hello, over this passed weekend i had just purchased a 2004 infiniti g35x with 155k miles on it. Under quick inspection, mechanically it seemed to be in great condition. actually got it at a steal (talked the owner to drop it to 3800 down from 4500) I just have a few questions about the car and suggestions about what I've noticed. First off, it is at 155k miles but seems to be in good condition, are there any common problems I should start looking for? (I wont have access to the car until this weekend), especially mechanically? also the one thing i noticed about the car was the paint, from far away they look like white dots, it seems to be the clear coat failing but not completely sure, its really only on the hood, the roof, and the trunk, and its at its worst at the back side of the roof. This wasn't too much of a turn off for me due to the price and the fact that it doesn't look too bad. but has anyone else come across this problem? im hoping waxing it could cover those up. any other suggestions would be nice.

Also I noticed it has the bose system, and upgrading the radio is probably one of the first things i want to do, but im unsure exactly what i should do. I currently have a 10 inch sub in a ported box with 500 watts rms going to it, its a little loud and boomy for my preference, so I was thinking about replacing the stock subwoofer with a 200 watt free air sub and putting a weaker amp up to it, has anyone else had experience with the stock subwoofer location? and should i try to get a 4 or 5 channel amp to replace the stock amp? I'm pretty low on budget so I don't really have the money to try all the possible combinations to see whats best, and especially since the new dash kit and wiring alone will cost me about 200 dollars. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. (although i may end up just getting a sealed enclosure for my sub and that may just solve my problem, but I really don't want to take up a lot of space in the trunk, hence the possibility of working with the stock location.) also any word on the quality of the stock speakers, and how well they handle higher wattages.

Thanks in advance, I cant wait to get my hands on this car.

 

welcome to the forum. difficult to say what your paint issues are without seeing them. i would have guessed it was just rock dings as my car (black 06X) was covered with that kind of damage and all other kinds of scratches and swirls etc. from the previous owner not taking good care of the paint. i used a touch up pen to at least make the worst of the paint chips not look like white chips. now they look like tiny black blobs but they're much more difficult to see. the car has to be clean and you need the right light to see them. but these were the worst of the chips. the smallest chips that just look like tiny spots in the clear are too small to touch up even though they're probably too big to polish out. i don't know why you'd have rock dings on the back of the roof and trunk though so maybe your damage is different than mine. whatever it is, do a proper wash, clay bar, and polish to correct the paint as best you can. even a 10 or 12 year old car looks pretty good after a good detail.

i can't answer stuff about the radio. i have the stock bose system and have given up hope of improving it without spending more than i'm willing to spend.

good luck!

 

Engine and transmission you dont need to worry about with these cars. But I would change fluids on both! Since you have an AWD model yoy should also change the front and rear differential fluid. Also the transfer case fluid.

Only other issues is the suspension on these cars are nothing but a total piece of ****. Inspect the lower inner control arm bushings for tearing and noises. Also the lower balljoints and compression rod bushings.

 

Yeah it's kinda hard to explain, but it's definitely not from rocks and such, on the rear part of the roof it is everywhere, I mean it doesn't really stick out until you are looking at that specific part. But I'm thinking its damage from the sun, I can post pictures of it on Sunday morning. I can also post pictures after it gets waxed

 

That's good to know for the most part, for the fluids, how often should I be looking at replacing each type of fluid

 

I'm going for a bit of a shot in the dark as to what I think your paint issue might be but with no pictures its hard to say. I detail professionally, so I'll do my best to help you pin point what the issue might be. Usually a white "haze" or swirls are simply damaged paint that can be easily removed with basic compound/polish/wax. However white dots or cracking like you indicate it usually signs of clear coat failing. Should this be the case your best course of action would be to stop the process immediately before it's irreparable. If the clear coat isn't too damaged it can be wet sanded starting with a 2500 grit and progressing through harsher grades if the lighter grit does not work. After the damaged coat has been removed you'll have a rather scary looking paint that can then be heavily compounded to remove all the fine scratches that got put into the paint while wet sanding. After that polish and wax follows.

My recommendation would be to have it professional done if your really looking for results or your worried about screwing it up, as it is a bit of a challenge. If you want to take the job on yourself I recommend "AMMO NYC" videos on YouTube. He has some fantastic wet sanding / restoration videos.

All the best

 

alright so I got the car, imo it doesnt seem all that noticeable, but I'm more worried about the paint being exposed and leading to more problems, heres what I've got




far away on the roof its kinda noticeable but its also on the top, and from the angle most people would look at it its not too noticeable.





close up on the roof





here is the trunk from a distance, it is'nt really that noticeable





close up on the trunk it gets pretty noticeable





everything cleans up pretty nice though