Hey Everyone,

Is a 03-04 G35 coupe with between 110,000 and 140,000 miles going to be relatively reliable? Obviously this depends on the car and how it was driven and maintained by its previous owners... but generally... what do you think? As a grossly underpaid graduate a student suffering through a PhD I am looking for a fun car that will last 3 more years without catastrophic drivetrain failure. I am pretty competent with cars and with the help of the internet, I can take care of most maintenance and small problems on my own.

I am struggling with the decision to buy or not to buy a g35 coupe. I have a price range of between $5,000 and $8,000. I also currently live in the midwest where the winters get pretty snowy, icy and intense. ( I do have snow tires mounted on 17" rims from my current car (mazda6) that will bolt up to the G35 coupe although i am not sure about the offset and the width of the rear tires will be smaller than stock. Which might actually be desirable for snow tires.)

I currently drive a very trusty, reliable, and sensible mazda6 2.3L with 94,000 miles on it. I would sell the 6 to help fund the purchase of the g35 coupe. I also recently got rid of my toy car a 1991 Toyota MR2 SW20 (2.2L non-turbo). So now that I no longer have a fun car i was hoping to get a sports car to replace the sensible mazda6.

Would I be making a big mistake by trading in a reliable, well maintained car for a G35 coupe of relatively unknown quality from craigslist?

Here are two candidates that I am looking at.
https://desmoines.craigslist.org/cto/5055473359.html
https://desmoines.craigslist.org/cto/5057882197.html

I know high mileage G35 coupes are out there and I would love to hear from any owners.

Thanks,

 

"Better the Devil you know, than the one you don't"


I have an 2005 sedan, it's been pretty good so far. I have spent a lot on it on mods, but few repairs (other than brakes). If it doesn't use oil and has been maintained well. You could do worse.

However, most likely you are coming up on some major maintenance. Shocks, Bushings (front and back will set you back close to $2K if you don't do the work yourself), tie rod ends, swaybar links. New boots on the CV joints, all fluids, Brakes, Cabin filter, Air filter, oil change, and more.

If you want fun, buy a Miata.

 

I'm trying to sell my sedan, 70k miles. Maybe the low miles would entice you in some way?

https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-car...-ip-sedan.html

 

The only way someone could convince me to get the sedan would be if it has 4WD... does your?

 

You don't know what your missing. The sedan is lighter (not by much) and what is more fun, you and one other or you and four of your friends?

The AWD would make sense where you live, but it's heavy.

 

Sorry, it is RWD, but it has the nismo aero kit. Also, I have winter tires with the car but I don't drive it in the winter. Car has every option available for that year including Navi.

 

I have an 05 coupe with 152k miles I just got it last year from auction but the only things I've had to fix is one valve cover and the front struts other than that it's as good as can be.

 

I have an 06 with almost 147K that I bought brand new.

Drivetrain has been pretty sound and engine very reliable as well. I'd be more worried about the OTHER things. Wheel bearing, shocks, control arms, tie rods, etc...

If you plan on doing all work on your own; I'd say go for it. If not then I'd pass, since these can get pretty expensive to repair.

I think those years also burned oil, so I'd ask when the last oil change was performed. I'd then offer to pay for one right in front of you and have the oil measured, lol.

I've had the following need replacing though:

alternator
control arms
radiator (small leak)
water pump
wheel bearing
rotors
three calipers (rear needs to be replaced again probably)

I replaced all four shocks, but they were probably still good.

Then you need to do the other stuff:

brake fluid
radiator fluid
ATF fluid
rear diff fluid
ps fluid etc...

Some of those fliuds are pretty expensive as well.

I'd be leery of driving a coupe in the winter also. My car has scared me numerous times and my in-laws even gave me their old Audi for free, since they don't want their daughter to be a widow, lol. I even bought a completely different set of winters which didn't help that much either.

The coupe tires are also staggered, so getting tires is expensive! I've always spent between 800-1000+. I do have 19" Rays though, so that doesn't help....

 

With that price range, you'd can probably buy a nicer AWD sedan, over a RWD coupe.


The sedans don't hold their value as well, so they tend to be cheaper...even in good clean condition. You can prob find an 05/06 sedan in that range as well.


Of course...that's your decision to make.