I've struck a deal on a G35 Coupe. I have yet to put any money on it. I plan to go see the car on Sunday and buy it if everything checks out. Aside from the fact that it looks good (and I don't mean just the looks), you guys that know these cars, I'm wondering what I should be looking for.

Or, more precisely, what I should look for in order to know to run away from the car. It does have the driver's seat rip. I will follow the TSB, or somewhat follow the TSB and repair the rip. This vehicle will be for my son. I'm not a vehicle novice by any means, but I have admired G35 coupes for years. I owned an FD3S for a long time. And in one instance I had a race with a G35. And even though it wasn't a close race, I was surprised that the G35 hung as close as it did. I liked them before that race, and liked them even more after the race. But as a family man, I couldn't do a 2 door any longer.

But now, it's for my son. This particular "unit" has signs to me at least, that the previous owner, and maybe the previous ownerS, had pride in this car and took good care of it. Unlike the clunkers I have looked at locally.

Any info you guys can shed on this subject would be appreciated.


7milesout

 

The dash is known to crack in warmer climates. Once they start, it only gets worse. Open the sunroof and check for rust. The seal on the glass can fade and crack and let some water through. If you suspect some body work has been done, tap each side of the car in the same spot. They should sound the exact same. If one side sounds dull there has been body work. Should just sound like tapping on metal. If it's a manual, most burn oil, some worse than others. If it's an automatic, check that the tiptronic works by shifting to the right in the drive position. Also check that the seat moves in all directions.

 

I'd recommend a trip to the Nissan dealership so they can get under it and inspect all the bushings, particularly the rear differential. There's quite a few that don't have a long life expectancy and they all seem to fail at about the same time, it's a full weekend replacing everything if you do it yourself. Make sure the window auto up/down function works, window motors are a known failure point. Ask if the fuel gauge reads correctly, another known point of failure is the combination gauge itself. See if they have the paperwork on the latest alignment just so you can verify that it was able to achieve factory spec (eliminates some of the bushing concern on the front end). Get it on a fairly steep downhill grade with the cruise control on and see if it "feels like it's pulsing the cruise control" this can eliminate some concern for the rear diff bushing.

These are the most common failure points I've seen.

 

This dealership may be the only honest dealership in the nation. But they wouldn't have known the answer to that question.

However, now I know the answer! It DOES NOT! I found this out the hard way. But I was so friggin lucky. It goes without saying, I bought the car, drove it home yesterday.

All in all, the vehicle is in great shape. Yes, it has a few issues here and there and I will go about trying to resolve or improve them. But ... about the fuel gauge, let me tell this quick story.

So I topped off in Maryland, about an hour to the left of DC. It was raining like a bastard for about 2 hours, and then it cleared up. All systems seem to work well on the car (put through its paces in the rain).

After the rain, I just went into fuel conservation mode, to see how far it would get. I passed through Charlotte, NC. After Charlotte, the fuel gauge was about 1/4 tank or so. I was going to need to stop, stretch and get a drink, so I went ahead and looked ahead on my route to find my preferred gas station. I found one about 60 miles ahead and decided I could plug along and make it there. The car was running good and getting great mpg. Within seconds of plugging in that intended fuel station, I come upon some road construction and it is about 2 am (night work in the construction area). They were blowing dust over the travel lanes so I canceled the cruise. When I did that, the Check Engine light came on (but nothing else seemed to happen). But I said, uh-ohhh. I went to down shift to 5th and when I pushed the clutch the engine died. I said UH-OHHHH. I put it in 5th, eased off the clutch, the engine came back. I put my foot on the gas but NOTHING. I then realized the engine was dead and momentum was the only thing turning it.

LUCKILY, I decided to pull off, into the construction zone right where there were workers. Because before and after that there was like NO CIVILIZATION. I got out of the car and went and found some workers to let them know I hadn't intended to get in their way, but the car just broke down. 2 of them broke off from the rest and came and helped me. First they asked if I was out of gas. I said, I don't think so, the gauge was on 1/4 tank. But then I realized, I've got 499.7 miles on this tank since I filled it. So, maybe the gauge is goofy.

I told that to the workers and they said, hey, we've got a can of gas, let's just see what it does. So they went and got the gas, put about 1/2 gallon into the G35. I turned the starter and it fired right up. I was so lucky it chose to run out of gas right there. Or I would have been ... a word that starts with f, and ends with ed. About a mile down was a gas station. So I filled it up. It got about 25.5 mpg.

The tires are low quality. It does on/off a bit when on the cruise and going down hill. But it didn't seem odd at all. It was very subtle, and felt totally expected.

Aside from wear and tear, and replaceable stuff like tires, it seems to have a couple discs stuck in the 6 disc changer. So I'll search for a way to resolve that. But otherwise, the car is SOLID.


7milesout

 

The "on/off" cruise going downhill is Al.ost certainly the rear differential bushings. Get them inspected and replace asap if they're bad or it could end up costing you the whole diff.

 

Welcome to G35 Driver! You didn't mention mileage, regardless having Nissan check it out is a great idea...especially a compression test! OC (oil consumption) can make this coupe worthless! If this is your Sons first car, you may need to look elsewhere. One of the best driving tools I know of is the Mazda Miata, inexpensive for upkeep and gas since it's going up 12 cents per gal tomorrow AM!
Again, welcome to Driver...Gary

 

booooooo

 

You do realize he already bought it right??

 

I agree with that sentiment. Not that I dislike the Miata. But in my thinking, it's a less useful car by far. Good at go-kart handling on autocross courses, uses less gas sure, but what can it do that a G35 can't? G35 looks better, sounds better, and has some beef to it for protection.


7milesout

 

I'm just biased because a guy who works at the same site I'm on has one that's REALLY built and he's a real ***** so...

 

My bad, just read the first post!
Gary