I will be taking delivery in a month....any checklist items / reminders would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Well, here's a start - based on my own experience and what I've been reading from other posters:

1 - Scratches/fingerprints on NAV/Info screen
2 - Uneven tailpipe alignment
3 - *Any* scratches or dents in the paint
4 - Verify that the TSBs (sunroof wind deflector, rear parcel shelf) have been addressed. I checked the straps on my wind deflector, and they had already been twisted 180 deg)
5 - Shimmy at highway speeds (on your test drive, take it up to 40-70mph and see if you have any shimmy or wheel vibration)
6 - You may not be able to check this initally, but make sure your fuel gauge functions properly. Lots of folks getting their instrument cluster swapped out)

I'll post more if I can think of anything else.

 

Check for noise/rattling from the skyview area if you don't have a sunroof. Mine rattles like a mo fo.

CM.

 

I have to assume that their won't be any new cars with the gauge problem since the new gauges are coming straight from the factory, but you never know. The best way to test it is to leave the car in the sun for a few hours, and then see if the gas gauge goes back up to full or where ever it should be. If it does, then you are fine.

 

I just took delivery on a 2004 maxima and i checked everything mentioned. I mentioned the finger prints on the screen to the service manager at the dealership and she said it was due to technicians not knowing now to handle the screen and putting prints all over it. She said nissan is aware of this and sending out documentation too the service depts of dealerships. Not sure if I believe this but just something I heard from the grapevine =D.

 

check glovebox...other members have sagging glovebox.

roll up all windows and turn the AC on...stand outside of car and feel for any cold air leaks esp. around the skyview.

 

Make sure your car has 7 miles or less on it if you're buying it new. I've seen some pretty depressing things done by dealers to brand new cars on the lot.

 

That is hard to find if the car has been on the lot for any time at all, the only way to get that is right off the truck, which isn't always an option.

 

He said he will be taking delivery in about one month. There's not any valid reason for the car to have more than 7 miles on it. I made it a requirement in the tentative agreement which I made the dealer sign and fax back to me. Why take the risk of buying an abused car when you don't really have to?

 

Dude, thats gotta bite. Is their any way to get it fixed? Rattles irk the daylights out of me , so I feel your angst.

 

Just curious, where do you come up with the no more that 7 miles on the odometer? I work at a dealership and the cars that are just off the transporter have more miles at times. The range is from 5 to 15 miles on these new cars. The average is about 8 miles. Don't know how they get that many miles on them, but it seems to be pretty consitant for the 5 different brands of vehiles we sell...VW, Kia, Nissan, Infiniti, Mercedes. Let me know if there is some formula i'm missing here?

 

I don't know where the miles come from, either. But there will be some, as the newly built car is usually driven out into a gargantuan parking lot that is almost mind-boggling. It was in such a lot in Smyrna, TN that a few thousand '04 Maximas were welcomed into the world with a monstrous hailstorm this past May.

The car will then be driven either to an auto carrier loading dock or a railhead for loading on an auto rack. If it is carried by rail, the car will be offloaded at the major railhead nearest the destination dealer and driven to an auto carrier loading dock for the final leg.

In most cases, these facilities are not far apart, and the mileage on the odometer should be around five miles or less. But there is some link I am missing, as the odometer usually reads more than five.

 

Haha. Seven's just been a number that's always been stuck in my head. But generally, I think anything less than 10 miles would suffice in making me feel better. I am not 100% sure, but I think those 7-10 miles are from the car being tested to make sure everything's working. All I care about is if a customer has test driven the car. I remember when I tested out the Maxima and the TLS, both times the salesman encouraged me to floor it several times on the highway.

 

On one of the other threads they talked about that, they had a test car with, if I remember correctly, 100-200 miles and they were going over 100 mph. It would suck to get that car... I really doubt it is a problem now, with the precision machining, but still not something you want to mess with.

 

That was me with that post. It had about 750-800 miles on it and it was 142mph. About 1700 now and it's running alot stronger than it was at first.

 

Thanks for all of the feedbacks! Took delivery as per checklist of a silver/black SE auto without options power sunroof, SAT radio, and Elite package. Modifications: limo tint per laws and 3M "invisible" ClearBra on hood, mirrors, bumpers, quarter panels, and lights.

 

Many new cars on lots have been briefly test-driven. Only cars right off the truck will have 7 miles or less on them.

 

My dealer told me that they test drive the car 5 to 7 miles at the factory as a final predelivery check.

 

there used to be a checklist on the net that was great. lemme try and find it.