Hi all, been a member for 5 years and finally getting to my second post, haha. I've loved G's for a long time, but finally looking to acquire one. So, looking through some stuff, I'm leaning towards a 2006 for the later model improvements. I'm thinking rear wheel drive, but feel free to sway me either way if you have an opinion. I'm wondering if there are any specific things I should be looking for when shopping around, either problematic areas, or options that you'd consider indispensable. Basically any general advice you'd give to someone looking for a used G35.

 

Are you looking for 5at or 6mt? How many miles?

 

Most '06's are just coming out of the bumper-to-bumper warranty. If you can find one with an Inservice date of March-Aug or so you might have a few months of warranty left.

I guess the next crop of questions comes with if you want an Auto or a Manual as you'll get a different list of things to look for.

I see you are in WI, if you want a 5AT, are you sure you don't want AWD vs RWD for driving in inclimate weather? Or do you feel confident with RWD + possibly snow tires?

The only real improvement an '06 has over an '05 is the addition of Bluetooth handsfree...which sucks IMHO. The '05 AWD has the brakes of the 03/04 models, but other than those two items (and several non-critical things), 05/06 are identical.

EDIT: Forgot to add that if you want NAVI, 05 has a different version than the updated navi in '06.

 

Seems like there are a lot of 2004's and 2006's available in my area, but very few 05's so I'm kinda debating between the two. Don't care so much on mileage, as long as I'm under 80k or so, but of course the fewer miles the better. Need 5AT for the wife approval. I've been battling the awd vs rwd for a while. AWD would be best in winter, but I'd be fine with RWD, and the traction/stability control. I am a bit worried about my wife though. Bad sides about AWD is price, complexity, mileage?, can't do burnouts, etc.

 

Well if you're pretty much dead set on the automatic, I'd say why not get the AWD? Especially in your area, you're gonna want it. The RWD, no matter how intelligent the traciton/stability control, is still pretty useless in some snow.

 

Yeh rwd G's don't like to move in some of the weather we've been getting here in Jersey. I actually have to turn the traction control off to get going at times.

 

+1 on RWD being useless in snow. No burnouts, correct, but really how many times do you want to ruin your tires and suspension fishtailing and doing burnouts? The advantages of AWD out-weight certain 'fun' aspects of RWD such as the handling. Yes, it is more expensive, but if you think about it, the damage you'll do playing with your RWD would cost more than maintaining an AWD with more stability controls to prevent unnecessary stress to suspension/engine components. I guess I have a huge bias after driving the '09 G37X loaner! Keep us posted with your decision, and please when you get the car, take pics and post! GL!

 

i drive a RWD and I've lived in Iowa and currently in Michigan. Without snow tires, you might as well just park the car and stand by it and look pretty. But, with snow tires and traction control the thing handles quite amazingly in the snow I must say.

I think other than just using your best judgment when picking the right G, you should probably just make sure to check all of the things listed in the "Read this before your warranty is up" thread that is stickied at the top of the forum (oil in spark plug, etc...).

I also noticed a very large difference in pricing between Iowa Gs and Michigan Gs. I actually drove all the way to Michigan to get mine and saved at least $2k so shop around. Good luck with the hunt!

 

No question a RWD in WI will need snow tires for 4 months or so of the year. Alot of people buy an extra set of rims and tires and just swap them twice a year. You should rotate them anyway so not a big deal, biggest hassle would be either living with the TPMS system not working part of every year or having to get the car re-programmed to sense the other set of pressure monitors twice a year.

I faced the same dilemma just last month. I live in Minnesota and occasionally have to drive in rush hour so I ended up with AWD and a good set of all season tires. If my daily commute wasn't 95% freeway I would have leaned towards a RWD 6MT model.

Also an opinion on what model year to buy - as a general rule when buying any used car I avoid the first model year of production or major re-design. Minor (and sometimes not so minor) bugs tend to get addressed in subsequent model years. As the G35 was introduced in 03, re-designed in 05 and again in 07, I favored the 04, 06, and 08 models when comparison shopping. I bought an 06 G35x.

 

Well if you're will to settle for an 03' with hella low miles and a great price in Wisconsin...you should look here....

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...Y_URL&stkTyp=U

 

03.5 G35 sedan here, ( western Canada) i have no issues with rwd in snow with all seasons, and sometimes we get like 25cm over night.

 

OK, thanks guys, I'll probably investigate both models. Going to look at a few tomorrow. I'd get snow tires if I went with the RWD model for sure, but we'll see, maybe one way or another I can swing for the AWD. Never thought about the TPMS...

Doesn't sound like there is really any major things to watch out for. I did read the sticky on the spark plug deal. I'll report my experience when I get back.

 

If your wife is gonna drive it and might get stuck in the snow, might be more reason to swing for the AWD.

I have nothing against RWD + snow tires...i did it for 10 years, but AWD with all-seasons or snow tires is definitely a little more condident in snow. A good driver might be perfectly fine with RWD and snows though, but i guess it all comes down to what do you want for your wife?

I do agree with finding an '06 if you can afford it. One of the reasons I chose an '06 was the hope of having some kinks worked out since the '03 interoduction...and that has been seen with the HVAC issues of the '03 and the "upgraded" brakes (IMHO) of the 05/06/06x sedan as well as a few different option packages. To some this may be nitpicking, but i had a high budget to begin with when i was car shopping

 

I would personally suggest getting the car professionally inspected by one of those car inspection companies (of course, this will be after you found your contender). if you do a google search for "used car inspections", you'll be able to find some really great sponsored links. I personally would suggest using aim mobile inspections, since they did a really thorough job with my friend's g37. it's really a small price to pay for quality assurance of the vehicle. hope that helps! good luck!

 

Well, here this is:



https://g35driver.com/forums/new-mem...yesterday.html

We ended up with a 2006 RWD in Twilight Blue with the two tone charcoal interior. I couldn't pass this thing up. It is in nearly new condition, the inside even smells new yet. I think it was sitting around on the lot for a while, so I managed a pretty good deal on it. It's under warranty until almost the end of the year

Our plan for winter is get some snow tires, but my wife will drive the beater I normally drive to work when it snows because I always drive my truck anyway in the snow (I work 20 miles from home, shes under 5 mi) Roads in my area are snow covered probably at most 20-30 days a year. So we should survive.