. congrats

 

I'm leaning towards SPI because of being more familiar with our cars specifically. Both are almost the same in terms of location... I live in RH.

Yep, KMs are pretty low and from my visual inspection of the car I have no reason to suspect roll backs. Also, I've gone through the owners maint records and kms wise they all add up. All of them were done at the same dealer.

Body condition isn't perfect but better than majority of the sedans I looked at... there are a few blemishes/scratches, one stupid door ding that I will probably be fixing (paint hasn't been damaged, so I'm assuming it shouldn't be too hard or expensive to get done), and no rust in the places that others showed rust (wheel wells/vendors, doors on the inside). The only sedans I've seen in what could be described as almost perfect condition was at an Infiniti dealer but they were out of my budget.

I noticed in a few areas (in particular around the license plate on the rear bumper) the paint's upper layer was peeling a little. I'm wondering how normal is that?

Interior I'd say is in quiet amazing condition. Very clean, driver seat shows normal signs of use while all other seats look like they've almost never been used. Better than the more expensive ones I've seen at the dealer.

I'm hoping I will have the car next weekend assuming inspection goes fine.

Alex

 

sounds great!!! can't wait to see it at the G Meets

 

cause hes gonna drive from richmond hilll alll the way to tdot just to see u lol

 

^ don't make me bust my foot off yo ***.. lol

 

First I got to get a car! And today things took a turn in the wrong direction.

I was initially hesitant to run a CarProof cause I didn't feel like forking out 50 bucks. But then I said, why not, I waste more money on other things and went with their cheapest for $35.

On the report I see that the car was in an accident in it's FIRST month of ownership and the claim is for $4000... sucks eh!? So at this point I'm kind of disappointed and everything because up to now I've had a very good impression of the seller and not mention I asked him as clearly as one could whether the car has been in accidents and he said no.

So, then I call the guy up and tell him about it. He doesn't deny and tells me there was an accident but he didn't mention it because it wasn't serious. I requested to see the paperwork for the repairs and tonight I received scanned copies. For the most part, it does look like it was nothing serious.

He had the following things replaced:
- Fender
- Protector
- Front Bumper
- Lamp
- Factory wheel
- And something called a "Housing Assy-H"... I'm not sure what it would be, but maybe the light?

All those parts came to $2382. There was "Body Repair" at a cost of $380; I'm guessing taking the damaged stuff off, putting the new stuff on. Another $420 in labour related to paint.

There was a wheel alignment done and tire repair (prob taking the tire off the old wheel and installing it on the new one) at a cost of $130. And another $260 in "misc materials". The rest was tax.

The repair was done at Infiniti and I'm thinking since it was 1 month into the ownership of the car the insurance allowed for higher repair costs to bring it to new condition; for example he says the wheel that was replaced only had a small blemish on it, because I don't see any mechanical work other than alignment so I can actually believe it.

But that's where it stands as of right now. The inspection of the car by a mechanic is on hold for now and tomorrow I'm going to discuss this further with him.

Any thoughts on this? I'm pretty sure the response will be to tell this guy to take a hike.

 

a small accident would be some person reversing into you or something and giving u a small ding or scratch, not that ^^^. He lied to you already god knows what else hes hiding and other accidents that might have happened which werent gone through insurance so dont appear on carfax. Left it and find another carr

 

True..he lied but...
IMO from experience,$4000 worth of parts and labour isn't very much these days.
My wife damaged the front right wheel, hood, light, fender, bumper, and AC unit on our Mazda 626, 9 years ago and that bill was around $8500. It also needed an alignment.

I guess all I'm saying is:
- if there was no stuctural damage
- you drive the car and it doesn't pull
- it passes a thorough inspection by someone like Vic S.
- if you really like the car
then you shouldn't rule it out if the price is right. You may even get the price reduced more now that you know, and have confronted the owner, about the accident.
That all being said, there are quite a few other previously owned G's to be had.

Good Luck!

 

Yea, u should be able to bring down the price a substantial amount

 

I hear you.

In terms of supply... I'm interested in Sedan only and 6MT only, so the supply is very limited. I've been looking since Feb, regurarly checking the various sources online and there has been a very low # of these available for sale. Those with AT is a different story, there are plenty to choose from.

Infiniti dealers are out of my budget for the most part. Whether they are overpriced or not, I can't say. But for example, 2005 models will go for $21-23k (not including the various fees they will usually add on top, can be $500-1000). And I really have no clue how much they are willing to go down on those prices, something like $500-1000 wouldn't even bring me close to what I can spend. Seriously, if money wasn't an issue, I'd go out and get a new one.

 

Just as a little update for anyone who followed the thread...

I ended up picking the car up. Vic did the inspection and had positive things to say about the car.

I've had the car for a 3rd day now. Started doing some cleaning, it's not dirty, but nevetheless it could use some TLC. Also replaced the engine air filter last night. Next I'm going to replace the cabin air filter (I'm almost certain it's never been done).

I got the cabin filter at PartSource for $45 the other day but today decided to call around... mainly because I know they sell much cheaper on the net. So, first I called Napa and they had one for about $10 less, then called Car Quest as they have a shop in my area, they carry a regular paper filter for around $20 and a charcoal one for about $3 more. I'm a bit surprised by the price difference between the 2 as I thought the charcoal was a lot more usually. They said the filters are made by Wix, so probably can't go wrong with that. PartSource will be getting theirs back.

I'll grab a few pics whenever this crappy weather goes away!

 

Congrats on picking her up!
I'm glad you found what you were looking for. Those 6MT sedans are hard to find. Especially an '03 with just 60K on the odo. Nice find!
Don't forget to decribe your new baby in your signature.

Cheers