Hey guys,

I'm looking to buy an 05 or 06 G35 and had two questions for you.

1. Are there any primary issues I should be watching out for with either year?
2. How difficult is it to find good DIYs on most maintenance issues?

I ask both questions because I have owned an e39 BMW in the past and they have very specific issues that you should find out before buying one. (cooling system, VANOS, etc.)

Also, I loved the fact that I could Google just about anything and find detailed DIY walkthroughs with pictures or video's. (I'm not a mechanic, but I can follow directions. haha)

I love the look of the G35, so just wanted to find about specific issues and get a feel for the DIY community.

Any advise would be appreciated.

 

Are you looking at the coupe or sedan? I don't think there are that many differences between them.

I bought an '06 brand new 7 years ago and have loved it since. It's got about 127K miles on it. I'm nowhere near an ASE mechanic or car expert, but I have done all the following on my own just using this site, FSM, and AllDatadiy.com.

Upgraded audio speakers and DDIN (Also wired in a device so I could keep my steering wheel controls)
Replaced intake tube and air filter w/ Z-Tube and JWT pop charger
Cleaned throttle body (Successfully mastered the IDLE Re-learn that comes with it, lol)
Installed MD Plenum Spacer
Changed radiator fluid
Change oil
Replace PCV valve
Replaced all hoses with silicone (due to age)
Replaced/bled brake fluid
Brake pads (will do rotors soon)
Going to do the ATF fluid soon and maybe drop the pan and clean it out also.
In the middle of replacing my Y and Midpipe due to rust and corrosion.
Ordered some Tokico blue HP's as well and change out my shocks soon.

I know the G probably isn't a car you want to learn on, but I'm out of warranty since '12 and **** gets expensive on these cars to pay someone (I had a wheel bearing go out and needed rotors re-surfaced and was charged 700 bucks). If I can do all the above with positive results I think anyone can.

Two main issues that I know of are oil consumption as the engine gets older and oil leaking past the valve covers into the spark plugs (I think this affects MT more though). Oil consumption I believe people just usually check the oil more often and top off. The valve cover problem can be expensive to repair (60-600) to fix depending on the route you go. They are 300 bucks a piece since the spark plug gaskets are built-in and non-serviceable, so a dealer will sell you a part that will fail again in the future. You can also do DIY and purchase some overpriced gaskets from a seller called R+D. This involves using a hole saw to cut out the old ones, put the new ones in, and then using RTV silicone sealant.

If you go with the coupe and live where there is a lot of snow during the winters; I'd also suggest a completely different set of winter wheels and tires. I lost count of how many "Oh ****!" moments I had driving here in PA since moving from FL before doing that.

After typing all that I just realized how much money I have saved, lol.

 

Thank you so much for your response. That is all good information.

I've found a 2007 coupe with 6MT that I'm pretty sure I'm going to get. This will be the first car I've owned that was made in the 2000's, so I'm a little nervous.

One thing I loved about my late 90's BMW(s) was they were still mostly mechanical, so I didn't have to be an MIT computer engineer to fix something. I'm actually a nerd and can fix nearly any regular computer, but when that computer is connected to a 300HP engine....

Thanks again for the info. I look forward to becoming an active member of the G35 club.

 

I know what you mean (I'm a system/network administrator myself) was doing Unix for years and now a little bit of everything. The G has a lot of electrical components that are extremely expensive to replace. Now, when I first got my car I had the ECU get replaced (once or twice), BCM, and IPDM as well. Luckily, most of the dealerships were great and did the replacement for free, but I had to fight holy hell with a local dealership in Tampa to replace the IPDM. Since then everything has been running without issues, but there was a time where I hated my car.

Are you buying the car from the dealer or private person? You can have them pull out spark plugs to see if they are covered in oil to tell if valve covers are bad.