I am buying a G35 on Monday, I inspected the car and it seems decent, about 98k mileage and the title is clean from Carfax, I don't know much about mechanics but I know very little bit of car.

I know a lot of older cars have VIN tags on all the panels, like left and right front panels (on top of the wheels), and on left and right doors (or the door trims). I found the G35 (2003) I am going to purchase doesn't have those tags, is that normal for this car or it indicated that it has been involved in accident before and got fixed?

What else should I check out before paying off this car in the private party transaction?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully I will be a member of the G family soon.

Thank you so much.

 

I have a 05 and it does have VIN tags by the driver door, in the windshield (driver side corner), engine bay and im sure there are other places as well. I would take the car to a mechanic or dealer and have them inspect it or try a body shop they might be able to tell you if something has been fixed or repainted. DO NOT rush into buying any vehicle, my previous vehicle was a IS300, and I rush into buying it, one of my worst decisions.
Hope this helps

 

I checked with the dealership here in Glendale (California) is $145 for the mechanic check, and I heard pepboys got the same thing for $20.

So is it ok to just sent the car to the pepboys to do a mechanic check or do you guys still recommend sent the car to the dealership to do the check?

Thank you.

 

i recommend the dealer, your buying a G. If i were you I wouldn't cut corners. 98k is quite a bit, but it should run fine IF its been properly maintained. Does the current owner have records of maintenance? Post pics if you can. There is a lot of info on here about buying a used G. Invest a few hours conducting research and learning about your investment, it WILL be worth it. GL

 

Yeah, finally I decided to take it the dealership, the transaction is a bit tacky due to the following:

1: the seller just purchased the car two weeks ago and he's selling it out now, but he is very cooperative and willing to let me take the car to the dealership and do any kind of inspection

2: the guy hasn't got the official title yet but he has a bill of sale, i don't really know how these transaction works cause I always trust Pink Slip (official title) only but he said we can finish the business in DMV and I think it should be ok. (DMV said since the title hasn't been issued to his name and can directly transfer to me)

3: Since he also just got the car so he didn't have much paperworks besides a vehicle history check and did an oil change.

4: I just made an appointment with the dealership so I am bringing the car in.

Hopefully I can get all the problems solved asap.

Thanks a lot squreshi. I will do some research here now as well. Any other recommendation that you can give me? Thanks. Is 98K mileage a lot? I am owing a 1993 240sx and it is 175,000 now, runs strong besides some leaking, (not a problem as long as you do oil change on time).

 

No prob. I dont really buy used cars with over 50k miles, so when I hear 100k its sounds a lot to me. But again it depends if the vehicle has been maintained properly and how much abuse its been through. One of my buddies doesn't really maintain his daily driver car and he recently paid the price for that. Since, the owner has no records of maintenance wait til hear from the dealer and take it from there. While you at the dealer ask for a maintenance schedule, i think the next service is recommended at 100k. and BTW What is the current owner's asking price?

 

He's selling it for $11,600 and I got it for $11,000, I saw many people are letting go the same car with about the same condition for around this price too. The one I am getting is stock condition with no navigation and premium rims, but others that are selling around this price probably have these things. I already paid $500 for deposit, and I do like its stock condition. Umm... touch days cause I am thinking a lot about this car, lol.

Two problems of the car:

1: regulator for the window on the passenger side doesn't work (heard it is about 100 bucks to change it, do you know what is the general price for the fix in a mechanic shop?)

2: small dents on the right panel (guess it's from small hit but I am ok with that)

 

See whether any of you saw or knew this car earlier

 

Do most of you have the front license on the car or not? The cops in my area are pretty strict with this, so I guess I may need to apply for a new license plate set in case if I am getting this car next week.

 

You can DIY the regulator... not very hard.

Consult a paintless dent removal specialist for the dent. Should be less than $100.

Also, your picture links don't work. Need to fix them.

 

Just got the links fixed, forgot to add the http:// earlier~ my bad