1.) I currently own a 1986 Fiero GT that has 215k miles. It seems that every month I am fixing something, albeit minor on the car. It is getting annoying. I am very aware of maintenance costs. I'm sure the whole suspension should be replaced and a lot of minor things however.

The engine and trans were rebuilt 30k miles ago
New clutch
New alternator and battery
New fuel filter

All the major components of the car are in pretty good shape.


2.) This summer I plan to have 7 - 9k for a car and I want a G35. (maybe a 350z)

3.) I see that all the G35's in that range are very high in mileage. (with some exceptions like rebuilt or quick sellers)

4.) I feel that even though I might be buying a car with almost as many miles as my 25 year old car now, everything would be in better shape. Maybe the suspension should be done but it would be better than mine now. Maybe a couple things should be looked at but I feel that even though the car has the same amount of miles, the newer-ness of the car + newer parts and technology will allow it to wear on better than my current ride.
Basically a newer car with 200k will do better than an old.


5.) Obviously maintenance records and things are important, but other than that, is this a bad idea? What should I expect to be popping up soon and / or how much in general does this stuff cost? The Fiero is very cheap to work on though things happen a lot. I feel like a G35 would be more costly but break less.

For reference here are a couple I am looking at.
7k 03 coupe 200k+
http://carsforsale.com/used_cars_for...35_150803632_2

8k 03 coupe 100k and sold but I'm sure more like this will pop up.
http://carsforsale.com/used_cars_for...35_150505026_3

no pic but 03 200k+
http://carsforsale.com/used_cars_for...35_151105639_1

Thank You.

 

maintenance maintenance maintenance.....if the car has had an owner who took care of the car then thats a good sign. High miles scare a lot of people...but cars are meant to be driven and the VQ will last many more if it is maintained properly.

I would never touch a 200k car without service records. That first one looks really clean you would never know it has over 200k miles. My 2003 6mt has higher miles...not 200k but I wouldn't hesitate to drive it anywhere.

 

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/cto/2966191676.html

 

It just scares me. I have also been looking at 350's but I like how G35's look better.
Sure thing service records.

I think one of my best bets is a rebuilt title. I can grab an 03 or 04 with 50k miles that's 9k or less. As long as the rebuilt cause is not anything terrible. Unfortunately financing on those types of things is rough. But just working and selling my current car I might need a couple k loan for a 9k car at worst.

 

rebuilt title cars are the hardest things to sell...I'd much rather take a documented high mileage car over one with a rebuilt/salvage title

 

Can you give me an idea of how much things cost that might be coming up?
For example I just got the alternator in my Fiero replaced with a lifetime warranty for 250. Part and labor. This is at a local guy who does things somewhat cheap.

I know conceptually about cars enough now but have no tools or the ability to work on it myself. I am currently in college and will be the next two years.

 

grab a set of tools and start learning to do the work yourself you'll save a lot of $$$...

as far of whats "going to go" its hard to say with 200k miles a lot of stuff may have been done already thats where service records come in.

but Water pump...belts...timing chain....valve covers...should all be looked at. Not doing the labor yourself for those things can be pretty costly

 

how much generally does that cost though? If I didn't do it myself.

 

I would have to be super low on $$ to consider buying any car with 200K miles on it's clock. And, I wouldn't consider buying a "Bone Yard" rebuild. There's far to many things that can go wrong with either one....Gary

 

As an owner of a 200+mile plus coupe, I'll chime in.

Car had 199k on it when I bought it last summer. I haven't had a single issue or hiccup from the motor, it runs and pulls strong. I even took it to the local 1/8 mile track about 2 weeks after I bought it last summer and put five or six passes under the car's belt with no problems.

The kicker is, though, when I bought the car, the guy I purchased it from handed me a stack of service records about as thick as the Encyclopedia Brittanica. So I know it was well taken care of.

So far, since I've bought it, I've had to:

- Replace struts
- Replace lower inner control arm bushings
- Replace in-cabin air filter
- Replace one fog light bulb
- Recharge the A/C

There are a few other things currently working their way up to needing replacement, such as lower ball joints and outer tie rod ends, but they're not worn to the point where it's dangerous to drive. My BCM just recently went (partially) bad, but that's common on these cars, so I'm not writing it off as a high-mileage thing.

And that's pretty much it. The car has been fantastic, and I wouldn't have second thoughts about driving it cross-country if I had to.

 

If you're that limited to funds then I honestly wouldn't consider buy a G35 at all to be honest unless the guy you bought it from has service records for almost EVERYTHING and you find out what should have been changed out and what hasn't and what might be breaking anytime soon.

If you don't do a lot of the stuff yourself then you're going to end up spending ALOT more money. Well unless you live close by some cool people who are willing to do the job for a lot less than a lot of the stupid body shops or dealerships around where you are. Parts for our cars are definitely NOT cheap.
Buying a car at that high mileage.. expect spending at least around a few thousand in maintenance afterwards especially if you don't do any of the work yourself.

At 200k if the transmission hasn't died yet then it most likely will very soon.

That being said.. if you can find one with around 100k or so. Not too much over then i'd go for it, but make sure you have a good amount of cash set aside JUST for the car though because you're going to want to keep up with the maintenance for it. Got my car at around 95k and i've definitely had to spend a good amount of money on maintenance up until now.

 

Just because a car is high-mileage doesn't mean it's doomed to die.

My 5AT shifts hard and crisp, no slop to it at all. And even if it does go, well, I'm setting money aside for a 6MT swap that's going to happen eventually, whether the 5AT dies or not.

 

Never said that the car would be doomed to die if it's high-mileaged haha.

Said that about the transmission because a census of G35 owners would show that a lot of people start having issues with their transmission before 200k some even at 150k. So unless the car was tediously cared for or the transmission had been rebuilt/replaced.. then the chances of him having to deal with that issue are pretty high.

 

^ havent heard about the transmission issues (new to g35) is this for both 5AT and 6mt....any specific thread you can link to. (I remember reading about the 2003 350z having issues)

 

Having a hard time digging up some threads, but I know for a fact that it's been mentioned more than a couple times. Found this on Google though lol.

http://forums.nicoclub.com/life-span...e-t259838.html

http://www.6mt.net/forum/g35-coupe/1...utch-life.html

http://forums.nicoclub.com/any-probl...n-t229339.html