Nothing personal, but I don’t know if I want to buy any of the cars you guys have previously driven. I am retiring early next year and intend to buy a 2008 coupe with under 30K. (New or newer would be better but the stock market has lowered my expectations somewhat.) I have driven a MT for most of my life and have only gone AT in the last 10 years, more for my wife’s sake. I have had one hip replaced and the knee on the other leg (clutch side) is also causing me some pain. While I do live in the city, I intend to avoid heavy traffic so the MT is still very appealing. I have only driven the AT at this time but would test a MT before buying of course. Paddle shifters are also an option but I haven’t seen any comments about using with the 5 speed AT (new to site). As I look at the current offerings locally, many seem to be coming off leases or are factory cars. I am old fashioned in that I think the metal parts of a engine should be introduced to each other gradually not violently. I’m concerned about leased cars given minimal maintenance since the owner knows they will not be keeping it. Buying a dealer demo driven by anyone who comes in the door to see how it performs is even scarier. A car driven hard by an enthusiast is also concern – no one wants someone else’s problem.
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Comments? Thanks.

 

OK. Thanks for letting us know.

 

Just the kind of intelligent, thoughtful comment I was hoping for. Thanks.

 

welcome to the site i bought my 6MT in june with 27k and now has 30k and its running flawlessly i dint even ask for the carfax lol

 

oh and if u have a bad knee forget about the MT if ur gonna be driving for more than an hour the pedal is not soft GL

 

If insightful comments are what you want, you might reconsider the not so subtle backhanded swipe in your first sentence. Who is going to help the first a$$hole to insult the entire group?

Go read Motortrend and jump on the bandwagon of your choice.

 

Buy privately and find out how the car was driven, by what kind of driver, history, modifications.

What sure what you're asking
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I wouldn't buy a car from anyone on here either. I see the comments every day on how most kids try to drive their cars. That's right, I said kids. On average, I'm ten years older than most on here. Add the fact that daddy didn't pay for the car either. If you can't read between the lines try slowing down a little, he simply stated that he is a mind mannored driver compared to most.

I like the 5 speed automatic. I hated the 7 speed automatic. The paddle shifters are very slow to respond for both and for that reason no fun. You alone are the only one who can decide if you really want a manual. Sometimes I wish I had a stick to throw around but it is her car and she wanted an automatic. If I ever take over the car, a shift kit would get put on the to do list.

I to like to stay away from leases and demo cars. No good can come of it. There is an arguement that demo cars are at the dealership all the time and always have the best maintenance record. I know that's usually just the opposite.

If you look at the numbers, the highest market for the G37 is women in their 30's and 40's. There should be a pretty good chance you could pick up a low milage one used from a conservative driver if you look hard enough and are willing to travel to pick it up.

 

Thanks for you support and/or comments. For those of you I offended, if you can honestly tell yourself you could go to your best friend, sister or brother and tell this is a great car that will serve you reliably after I sell it to you then I have misjudged you. Personally, I do not want to buy a performance car like this from someone who has probably driven it to the limits and beyond. Why invest in expensive mods if you aren’t going to use them? I don’t fault you for doing it – that’s why we buy the car. I intend to see what the top speed is on the car I buy. BIR, in northern MN, does give drivers the opportunity to test their car’s limits legally.

 

You’ve brought up an interesting topic. It is true that many younger drivers around here drive their G’s quite hard and therefore their cars are not the best choice for a used vehicle. But there are many mature drivers around here who take very good care of their cars, so it may not be wise to generalize.

In the case of my own coupe, for example, I would have no trouble selling it to anybody, including a family member because I take very good care of it and drive it responsibly. As a matter of fact I did sell one of my old cars to my brother a few years back and he had no trouble with it.

But as discussed in past threads, in addition to avoiding leased or demo cars, there are other tell-tail signs of what used G37’s to avoid. This includes heavily modded or illegally modded cars, and debadged G’s. And although it may be hard to spot, I would look for OEM parts that were once removed but have been reinstalled prior to being sold.

 

Point well taken. I think you hit on the right word - mature. Thanks.

 

You're going to have to explain that one to me Chekov. Why do you want to stay away from "debadged G's?"

 

Good question. There was an article a while ago (I’ll look for it again, but there are other discussions on this if you Google the topic) describing resale values of debadged cars from a used-car sellers’ standpoint. Generally, they found that debadged cars sell for less because buyers have a perception that the previous owner was younger and drove the car hard. Those in the business have found that given the choice of two otherwise near-identical cars, buyers will shy away from the debadged car.

That view is certainly borne out in this thread where an assumption is made that younger drivers are hard on their cars. It follows therefore that it is mostly younger owners who debadge. Now before you past 40 drivers who have debadged their G’s jump on me, keep in mind we’re talking about a perception here, but such perceptions often dictate the price a buyer is willing to pay for a used car.

 

Ok, I see what you are trying to say now, but that is by no way any reason to stay clear of a car with no badges. As you said that's how someone might percieve it, that doesn't make their perceptions right. I look at it just the opposite way. In my mind, the owner of a car that went to the trouble of debadging is more likely to really care about their car. I'd rather buy from an enthusiast rather someone who thinks of a car as just some sort of transportation.

 

Well, I’m not saying the perceptions are right. They are often wrong, but they are what they are as a market influence. And I believe, as I read most used-car dealers believe, that debadged cars sell for a bit less than badged cars. You personally may have no problem with buying a debadged car, but my sense is that you’re in the minority on this one.