Or am I just paranoid?

Last weekend I looked at an 08g37, Athens blue, 21k miles, from a local dealer. When I got there, they were pleasant, and brought the car around for me to test drive. I was walking up to the car from behind and heard this loud exhaust rattle, followed by a "that's going to be taken care of". He also brought up that a belt needed to be replaced as well. I drove the car and it seemed to drive fine, though I've never driven another g37 to compare it too. Then as I inspected the outside, there were a ton of scratches, and the dealer agreed to have the scratches fixed by the body shop for free.

I then got an email back yesterday saying the car is in the body-shop, and they fixed the belt, exhaust, and replaced the starter motor.

All of these little details about the car worry me, and people are telling me this car is going to be a lemon. What do you guys think, you are all experienced G owners. Should I walk away? I'm really in love with this car, and this color, but I don't want to just buy it for the sake of color. But I DO!

Price is 27k with 21k miles. Clean carfax, one owner, same dealer sold the car originally.

 

I can speak to the exhaust rattle issue. It was widespread on the 08 models. It was nothing seriously wrong with the car, just a defect tin the muffler. Infiniti changed them out under warranty with a revised part that didn't rattle. It did not affect the functionality of the car at all, just very annoying.

As far as the scratches, that's cosmetic and something you must decide if you can live with. The belt replacement at 21K miles is unusual. So is a starter motor.

 

Okay, so the exhaust explanation is good, that helps thanks. Yeah the belt they said was squealing, so maybe from not being driven much it could have started to dry-rot? Also, the starter motor is kin-of concerning, but again, if it wasn't driven much, I suppose something like that could go? The scratches are cosmetic, and are being fixed as we speak, so no problem there.

So, generally are these G's reliable? Can I expect to replace a few other things in the coming weeks/months of ownership? I did purchase the elite warranty, but honestly am not sure as to what that covers.

 

^ yes, in general the G is a reliable car - provided, like most other cars, that the owner keeps regular preventative maintenance up to date. do a thorough review of the service records and compare against the required items in the owner's manual. that will give you a good idea what is required coming up soon. any overdue items should be negotiated into your deal, or done by the dealer prior to closing the purchase.

hopefully the scratches can be dealt with by the body shop, and a good detail. not a big issue, but something that should be done before you take posession. assuming you get a clean car then it's up to you to maintain the paint finish. lots of advice in the TECH section on this forum.

as for the warranty, if you purchased additional warranty you should be aware of the coverage. otherwise how do you know what you are getting? i assume this "elite" warranty extends bumper-to-bumper as well as powertrain, but you'll know better after a review of the T&C's.

 

those fixes they've done are normal. the engine is pretty bulletproof...the car is reliable

 

Thanks for the input guys, this helps ease some of my worry. I think I'll be alright, I'm going to make the purchase. Just had a few red flags coming up that made me hesitant.

 

As you stated, "little details".
Its obviously a trade in from a loyal customer. (says something for the dealer)
Here's a comforting thought.....If the dealer though this trade in was going to be trouble, they would have auctioned it off, and sitting in a mom and pop used car lot.
See if the dealer can print out the service records.

See if they can throw an Elite warranty into the sale.