Hey everyone. I've been looking around here, this place has some great info, really glad I found it. And it may just be me, but saying "I'm going to look at a G" just sounds dirty...or something..

Anyway. I'm going to look at my first G tomorrow and thought I would come here to see if anyone had any advice. I've read through ALOT of other posts around here, but it sounds like these cars are ageing pretty well.

My last car was a Honda Odyssey that got me to 217K and the trans just went out before Christmas. Luckily I had just graduated college and it got me from Daytona Beach to Chicago, and died the day after. So I've been looking for a good car since then. My roommate at school had a 2004 G35 he bought back in October and I went from hating it (always thought the coupes looked fat in the back :-P) to loving it. Now I want one.

Anyway going to check out a 2004 Obsidian Coupe with 50,000 miles. The dealership is asking about $15,500. Automatic, Carfax and Autocheck both show clear. The only thing I'm nervous about is it has had 3 owners. The first was a fleet vehicle, second private party that drove it less than 5K per year, and most recent was a guy who put on about 15K per year. Now that I'm typing that it doesn't sound so bad.

It's been awhile since I've bought a used car so I might just have stage fright too. I'm gonna give her a good once or twice over and see if any body panels have been removed or it looks like any work was done. Any thing else I should look for?

 

Three owners isn't really bothersome to me. I've owned a car with 4 previous owners "excluding me" and It was a good car. Just have to be sure to check it over very well before you buy it.

To me the price is a little on the high side for an 04. Although, if it is clean and well taken care of/ maintenance up to date it might be worth it.

Good luck and I hope you come out with a G!

 

Thanks man.

Soooo... I'm a G owner!

It is beautiful. A few small things, nothing really bad. Small scratch on leather seat. The door handle has a bit of black showing through, not scratched just worn. Otherwise in great shape. Body panels look clean, new tires. Very little rust under the car, just a bit of surface rust on the frame which is inevitable on cars here in Chicago. No rust on suspension components or exhaust. Lights aren't faded or yellow at all. Other than the small scratch on the leather in the driver seat it looks like it is new. Engine bay looks super clean, even all the way down by the transmission. Had all the original Infiniti mats, books, first aid kit, trays, cig lighter.

Haha, needless to say I'm very happy. Can't wait for spring time to roll around so I can get to know her through a good waxing!

 

Congrats... Which dealer did you buy from?

50K isn't bad for a 2004... ~6K/yr. If it were me, I'd do all the fluids, including brake. Spark plugs and TB cleaning wouldn't be a bad idea either.

 

I picked it up from a Volkswagen dealership out near Wheaton, IL. I forgot the exact town name.

Now I've just got to learn how to work the radio. WAY more buttons and modes than my old Odyssey.

 

Congrats. If an owner's manual didn't come with it, i'm sure you can find a pdf version online. A month later, I'm still figuring out some things in mine.

I'm curious, what made you jump the gun so quickly? You posted at 2am, then by 7pm same day you bought. From the carfax info, it looks like the car was on their lot for almost 2 months. Not the easiest car to move this time of year.

 

Haha, yeah it was a bit fast. But it was also well thought out. I had been looking for a car for about a month. My van died just before Christmas. I'm living/working from home with my parents right now. So that put us down to 2 cars for the family. And our Accord with 167,000 miles is having trans problems too. So that put us at 1 reliable car for 4 people. (both missed trans fluid changes because we didn't have the money back when they needed them and we are paying for it now)

It was kinda luck I ended up with the G. My other top pick would be a Hummer H3 with the I5. Probably would have made more sense. Last time I had a sports car I ended up taking it into a corn field, and parking on top of 10 foot snow mounds all the time. Some how I doubt the G would like that very much.

But most of all I just felt like it was a good deal. I had looked at a few G35's that had about 75-100K miles for about 2 grand less. With 50K miles, in good condition, I just felt like it was worth it. Looking forward to the better mileage than the SUV and Odyssey gave me. Assuming I can stop punching it just to hear that exhaust.

 

Got it. I guess after a month, you had some idea of what you did want and didn't want.

I know what an H3 is, but what's an I5. Quite an assortment of vehicles in the list

Years ago, when I first got my camaro, I had my first 'incident' within 6 months. Lucky to have walked away form that. The car was border line totaled.

I hear you on the mpg. I couldn't break 19 mpg for years now with the camaro. So far getting ~21-22 mixed with the G. Hopefully it'll improve as the engine gets more miles. Agreed, it's a revvy engine that's hard to keep under 2500 rpm.

 

The I5 is the engine in the Hummer. They came with an Inline 5 cylinder.

And I hear ya. I used to have a V6 Firebird. I got about 23 highway but only about 16 city (again, just hearing the exhaust was enough to give it gas). Although I've relaxed my driving style since then a bit.

Glad you weren't hurt though. Its always good when you can trust the car around you to keep you safe.

 

Hope the coupe is practical enough for you!

15k for 50k miles on a clean car sounds like a pretty good price. G pricing has rebounded a bit and 100k 05s are still worth 10-12k on the sedans. Coupes are usually a few grand more. I'd say you did well.

 

Haha thanks! It's going to take some getting used to. I can no longer volunteer to move couches at a moments notice. But I think I can get used to it. This is my version of an economy car so some sacrifices had to be made.