Thinking of a G35 Sedan :)
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Thinking of a G35 Sedan :)
I am new to this forum and am hoping some of you will be able to provide me with some insite and answer some of my questions about the g35.
I've been looking for a new car recently since my current ride is getting ready to die on me. I bought the Daewoo 6 years ago when I was a broke college student and my financial situation has significantly improved since then so I am looking for a much nicer car now(granted that nicer than a daewoo isn't saying much) and I think I have my sites set on a 03' or 04' G35 Sedan. I am looking for something fun to drive but yet still be able to fit a couple friends in, or my dogs in the back seat if need be, so I am staying away from the coupe. I am hoping that by buying a used G35 I will have a reliable, long lasting car, that is fun to drive, and reasonable priced.
I have found a couple posts about this searching this forum but I haven't seen anything recent so I am asking in case any new information anyone may have to share.
What I've learned about the car thus far(correct me if any of this is wrong):
- Gas mileage sucks(I'm only getting about 20mpg with the current car since it started leaking oil a year ago so MPG's shouldn't be too much of a shock to me)
- Goes through a lot of brakes
- has a decent amount of power
- Handles well
- reliable(assuming proper maintenance and all recalls have been performed)
- Bose speakers apparently suck(though I'm not an audiophile by any means and I've never had an issue with Bose systems, and am also not that concerned about my audio system)
- Should easily be able to find a decent 03' or 04' for less than $15,000(Note I could probably swing a car at twice that cost, however since I have a serious addiction to motorcycles I do not want to spend more than 15k on my new car, as well as to ensure I have enough to fix any issues that may arise with a used car)
Some of the questions I have are:
1.) Assuming I find a used car that looks good, no visible defects, and I will be taking it to an Infiniti dealership for a pre-purchase inspection(If I get it from an Infiniti dealership I will be looking for a different dealership to do the inspection since I don't trust salesmen at all), and also assuming that I properly maintain it, how long can I expect the car to last(200,000miles, 300,000??) I am looking for a quality vehicle that I can drive for the next 10 years, or longer. I generally will drive a car until it's dead unless I have a compelling reason to trade up.
2.) How do they handle in snow(I live in Minnesota)
3.) I can handle changing the brakes myself, however are there any aftermarket systems that I could replace the stock brakes with to improve brake pad/rotor life? and if so what do those cost?
4.) Has anyone had any serious problems with the car that can't be attributed to poor maintenance(transmission, engine, suspension, the expensive stuff to fix, etc..)
5.) Any reasons you can think of not to buy one(I realize this may be a dumb quesion on a forum dedicated to the car, but I thought I'd throw it out there)
I just emailed these folks about a test drive for tomorrow: http://www.carsoup.com/used/detail.a...DealerGroupID= Look like it has everything I want, and the price is right(hoping I can talk them down a bit though, any suggestions on an offering price for this?). I'm not planning on picking it up tomorrow, I just want to test drive a G35, however we'll see how I feel after the test drive
I think that's it, although I'll probably think of a few more questions later...always happens
I've been looking for a new car recently since my current ride is getting ready to die on me. I bought the Daewoo 6 years ago when I was a broke college student and my financial situation has significantly improved since then so I am looking for a much nicer car now(granted that nicer than a daewoo isn't saying much) and I think I have my sites set on a 03' or 04' G35 Sedan. I am looking for something fun to drive but yet still be able to fit a couple friends in, or my dogs in the back seat if need be, so I am staying away from the coupe. I am hoping that by buying a used G35 I will have a reliable, long lasting car, that is fun to drive, and reasonable priced.
I have found a couple posts about this searching this forum but I haven't seen anything recent so I am asking in case any new information anyone may have to share.
What I've learned about the car thus far(correct me if any of this is wrong):
- Gas mileage sucks(I'm only getting about 20mpg with the current car since it started leaking oil a year ago so MPG's shouldn't be too much of a shock to me)
- Goes through a lot of brakes
- has a decent amount of power
- Handles well
- reliable(assuming proper maintenance and all recalls have been performed)
- Bose speakers apparently suck(though I'm not an audiophile by any means and I've never had an issue with Bose systems, and am also not that concerned about my audio system)
- Should easily be able to find a decent 03' or 04' for less than $15,000(Note I could probably swing a car at twice that cost, however since I have a serious addiction to motorcycles I do not want to spend more than 15k on my new car, as well as to ensure I have enough to fix any issues that may arise with a used car)
Some of the questions I have are:
1.) Assuming I find a used car that looks good, no visible defects, and I will be taking it to an Infiniti dealership for a pre-purchase inspection(If I get it from an Infiniti dealership I will be looking for a different dealership to do the inspection since I don't trust salesmen at all), and also assuming that I properly maintain it, how long can I expect the car to last(200,000miles, 300,000??) I am looking for a quality vehicle that I can drive for the next 10 years, or longer. I generally will drive a car until it's dead unless I have a compelling reason to trade up.
2.) How do they handle in snow(I live in Minnesota)
3.) I can handle changing the brakes myself, however are there any aftermarket systems that I could replace the stock brakes with to improve brake pad/rotor life? and if so what do those cost?
4.) Has anyone had any serious problems with the car that can't be attributed to poor maintenance(transmission, engine, suspension, the expensive stuff to fix, etc..)
5.) Any reasons you can think of not to buy one(I realize this may be a dumb quesion on a forum dedicated to the car, but I thought I'd throw it out there)
I just emailed these folks about a test drive for tomorrow: http://www.carsoup.com/used/detail.a...DealerGroupID= Look like it has everything I want, and the price is right(hoping I can talk them down a bit though, any suggestions on an offering price for this?). I'm not planning on picking it up tomorrow, I just want to test drive a G35, however we'll see how I feel after the test drive
I think that's it, although I'll probably think of a few more questions later...always happens
I have an 03 sedan and I will give you a short summary.
The car has more than enough power and it is fun to drive for sure. It doesn't feel like a big sluggish family car at all, it is definetely sporty.
Brakes do go pretty quickly but with decent pads for $60 or so for the fronts they should last about 30-35k miles without a problem.
Tires also go pretty quickly on the car. If it's with 17" wheels then it's not that big of a deal, tires that size are not too expensive. If you decide to get 18 or 19" wheels then tires become expensive and they last about 15-20k miles if you drive semi-aggressively.
In stock condition the car is fairly quiet and the engine is very smooth. If you decide to put an exhaust and change the suspension then some rattles appear. They might be there regardless since the G35 is known for small rattles here and there. Some are fixable some are not so fixable.
Transmission is very smooth and solid. People turbocharge these cars with the stock auto transmissions and they last for thousands of miles with no problems.
The engine is also very solid except the valve covers tend to leak after a while. If you replace the valve covers yourself then a pair of those will cost you around $400 or so with the gaskets.
That's pretty much the only issue with the engine that seems to appear often but it's definetely not a big deal. Regular oil changes with Synthetic oil and good oil filters will help it last for 200k+ easily.
Belts are very easy to change on the car so no expenses there.
It does burn a lot of gas for a 3.5L engine. I am a fairly aggressive driver so I cannot get better than 18-19 mpg with mixed driving. You have to put the supreme or premium gas which is more expensive than what you are putting in your Daweoo now. The car also has a 20 gal. tank so to fill it up it takes me around $70 or so if I wait until the light comes on.
I haven't driven mine in snow but a lot of people on here complain that the car sucks in snow. I can understand why. My guess is that with some good new snow tires you should be ok in light snow. If you get some moderate to heavy snow then you might have serious problems. Personally, if I lived in Minesota I wouldn't buy a RWD car no matter what. That is up to you and you best know how much snow you get in your area. I live in California so we don't get any snow around here.
Besides all this, the car is equipped with the vehicle dynamic control which includes the traction control. It can help a lot on sharp corners if you understimate the corner or your speed. Some people wish they could turn off the traction control but it's not possible. You can turn off the VDC and you can still do donuts if you are into that and have money for new tires.
The brakes are very good on these cars and that explains the short life. The OEM pads don't last long but provide very good stopping distance. They do get very hot and are not made for extremely continous sharp braking as they do fade very quickly. Overall, I think it's a good car that can provide you with a lot of fun and also a lot of reliability. Some of the maintenance can be done at a Nissan dealership so you can save some money that way.
I hope this helps.
The car has more than enough power and it is fun to drive for sure. It doesn't feel like a big sluggish family car at all, it is definetely sporty.
Brakes do go pretty quickly but with decent pads for $60 or so for the fronts they should last about 30-35k miles without a problem.
Tires also go pretty quickly on the car. If it's with 17" wheels then it's not that big of a deal, tires that size are not too expensive. If you decide to get 18 or 19" wheels then tires become expensive and they last about 15-20k miles if you drive semi-aggressively.
In stock condition the car is fairly quiet and the engine is very smooth. If you decide to put an exhaust and change the suspension then some rattles appear. They might be there regardless since the G35 is known for small rattles here and there. Some are fixable some are not so fixable.
Transmission is very smooth and solid. People turbocharge these cars with the stock auto transmissions and they last for thousands of miles with no problems.
The engine is also very solid except the valve covers tend to leak after a while. If you replace the valve covers yourself then a pair of those will cost you around $400 or so with the gaskets.
That's pretty much the only issue with the engine that seems to appear often but it's definetely not a big deal. Regular oil changes with Synthetic oil and good oil filters will help it last for 200k+ easily.
Belts are very easy to change on the car so no expenses there.
It does burn a lot of gas for a 3.5L engine. I am a fairly aggressive driver so I cannot get better than 18-19 mpg with mixed driving. You have to put the supreme or premium gas which is more expensive than what you are putting in your Daweoo now. The car also has a 20 gal. tank so to fill it up it takes me around $70 or so if I wait until the light comes on.
I haven't driven mine in snow but a lot of people on here complain that the car sucks in snow. I can understand why. My guess is that with some good new snow tires you should be ok in light snow. If you get some moderate to heavy snow then you might have serious problems. Personally, if I lived in Minesota I wouldn't buy a RWD car no matter what. That is up to you and you best know how much snow you get in your area. I live in California so we don't get any snow around here.
Besides all this, the car is equipped with the vehicle dynamic control which includes the traction control. It can help a lot on sharp corners if you understimate the corner or your speed. Some people wish they could turn off the traction control but it's not possible. You can turn off the VDC and you can still do donuts if you are into that and have money for new tires.
The brakes are very good on these cars and that explains the short life. The OEM pads don't last long but provide very good stopping distance. They do get very hot and are not made for extremely continous sharp braking as they do fade very quickly. Overall, I think it's a good car that can provide you with a lot of fun and also a lot of reliability. Some of the maintenance can be done at a Nissan dealership so you can save some money that way.
I hope this helps.
I drive a 2003 sedan, with 150,000 kilometers with no issues except what you
see on this board. I live in Montreal and with 4 good winter tires the car is great in the snow, maybe if you lived on some isolated mountain where the
snow was not cleaned you might need the X but not in the city IMO.
GBoy
see on this board. I live in Montreal and with 4 good winter tires the car is great in the snow, maybe if you lived on some isolated mountain where the
snow was not cleaned you might need the X but not in the city IMO.
GBoy
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 14
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From: Colorado
ive got an 03 sedan 130k rwd in colorado. 4-blizzaks and i got through a few feet of snow last few blizzards no sweat till i hit a steep hill with stop and go traffic. stupid slow drivers!
just started doing my own repairs there is a diy for everything and it is easy to learn if you take your time. There are several big brake kits available ranging in cost (everythingg35.com offers a few) to give you an idea . or you could swap out for brembos from a coupe.
It can be a gas hog if you dont do maintnence on time and try to race every light. Parts can be a little pricey but are reasonable compared to similar luxury/ sport models.
overall i love my g and wouldnt trade it for most cars running on the road today.
hope it helps and good luck
just started doing my own repairs there is a diy for everything and it is easy to learn if you take your time. There are several big brake kits available ranging in cost (everythingg35.com offers a few) to give you an idea . or you could swap out for brembos from a coupe.
It can be a gas hog if you dont do maintnence on time and try to race every light. Parts can be a little pricey but are reasonable compared to similar luxury/ sport models.
overall i love my g and wouldnt trade it for most cars running on the road today.
hope it helps and good luck
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Originally Posted by darrick
buy any X ,Ithink will be your best bet if you want a G
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From: South East Texas
Q50 Red Sport 400 RWD
Originally Posted by dummkauf
5.) Any reasons you can think of not to buy one(I realize this may be a dumb quesion on a forum dedicated to the car, but I thought I'd throw it out there)
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The G35 is a very reliable, safe and fun car to drive. My advice is to buy a one owner vehicle(priv. party or from dealer). Have the dealer print out the service records for your review. If it is a priv. party sale, ask the owner to contact the dealer and request them to be sent to your fax #. Get a carfax and an inspection as you mentioned. Do the service and strike a balance b/t easy and spirtited driving and your G will last for 250kmi easy. Oh, change the battery b4 you need to; they're kind of difficult to do quickly at an autozone p.lot for example--get one before they fail on you.(trust me on this).
good luck.
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