New member here: I picked up a beautiful new 05 G35 Sedan 6MT (Lakeshore Slate/Stone, premium, navigation) last Monday, and I've been happily driving it around ever since.

I suspect that I'm an outlier here in how long I keep my cars. The G35 is my first new car in 16 years! Prior to the G35, I was driving an 89 Ford Probe GT that I bought just after I graduated from college (158K miles so far). Coming from an older car, the G35 is a dream to drive. Aside from the normal grin-inducing bits, I'm happy just to have working A/C and rear defrosters again. No more scavenging through the Pick-n-Pull for replacement parts!

Does anyone else here keep cars that long?

This is my first post, but I've been lurking here for a while and would like to say a big thank you to all the posters here. This site is a wonderful resource, which already has been a big help:

• It's great to have all the posts on the deals that people have been getting on their 05's. The dealer pointed to the CarsDirect and Edmunds TMV values (which were much closer to MSRP), but it was clear from the posts here that people were getting much better deals. I wound up paying $500 over invoice -- not a great deal but acceptable. The car was already in the dealer's pipeline, so I only had to wait two weeks for delivery.
  
• After reading about the DIY XM installations here, I decided to install XM myself. I got the tuner from the dealer (who matched the Grubbs price) and an American International micro antenna and splitter from Crutchfield. I tried the stealth install, with the antenna mounted on the metal underneath the rear deck. I don't know if there's enough distance from the edges to form an effective ground plane, but it's working pretty well so far (with only occasional dropouts). I haven't yet tried it outside the Bay Area.
  
• After learning about the strictlyz and Stillen front license adapters, I asked the dealer not to drill the bumper. There's apparently a difference in bolt size in the 05 sedans, but I understand that at least one vendor is in the process of addressing that.

Thanks to everyone for all the helpful posts.

 

Congrats on the new ride.....

But 16 years???? That's amazing.
I bet the manufacturers are glad there aren't to many like you arround.

Myself, I do a good job of keeping them in business
I'm lucky to get past 3 years & have probably owned close to 20 cars.

 

Congratulations on your new car, a most excellent choice. Sixteen years is a long time, I generally don't go more than three years, two if I get really bored.

 

WOW...after 16 years a Kia would feel awesome to drive. Seriously, I couldn't do it! Props to you.

 

My wife just ordered an 05 CPE 6MT to replace her 1991 Mitsubishi 3000GT which she has had since new. I get to keep her Mitsu for my use. 10-15 years is about the time we plan on keeping the car. In that I'm coming up on 63 years old I hope I at least outlast the car.

 

New member here as well. I've been driving around the same S-10 truck for like 8 years now. It still motors good but there is always something falling apart, going out, or needs a whack from a hammer. Before that, my only other car was an old Camaro I got in high school. I drove that Camaro all through college and years after. It was a simple car with no computers so it was pretty easy to keep running. However, there are only so many hot, humid summers in a black vinyl, ac-less, car you can take. The only new car I bought was the 1999 Maxima for my wife. I don't drive it much so it doesn't seem like 'my' car. Plus it's an auto fwd and a bore to drive.

I've also been lurking G35 forums for a while now. I've loved the G35's ever since they came out. I love the looks, peformance, and especially the fact that it's rwd and doesn't cost $38k like a BMW. I hope to get a 2005 6MT Sedan with no options very soon. All I want are the performance options and those cool wheels. I wouldn't mind the aero pkg but they make you get a sunroof with it. BTW - What's up with that? From looking around my local dealers, it appears this type of car will be hard to find. It's probably a bad time for me to buy a car like that, though. After all, I am a new father of triplets. But hell with it, right? The kids can all cram in the back seat like they do in the Maxima. That is, I hope you can get three car seats in a G35. Can anyone confirm this? lol - like anyone is doing that.

 

16 years is nothing

i'm in the search for a good condition 15 year old R32 GTR

 

16 years is a long time to keep one single car, good job. The car before my G sedan was a 1995 Honda Accord EX V6 sedan that I bought used and salvaged in 1997 and it ran fine and smooth even until I sold last year, so I kept it for 7 years. I plan to keep one car for at least 5 years, if not more. But I love this G, so may break the Accord's record. Yeah I don't like to change car every two or three years, I feel like wasting money and wasting earth's resources and make auto company very happy.

 

Triplets -- wow. I don't know about the three child seats. Take them to the dealer and give it a try? I can fit one booster seat in the back without any problem.

My main consideration for rear seating was my 14-year-old 6-foot-tall teenager. He seems to fit fine so far (which was definitely not the case in the Probe), though I don't know whether that will be the case in a few years. He likes the reclining rear seats!

 

I've had my 94 accord EX since Sep. '93. Still going strong at 159K. Deciding between BMW and G. Love the G, but I'm bias toward Beemer. Also owned a '01 Max SE, but sold it after two years, traded for family minivan.

 

I would hate you more than life itself were it not for the good taste in options...I have been waiting FOR YOUR EXACT CAR since December 1st and I just got pushed back from a Feb 21st delivery to March 11th....

Damn your dealer!!!!

 

Congrats and welcome from g35sedanman. My G will be with me 1 year on Feb 22 and it still puts a smile on my face. Hope you also feel the same way in a year. ENJOY!

 

What were you thinking? The '89 Probe was an awesome car! I had an 86 Mazda 626 touring coupe (5-door) that was very similar to your Probe. I loved that car and was very sorry to lose it in an accident in 1989. Four years old and full of promise. I replaced it with a brand new Acura Legend Coupe in 89. Held on to that car for 10 years/200K miles and replaced it with a very forgettable used car (Volvo 850 turbo wagon). The next new car was the G35 this past year. I was 15 years from new car to new car.

This is a long-winded way of saying welcome to the club. I hope you enjoy the G35 as much as I do and find it a car that stirs your soul the way the Probe obviously did.

 

The longest I have ever owned a vehicle was 6 years, in the past 16 years, I have had 5, and one of those I kept for 6 years!

 

The longest I ever owned a car is this car. Im coming up on a year on March 28th.