I bought a 2007 G35X with 125K back in 2014 and drove it until ~2019 when I sold it to my brother with 195K on it for $1,000. It was running and driving fine, just wanted to do him a solid since he needed something. In the time I had it I did regular maintenance and replaced the cats due to a crack in one with some Kinetix HFCs (which threw a code and I had to do the O2 sensor anti-foulers and all that to keep the light off, but I digress). Anyways, my brother has done oil changes and replaced the alternator but the shop told him it needs valve cover gaskets, the coolant hoses are soft (Id rather have soft rubber than rock hard rubber so whatever that means lol), and the power steering is "making noise"

Now, to me all of that sounds like not that big of a deal, but he said that if I help him move then I can have the car back. It now has 215K on it and I could use something with AWD where I live so I'm tempted, but not sure how much longer the car can last reliably.

The chains/tensioners/etc have not been done and I'm not opposed to doing them, but what would you do?

For reference I currently daily a 2004 Golf 2.0 5-speed which has been super reliable, albeit slow.

 

How much oil does it burn? Do you miss it? I missed mine and bought another with much less miles.

 

It burned a little oil IIRC, but nothing egregious. I don't miss it a whole lot but I have been looking for 4-door vehicles with AWD (although I was looking for a wagon). But it was a great car and we took it everywhere when we had it. It was fast, quiet, smooth, and comfortable. I'd be happy to have it back I think, just want to be aware of any major issues that are going to crop up soon.

 

I ended up buying a GS350 AWD. Love everything about it.
No ragrets.
Still miss my g35. Everytime I see one on the road I say "my baby". Sad bro.

 

Get a G35 too

 

I'm pretty sure the timing chain is good for the life of the car, so no potential catastrophic failure there. With such a high mileage, I'd perform oil changes at 4 month/4000 mile intervals. I also needed new valve covers/gaskets as oil was pooled when replacing plugs and coils. Bottom line, keep an eye on maintenance protocols and it could or should run another 75k. Call me hypersensitive but I rarely drive with the radio on. I'm paying attention to the sound and feel of the car.
- 135,000 miles

 

I wish. I would bro. Except insurance is stupid expensive where I live. And a second parking spot is literally 50K in my city. Retarded.

Instead of selling the car for a few thousand, I gave the car to my bro. It had 400,000 KM (248,000 Miles)

Zero timing chain issues
Zero idle issues
Zero accelleration issues
Zero gasket issues
Didn't burn a drop of oil
Car drove perfectly
Car sounded great
AC cold AF

Edit:
Just normal suspension wear that comes with accumulating that many miles in a city ridden with potholes. Just an excellent , reliable , solid whip overall.

 

If he's offering the car FOR FREE for helping him move then it sounds like a good deal. Prices on cars are insane right now, the valve covers may or may not be leaking enough to actually be an issue.

Power steering might just need the fluid sucked out of the reservoir (use those gear oil bottle pumps that screw onto the bottle, just stick the straw down into the reservoir and pump it out) and replaced a couple times to get fresh fluid it in. The lower u-joint on the steering shaft is probably starting to seize up which is putting more pressure on the system causing it to make noise. You can band-aid that along by spraying the u-joint down liberally with WD40 or some other lubricating spray every couple months until you feel like fixing it.

 

Good tips with the power steering, sounds easy enough. Thanks!