Used G35 owners, where did you buy your car? Currently it appears CARMAX is priced the highest with most cars in the $25-26K range, but their cars go through a pretty tough inspection before hitting the lot. Passport Infiniti in Alexandria, VA has a G35 with 25K miles for $23,775 and several others in the low $24,000 range. Did you have your car inspected by an individual shop before purchase? Does CARFAX tell you everything you need to know about a cars history?

 

I'd go with the dealer because of the haggle factor. Since they are blowing out 04 sedans, you can probably get a decent deal on a used one.

You could also check out Hertz used cars. Here in Socal they resell their nicely equipped (Sunroof/Leather/XM) G35s after 16k miles for 24,900. I looked at a few of them and they looked excellent. Since the G is expensive to rent, I expect that they don't get beaten like some of the less expensive rental cars.

 

If you can find a one owner G35 from an individual, you might get a better deal overall that route. You can do a carfax, ask the owner the usual questions--accidents, paintwork, smoker/nonsmoker, flood damage, theft recovery, why are you selling, any problems;then with owners permission, have the service records faxed to you directly from dealer. You can also have the owner take the vehicle to the nearest carmax for an appraisal--they will check the vehicle for accidents--clamp marks on the frame rail that would indicate that the frame had been repaired due to a major accident; evidence of paintwork--you should feel a smooth edge on the door jambs--paint work will feel rough. Then, if all that checks out you should still have some warranty for any unforseen problems. This is what I did to purchase my vehicle. I payed $3600 less than the same exact car selling at Carmax and the owner/seller got $3000 more than what they offered to buy his car--Now that is meeting in the middle.
You are right, Carmax does a good job of buying quality vehicles to sell. Their buyers are VERY good. But, as someone else mentioned, you can also haggle at a dealer..But when I went to a dealer the selection consisted of loaner cars that for my taste--were not taken care of because they had seen so many hands. Perhaps a low mileage trade will make sense--but when they get a cream puff--they sometimes don't want to deal that much.

 

Well, I got my first G from Carmax. I got my second one used from a dealer. I got a much better deal on the car from the dealer than Carmax. I don't think I got a good trade-in at either place. If you don't want to haggle, you can do Carmax, but the dealer will be cheaper. Either one should have a good inspection and if it's still under warranty, you should be fine.

I personally wouldn't buy from a private owner - no inspection unless you know a good mechanic to take it and have it checked out.