Hey all, first time posting, I just registered a few moments ago. I put a down payment on a 2005 G35 6MT earlier today, I got a great price on the car, but would really appreciate if I could get some feedback in terms of what I should look out for with these cars. I'm going to try and get a PPI for the car tomorrow, before I give the dealership any more cash, but here's what I know about the car:

16,000 miles
Was involved in a rear-end collision with the first (and only owner,) dealer claims the rear bumper skin was all that was necessary to repair. The first owner had the repair done and then kept the car for another 2.5 years, so I'm hoping it meant everything was copacetic.

I found that the car drove well, the clutch engaged nicely, (though, and I'm not sure if this is par for the course, but the shifter would vibrate slightly in idle but the vibrations basically vanished after a few minutes of driving) and that the car generally drove nicely. Interior is immaculate as is interior. Tires looked fresh and new, the car accelerated pretty swiftly and there were no warning lights on the dash.

So the question is, what are the trouble spots on these cars?

Thanks once again, and I appreciate any possible feedback!

 

that's very low mileage for a 2005 car (average about 3-4k/year).

most people on this forum would tell you to stay away from any car involved in an accident, so I hope you got it at a great price. never trust the dealer, check the carfax report (although those are not always telling the whole story - so I've heard)

in terms of things to look for, check to make sure that the parts are in good working order (see infiniti's website on their service intervals, and check the areas that they inspect at 20k miles).

that's all I can offer now, as I've had my 2005 (automatic) for about 9 months now, and have not had any problems to report {knocking on wood here}

 

If you can find someone to run them, get a Carfax and an Autocheck. A friend of mine is a dealer and I bought and sold quite a few cars through his company. What I learned from experience was both of those record checks are only as good as the people entering the data. Autocheck usually has more detail in it than Carfax.

Take the car to another body shop and see if the skin was really the only thing replaced. I would bet that there was more damage than what the dealer is telling you. How does the dealer know what was wrong with it, did he show you the estimate? The original owner may have told him only the skin was replaced. Without paperwork you are only getting info from two people whose only goal is to get as much $$$$ as possible.
Good luck!

 

Well the only real knowledge I have about the accident is that the carfax checked out except for this one collision, which occured one year into the three year and six month 'lease' term that the first owner kept the car for, which makes me think that it recovered fine from the damage.

I put a deposit down on the car but I would like to get a PPI, how would I go about doing that?

 

the fact that it was leased is actually good b/c I believe that leased cars are required to be serviced by the dealership, thus you know that the car was maintained regularly.

see if the dealership will give you the paperwork (or at least the group that repaired the bumper) on the repair, you won't know unless you ask.

 

Chech the infiniti TSB (technical service bulletin). .. it covers warranty repairs on reoccurring issues on all infinitis. . .The dealer won't identify them to you unless you ask. . .if it got into a rear end collision (not knowing if it was a direct rear end, or if the collision came at an angle), i woudl check to see if the chassis was bent at all. . .i had gotten into a collision a while back, and it bent my chassis a little. . .i didn't notice it until months after my reparis with insurance, and had to re-open teh claim. . .16,000 is reallly low mileage, so clutch wear should be minimal like you said. . .overall manual transmimssions have been known to have syncro issues and required replacement via warranty, as there is a large thread about this in this forum. . .rev-up engine has been known to have oil consumption issues. . .otherwise, my 05 6MT has been pretty solid, even after all my afermarket mods.