just came over from my350z, hoping to get a better perspective. my wife just got a new job that she starts next week. She currently drives an 03 Yukon Denali. the new job is about a 50 mile commute each way so we need something a little more practical on gas, and something maybe a little newer. Since I already own a 350Z and love it, i thought a G35 might be a possibility. I am ashamed that some of these things i dont know, but i am going to ask anyways.

1: what's realistic highway fuel mileage?? my Z has been modded since almost the day i bought it, and i see better highway MPG now that its tuned.

2: Am i better off looking at something with relatively low miles that might cost a little more, or something cheaper with higher miles? since she will be putting a lot of miles on it, the value will depreciate pretty fast, so we really want the best value. also, what kind of problems could i see with the higher miles?

3: maybe the most important. which years or trims should I steer away from and what kind of Mickey Mouse issues could i encounter? I know that the power windows in the Z are garbage, and both of my motors and regulators need replacing, and if i owned an 04 instead of an 04.5 Z i wouldn't have a CEL from my test pipes. I don't really have intent to mod this car except to pick up MPG, so how responsive each year is to mods isnt important.

TIA

 

For highway mileage, a RWD sedan should get 24-26 mpg. For years, get a 2005 or 2006. A lower mileage 2005 will still have some factory warranty, and the powertrain is 72/70K, so you'd have a fair amount of time left on that too.

But honestly, if she's putting on 25,000 miles a year just commuting, does she need the performance of a G35? I think you might be better off getting something that gets better mileage and has a better history of long-term reliability. Don't get me wrong, Infiniti makes a very reliable car, but it's not quite up there with Toyota or Honda.

Commuting distance = 25,000 miles
G35 - 25mpg, 1000 gallons, $2.25 per gallon, $2,250 gas cost
Mini Cooper/Altima hybrid - 33mpg, 760 gallons, $2 per gallon, $1,520 gas cost
Civic/Corolla - 36mpg, 700 gallons, $2 per, $1,400 gas cost
Smart Four two - 40mpg, 625 gallons, $2 per, $1,250 gas cost
Civic hybrid/Prius - 45mpg, 560 gallons, $2 per, $1,120 gas cost

I know we're talking about very different types of cars, but 25,000 miles just commuting to and from work is a very large number, and for the majority of those miles, you're wife will see very little benefit in having a G35. Basically, you'll be paying a $70-$100 monthly premium just in gas to put her in a G. Insurance will also be higher.

I'm not trying to drive you away from a G35, I think it's a great car. But your wife's situation is far from normal, so I thought I'd present what might be a better scenario for you.

 

I used to be a technician for Honda (and Acura too) so i knew very well about the quality of the cars they make. But, i actually traded my 2005 6MT TL for my 350Z. While i was there I compared cost of ownership:MPG for a Hybrid over an LX Civic long ago. Hybrids aren't worth it IMO. they are only for people who want to make other people think "hey, i care about the environment."

And yes, the G35 is a very different class of car from an econobox. She drives a Yukon Denali now, other than MPG, most things are going to be a downgrade.

Better MPG, and staying in a similar level of luxury is the goal. She is an Interior Designer, so her image sells her. If MPG was the bottom line, then yes, hands down I would go with a Civic, but style, performance, and luxury are other factors. Also, i doubt going from an AWD 6.0L full-size SUV to a G35 would raise insurance. when i went from my TL to my Z, my insurance went up only $2 every six months. thats right, 2.

 

Get a Civic.

 

oh noes another mileage post eh??

apparently you have ADD and couldnt read past the first point.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this...
The hybrids do not help when your miles are mostly highway. They get about the same as about any other econobox.

I don't think I noticed if you specified coupe or sedan, if sedan stay away from the "x". The AWD will kill mileage.

I have managed to get 24.something MPG on a couple of long highway drives in my coupe and that's not driving it like I'm trying to save gas.

 

yea, sorry, we're thinking coupe. i figure if it was absolutely necessary for MPG, and accessport and a good tune could gain me a few. but so long as we get something with a good balance or luxury, performance and MPG, we are happy.

 

I agree on the hybrid point. I'm all for having as little impact as I can, but you're not helping the environment much if you're replacing a perfectly good car with a hybrid just because it's more friendly. That situation fails to consider the environmental costs/impact of producing the new hybrid in the first place. I was just looking at your situation from a money point of view. You didn't mention anything about image, just a 50 mile commute each way. Being "green" is an image too, and the Mini Cooper is certainly stylish, although I don't know much about the luxury part. Hell, your gas mileage will probably double with the G35.

1. 24-26 mpg highway is about what you can expect.
2. You might as well get a lower mileage car since you're likely to be blowing past the warranty very quickly on a higher mileage car.
3. 2005-2007 Coupes were the same, but you gained Bluetooth in 2006, which might come in handy for her. Active Rear Steering was also available on the Coupe starting in 2006. You should definitely avoid this option. The 2008's are the newer body style. There's no years you need to avoid. They'd pretty much worked out all the problems by 2005.

Your insurance may go up. Full-sized SUV's are very safe and not very sporty. The G35 is also safe, but not like the Denali, and it's definitely sporty. I had a CX-7 (very safe, somewhat sporty) and then bought my G35x. Insurance went up about $300 a year (I have $1M+ coverage).

 

don't forget about WTF they're going to do when the batteries crap out after 10 years either.

05 i think is the golden year for us. we dont want to spend too much more than what we will get out of her Denali. and i think we decided that nothing over the 50-60k mileage range too. if we can find an 05 with 40-50k on it for around $15k, we're going to jump on it, but we really need to ditch her car first.

 

You don't need to jump, there are plenty out there in that price range. I just did a nationwide search on Autotrader for a 2005 Coupe with fewer than 60K miles and $16K or less, and found 38 of them. Many were in the 40-50K range and close to $15K. I don't know where you are, or how far you'd be willing to travel, but you shouldn't have too much trouble not only finding one, but finding one with the color/options you want.

Good luck.

 

she wants a red automatic. other than that, it can have whatever. one of my friends has an 03 G35 w/ navi and says the Navi is a pile of crap, so im no too worried about that. theres an 05 LR 5AT w/ 19" sport wheels at a used dealer locally w/ 45k on it, but they're asking 19,XXX. this place is specific to higher end cars, so they might budge on price to our range..... high end car business is tough right now, my mom just picked up an 07 SL550 with super low miles for $50k last month, which is less than HALF of what it sold for just 2 years ago.

 

Navi is actually really useful on this car, it tells you what MPG you are getting exactly. And if you get a G35 expect 15-17mpg around the city and 18-23mpg highway..

 

Yes. If you want mileage don;t get an "X"

I commute 60 miles/day in my G35x. I get 23MPG in 90% highway driving running 93 octane.


The irony is before my G35, i commuted with a 2003 Mustang GT with a v8 engine. I used to consistently get 25-26MPG on the highway with it running 87 octane. So not only was fuel cheaper, but i got 2-3 MPG better with 2 more cylinders


But i didn't buy my "X" for fuel economy, I bought it for winter driving and it was incredible this past winter


I might pick up another cheap 4-banger for my commute this summer. I'd like to get something than can get 30+ MPG on 87 octane

 

05+ has a different NAVI setup....from what i've read improved.

It's usefull on my '06. I am glad i looked for one with Nav. It does have a maintance computer and fuel economy computer built in to it that is useful.

 

I went from a VW to a G35 and my insurance went down. I'm with you Sam.