hi, i was about to buy a 03 g35 sedan with 76000 miles, for $ 13000 with interest its probably going to be $15000. i'm a 20 year old student and make about $800-$1000 a month. i really don't have any bills so i was gonna take up payments on the g35 because i've been wanting one ever since it came out. i'm going to do 48 months financing.IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY WARRANTY LEFT.
my questions are
1. do you think the car will be reliable enough to make it through 4 years until my payments are over,without any major problems for example: transmission. i've heard some bad stories about transmission, this lady i know had to get it rebuilt twice since she bought it, but she had warranty which is not the case with me
2. can i use this as my daily driver, about 50 miles a day more or less?
3. any other things i should keep in mind?
4. should i just find a deal on a Honda S2000 with possibly more miles.

plus i could only find an o3 model year, and i've heard they have some defects and recalls. THERE IS NO MORE WARRANTY on this car.

 

where are you located?? Im selling my 03 black/black G sedan for 16K with 60K miles.

 

i just bought an 03 myself w/ 45K miles on it, so far so good w/ the exception of one electronic issue which i'm trying to get the dealer to fix (good luck w/ that right)...

and yes, there are many recalls on this car, most, if not all should've been fixed already on your car. call your local infiniti dealer to find out, they can punch in the vin# and find out if all the recalls have been done.

 

steadygrinder87, I am in the same boat as you right now. The 2003s are the cheapest and it seems like it will fit my budget if I can get one for around $15,000.

Are the 2003s really that much worse than the 2004s or even a 2005?

 

I don't know if they are "worse"

The 05s had some significant updates that you won't find in the 03. Larger brakes in front, mildly revised styling (front grille, headlights, taillights, etc), and the cassette player was deleted and MP3 playback was added. They had slightly more advertised power but I have an 04, and I drove an 06 it didnt seem any faster.

 

If it helps yield your worries...though it really comes down to how the car was/is maintained.

I have an 03.0 with 113K+ on it and it still runs strong with no major repairs (battery died, had an air bag module replaced under warranty, all the recalls done). I knew what I was getting myself into being it was the first model year and typically, thats when the bugs get worked out for the next revision.

I really think Infiniti (Nissan) made a solid car and even more so with the later models. I have no major complaints and would do it all over again in a heart beat. I love this car.

 

Same here. I bought an 03 recently with 70k and all I had to replace was the rack & pinion assembly because it was leaking oil. (replaced with one from ebay so it wasn't too bad). Besides that, it's been bulletproof, and I really value reliability in my primary car. The car is great, but double think your financial situation - cars really are the worst investment you can make.

 

When it comes to cars, especially daily driven ones, my theory is: spend as the least amount possible on a car that will keep you satisfied every day for several years...

I could've bought a new one, but I drive about 30k a year (sales job) and its just stupid to buy something really expensive and devalue the hell out of it. Most of the guys I work with drive a ****box during the work week and drive something nice in their freetime. I am thinking of going this route with my next car(s).

 

13000 + tax/title (est 10%) - deposit (let's say $1000) at 5% interest will run you around $306/mo.

Calculating your lowest wage, that's like 38% of your monthly income.

then you have to think about:
+insurance
+gas
+maint
+food
+books/tuition
+housing


6MT or 5AT on the tranny? If its an '03, it s most likely a 5AT. Look for the doggie door on the rear trunk to see if its an 03 or 03.5 (no doggie door). 03.5 had a diff TCU and most of the early bgus were worked out. As far a reliabitly, most have said (or will say) it's all about the prevouos owner. The best you can do is carfax it and see if the infiniti dealer can give you a service/maint. history for it.


Yes, most here do. I drove mine daily about 70-100 miles the first two years. Now I work from home and only put about 10-15 miles a week on it.

Your driving style. Even the best of cars won't stand up to someone that doesn't take car of it.


Two totally different cars,and insurance payments Personal preference


All cars have recalls/TSBs. Those will still be fixed by an infiniti dealer even if its out of warranty. I haven't had any defects that were not taken care of under TSBs.

My suggestion is to track all your expenses for one month.... starbucks, mcdonalds, movies, gum, groceries, internet, cell, etc... and see what you have left over. If you don't have at least $300 a month going into the bank, you may be biting off more than you can chew.

Good luck
-Ted

 

GREAT post by SoCalTed. OP, remember the payments are not your only expense. My 03 is still very solid, though it only has a bit over 50k miles on it.

 

We bought an 03.5 with ~95k (now over 100k) miles for a beater at a pretty good deal, and so far the only problems are electric issues with the lights inside the clock and heated seat buttons. Other than that, the engine is crisp and the transmission otherwise normal. And the car always seems to get compliments, despite the age/miles/etc.

 

well i went to check the car out and it drives fine, and tomorow i'm gonna buy it. the final cost of the car is 12700 with 76000 miles. the car was a lease car, i hope that wont be a problem.

 

That's a real good price. I'm going to look at a 2004 tomorrow. He's asking $13,500 with 76k miles also.

 

sounds about right, my 04 in pristine condition with 80k miles came out to 13k.

 

I bought it! The only problems I found were that the CEL/SES was on and the brakes pulsated a little bit. I couldn't pass it up because it was the exact G35 I wanted for a while now...