Hi guys,

Sorry in advance for the painfully new questions.

I've been looking at getting a new-to-me car and G35 coupes and sedans came up on my list of things that please me - namely, being manual, RWD, and sporty. Normally I obsess over a car and study it for months before trying to make any decision (as is the case for the past three cars I've been looking at) but going without a nice car is cutting into me now.

I'm looking at an '03 G35 coupe 6MT. It looks like a sport to me (almost automatically because it's a 6MT and I can see the gold/orange Brembos?) but quite honestly, can't tell from the pictures.

Trouble is, it's got 132k miles. This is nothing for me since my daily driver has over 260k miles, but I'm clueless when it comes to this G35 now.

Are there any major things I should be on the lookout for with this?

I've been doing some searching and looks like the most obvious thing is the oil consumption issue, along with timing chain failure, loose swirl valve screws (?), and failing radiators (doesn't apply to '03?).

Is there any major thing I'm missing? By 132k miles, should most of those problems have been addressed?

I know the age-old question of "how long will it last me?" is horribly dumb because it all depends on how well it's taken care of, its maintenance history, etc., but realistically, would any major failures come up in the next five years with it? I know used luxury sports cars shouldn't be purchased on a budget, but I'm just weighing out my options.

Thanks!

 

And beyond the note of maintenance/repairs/longevity...

How's modding on these?

Seems like weak engine internals prevent anything major from happening without building the motor. I'll only be doing bolt-ons for the motor in that case. Any decent gains from them on this motor?

Are coilovers worth springing for (heh), or is the stock suspension decent enough with some lowering springs?

Is availability for new/used aftermarket stuff getting low or are people still actively modding and designing for the G35?

 

Maintenance really depends on if your paying a shop to do the work or doing it yourself. Example: Dealership wanted $1200 to replace the valve cover gaskets & $800 to replace the driver lock lock actuator. I replaced the lock actuate myself, parts were I believe $150. Its only as expensive as you make it in my opinion.

Going full bolt on's is a small gain but car sounds pretty nice. Going for any real power adders like supercharger or turbo is going to cost alot of $ and unless you build the motor you cant push them too far.

Yes coils are worth springing for if you want to adjust the ride height. I went with springs but I am also on whiteline bushings & tokicko d spec struts. I didn't need height adjustments so I spent the $ on bushings and nice struts instead.

Things to look out for

1) oil consumption
2) lock actuators or window motors flaking out. They are 150-200 in parts but a royal PITA to swap out
3) valve cover gasket seals leaking into spark plug area
4) cam sensors going out "seems to be common from what I have seen"
5) 03-05 headlights like to stress crack pretty easily inside the headlight

 

I'm a basic mechanic and work at a dealership as a tech with discounts on all parts since we're a connected dealership group. Most basic stuff I'd be doing myself, so easy gaskets like for valve covers, bolt ons, exhaust, fluid flushes, etc. I'd be able to do. Head gaskets, rear main seal, and anything that involves really going in the motor would probably be out of my reach.

Forced induction is out of my budget, so I'm sticking with bolt ons. This will be a daily driver that I occasionally take to the track, not a full-blown race car or show-off car.

I guess I'll have to ride out stock suspension and see how it feels before any decision is made on that. I'm in Michigan with some pretty awful roads so it'd be nice to have some double adjustable coilovers but at the same time, I've been driving cars with blown out struts for quite some time and I don't really care, so ride comfort is not something I really care about.

1) Are there any "actual" fixes to the oil consumption issue? I see people installing catch cans but it seems like there are still people having issues even with one installed.

2) Shouldn't be too bad, so long as parts are actually available.

3) With being a fairly tight engine bay, are VC gaskets a bitch to do on this motor?

4) Will the cam sensor throw a code when it fails guaranteed?

5) The housing or lens cracks?

Thanks for your reply!

 

Answers in bold

 

No fixes on a car that burns a lot of oil, other than replacing rings.

If you wanna check tho, just look in the tail pipes. Excessive soot means burning oil. The thicker the soot, the more oil it burns. The 03 wasn't an oil burner recall tho, so it should be fine.

 

Being an 03, another thing to check and/or replace would be front suspension bushings. The compression rod and lower control arm bushings are the main offenders.

 

Things you SHOULD be checking:
ALL bushings front and back
ALL hoses and belts
ALL tie rod ends/sway bar links
FULL alignment

 

As you get into higher mileage cars, it's the nickel and dime stuff that really eats away at you vs a major failure. It's not the trans or engine blowing, but the little things.

For example, some issues with my 156K mile sedan.

Oil consumption. Not a huge deal, but sucks adding 2 qts per oil change.

Looseness in the suspension. Can hear knocking over bumps. Will need to get under there and find the suspect part and replace the arm or the bushings.

Driver's door Ikey entry button is dead. Have a replacement button, but PITA pulling the door apart to get to the handle to replace it.

TPMS sensors dead. need to have a shop install 4 new ones

Leaking oil cooler o-ring. Not a big deal. but just another small item failing.


The car runs and drives beautifully. No issues with that. It's just these little things that are starting to bug me as I just don't have time to fix it anymore despite how simple they are. I'd rather be out golfing or playing with the kids. At some point soon, i'm just gonna trade the car in. I'd rather deal with a car payment, than repairs no matter how minor.