As the title states, our folks are looking to replace my sister's 90 camry le v6 with a safer more reliable car. Being the car(er.. infiniti) nut that I am, I've appointed myself to be in charge to looking for one. This is what I found:http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...000&cardist=23
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/car/259261165.html

It's a 2001 i30t with nav, original non smoker owner. Now I haven't spoke to this guy yet(he lowered the price 500$ in about a week's wait so I didn't want to spoil that mood for him just yet) and have yet to run a title check. But assuming the title is clean, what do you guys think we should be paying for this car?

 

Well, KBB says $12,260 if its in 'Good' condition, so that sounds like a decent deal. Its pretty much fully loaded, but you won't know just how good the condition is until you take her out for a spin.

BTW, KBB isn't the necessarily what you have to go buy, but it helps.

 

Go for it.

 

$12K for a Pirate's sister sounds pretty fair. Does she come with treasure and a parrot?

 

Ar me maty... shiver me timbers...

 

<Pirate>Arrr! And what about har booty?

I couldn't resist...

 

Yeah I know KBB is just a reference(at times way higher than real prices), the real price is of course the price of which the seller is willing to sell and the price the buyer is willing to pay. I'm just trying to get a feel for how much others are willing to pay or have paid for their cars.

I got 10800 as true market pricing after checking options, mileage and next to best condition
http://www.edmunds.com/used/2001/inf...tion=vdpresult
Of course, one crazy buyer or seller may upset everything

treasure and parrot, no
but spoiler, 17" wheels, and nav, yes!

 

That's a great price if you ask me. I really think our I's are undervalued, if I were to appraise that car, I would give it $15K.

 

No doubt! I just blue-booked my 01 I30 and was shocked how much it had dropped since I bought it 1.5 years ago. I suppose its better than most domestics though and especially SUV's.

 

Other than the color, i really like it...very good car for the money

 

If you think your sister will be using the navigation system you may want to make sure it has the CD for your region. I30/I35 Navigation systems were CD based so there were 9 regions I believe and the cd's are not cheap at the dealer.

 

I have an A32....

Well, market determines the price... if you appriase it at 15k, you would be misleading the consumer, here's why:

At a higher price, there are more sellers willing to sell, however, at a hgiher price there are less buyers willing to buy. Now at the price of 15k for a 01 i30, there are simply very few buyers willing to buy(you can easily find a used is300 for that price or 17k buys a g35) and you would have to wait for awhile to find that rare buyer. Same goes with the buyer, the more picky they are, the longer they wait(search). The longer the seller waits however, the older their car gets.

From an owner's point of view, I can understand how you would dislike Infiniti's steep depreciation, but that is one of the things you have very little control over in life. You can make the best of situation by using it to your advantage(but seeing that you already bought one, you either have or haven't).

 

Yeah, I heard they're like 110$ each... Thanks for the pointer though, I'll definately make sure of that.

 

Referring to seemingly Y33 Q45 inspired model in pic above.

 

I know how the law of supply and demand works, and KBB have been favoring Honda/Acura and Toyota/Lexus due to their popularity/demand. I don't believe those cars are more valuable, I measure value by performance, reliability, luxury/comfort, design, mileage, and the condition of the car. I don't need KBB telling me my I's worth less than an IS300, do you think the IS300 is a better car? I don't think so.

 

Is the IS a better car? That depends on what you define good as.

If you define good as a car that gets you from point a to point b reliably, then the i30 is the best car offered in 01(consumer reports).

If you define good as offering handling, power, looks, and comfort, the IS is a better car.

If you define good as all of the above, the IS is a better car because it offers way better handling and looks at a minimal compromise to reliability and comfort IMO.

Another factor that may effect value is the iihs crash test ratings(the maxima did horrible compared to other luxury cars).

 

Oh, thankyou for your interest

 

So what exactly did you do to create that? Tiime for the VIP/EXE(c) look.

 

I incoporated the 750il's profile with the q45's features.

 

I am defining what value means to me, not defining what is "good". Performance covers handling and power, which is the only thing the IS is better at (maybe just a tad bit), reliability is a tie, luxury/comfort is a joke on the IS, and finally, the boyracer design of the IS vs the mature sportiness of the I.

Now if we bring in the IS250/350, it's a whole new story. Lexus put a lot of effort to class up the new IS, this time they are for real.

 

Just to throw prices out there...

I bought my first stock 00 I30 w/ 76K miles in November 05. It was in "good" condition. I paid $10,100 Cash plus T/T/T.

After wrecking the first. (not my fault) I recieved a check for 13,600 since I had no lienholder.

I then purchased my current 00 I30 from a dealership in late May 06. 38K miles. In most excellent condition. Asking price $13,900. Sadly, I believe I paid $12,850, plus T/T/T and $650 dealership fee. Altogether 15,500 ish.

So, in conclusion:

"ARRR, I'd hit that, matey"
Go for it.


I warn you though, if you live anywhere near me, you might be missing those side skirts one morning. J/K.

 

Comparing the IS to the I30 is like comparing apples to oranges. The correct comparison would be the ES for the I30 and the IS for the G. Either way the Infiniti is the superior car even though Lexus has a higher fair market value. Does a higher fair market value mean greater superiority?? The answer is no... at least not in this case. Better marketing created better name recognition and popularity. THis is why the Lexus has a greater fair market value... even with an inferior product. Most people know what Lexus is. They know they are a premium car manufacturer. Most people don't even know anything about Infiniti... at least prior to 2001 before Infiniti actually decided to MARKET their product. Before that period, Infiniti advertising was virtually nonexistent. As a result Infiniti was an unknown brand in both the new and used markets. An unknown brand has low demand and thus a lower value.

 

Your long explaination of the role of advertising addresses why Infiniti might be undeapprieciated, but you also said Infiniti is unknown in both new and used markets. That means that while demand for a used Infiniti is low, supply isn't above it either. Therefore, that does not explain why there is more supply than demand for a used Infiniti, and thus the price. More importantly, you didn't not once mention any detail that may support your claim as to why the I30 is superior to both the IS and ES.

 

Thanks for the prices. 38k on a 00 real darn real low... I'll be convincing the folks hehe until then...

 

Right on!

96i30azn: All I am saying is that our I's "should" be worth more, and if you can get it for $12K, it's a great buy, don't let KBB or edmund's TMV prices lead you to think that it's just so-so deal.

And BTW, I think:

G > IS > TSX
I > ES > TL
M > GS
Q = LS > RL

 

Not to be an a$$ or anything but G>IS>TSX can be justified saying the G has superior cabin space, comparable performance, and cheaper price tag. (BTW the TSX is a 4cycl FF Accord costing thousands less and therefore this would be a case of apples' & oranges)

But how is the I superior to the ES which is superior to the TL? The TL is larger than both and has better acceration, handling, and than both of them.

Same goes for the Q being better than the LS. The 2002 q45 had a smaller cabin than the LS430, was slower than the LS to 60, took longer than the LS to get 60-0, had worse fuel economy than the LS, and pulled less lateral G than the LS(http://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/...iti_lexus.pdf)... How is this superior?

Here's the full article:
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....article_id=107

 

When there are 3 auto manufacturers involved, there are no such thing as perfect apple to apple comparisons, generation changes, new models, discontinued models, and growth in size. I believe I classified them as fair as possible.

Since the G, IS, and RSX represent their small luxury class, they are the right choices for this comparison, I don't care if the TSX is a four banger, that's Acura's problem for producing a luxury car of this size without a V6. It would be wrong to bring the old G20 into this comparison because its competitor back then was the Integra 4 door, no point considering either of them since they were both discontinued.

The I, ES, and TL represent the medium luxury class, and since they all change generations on different years, we have to compare them year for year. I have to admit, I love the 3rd gen ES's (2002) interior, but as far as performance and the design of the exterior goes, I would pick the I35, so it's a close call. For the years prior to 2002, the I comes on top in my list. As for the TL, it wins my vote for 2004 to 2006, but any other year, no thanks.

Maybe I should've put the 3rd gen TL in the M and GS class, but that wouldn't be very fair since the M and GS would stomp the TL in every category. The RL could belong there, its size/price/performance matches very well for the current generation, but it seems more fit against the Q and LS over all the years of production.

I never said the Q was better than the LS, I think they are about the same. The Q was the best performer back in the '90s, then the LS took over, but the Q have been offering more high tech features to make up for its lack of performance for the past few years, so it's a close call with all the years considered.

 

Ah but they do! Its called the TL which costs about the same as an IS or G35. I'm just saying there's less difference between a TL and G35 than there is a G35 and TSX. I don't know why you would have to match a unique car with each category, there's nothing wrong with not having one in a category or having the same in 2.


Ok, you meant all the years. That makes more sense, but to me, it's still a stretch because while the 1st q45 beat lexus in terms of performance, its reliability, cabin space, and looks(90-93 no grille and dinner plate wheels, the lexus, while blamed as plaigarizing benz at least looked normal) were behind. The 2nd generation was behind in all aspects except maybe looks and reliability while the 3rd generation can only credit reliability and maybe technological gadgets.

 

RWD is a BIG difference.

 

I knew I shoulda splurged and got a 350....

 

WTF was I thinking passing up a 240sx for an I30...

 

those rims look like the BMW's M parrallel's

 

...not as big as RWD+2 Cylinders...

 

Not with an auto tranny.