Keep in mind these prices are in CAN$. Both are black exterior and automatic.

2003 Infiniti G35 - $13.800 68,000 kms

2004 Inifiniti G35 - $13,500 103,000 kms (AWD, black leather interior)

 

if you need AWD then thats what you should get. 103km is what like 60k miles for $13k is not a bad deal. But go look at them for damages and etc.

the hardest part is picking out coupe or sedan and then RWD or AWD followed by AUTO or 6speed.

sometimes things force you one way or the other such as AWD, AWD meeans a auto sedan.

 

I know very little about cars and don't know what the advantages that AWD provides. I've heard it's a benefit, but really don't know the practical difference between that and RWD.

Also my main issue is the fact that one car is one year older, but less mileage while the other is newer but more mileage. Is age or mileage more important? Or do you take both into account? I'm not exactly sure how to balance these two ideas.

Also how well would the Infiniti G35's run after 60k miles? Will they still be quick/fast? How much maintenance will be required?

 

Do you live where it snows? if so, AWD is superior to RWD in the fact that all 4 wheels are driving and pushing the car, while with RWD, only the back two are. The disadvantage is that RWD cars are a little unstable in slick conditions and can have the rear end come around plus they don't have the added ability of vectoring thrust by having the two steerable wheels be able to drive.

So the question really is do you do a lot of snow driving?

 

less miles = mostly city driving or little driving at all.. more miles = highway miles, although in this case they are both relatively low mileage for their years so I'd say get whichever looks nicer/has more features.. have you checked out 05 and 06?

 

It doesn't snow that much where I live. Probably snows about 5-10 days a year, with about maybe 20 of those days with icy conditions. However, it does rain ALL THE TIME, like 8-9 months a year. I don't know if AWD would help in those conditions at all.

I have looked at a few 05's but haven't found a good deal yet. The 06's are out of my budget as I'm still in school full-time.

 

I've foun the AWD helps with merging on the highways in the rain, or just getting froma dead stop up to speed in general.

At freeway speeds, the car is actually in RWD mode, so unsure if it would help you hang a corner at speed.

I dont regret for a second purchasing my AWD model

 

just be careful because 68000 kms sounds too good to be true for a 03... I really think the kms are pushed back. For an 03, they should be in the 90-125000 km.

 

oh.. and another thing. I bought an 03 sedan fully loaded non AWD for 12,700 taxes and all. however it did have 124,000 km... still a good deal.

 

In my opinion just get the 2004 g35x (AWD) since you are getting it in automatic , because if you do get the 03 g35 (RWD) in automatic you will be struggling to get around even if you have one of the best winter tires in the market since where you live it's pretty much icy. The automatic RWD just puts out a lot of power from the start which just causes the tires to just spin. If you were looking at a g35 6mt instead then it's not that bad because you can slowly introduce power toward the wheels. But in deal wise just scope out the cars completely and check to see which one seems to be in better condition and just check the vehicle's history because they both seem to be good deals.

 

I also agree to go with the '04 with AWD for a couple of reasons:
1.) '03's have had more problems with oil consumption than '04's
2.) '03 was the first model year for the G, so typically all subsequent years have improvements
3.) AWD (especially for wet conditions)
4.) at 103,000km, most of the kinks have been worked through/repaired, and the rest is just typical maintanence, thus I would certainly inquire about getting an extended warranty

 

I was going to suggest the '03 because you really don't need AWD (it sounds like), but points 1 and 2 above changed my mind. Get the '04. 103K is still pretty low kilometerage (?), and the AWD is nice to have. But AWD won't help you on ice unless you've got really good tires. It won't make it good, but it will be better than with bad tires, maybe enough to keep you on the road instead of in a ditch.

BTW, are you in BC? Your description of the weather made me think of that area (former Oregon resident).

 

he must be near Vancouver. although we haven't seen rain in months, just 30+ celsius! and i've seen those two cars he speaks of on Craigslist (i'm in Vancity too). the '04 is black/black and the '03 is black/tan. both are at the very bottom of prices for local G's, so be sure to have either one inspected.

go with the '04X for the black interior, plus the above mentioned reasons. unless you can scrape a bit more cash together and upgrade to an '05. there are a bunch around right now at good values.

 

'05 and '06's have the oil consumption problems, I thought 03 and 04 were not afflicted with this.

Either way, the AWD will be automatic, and not subject to oil consumption problems.

I'd go with the '04 - as a G35x, it's probably more likely to have a premium package attached

 

I would think being from Canada, the AWD model would hold it's value better. Might help with resale (what little there is) down the road.

I know here in New England, AWD fetch a premium over RWD and i know when it comes time to sell my G35 i'll have an easier time beause it's AWD (and hopefully because it has every option)