Just as the title states? Last Thursday I went & test drove an used G35C at my local Nissan dealership. Vehicle had 16K miles & dealer was asking $31K out the door. Fully loaded, without navigation.

I was speaking to a friend, & he said that if my budget is $35K, I should get an '05 since the interior is absolutely amazing compared to the previous yrs? I'm looking to get a black on black G, fully loaded with navigation - if anybody has any direction or leads, that'd be great.

 

i would get an 04 if you still can..

 

Any reason? I see that you have an '05, any electrical issues that you're having or what?

 

You're friend is right....The 04's were a step up from the 03's and the 05's were way more of a step up from the 04's more horsepower...I think nicer interior..19" rims...If you have the budget go for the 05'....now if you're willing to wait...then maybe the 06 will suit your fancy since there are even more crazy stuff going into it....do you plan to buy or lease? That maybe a question you can ask yourself....For instance I leased my 04 and when the term is up the GT-R should be in it's second year about to come out (late 08) so i can get into that...Hope this helps you!

 

brembos, i like the 04 18's as well.. the interior isnt that great but my friend likes it over my 05 interior..

no problems with my 05... and yes if you can, get the 06

 

I'll most likely purchase the vehicle. I'm trading in two vehicles for the G35, my old '95 Maxima beater ($2,000) & my Dad is selling his '99 BMW ($14,000). So, I'm hoping that even with $16K, I can get a later production '04 for high 20s or low 30s.

 

I drove both two weekends and didn't notice a difference in power at all, neither did my passengers. As for the interior, I was just as happy with the 04 I purchased than the 05' interior. Both seemed solid without rattles. Of course my 04 has the navigation so that probably helped me liking the 04 equally. That being said, I didn't study it very closely and I realize its clear the 05+ interiors are nicer. The 19's were nice, but definitely a lot of wheel and $ for tires. I also like the 18's on the 04 just as much. The brembo option and black interior also swayed me as much as the $3,100 price difference.

 

31k is too much for a 04 with 16k miles; you should be able to get a 05 for the same amount. To be honest the difference between the 2003.5's and 04's is a tire pressure gage. (other than the brembos) If you are looking at the 04's save some cash and get a 03 otherwise just wait alittle until you can get a 2005 for the price you want.

 

I haven't really criticly analyzed the 05's/06's interior too closely yet, but I'm very happy with my '04. I know the gauges are quite different in the 2005+ G's and they have the adjustable Rev warning light.

The Brembros are one of the greatest features of my '04, and I absolutely adore them. The bright orange calipers really attract a lot of positive attention from people and make the car look flashy in a clean non-ricey way.

If you're getting Nav, the '05's have a bigger Navigation screen, which is always nice. I don't think you'll really notice the power difference much at all, since the '05's are a heavier vehicle... and the 04's have more torque than the 05's. The sports suspension in the '05's is also supposed to be a bit better than what comes with the 6MT on an '04. If you get the Nav, the '05 will also come with a more up-to-date Navigation disc than an '03 or '04 would have.

 

There actually isn't a tire pressure Gauge(I just bring it up so that he doesn't expect there to be one if he's looking for reasons to buy the '04). There's a tire pressure monitoring system which will warn you when the tire pressure goes below 28PSI by making a beeping sound and flashing a light on the dashboard.

 

Agreed as to price. I would make sure they're at least in the 29's for a loaded 04 with that mileage at this point. Make sure you do the finance calculations too. I recall calculating a $3,100 difference in taking my 04 over the 05 I looked at was about $65/month, which was attractive along with the fact that I got the navigation, Brembos.

 

Since each year has it's advantages and disadvantages, I will put it down in my perspective. Consider the following factors in the following order:

1. Model Year - The newer the better.
2. Mileage - The less the better.
3. Price - The lower the better.

Keep these in mind, and give #1 the highest priority, #2 a little less and so on. I went with an '04 a year ago, cause I found one in like new condition with very low miles, and with discontinued black interior on a pearl. And I saved at least $6,000. If '05s had that, I'd probably go with the newer one. Good luck.

 

I still prefer the 04 interior over the 05-06.

The 05-06 is too dark and it looks like they put the aluminum in as a quick-fix to just to throw something at the problem for a couple of years without really making it a nice design. Even though the 04 has more plastic, I prefer it because it has more contrast with the rest of the interior.

Also, the gauges on the 05-06s seem to be set too far back in the dash, disrupting your focal plane when you try to drive and view them at the same time.

Just MO.

Get an 04 to have the brembos and then put on a new set of wheels if that floats your boat (personally, I still prefer the 18's , I just wish the rear rims were a bit wider--you'll probably need new tires soon anyways! The difference in price between 04 and 05 is almost non-existent anyways when you look online.

 

i think it depends... are you looking for 6MT or 5AT? if you're looking for the 6MT go 04, if not go 05..... the brembo makes up for the interior difference of the 05 and the 19........ i love the brembo on my car, makes the car looks sweeter and perform equally as well...... there's no placing a price tag when you need to stop VERY Quickly................