Ok, first of all, the cars primary use is in the city, from home to work and forth. I live in NYC.
Will only travel out of state during summer holidays. Will be taking care of the car and use it for like 10-15yrs.

First is a USED Infiniti FX35, with 35k miles, I like this because its loaded, also the performance and reliability. But this is not certified, meaning I may have to replace most of its parts soon...

Second is a Brand NEW Hyundai Santa Fe, I like this because it the cheapest Brand New Mid size SUV that I can get aside from Dodge Journey....

Used vs New, they got the same price...What will you reccomend?
Is it wise to pick the Santa Fe because it is Brand New with long warranty?
Or the Infiniti FX35 because in the long run, it will cost me less for repairs and it will give me the performance I need and the reliability is much better?

I just joined the forum and purchased an 2010 FX35 last week. I had a 2005 G35X for a couple of years and than went to a diesel pick up and now back to Infiniti lol. I have owned a lot of different trucks, SUV or cars over the years depending on what I wanted or needed at the time. I will say this....the 2010 FX35 is the most fun car I have ever owned so far...it is a great driving experience. I am not sure about the 2007 since they did some major changes to the FX35 in 2009 however I would suspect the enjoyment of driving is very similar. I would find it hard to believe the Hyundai is going to be even close to as much fun to drive. These are kind of apple and oranges in my opinion.

You need to decide what it is that you want in an SUV. If you are looking for low operating cost etc I would either buy the Hyundai or in my opinion a Honda CRV or Pilot is a better long term high mileage low ownership cost of 10-15 years. Remember the FX35 prefers premium fuel and can run on mid grade but they do not recommend regular fuel. Breaks, tires etc are going to be more expensive and probably more often needed on the FX35. I can not imagine buying an FX35 for a low cost/ low ownership cost vehicle. I bought it because it was just big enough for what I needed in a vehicle and a lot of fun to drive and sexy! If I was looking for simply a low cost high mileage vehicle I would have bought a Honda Pilot.

Also if you really want to keep something for 10-15 years I would buy new. You might as well have no miles, warranty etc if you are going to keep it that long. You have to remember the FX35 has a lot of electronics etc that could cost big dollars in 10-15 years. I am by no means saying the FX35 isn't a great car etc, but I also have never kept a car for more than 3-4 years. If I was going to buy something to drive into the ground I would be looking for less bells and whistles which equals less to break in the future...I would be buying a car as a mode of transportation and nothing else. I buy what is fun and exciting to drive, if I am going to have to make a payment on something I better enjoy driving it!

Seems to me the only thing these two SUV's have in common is size and nothing more.

DT