In looking at kbb I see that an '06 G35x is about $16,500 private party and an '07 is about $20,500. Late this year I intend to purchase a G and I'm looking to spend around $15,000 - $18,000. I know there were quite a few mechanical and interior changes in 2007 which also put it up over 300hp so I think I'd really like to go for the 2007 but can I expect the price to drop to around what the '06 is going for now, next year? My thought was that when the '10 models come out then the older models would lower in value and put the '07 in the 16-17k range like the current '06 is.

I know the easy way out is to just pick a cheaper car but it's not that easy now that I've fallen in love... I took a test drive in an '07 sedan and absolutely LOVED it.

 

As I'm sure you've noticed after the test drive, the 07 and the 06 Sedans are two entirely different cars. IMHO it will take slightly longer for the price of the 07 to drop down to what the 06 is now.

Just get the 07 and call it a day.

 

First, I would check more than just KBB, as I've found their pricing to be a bit low, especially on newer models. NADA Guides: 2007x, 35K miles, Rough Trade = $21,900, Average Trade = $23,600. Edmunds shows similar pricing.

Second, this is all theoretical. Just because KBB says it's only $20.5K doesn't mean you're going to find one at that amount. I looked at AutoTrader.com for your 2007, and the only ones that are lower than KBB had pretty high mileage. I picked 35K for a reason. It seems that's about the mileage for the cars around $21K. If you want to spend $18K on an '07, there are a few out there, but they have 50K+ miles.

I don't think the 2007's KBB price will drop to the $16.5K mark by the end of this year, but if you're willing to settle for higher miles (and less remaining warranty), there will probably be lots of 2007's at that time that you can pick up in your price range. The end of the year is often the best time to buy a car. Check prices in late summer, and start the real search process some time in late September or early October. And pay for a VIN/Title search service, like Carfax or AutoCheck. You don't want a wrecked car.

05DGx makes a few good points. The '07 is the newer body style, so its value will drop slower than an '06. And they are different cars when you drive them. Personally, I like the '07, but I think the '06 is better looking. I love the stacked headlights, and I can get to 300+ HP with a relatively small investment. That's why I bought a 1st Gen G35x.

Good Luck.

 

Oh, I forgot. When the 2010 models come out, the older models will drop in price. But they're not re-designing the G in 2010, so the '07 will still be the current model. Start looking late summer, and if you're patient, and are willing to travel somewhere to get a vehicle, you'll find a nice '07 that's exactly what you want.

 

I only got to test an '07 but maybe I should find an '06 and try that out before I pass judgment. I love the new interior (especially the gauges) in the '07 but I agree the 1st gen sedans look better on the outside.

I live in western New York (which is why I'm really pushing the AWD idea) and I've had a VERY difficult time finding used Infiniti's anywhere in my area. The closest things I could find like on autotrader are between 150 and 300 miles away in Ohio and PA. It kinda sucks I have to plan a couple hour trip to even go look at a car and then potentially have the dealer tell me he can't do the price I'm looking for. Local papers never have any vehicles priced over $15k so that's no help. Any other good ways to find the car I want?

Thanks for the replies!

 

I had a similar situation. Closest Infiniti dealer, and closest used G35, was 150 miles away in Grand Rapids. So in early October, I left early on a Saturday morning and spent the day there driving a variety of cars (2005 G35x, 2007 G35, FX35, Acura TL, TSX, RDX, 2007 Maxima). When I make a big purchase, I want to know exactly what I'm getting, but also exactly what I'm not getting. I loved the RDX, but the cheapest one I could find was around $26K. In fact, all 3 Acuras were very nice, but also had some major flaws. The TL was FWD with some torque steer, and wheel slippage if you stomped on it, which I like to do. The TSX was nice, but FWD with only 4 cyls, even if it did have 190 horse. I really liked the FX, but those C-pillar blind spots are really bad. And it was about $5K more than I wanted to spend. It was fun to drive them all, and now I know I made the right decision on my G35x.

You said you're not buying until the end of the year, so take a day and go drive everything you're considering, without the pressure of having to make a decision. 150 miles is nothing considering you'll have the new car for many years. Hell, I was prepared to fly to New Jersey to buy one. That's 800+ miles from me!

I don't know where in western NY you are, but there are Infiniti dealers in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse.

 

Yeah I agree with ya Bill that 150 miles isn't much when it comes to going to a dealer to test out some rides. The problem is when I'm actually going to a dealer that has a car that I want to purchase from them. It just sucks that I'm probably going to have to make many weekend ventures to different dealers so that I can make sure I get the best deal possible. It's also not like I can call them and say "hey how low can you go on that?" because they nearly refuse to work with you on the phone and say to come down to them so they can swindle me (not that I'll let myself make an uneducated car purchase ever again...).

Is there a trick to really finding out what a dealer will do over the phone / internet?

 

Yeah, tell them that if they are really interested in selling you a car, they'll work with you over the phone. I've helped a few of my friends out when they were buying cars, and what I would do is negotiate with my local dealer on one car I was interested in, go as low as possible and get the quote in writing, then I'd call around to other dealers.

They weren't willing to deal over the phone either, but if you throw around some numbers and pressure them a bit, they'll not only deal with you over the phone, they'll quote and beat OTD prices other dealerships are offering.

Remember, you want to buy a car, they want to sell you a car. Make it work to your advantage.

 

Well like I said before, there aren't any Infiniti dealers around here or even any lots that have any G's so that kind-of limits my options there. I've spoken with a few dealers on the phone who had cars I wanted and I was a little lost on how to lead the conversation. Any tips on how to start that conversation and where to go with it?

For example, when I called a few weeks ago to a place I told them I was interested in the car, they told me the price, and I told them how much I was looking to spend for it. In this situation I think I might have low-balled him a bit on the offer and he never called me back. It wasn't an unreasonable price given comparable vehicles but he apparently wasn't interested.

 

Where do you live? You said western New York, so how far could you be from Buffalo, Rochester, or Syracuse? They each have an Infiniti dealer.

When I bought mine, I told the dealer what I was willing to pay "out the door" for a particular car. Out the door included tax (6%), title, license, and any other fees they thought they might add on. He checked to see if that price worked, and we ended up with a deal. I based my dollar amount on KBB, NADA, Edmunds, and other similar cars for sale.

Remember, he needs you, you don't need him. Find a car you like, get accurate pricing on it from multiple sources, and make a low offer. He'll either take it or counter it. You want to negotiate from the bottom up, not from the top down.

 

I live in Jamestown, NY. I'm not real far from any of those places but in my search I didn't find any Infiniti dealers in the area. I looked on google maps and on Infiniti's site and there aren't many in this area. Maybe I was looking in the wrong places? Also, is an actual Infiniti dealer the place to be looking for a pre-owned G that's a couple years old ('07 in this case)? In my searches I've been looking on autotrader, craig's list, and e-bay for comparing prices and seeing what's available. I've only had to buy one car in my life so I'm not extremely familiar with how the dealerships work.

 

I found them on Infiniti's web-site, then went to their individual sites.

I would suggest going to a dealer to at least drive the cars. You know you're not buying them that day, just test driving, so bother a dealer instead of a private citizen. And they'll have multiple years and models, so you can see what each has to offer. I'd go on a weekend when they're busy. They'll just let you drive and not bother to hound you when you get back. When you're done driving, just leave. Tell them "Thanks", and say something has come up and you have to go.

When you are actually buying, then get more specific as to what you look at. Maybe a dealer has the best deal for you. I've found that private citizens might have lower initial prices, but are often less flexible on the final price. A dealer may be OK with making $500-$1000 on a sale, but John Q. Public may wait for maximum profit.

 

In thinking about waiting to buy an '07, how much should I expect the price of it to go down from current prices in a year? The price difference between '05 and '06 models with similar miles is almost negligible. Would it be similar to that? If there's going to be less than $1,000 difference in price a year from now, I think I'd probably be happiest just getting one now since the whole reason for waiting is to save a few grand.

 

I would imagine the price would go down $1,000 in one year, dependent on mileage, of course.