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Considering buying a car from my amigo

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C

Corporate Thug

Lifer
So one of my best friends just bought a new car and he is looking to sell his.

2003 G35 Sedan, 6 speed, under 50k miles, dropped, 19 inch rims (not a huge fan, but they are tasteful). Excellent condition, well maintained (he is very very anal about his cars).

Price: 13k



A few things worth considering:

- It's a manual (I have very little experience driving one and I hear they can be in pain in the rear in traffic, which I sit in everyday).

- Clutch will have to be changed within the next 5k miles or so (mostly due to the fact that I would likely be abusing it a good amount as I get the hang of a stick).



What do you all think? Honestly, judging by the condition, I think it's a excellent price. If it was an automatic, I wouldn't think twice about it.
 
Driving a manual tranny car isn't that bad. I drive my SRT is a much stiffer clutch than what's in a G35 is LA traffic all the time. You get used to it.
 
Average trade-in on that car is about $14K with a "clean" retail of about $18K (with an auto). Funny, NADA only lists an auto version of the car???

For that model I would prefer a manual over an auto any day of the week. That's a sporty car. it's performance would be sacrificed with an auto transmission.

If you truly feel that you will need a new tranny in only 5K miles then add the replacement cost to your price. How attractive is the price now?

If I was considering that car (and preferred a manual trans) I would buy that car.
 
Originally posted by: dud
Average trade-in on that car is about $14K with a "clean" retail of about $18K (with an auto). Funny, NADA only lists an auto version of the car???

For that model I would prefer a manual over an auto any day of the week. That's a sporty car. it's performance would be sacrificed with an auto transmission.

If you truly feel that you will need a new tranny in only 5K miles then add the replacement cost to your price. How attractive is the price now?

If I was considering that car (and preferred a manual trans) I would buy that car.
Click to expand...

Not a new tranny, a new clutch which will run $800 ish and I'm sure if I press him enough, he'll knock off another $400 for the clutch.

BTW, you are right. It's a 2003.
 
Originally posted by: Corporate Thug
Originally posted by: dud
Average trade-in on that car is about $14K with a "clean" retail of about $18K (with an auto). Funny, NADA only lists an auto version of the car???

For that model I would prefer a manual over an auto any day of the week. That's a sporty car. it's performance would be sacrificed with an auto transmission.

If you truly feel that you will need a new tranny in only 5K miles then add the replacement cost to your price. How attractive is the price now?

If I was considering that car (and preferred a manual trans) I would buy that car.
Click to expand...

Not a new tranny, a new clutch which will run $800 ish and I'm sure if I press him enough, he'll knock off another $400 for the clutch.

BTW, you are right. It's a 2003.
Click to expand...


Reduce the numbers above by $500 to $1,000 and yes, subtract $400 (net) for the clutch and it still seems like a good deal... The clincher is that your friend is anal about taking care of his cars and it has less than 50K miles.

BTW ... NADA does not list a manual for the 2003 model year either.

My only concern (for you) is that I have a "thing" about buying anything from friends or family. What happens if you have major problems with the car shortly after you buy it? What effect will it have on your friendship?
 
Originally posted by: dud
Originally posted by: Corporate Thug
Originally posted by: dud
Average trade-in on that car is about $14K with a "clean" retail of about $18K (with an auto). Funny, NADA only lists an auto version of the car???

For that model I would prefer a manual over an auto any day of the week. That's a sporty car. it's performance would be sacrificed with an auto transmission.

If you truly feel that you will need a new tranny in only 5K miles then add the replacement cost to your price. How attractive is the price now?

If I was considering that car (and preferred a manual trans) I would buy that car.
Click to expand...

Not a new tranny, a new clutch which will run $800 ish and I'm sure if I press him enough, he'll knock off another $400 for the clutch.

BTW, you are right. It's a 2003.
Click to expand...


Reduce the numbers above by $500 to $1,000 and yes, subtract $400 (net) for the clutch and it still seems like a good deal... The clincher is that your friend is anal about taking care of his cars and it has less than 50K miles.

BTW ... NADA does not list a manual for the 2003 model year either.

My only concern (for you) is that I have a "thing" about buying anything from friends or family. What happens if you have major problems with the car shortly after you buy it? What effect will it have on your friendship?
Click to expand...

Honestly, other than the $400 reduction, I find it hard to believe that a 2003 in this shape and mileage can be bought for $12000 or $12500. At least I have yet to see one.

Not sure what the deal with NADA is, but here is the car:

http://www.kbb.com/KBB/UsedCar...=2554|31562|91607|0|0|

As far as buying from friends, we have had some pretty big purchases between each other before. I fully understand it's buyer beware. I feel more comfortable getting if from him rather than some used dealership where I have no clue what the car has gone through.
 
You aren't going to kill the clutch in 5k miles unless you are a complete moron. They can take a lot more abuse than people think.
 
You'd have to essentially murder that clutch for the car to need a new one at 55k, unless he raced it or something.
 
the car is well-maintained, but is it abused? does it he drive it like he stole it?

what kind of drop and wheels? lowering should typically include springs and dampers both, and it's often best to buy a matched set so you don't have to worry about being under or overly dampened. aftermarket lowering springs can also range from way too soft for the ride height to racecar stiff.

realize that the car leads a harder life once modded. lower profile tires and stiffer springs pretty much increase the failure rate of everything inside the car because of increased vibration (not to sound like this is epicly significant, just something to think about). big wheels will also have less cushion in the event of an impact, and cheap ones often bend easily. i'd wanna be sure they're straight (and also be sure they're hubcentric or have rings).

i'd also vote against it needing a clutch unless someone's been driving it like a 'tard. although i 'learned' to drive a manual at 15, it never became second nature until my current car, which has 120k on the factory clutch (i'm going to have to change it eventually because of a rear main leak 🙁). it survived a few oops moments early on. so long as you're not completely clueless and don't smoke the the thing on every takeoff, it should last awhile.
 
I abuse my nissan's 240sx clutch and it's got 104k on it now.

About due though...but I am swapping the engine soon so it's a wash.
 
I think it would be a pretty good buy at 13k; if you can get for 12k, it would be a great buy. You know the previous owner, and if you feel that the car was well taken care of, it would seal the deal for me.

It's not that easy to find these cars in a manual, and the price is good...if you want a manual (or ever did) this sounds like a great car.
 
Originally posted by: JLee
You'd have to essentially murder that clutch for the car to need a new one at 55k, unless he raced it or something.
Click to expand...

well, I have driven a stick a grand total of 5 times. So he was guessing that a new clutch would be needed based on my lack of experience.

He rarely drives the car hard. Mainly just to work and back, which is a ~12 mile round trip.

He has all maintenance records. Also, he had a credit with a dealership so we went in last weekend and put the whole car through an inspection and there were no red flags.

Based on the responses here, I think I'll start calling some banks/credit unions. I'm going to give me 3k and finance 10k. Payment should be ~$180 or so per month...
 
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