Which FX to buy?

Inter

Member
Location
NJ
Narrowed down my search to 2 FX, now just can't decide which one. Both are the same price, so price is not an issue at all.

1) 05 FX35, 60k miles / Nav. Carfax looks good, regular maintenance listed. Nav is a huge plus.

2) 06 FX35 83k miles /base. Maintenance not listed in carfax, doesn't have any accident listed. But, paint on bumper has been peeling off. Some the size of a basketball, so this needs to be repainted.

The 05 has lower miles and has a built in nav already, which is nice. But, I have read that the built in nav is not so great. Is this true? This looks to have been better maintained.

The 06 looks like the bumper has been repainted. Most likely had a minor accident and never reported. Will have a mechanic check this out before buying. The interior of an 06 looks nicer and has a few stuff standard like the upgraded sound. Will probably have a Garmin GVN installed on it eventually. Is there anything that needs to be done at 100k miles?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you
 
I'm thinking the 06 with the peeling bumper paint was not well taken care of by the previous owner. I understand bumper dings and chips are inevitable when parallel parking, but no one here would ever have peeling paint the size of a basketball on their ride.





TapaTalkin'
 
That's a tough call. The low mileage and maintenance history of the 05 is awesome, but so is the 06+ interior... I think I'd keep looking for an 06+ with similar mileage (+/-80k) and no physical damage.

Also, welcome to IS. :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
This shouldn't be a tough choice. Go for the 2006-2008 for the updates. There are plenty of 2006 FXs out there you can find in much better condition and more optioned to suit your liking.
 
^I'm with the guys on 2006+, even though I love my 04, I wish I had some of the interior features of 06+ models. But overall FX is an FX and whichever you go with, make sure you get all the info to make the right decision. Either way I think you will be happy!
 
Well test drive them both, which one feels better?

I wish I could do so, unfortunately, the cars are about 100 miles away. So I wanted to have a "pre inspection deal", before driving over.

Thank you all for the responses. I'll probably check out the 06 and have a mechanic check it out thoroughly.
 
I did not want to spend over 18k(before taxes) for it. But, I found an 07 with 51k miles at 20k. It has been sold twice at the auction, is this something to worry about?
 
expand your options. There are great dealers in NY area with a wider inventory. Buy the car towards the end of the month. This is when sales folks still strugling to meet their quota will undercut the profit margin and will go low. Look at certified pre-owned on internet deals from reputable dealers.
 
Definitely check with Kenny (da mayor). He has set up many members here with their first, second, third...infinitis.
 
I've been looking for the past 3 weeks or so on autotrader, cars.com, etc... The 06 is out of the question as the dealer (a volvo franchise) does not work with bank of america. I'll check out the 05 tomorrow just to see, it's literally the only car I have saved on my auto trader as the rest just seems overpriced or being sold by shady used car lots.
 
I wouldn't limit your search to local. I have found some major scores over 500 miles from my home. Porsche Boxster in Cali, G35 in Dallas, and my last one I just spent a month scouring the web looking for a smoking deal on a 2010 FX35 AWD. I scored a mint 34k mile, nav, ac seats in Va for $31.5k I drove a rental car from Ohio to VA for $105(hertz) and couldn't be happier. You could fly out and the dealers will pic you up. Just make sure to scour the photos and ask tons of questions. Also google the dealer with the word "scam" after their name.



These are the sites that I used (just check if it's REar wheel or AWD(it will say in the carfax))

You may want to change the search parameters. I used, for you, 2005-2009, less than 100k miles, less than $25000

http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...edEntity=c21020&zip=45402&distance=NATIONWIDE

http://www.carsforsale.com/find_a_v...ice=25000&radius=500&location=&fueltypeid=&bt=

http://autos.yahoo.com/used-cars/ov...any&deliverymileageub=100000&listingtype=used

http://www.lemonfree.com/cars/used-for-sale-INFINITI.FX35/location-43078/year-2005.2009/range-4000

http://www.carsdirect.com/used_cars...ti&modelName=FX35&searchGroupId=282886776&lnk=

Oh, Craigslist has some good ones, just type FX35 under cars and trucks

Just watch the cars from FL, GA and NY/NJ. I also look for a trade in or off lease, no rental or fleets. Ny/Nj miles are generally city wich are no where as good as good ole HWY. Plus they usually have more dings or damage. GA is a haven for scammers that rebuild cars off the radar of Carfax. I try to find reputable dealers(non infiniti) as they usually put the cars through a complete service. I scored mine form a Honda/Hyundai dealer and I asked for the service report before I drove out. Plus almost all new cars are marked up a minimum of $3000 at a dealer. I was a new car sales manager so this is some inside info. I asked for their best price and reminded them that I was like a customer they would never have(easy transaction). Plus tell them you have it narrowed down between 4 cars and their price is a little above the others. Once you bring competition into the equation, all prices go down. ;)

good luck and keep us posted.
 
Last edited:
^ great point from mpohio. Your thread on how you got your FX was an entertaining and interesting read. You were very resourceful there :good:
 
Back
Top