New user, hello and needs input!

J

JRNYC

Member
Hi gang,
First time post here. Great site and community!
Previous vehicle was a 2005 mercury mountaineer with the 8 cyl. And I loved that SUV! Took the harsh city roads real well. Plenty of power to spare but sucked gas like a crack head with 50 bucks in his pocket! Lol. Last 2 years I am “stuck” in a 2007 Honda element ex that’s reliable but is basically a go cart with a roof and windows. I will be trading/selling it and planning on taking a 2000 – 3000 dollar loss because of trade in value vs. money owed.
I’m setting my sights on a 2005ish to 2008 Infiniti FX. I have read many threads of interesting stuff here. But I could use some veteran FX drivers input.
My plans after I hop into my eagerly awaited FX in 2 months or so.
I see Infinity has a precertified LEASE program which I am interested in for a few reasons.
1- It’s going to lock me into a rate of about 5% as I have 660-ish credit. 1 bureau 657, 1 bureau 656 and another 667.
2- After leasing it is my intention to purchase the vehicle from that point which saves me a little on sales tax when/if I do purchase the vehicle after lease.
3- The nice little warranty that comes with pre cert to 100 thousand miles engine/75 trans?
4- I can carry the balance of my current vehicle into the price of the leased pre cert ( maybe )
5- I won’t be able to afford a new one L and I hope to modify my ride anyway project by project. Stereo sys, amps, at least one 10’ or 12’ vehicle specific stealth box type sub set up, Interior upgrade ( maybe to the latest year ) and then maybe some engine boost and that dam wide body kits are all that and more for this vehicle. Suspension, tires etc

So In this scenario does it sound like getting a pre-cert for 22 – 29,000 from a dealer sound like a good option or does going to an auction (with a friend who is licensed to go to auctions, pay him I think 200-500 for the day and some paperwork etc) and how much would a comparable vehicle cost at auction cost rather than dealer precert? If it is a huge difference I can come up with maybe 6-10 G cash this fall and then finance the balance another 10-20k at higher rates...

Thanks Guys. Can’t wait to be a participating member and showing pics of works in progress!
I will ask specific questions in there respective forums later. Just want to say Hi and hope to be FX-ing away soon!

Any input or different options you can suggest would be appreciated!
 
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So I also did a lease on my original FX, and then paid it off after four years. If you ABSOLUTELY know you will buy/keep the FX after the lease is up, then this is a good way to go because you can pick very low miles for the lease and that will lower your monthly payment. I believe the standard is 12K miles per year. If you go over that, you have to pay for each mile ONLY if you give the car back at the end of your lease. Go for the lowest annual miles they will allow you.

If you pay the balloon payment and buy the car when the lease is up - your actual mileage doesn't matter. If there is a chance you will return the car after the lease, you don't want to guess low on lease miles. The worst case scenario if this happens is that you owe as much in penalties as it would to buy the car. So you would buy it - avoiding the penalties, then sell it immediately to get back what you paid.

As for the auction - you can definitely get a much better deal this way, but the condition of the car needs more attention. You just don't know what you are getting in an auction sometimes. If you do have this option, do your homework on that VIN number, get it checked out by a dealership or trusted mechanic.

Modding the FX can absolutely get expensive (looking at your list), so that cash might be best saved up for your balloon payment. I did my first mod about a year before the lease was up, but waited till I purchased the car to really start modding heavily.

Good luck with your purchase and I hope you get what you are looking for!!!
 
welcome and good luck with your quest for the FX.
I bought mine from Carmax and was fortunate enough to pay it off early.
As far as I know the infiniti warranty carries over and you can always buy a exteneded warranty, as I did for about ~$2000.
 
Ahh good info. Tks.

How many miles is the extended warranty? the 2000 is that from Infiniti or an outside source? Have you had to use the extended warranty and did it work out smoothly?

Used Infinit = chance to get extended warranty. nice
 
I have to check, but I believe my extend W covers me until 100K miles and it was from a outside source. No need to use the extended warranty yet, I just went over the the factory 60k warranty coverage.
 
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