omgoodness. lol. it's even uglier than I thought it was.

 

You should see the front....

 

"Value" is like obscenity and beauty: it's in the eye of the beholder.

I'm probably picking up a 2003 5AT sedan this weekend. I plan to leave it stock except for snow tires on the stock wheels, and cheap (but attractive) 18" or 19" wheels. I'll probably catch flack from some people, but I have my reasons. I don't plan on my G35 being anything more than a fun, reliable daily driver; and on Cleveland's pothole-infested roads, I refuse to spend much on wheels that will probably be damaged beyond repair within two years....and I also don't want to destroy a set of snow tires by driving them year-round.

 

Not necessarily

Most of the time when you see a moded car for sale you automatically think that person who owned the car must have raced the crap out of it.........and that brings the value down much more than any mod on the car. And most of the buyers out there are not looking to pay for extra mods because in most cases car is not moded to their taste.

A cleanly moded car will not bring the value down at all.

 

As far as the "modded cars have been thrashed" assumption, I'm not sure I buy it. With G35's and G37's, I think it's a reasonable assumption that almost all of them have seen consistently spirited driving. These aren't cars for the Lexus ES-series crowd, or even the typical BMW buyer. They're harder-edged and more performance-oriented than most of their competitors; therefore, they attract buyers who want such a car.

 

Most of the modifications are also illegal so they have to come off before the sale of the vehicle.

 

Most 06+ sedans and coupes I see on the road are driven by 30-somethings and older. I see a lot of 50+ years olds in new coupes as well. "Older" people tend to drive a little less aggressively than younger people.

If anything, i don't think these cars are really driven hard until they see their 2nd or 3rd owners. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but i think age demographics plays a larger role.

The previous owner of my sedan was in his late 50's and leased it new. 3 years later, I bought it and I'm 28. I don't really race, but i drive am pretty confident i push it harder than the guy who had it before. I have a STRONG feeling when i go to sell this car in 2-3 years, most of the people who will come look at it will be in their late teens and early 20's and will push it harder than I did.

 

A G is a skyline. You either see it as an Infiniti or a Nissan usually depending on your region, but for others their imagination as well. For half of us, you will see it as an affordable luxury sports coupe in the same tier as low level BMW and Mercedes. You probably get your car detailed monthly and have Infiniti change your oil at the dealer for an inflated price. You probably got excited at the idea of alloy rims and a spoiler upgrade. Not a bad thing, im sure the factory grocery bag add on is a tasteful mod to you.

For others we see it as a 350GT. Its a 350z with a backseat and better interior. It has the same platform and a slightly detuned suspension setting. Lowered on tein suspension, on VOLK GTP's with a tasteful polyurethane "Aero" kit is how some like their skylines to sit. Does this cheapen the car? Well it takes away from the luxury aspect, but gives it some credibility as well.

You like your G quiet so it doesnt wake the kids, we like our's with a low HKS hum so it threatens the domestics. This is what makes the G beautiful, its meant for both worlds.

You'll quietly listen to your XM radio and make a right turn. We'll turn up the kenwood 1000 watt flash the aftermarket HID's as we ride through the night. 2 sides of a coin my friend.

Far as resale value...well, did you buy your G to sell it?

 

Very well said.

I get a chuckle out of the guys that think they are driving the next thing to a Maybach. Stock the G is a nice car but c'mon it's not too nice to mod.

I bought my sedan because it was a good price for a RWD with decent power and a well designed chassis. I knew that I could use most Hipo parts that were going to be produced for the 350z and I liked it's Skyline heritage. I don't buy cars to sell them, I buy them to drive them, aero, suspension, and drivetrain mods all are to enhance the drive.

 

I don't necessarily agree with this but some guys make the G look too much like a tuner, kinda like an evo vibe to it, the good thing about the the is that is a semi luxury car, and a lot of ppl get it over faster cars like mazda speed3, evo, sti, srt4 cuz those are boy racer cars and have turbo, if u make it look boy racerish like those cars you've made it look like a generic tuner instead of that luxury sport vibe that a cleanly modded G gives. Without all tha carbon fiber up the a$$ and whatnot. Just my .02

 

I just want to say that i love my car that way it is for all those ppl that dont like it modified. its my project car and everyone normally has one. but everybody is intitled to their own opinions.

 

Believe it or not.
i agree in a sense.
The aftermarket thing is hard to agree to since resale value doesn't spiral upward or anything of the sort, not to mention many people may perceive you different from driving a modified car vs. factory car (both negative and positive)
But I didn't buy my G to resell it back on the market. I plan on keeping it for as long as I can.


in either aspect my view on this is if it's your car, do what you want.
it'll always be that way, just like how no matter what you do, people are always going to judge because in today's society everyone is so opiniated.

To mod or not to, is a personal choice/taste in things.


At times I wish my G were more stock but in other times I'm happy I've put the time and money into it because in the end, I worked hard for the car and worked hard to put what I have put into it thus far.
I could save money by not modding the G, but that is why I yesterday just picked up a bike

Oh how I can't wait for spring!!!

 

That's it I'm putting my car back to stock.

 

^lol