I am selling my car soon and have been looking around for the past few months. I narrowed it down to the g35 sedan after reading a lot of reviews. I really just want something thats quick and will last. I read about the brake problems and tire wear issues on the 2003. I commute to college in the city so I figure the g35 automatic is the way to go. I can pick up a g35 automatic with 50k for 10,500 in the local paper, problem being I can't seem to find many manuals below 12500 with low miles(my current car is manual). I know the newer g35/g37 has the paddle shifter mode, do the older ones have any sort of manual override too? I should add I am considering the g35x too. Also I can't find a comparison of the g35 auto vs manual in terms of 1/4 mile and 0-60 times so any information regarding it is helpful. Any other problems that surface regularly? Thanks.

 

Commuting will be fun with a manual G.

/thread

 

i want to kill myself driving my vw in traffic, I just wanted some opinions on the automatic sedan.

 

yes, the older ones have manumatic.. but no paddle shifters. as far as auto vs manual times, its the same engine and the times are comparable..
but for that price, unless g35s have rapidly depreciated within a matter of months, it sounds too cheap.

 

The 5ATs are about .1-.2 seconds and 1mph slower in the 1/4 mile than a well driven 6MT. My 03 5AT did a low 14.3@98mph with a Z-tube which doesn't add any power. My times are right on par, if not a little better, than what most 6MTs do with a z-tube.

As for reliability, the 5AT is far more reliable. The 6MT has some issues with the syncros and a rather weak clutch. The 1st gen cars don't come with paddle shifters, but you can get them from Bell Works. I have them and love them.

 

actually if you check out auto trader right now you can get some very good deals on g35s especially the automatic ones. As long as its below 60K I am interested. I'm also buying a warranty on it. It was between this car and the audi s4 but because of some bad experience with vw I don't want to deal with another german car for awhile.

 

I went 14.7 @ 93MPH with my loaded up G35x. Completely stock, full tank of gas, 50 pounds of tools in the trunk. Quick enough for a daily driver for me. I commute 1.5 hours each direction in stop and go traffic. I used to do it on a manual trans car with a clutch cable for 2 years so i was used to it, but when came time for a new daily driver I easily decided I wanted automatic...even if a 6-spd was available with AWD (i needed it for snow)

You didn't say where you are from at all. Location does play a role in pricing as i've found in my area in terms of Sedans, the AWD models go for more than RWD models.

If you are specifically looking into 03/04's, then you can always upgrade the brakes to the 05/06 specs if it's a real concern. The issue is really dusting and premature wear on the 03/04 brakes.

5AT comes with a manual shift mode. Personally it's a novelty to me. I used it once and that's it. If you drive a manual trans regularly like I do (my weekend car is a stick) then you quickly start to hate ANY automatic that has a manual mode. It's just not the same at all. But that's my opinion.

 

i went from a manual to an 5AT and love it. every now and then when i want to play around then i switch it over to manual shift. but over all id rather drive a auto than manual any day.

 

I am from New York so yes the awd would be the better option. I love driving my manual car right now but whatever an auto g35 will still be faster than my jetta.

 

dude did you seriously find a G in ny for 10g with less than 50k miles? what paper did you use? im not trying to jumpp on your car, its just i would be interested on checking out some local cars too.

I found some G's for under 14k with decent miles and some had clean CARFAX, but i dont really trust carfax.

 

What is involved when upgrading to 05/06 brakes?

 

If you get an AWD, know that in 2005 they still had the older 03-04 brake setup, i.e. the dusty one. Only the Coupe and RWD Sedan got the newer brakes in 2005. But you can upgrade those several different ways that are quite affordable. If you get an Auto, a few inexpensive mods will make it faster than a stock 6MT, mods you'd be doing anyway. Get an Auto or 6MT because you prefer one over the other, not because one may be a tiny bit faster.

 

You can buy a used set from the Marketplace for cheap. They're a direct bolt-on replacement (you do have to trim the dust shield to fit the larger rotor). Or you can go the Racing Brake route (which I'm considering for the fronts). http://www.racingbrake.com/OE_Caliper_Kits_s/2434.htm

 

if you plan on driving in the snow and ice id get the awd. i have rwd and my g sits in the garage during the winter.

 

Where are you in MI? I live near TC, so I really need AWD, but anywhere south of here you should be fine with RWD as long as you have good winter tires.