Curious to know your impressions / comparisons. I've owned my A4 for 13 years since new and although I really enjoy the driving experience, the "total cost of ownership" is getting old. I recently drove a G and liked how close it came to that German-car feel with quite a bit more power than I have now.

I know these cars aren't perfect (just read through that whole OC thread) but they don't seem as demanding on the maintenance / repair side of life vs. my current ride...

 

I owned a audi a6 quattro before the G35X.Audi is a nice german car.Just maintenance costs are sky high! I had my timing belt done at 100,000 as per required maintenance.$1500.Then two weeks later my torque converter locked up $2500!like you said audi does not have the hp or torque Infiniti does.l do like the audi awd system better than Infiniti.lt seems like when audi gets 10 yrs old problems show up!l almost bought a bmw 328xi until l drove my x.There is something about Infiniti when you start her up and test drive you have to buy! I dont know if its the sound of it or the ride.l just had to buy it! Im glad l did too!

 

I didn't technically "own" one, but I was using my in-law's older BMW 325 for about a month before. I think you've got it right. TCO on BMW/Audio/Mercedes is just not worth it. If I were leasing a new car every few years, I'd go BMW, absolutely. I kept my previous car for a decade, I plan to do at least that much with this car, and so far, maintenance has been almost nothing but fluid and filter changes.

 

I currently own a Mercedes 2010 E350 Coupe. Unfortunately there is no comparison to the G Coupe. The MB is an interstate cruiser. It is damn near impossible to keep it under 80. It is so smooth, quiet...you really have to watch your speed or you will be laying back, enjoying your tunes...look at the speedo and your doing 85mph.

 

I should add here that I much prefer to drive my 2003 G35 Coupe. The E350 is my wife's car. The G35 is raw, loud, throw it into a corner and you will come out the other side. The benz will do the same thing but you feel detached. The benz takes care of everything. the g35 requires you to take control and drive the car.

 

BMW has been loosing their edge on the market segment for the last 5 years. they have lost their handling edge with the their new steering. Even the M's are loosing their edge.

 

I've got a '12 C300 Benz. Fortunately it's still new enough to not need any work, but looking over the basic maintainence schedule and running costs in my head, it's much more expensive to maintain that a G35.

As soon as the warranty is up, that car is gone. I don't even like it as it's very underpowered, but the little lady thought she'd look cute in it and she makes more $$$ than me so why not.

My G35 has been VERY cheap in terms of cost of ownership. It's at the point now where every month i drive it puts money into my pocket. Expenses at this point are fuel, fluids and maybe brakes/tires as i put on the miles. I figure another 1-2 years and i'll go get a G37x

 

e46 m3 driver just switched to a g35 here.

 

With you there on both counts. Mine was sort of quiet through the 10 yr milestone but had a few things surface before that. Now at 13 years all the stuff to stay on top of is getting to me. My stupid plastic dipstick "assembly" has broken again for the second time!

I really liked the startup sound of the G and the exhaust note driving around. All the right sounds coming into the cabin. Good thing the one I drove wasn't that clean or I might have been negotiating on it that day...

Man I'd love to be back to doing fluids and filters. That was life with my '89 Maxima SE. Miss that VQ too...

Exactly what I'm looking for. In fact, that's a very similar personality to my current A4. It seems to me they progressively "got soft" through the years and like you said - detached. I've driven newer A4s and didn't like them.

Had to chuckle there ... my A4 is at the age where it should be putting money in my pocket but it seems like it's the other way around!

 

I just wish Infiniti had a paint job like my a6! Audi's paint is incrediblely flat!The ming blue peral was beautiful in daylight.Infiniti's paint is so thin!

 

After 3 Gs I am planning on making the switch to a BMW. Craving something different in my life... that and the 16mpg is obnoxiously bad..

 

How many miles on the Audi?

I have 131K on my G35, and i'm pretty much doing mostly fluids/filters in terms of maintainence.

 

Wow 16mpg? That's about what my truck gets ... is that a G37 thing?
You'll enjoy the BMW drive I bet, just hold onto your wallet

156k so far. With this car it's fluids / filters + preventive maintenance against larger stuff going bad + the larger stuff going bad that you can't prevent. I've managed to stay on top of it for 13 years - whomever buys this thing is probably going to get one of the few B5 A4s that hasn't been ragged and has some life left. Last time I did a UOA the engine was still showing strong. But they better be ready to take care of it!

 

My roommates 05 G35 6MT sedan averaged about 17mpg in town and only did made 24-25 on the highway. Pretty similar to my car. I'v had 3 Gs (an 05, an 08 and the 13) as well as conning most of my friends into buying them and they have all got pretty shitty gas mileage by modern standards (mid teens in town and low to mid 20s on highway) but if you are ok with that, then have at it. My roommate traded his 05 G for an 09 E90 335d on saturday and says the car outdrives his G in every aspect and it gets 40mpg at 80mph... so I guess it just depends what you are looking for. The higher ownership costs are worth it to me for the driving experience they provide.

 

I know that Infiniti has gotten a bum rap for their paint. Unfortunately it really isn't their fault. Government regulations have reared their ugly head again. I bought my G35 Coupe in Dec 2002. The first thing I did was to start reading every detailing forum I could find. Autopia.org is one of my favorites. I learned every thing I could about detailing your paint. Today my OB looks better than the day I picked it up. Yes. I now own thousands of dollars worth of products (It becomes a habit to buy every product that claims to be better).

Now to Mercedes Benz paint. My MB coupe is also black. MB uses PPG ceramiclear paint. One of the new nano paints. The clearcoat is extremely thin. It would be very easy with a cutting pad and an aggressive Mequiars Heavy Cut Cleaner to completely remove the clearcoat I have also noticed that although the paint is hard and chips easily.

Moral of the story the Benz Coupe was $60,255 my new (Dec 2002) 2003 G Coupe was $37,415 (yes I still have the window sticker). I do not fell that the Benz paint is better than the G.