I am looking at buying a grey/silver 2007 G35x at the Manheim auction coming wednesday. I have been to the auction past couple weeks but couldn't find my color or there was something wrong with the car I liked.
Most of these cars are one owner Infiniti lease returns with miles in the range of 40,000-59000. I am looking at buying a car which has atleast 8000-10000 miles/6 months of warranty left so I can get any issues fixed with the dealer.The most common issue I have seen is with the driver side armrest coating peeling and also on the steering wheel.

Could you guys give me any tips on what I should look for when I or the dealer is inspecting the vehicle.

 

I check Carfax's online to determine which cars to look at based on where they lived.
Carfax helps knock out some of the bad ones (location, accidents, etc), but is only another tool. Still have to crawl all over/under the car to look for signs of accidents and modifications.
If you don't have some type of service records, it might be difficult to have the drivetrain repaired under warranty.
Good Luck!

 

Not everything's reported to CarFax. I found that autocheck works better sometimes. Also I would take it to expert to have them look at it.

 

I second the Autocheck statement. Also the flaking on the armrest is common on the 2007 and you should be able to replace it for less than 50$. The steering wheel is another story. If everything checks out I wouldn't rule out a car based on paint chipping near the window controls, just plan on replacing at a later date.

Hope that helps

 

Do both Carfax and Autocheck

 

This is why I ONLY use it to filter out cars, not to verify that they are good.

Several years ago, I saw a fairly new SVT Cobra at Carmax on the showroom floor that had had the fender replaced and the Cobra was pointing in the wrong direction for that yr cobra. The Carfax was clean.

I think getting both Carfax and Autocheck is overkill, but your $$$.
You either need to know what to look for or take somebody that is qualified with you.

 

I recently bought an 06 6MT Coupe at a dealership. Clean CarFax. Front left quarter panel is definitely a slightly different color. Very hard to see but no doubt it was in a fender bender. All mechanicals looked original and untouched. I knew this at the time of purchase and I got a good price so I didn't care but CarFax is hardly foolproof.

Anyway, another thing to consider is looking for a high end used car place. I got my 07 G35X at Hi-Line Garage in Charlotte, NC. Every car on their lot (mostly BMW's) is immaculate and amazingly detailed. Still smells like new with 50k miles on it. You might pay a little more at places like these (I did not with this car) but they have a reputation to protect and aren't going to sell you junk.

 

There's a thread running on this in the forum, many of us have had them replaced under warranty.

 

I purchased my 04 coupe from Charlotte Auto Collection just up Independence from Hi-Line. THey also carry high end cars at good prices.

 

Carfax only lists accidents and incidents that were reported. If you don't report something, then essentially "it never happened."

 

Manheim does pretty thorough inspections of the vehicles, detailing every scratch, defect, and flaw. Brokers and dealerships rely on these inspections to set their bids so find the inspection report for your vehicle before you bid. When I went through Manheim I told my broker that wanted no lower than a 4.5 (out of 5) rating on my car.

Also get the Autocheck. It is cheaper than Carfax and more reliable.

 

Hi - new to the forum. Will be looking for a G this week if all goes as planned on the sale of my Audi. I'm located in SC, but willing to drive to Charlotte if need be -- would love some feedback on Hi-Line and Charlotte Auto Collection. I've read some bothersome things about Charlotte Auto Collection before, but you never know what to believe anymore...

If I read this right - you didn't buy the previously wrecked coupe from Hi-Line, right?

 

I've purchased two cars from Hi-Line. One was a low mileage 2000 Nissan Maxima with a manual transmission. They don't normally sell lower end car like the Maxima but it had very low miles and was pristine. 2 years later I still have it. No problems. I got the G35X in May of this year. It had 50k miles on it but was like new.

The coupe came from Lake Norman Infiniti. Hi-Line would never have had this coupe in their inventory. Again, I knew what I was getting with the coupe but can't recommend Lake Norman Infiniti. I felt like I got a decent deal but at least in my dealings they were a bit low rent. Only got one key. No manuals, etc. They did never disclosed that the car was wrecked. Tried to sell it to me for $2k over the advertised price saying they'd replaced the clutch and done all the maintenance. Not that they're a bad dealership but it just wasn't a great experience. Probably would have been different if I'd been buying new. I've had one service experience at Lake Norman and it was good.

Hi-Line, on the other hand, is pretty classy. They don't deal on the price so you pay what the sticker says, but in my research they've been about even with CarMax and I got a better price on the same car than East Charlotte Nissan (who usually have a good many Infinitis). Anyway, my two buying experiences have been good there. Highly recommended.

 

Thanks for the input - that's very helpful. I've actually been emailing Lake Norman a good bit, so that's good to know. I'm located in Charleston, and frankly Charlotte is the closest place I can find a decent deal on a G right now.

 

You might want to consider including the Modern network.
Modern Infiniti of Winston-Salem and Greensboro.
I highly recommend them.
I also know people at LKN Infiniti and Modern Nissan of LKN.
What are you looking for??