Looking to buy a 2003-08 FX35 AWD, need help & suggestions.

F

FX44

Member
Looking to buy a 2003-08 FX35 AWD for a female friend of mine. She was looking to get a crossover and picked a few that were not very reliable, so I let her know about the FX35. I owned a brand new 1998 QX4 for 14 years and just recently sold it, so I know the quality of Nissan/Infiniti.

She wants an AWD with about 50k-80k on the dash, the sports package with I believe the 20" alloy wheels they had up to 05 and all the options, navi, back-up cam etc. Her favorite exterior color is white but the only interior color I could find is willow/tan or whatever you want to call it,but I think that takes away from the interior especially after seeing brick which looks like a Bentley/Porsche interior. I'm trying to convince her to get Black/Brick, Liquid Copper Orange/Brick (My Favorite) maybe Beryllium/Brick, she's not into sliver,blue,gray,gold and even black but at the end of the day it's her decision of course.

She wants to spend less then $20,000, preferably $17,500 and I'm in the car business so I have auction access, negative part of that is if I buy out of state online and I buy a green light car which engine and trans are guaranteed, but I can't really tell smaller issues & wear & tear on small pics.

What is the ideal year to buy with the least amount of issues & fixed issues from first year production for the price range and miles she wants to be at? What issues should I be looking for if I'm checking one out locally?
 
id personally look for an 07 08 since its the last 2 years of the first gen. It also had a nice interior face lift from the 03-05. 06 had ac amp issues from what ive researched but its not an expensive fix (300$ or so i believe).
The main issue with 03-08 are the seats like to crack and tear apart on the side of the seats( its vinyl not leather),
muffler rusting out.
i believe the 03-05 have burning oil issues but its a hit or miss.
dash bubbling / cracking (dealer will replace if it falls under the extended factory warranty)
window trims fading / cracking
 
^ Viperi summed up most of the important parts up. 07-08 are good ones to start. Autumn Copper or Beryllium on Brick are pretty hot combos, but hard to find. She would definitely appreciate one of those two for sure. The only way to convince her to get Brick is to keep showing her pictures of it and you have help from all the wise members here at IS. :wink:
 
For starters, it's could to see you're choosing a 1st gen. :smug: lol

and my '06 has no AC amp issues! :(
 
NEVER. It's only snowed here once or twice in my lifetime.
 
Ok then it's 06-08, just because the burning oil issue is scary. Is that an isolated issue on certain dates of production? I guess it wouldn't be seeing it spanned for years.
The only thing that sucks is that I really like the 03-05 20" wheels on it and the pics that I showed her had those wheels and she wouldn't spend the money on them later.

She would definitely appreciate one of those two for sure. The only way to convince her to get Brick is to keep showing her pictures of it and you have help from all the wise members here at IS.
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That's exactly what I had planned on doing, shes not a car enthusiast, but she will love it and get complements if she goes my way, it just makes the car so unique.

For starters, it's good to see you're choosing a 1st gen. :smug: lol

and my '06 has no AC amp issues! :(
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I like the new headlights, grille and interior on the 2nd gen but in person the front end looks long, kinda unproportionat, looks like Ronald McDonald's shoe View attachment 271750 or a Nissan Maxima from the front end.

They did an excellent job on the first gen, all around a great futuristic look. To all the men who own one, do guys hate saying it's more of a females vehicle? On the east coast it's all about Escalades, Denali's, Range Rovers etc, which I also like but I think the FX is just cool especially when they are customized and I feel the new Explorer kind of copied it. When I bought my QX4 the only other luxury SUV was a Range & a Navigator and the QX4 style outlasted them in looks but the other 2 had more power which I wish I had for all those years.
 
My mom was the one who bought it in '06. I saw a lot of women driving it.
Two years later, I saw more males driving it.
Customize it to make it yours and it won't look so feminine.
Kinda like a Hyundai Tiburon or a white Genesis/G37?
 
FX44 said:
Ok then it's 06-08, just because the burning oil issue is scary. Is that an isolated issue on certain dates of production?
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The burning oil is an issue inherent of the earlier models ('03-'06) FX45, usually the ones with mileage at the 100ks

FX44 said:
The only thing that sucks is that I really like the 03-05 20" wheels on it and the pics that I showed her had those wheels and she wouldn't spend the money on them later.
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You would be surprised members here are selling 2nd gens (2009 +) OEM rims for $500 because they are upgrading for after market. I know that you said not to spend the money later but would you not pick up a $500 OEM 20s where it would cost over $1K in dealer's or factory retail?

FX44 said:
she will love it and get complements if she goes my way, it just makes the car so unique.
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exactly

FX44 said:
I like the new headlights, grille and interior on the 2nd gen but in person the front end looks long, kinda unproportionat,
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True, 2nd gen has a very polarizing look. You can either hate it or love it. Though to many people it would start to grow on them and personally, I used to hate it but now started to like it especially with the elimination of that wavy grille on the '09.

FX44 said:
To all the men who own one, do guys hate saying it's more of a females vehicle? On the east coast it's all about Escalades, Denali's, Range Rovers etc,
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Not at all. In fact, in many car write ups and car magazines, they refer Infiniti brand as having a serious gender issue. All the vehicles Infiniti released are more inclined towards the male demographics with its vehicles all tuned to performance. They applaud Infiniti for throwing in the JX which they call as a gesture towards moving to include the female market in the overall brand niche integration. How can you call an FX an unmanly car if she growls on the road that becomes its unique business card to announce that it means business.

Good luck with the search of a new FX. You and your GF will never regret the decision.
 
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