Local Nissan dealer has a low-mileage 2005 sedan with the manual tranny. No nav or 19" wheels, but that's not a big deal. Still has some bumper-to-bumper left, and about 15 months on the powertrain.

Drove it today and really liked it. It's even better than my father's [already great] 03 sedan 5AT. It's black on black.


Anything to check for on the car? Known issues on the 05s? Brakes look fine, tires are a bit worn (wearing the summer rubber so this is to be expected), and the paint has a bit of swirling. I can fix the paint. Leather seems to be wearing okay. A few scratches on the driver's door handle.

Frankly I'm not too worried about anything. My dad's G has been a great car to own, and this thing still has warranty coverage left in case something comes up. It's got all the service records.

 

What's the price?
I bought my 05 one month ago, they did some warranty work on the coolant system just before I bought it, replaced some hoses I believe. Check the Exhaust if you can, my Y pipe just below the Cat is already starting to rust with only 30K miles on the car, but gives me a good excuse to buy a new exhaust system

 

$17,000. It has about 35,000 miles on the odometer.

I'm also looking at a used Legacy GT (250hp turbo flat-4 with 4WD) but I'm not as crazy about the car's interior. Also a certified S4 (340hp V8 withh 4WD) but I still don't trust German cars.

 

How bout a Volvo S60R? I was going to buy one of those, but they were extremely tough to find in a 6-spd with NAV.

I still drool when i pass one on the road.

 

I've always liked the S60 R too, but reliability is not that good. It also has an enormous turning circle so maneuvering it is not easy. The dealer network isn't large, and you're stuck paying big bucks when random things break. It's a lot like the Audi. Finding a certified one with a manual tranny is very difficult.

The S60 is a very mature platform and the least troublesome, but it's still just not the same as a VQ-powered chassis.

 

I agree. There are other reasons why i ended up choosing a G35. if i had really wanted an S60R I would have waiting it out til i found one I wanted.

The difference with the R however is that you don't see many on the road, and they have a very mature appearance to them. In other words I highly doubt you'd see one on the road with some ugly body kit on it with tacky wheels since younger guys just don't seem to like them.

 

I love cars like the S4 and S60 R, but then I see the huge insurance premiums and repair bills and ask if it's really worth it. For all the money I save, I could find a newer G35 that's 99% as nice. My dad's G35 is a nice car, and that's why I am considering one for myself. It has everything I want....too bad the X was never sold with a manual.


My S2000 is $133/month. The S4 would be $161/month. That's not taking into account the higher sticker price on the car, meaning bigger payments.

The G35 would be only $111/month.

 

Go for the G. The VQ is bullet proof. Try to knock them down more on the price. I picked up a 06 fully loaded with navigation 6MT with 30k miles for $17.3k

 

I paid 17.9 for my 05 6MT w/38k miles.
Nav, Premium, Sport.

Make them come down.

Paint is a fairly common problem with these, I clay-barred mine today and found lots of spots that made me sad.

 

19's weren't an option on the Sedan. And the math doesn't work in that last sentence. Bumper-to-bumper is 48 months/60K miles. Power train is 72 months/70K miles. If you still have some b-to-b warranty left, then you should have more than 15 months remaining on the power train. Conversely, if you only have 15 months left on the power train, then the b-to-b is over with. But that 15 months doesn't really work no matter what. If the power train only has 15 months left, then that means the car was originally sold around October of 2004. Not likely. Get it checked out.

If you've got a Carfax report, it will tell you the car's in-service date. If not, then get the VIN and have it checked out. Call Infiniti or ask the dealer to look it up. Don't just take the salesman's word for it. He has no liability if he's wrong. Many times they'll say "It has a warranty" but they're referring to the power train not the bumper-to-bumper.

BTW, that's a pretty good price. Make sure to get it checked out by a mechanic and or body shop. The price is almost too good coming from a dealer. I just checked Autotrader, and there were only a handful of 05 6MT Sedans that were cheaper.

 

Be VERY cautious. The 05/06 6MT G/Zs have the 298-300hp "Revup" motor which is notorious for having oil consumption problems. If you buy this car, make damn sure it's been serviced at Infiniti and ALL oil change data is available. Without it, you're screwed because the oil consumption problem fix is a new long block. No proof of oil changes at recommended intervals? No warranty coverage.

 

Guess the dealer quoted me wrong...he said 5/60 on the powertrain. Thanks for clarifying. Originally titled August of 2005, so bumper-to-bumper is up in a few months, but powertrain has until August of 2011.

I guess I'd better go back and look through all the stuff included with the car to see if service records are available. Just did some reading and saw that there was oil consumption problems on these...shocking. Leakdown test would show it? The TSB is worded in a way that indicates they'll replace the motor under warranty but you'll need to get an oil change, then return 1000 miles later.

I would figure that a car with 35k has already seen the problem and had it fixed, right? Or does this creep up as mileage increases? The oil consumption thread would take me a long long time to read through.

 

Don't assume the O/C issue's been fixed. Actually, I'm certain it hasn't or the dealer would have said something about it. If it's got all the service records, look through them and see what it's oil change history is as DaveB suggested. You might be able to buy the car and have them immediately replace the engine.

 

The OC problem is weird. In some cars, the issue was apparant from the start and the motor began consuming more and more oil as the mileage increased. In other cars, there was no OC until later miles (20K) and all of a sudden people get an oil light and see that the motor is extremely low on mileage.

If it were me, I'd verify all the service records are available and are at all oil changes are recommended intervals. The recommended interval is anywhere between 3K and 5k miles. Then I'd strongly consider an extended warranty just in case to cover the motor and that tranny. The 6MTs have historically had syncro problems with many 03-06 G/Z owners on their 2nd or 3rd trannies.

 

So in your opinion, a rev-up car with no oil change records is an absolute no-no.

And dealers will not replace motors under warranty without oil change history? At all? The TSB wording says otherwise.

Some claim they had very oily tailpipes. Sooty I can believe, but oily, no.