Hey I am lookin to buy an infinity I35 but its got a slight vibration on highway. I feel it in the steering wheel. The car was supposedly just aligned so I am guessing the tires need to be balanced too. I know the I35 and Max are mechanically pretty much the same and there are a lot more people who check out the max 5th gen forum than the I30/I35 forum and I need an answer asap because I am looking to buy the car tonight. Please tell me if this sounds like the tires need to be balanced

 

Probably the tires are out of balance. Ask what, if anything, has been done to the car recently related to the tires or front end, other than the allignment. A car that is out of allignment shouldn't have any vibration.

 

Just fixed the slight vibration in my Max. Mechanic balanced all four wheels, problem solved. Before signing on the dotted line, have them do the balance, than drive the car again to make sure that is the only problem. There was a recent thread about virbation issues and everything from wheel bearings to alignment were discussed. Make sure it is only a simple thing like balancing before going ahead with the deal.

 

how much does balancing cost usually?

 

I can be several things. Tie rods/ball joints, control arms, inproperly aligned, improperly balanced wheels, bad tires (out of round). There can be several items causing the vibration. It can either be a signal or a combination of parts. For example: Inner & outer tie rods, ball joints, control arms, improperly aligned, improperly balanced wheels, bad tires (out of round) or possibly bad struts. Of course the simplest and least expensive of them all is improperly balanced wheels/tires. Nevertheless each individual item must be inspected before concluding which part is defective. The tire balance is most commonly the first item on the list to be inspected and checked. Good luck on your purchase and remember to check for frame damage.

 

Don't worry about it. Make sure the dealer does it before you even think about signing anything. It's their job to fix those things before selling. That's why you are test driving. Also take it to a trusted mechanic for a check-up. Bottom line is, do not trust any car dealer regardless of how much they sweet talk you.

 

alright so I just talked to the dealeship that I am trying to buy the car from. I said I wanted the tires balanced because it had a slight vibration on the highway. He said his mechanic noticed the vibration but that they dont have a machine to do tire balancing there and they already have done more than they ever wanted to do on the car. Although he did say that the mechanic noticed the vibration as well but that the mechanic also said it could be because the rotors were just turned. Before we had the dealership mechanic look at it we got it inspected at an infinity dealership (we are buying this from a subaru dealership) and this guy was REALLY good about giving us a really detailed report on everything about the car. He never said anything about the bearings. He just said the car would need to be aligned which it supposedly was but that didnt take care of the vibration. The sales man ended the convo by saying let me know today I have a lot of other people who want to sell the car. I dont really get a warm and fuzzy feeling from this dealership

What do you guys think. I am paying 17,900 for an silver 02 Infinity I35 with 46k is this a good deal?

 

I don't know which options that I35 your looking at has, but the retail value I'm looking at is $17,365. If you'd like to know exactly what the value of the car is go to www.kbb.com If I were you I would keep shopping around because not even I get that warm fuzzy feeling about that car.

 

Go with your gut feeling on this. It is the job of the dealership to make sure the car is ready to drive regardless of how much needs to be done. Personally, if I was spending $18 grand on a car, I would want to make sure everything was fixed. Trust me, once you sign the papers, they could give two craps about you or your tire vibration. Be prepared to walk away from this deal if they cannot, or will not fix the problem. A salesperson's main weapon is your emotions. If he can get you to fall in love with the car, that distracts you from everything else. Look past that, make sure you are getting a fair deal, and remember there are other cars, other places that will treat you better.

 

Ohh yeah I forget to say it has the sport package. On KBB.com the car with a sport package from a dealer lists for 18,400. Sport package is pretty rare and adds quite a bit of value to the car

 

I'd go with your instinct. Don't let your emotion make the decision. Good luck!

 

when i buy cars i do this. agree on a price, after bargaining. and say this is the price i am willing to pay if the car is in sound mechanincal condition. i am going to take it to get inspected, and if there is somethin wrong, you either fix it, or take the amount off that's going to cost to fix it. usually they will agree because they told you the car was in pristine mechanical condition to begin with. go get it check out THOROUGHLY, pay $50 or whaterver to have a shop do it. (it will be worth for how much money the dealer will take off later on). if they find anything wrong, take the written estimate to the dealer and show it to them. usually they will take off a reasonable amount.
one time i was looking at a max, they said pristine condition, doctor drove it, blah, blah. after agreeing on a price, and taking it to get inspected, we found about $2k worth of repairs for the whole exhaust system and some other stuff. the dealer basically told me to walk, they would not take money off. so i told them they were f*king liars, and left.

 

oh yeah, the vibration is most commonly cause by un-balanced tires and/or alignment. an 02 infitity should not have any serious suspension problems, we are talking about Infinity, not GM.

 

the problem is that this car is rare. There isnt a I35 w/sport package within 300 miles of me. I think I will set the deal up where if the car isnt vibration free after we get it balanced we can get our money back and if he doesnt acept than I walk.

 

alright heres the update. They are supposedly getting the tires balanced now and my dad and I are going to test drive it tonight. If the problem is fixed than we are gonna get it. My dad is good at gettnig what he wants. I'm just a kid (21) so they jerk me around like i'm an idiot, yet I'm the one who actually has all the knowledge about the car thanks to this forum. I will tell you guys how it goes. BTW how do I donate and how much do I have to donate before I can use the search feature. I wanna put headers on my car. I heard they give 30 peak hp. But cant find the thread for it

 

got in the car and test drove it tonight. It was perfect. I ended up buying it and now I have my I35 w/ sport package. This thing hauls ***. Well in comparison to the 4cyl camry I used to have before this. Deffinatly want to make this thing a sleeper that will be able to take out camaros from a roll

 

Congrats! But don't get overconfident or stupid. Keep it safe. (Dang, I sound like an old man)

 

I had a vibration in the '00. I installed new brakes/rotors and only after new tires did the vibration go away. Force Balance new Falkens for $65 for all four, replaced the existing Falken tires which lasted 27k miles. They had a little more tread left until the wear bar, but after doing the brakes i ordered the tires.

 

You went with another set of Falkens?

 

Welll, prices below $90/ea was hard to beat. Didnt like the goodyears,or dunlop, I almost went with the goodyear F1's, but and some other reasons -and since we live in the woods we need an all season

- yes i choose these for a second time. They might have weak sidewalls but they seem great, never squeel My steering wheel is rock solid at any speed. Rec's would be appreciated but if i were to spend some money it would be on lighter rims