Hey guys, nice to meet you all. Ive been lurking these forums for a while but now that I am seriously in the market for a car I've finally made an account.

For my First car I will be spending around 5k-8k, so my idea was a 2004 G35 Sedan. I really love the look, feel (Have test driven it) and many other things about the car. Now since this is going to be my first car, I am also focused on RELIABILITY and Cost of ownership.

This may sound very far fetched and uneducated, but if I find a good buy, will my only cost of ownership be Oil, tires, Brakes ? Maybe a little electric problem here and there, 100 bucks for a window motor or something is fine. Though Im not looking to be spending a lot on repairs or maintenance.

Please do not recommend a Civic or Accord ! I realize they are amazing for reliability and Fuel economy, but I've been dreaming of a G a long time ! Plus how bad can the maintenance and repairs be... right

Well let me know what you guys think !

Thanks

 

Reliability is pretty good, but you're gonna pay out the @$$ for parts. In addition to oil, tires, and brakes you should factor in some money to replace worn 9 year old suspension bushings. But don't expect to waltz down to the local lot and find a 9 year old car that is completely problem free. It's definitely a good idea to bring it to a mechanic for a once over before buying if you don't know what to look for yourself. Also if you insist on a G, please be careful they're RWD (unless you get an X), and while not the most powerful car on the road, still have enough power to get you in trouble/killed. Honestly for a first car I would suggest something a little less powerful and FWD/AWD til you have more experience driving. But whatever you decide good luck to you.

 

I don't think the parts are expensive at all
I have an 03 and haven't replaced any bushings and I am now slammed for a year of bumpy roads and no problems

 

just have $1k handy in the bank for explosions.

 

explosions? What the hell are you doing to you car?

 

he may get lucky and find one that doesn't have rotted out bushings that need to be replaced. but the fact of the matter is its a 9 year old car that has rubber bushings, so he should be ready in case they go out. and yeah compared to parts for a Honda, parts are F***in expensive.

 

Bought my 2003 G with 160000, I have over 200000 miles one it now, no failures, but I meticulously maintain my car. I've replaced a lot just because the car is older for example I recently replaced my tie rods just because they felt a not as tight that was like $250 not including alignment (I did all the work myself). My car runs amazing and handles like a dream. Parts are expensive as F@%# though! And tires are pretty expensive just an fyi. Good luck! I love my G!

 

The problem is no matter what used car you buy you never know how the previous owner took care/drove it. You might get the deal of the century or a lemon. As said above have a mechanic inspect it before buying...if buying off a lot get a warranty if possible.

 

I actually bought my G because parts were relatively cheap. And for the most part that has been true. Routine maintainence, and the few repairs i have done were not that bad.

Realistically I do mostly oil changes and that's pretty much it. The other fluids were replaced with synthetics and will get some decent mileage out of those before i have to change them again. Next week I have to fork out $700-800 for new tires, but considering I got nearly 58,000 miles out of the last set...not bad.

I've done front brakes 3 times, rear brakes once. Prob $250ish per axle each time i;ve done it.

My most expensive repair was doing front wheel bearings and hubs. BOTH fronts failed at 70K miles and cost me $500 in parts for 2 bearings and 2 hubs. $50 when my 3rd brake light failed.

Other than that..gas and oil are my biggest operating costs.

I've had my car 5 years and 125K miles...still going fine

 

I have a 2004 bought it new. I am rather satisfied with it. The major problem that I had was the stupid Bose radio that caused the drain on the battery. This is well documented fact.

The most important fact on buying a used car is to buy one with a good maintenance record. Then you would know what the owner(s) did to the car. My 0.02.

 

I as well have a 2004 sedan that I have daily driven for 5 years. I bought it with around 28k miles and today she has 154k. I've never had a serious problems with the car, I religiously keep up on fluid changes and other scheduled maintenance. Overall, I have no complaints as this is probably the most reliable car I have ever owned and have never had to dump any serious money in to it.

My only complaint is that around 100k miles it started consuming oil so I switched from synthetic to a conventional motor oil. This has helped slow down the consumption in my vehicle considerably (YMMV) I just keep an eye on the oil level and top off as necessary between oil changes.

 

MYTH

You can switch from conventional to synthetic and vice versa. Just be careful when going from conventional to synthetic on a high mileage motor as valve covers etc may develop leaks. I went from conventional to synthetic on my 1992 Ford Taurus when it had 150k miles on it and never had any issues.

Currently, I am burning about a quart between 3k mile oil changes. Perfectly acceptable to me and I can manage that pretty well. My car runs stronger than it ever has.

 

Unfortunately that's what I burn on a 5AT car. 1 quart every 3500 miles. It's consistent and I can manage it well.

I've run conventional since day #1