Advice from FX owners

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dragonsback79

Member
Hello, I've been lurking around here for a couple weeks now and find this forum very knowledgeable about the FX. I do not own one but am looking to figure out a way to get into a used '05 or '06. I have a sticky situation and wanted to get some advice from you guys;

LONG story short- upside down on current vehicle by about $7K. Yes...saving to erase that in order to trade it in for an FX. Shooting for early Summer, but still have to drive current vehicle till then, putting more miles on it and running down the value of it. I commute about 500 miles a week too. (all highway)

Dealerships won't even bother talking to me unless I can put down $7-8K on used 2005 FX. e.g. 2005 FX35 with 70K miles for about $18K.

If this is my budget, am I taking a risk purchasing a used FX with that many miles on it?
I read that the engine is pretty decent in terms of reliability and that's the main thing.
Ideally yes, find one with less miles but as you know less miles = more money.
I would like to keep it below $20K.

Thoughts?
Thanks for the time!
 
I bought MY 03 with about 66k miles. It now has 140+k miles I have changed oil and air filters. That is about it. My power steering pump is out right now though but i have not replaced it yet.

2 years a ton of miles and 1 problem so far. i love mine
 
I just purchased an '04 FX35 with 88k miles a little less than a month ago after a lot of searching. Modern cars like the FX35 as a whole are much more reliable than used cars of even just ten years ago. All the research I did indicated that if the FX was properly maintained it could easily last to over 150k miles.

Mine is now at 89.7k miles and still feels tight as a drum. The previous owner maintained it properly and the only thing that failed was a fuel pump early on that was replaced under warranty. All I've done is do some routine maintenance to it since my FX needed brakes, coolant change, etc.
 
I got mine used w/65,000 on it and have 89,000 now with only a couple of issues---
Small oil leak from oil cooler o ring gasket, Steering shimmy (Rack adjustment easy to do), Drivers seat getting small cracks on lower side panel.
I replaced the shocks and struts at 80,000 but they were not bad just a littlle preventative maint.

I would get the oil changed and flushed on the Transsmission, Transfer case , and Differentials with 70k on it.
 
Thanks guys, yes $17-19 is my price range. Just waiting for the funds and right FX35 to pop up in So Cal.

Bubbling dash...is this covered by warranty still (70K miles+)?

Being upside down in current car sucks, thinking of selling it to CarMax and paying them difference or should I work with Dealer on it?

Thanks again!
 
^^Yup. All bubbling dashes are covered under an extended 96 month/unlimited mileage warranty. All of the FX's I looked at had them and no one realized that they were covered under this warranty extension. I just had mine replaced with no fuss from Miller Infiniti here in Van Nuys.

As for being upside down, don't roll it into the new car. That's one of the worst financial moves you can make. You're just prolonging the agony. What car do you have that has you so much under water?
 
Ok good to hear on the dash, I only ask cause the one I am eyeing has a case of poison oak on the dash and I was wondering about it.
Absolutly love this FX...silver 2005 with the brick interior...ugh so nice.

Anways...my agony:
Traded in a 2006 Audi A3 in September 2010 for a Nissan Titan (unexpected family growth) I was about $4K upside down on that apparently. So it carried over to the Titan and now the Titan is worth about $12K and I owe $19K on it. Yes you guys are right, the negative equity is just following me around. Why I need to come up with a 7-8K down on the FX to get rid of that.

Just wondering if it's better to pay it down or come into the dealer with 7-8K as a down?
 
05 with almost 60k miles here. never been to the stealership. do everything myself, been happy. you will be a lot satisfied too. what does concern me is mileage on the vehicle you're looking at. I bought mine at 42k miles for about 19k so you might want to look in to other deals available out there. Never a good thing to carry negative equity. it would be wise to double your monthly payment and get rid of the debt instead of buying any other car. hope it all works out for you. and btw Welcome to the site.
 
welcome to is! take care of the debt asap first. dont roll it again this time. your future fx can wait. :smile (2):
 
Too much rolling negative equity. I would pay it down ASAP before I did anything with it. There are plenty of fish in the sea when you are ready.
 
I bought my 03fx with 10,000 miles. So far everything is great. Only problem i had was the front wheel hub but could be due to the rims im not sure. I had a q45 before this she had 200,000 plus miles sold it to my friend he still has it engine runs great she moves.
 
Don't do anything this unless you can get rid of the negative equity.

Whether you save and pay the Titan down or trade and eliminate the negative equity by putting money down makes no difference. Inherently they are both the same thing.

Gas prices are on an extreme rise, your Titan will see decreasing trade values. I came from a Titan and sold mine outright before purchasing my FX. I bought my 04 FX45 premium with 41K miles, Sport/Tech for 20880 in 2009; which was a smoking deal at the time. The dealership even offered to pay off my hard working Titan (they came up almost 3 grand on their initial offer on trade to get the deal done, still turned them down as I had a private sale going).

Best of luck on your search. My FX is going to Carmax soon, they are not going to put her on their lot because she has an "altered suspension." So she'll be going to auction, who knows she might end up in your neck of the woods.
 
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the VQ35DE is a reliable engine when well maintanced so make sure to ask the dealer about maintance records.. one thing i would advice is to try to get a 06 and up.. so you can have the latest updates to the first gen FX..

wish you the best luck on finding your FX bro! welcome to the scene.
 
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