Won a G35 at Auction and Decided to Keep It
#1
10-05-2018, 10:56 AM
Won a G35 at Auction and Decided to Keep It
Before repaint and with original wheels. Old paint photographed much better than it was.
After repaint and new wheels.
With 19” Rays after repaint. Now switched to 18” sport wheels.
Hey all, I’ve been lurking on the site for a while as it is my go to for info on my new car. In February I won a 2004 G35 sedan on eBay with no reserve. Was a Florida car, one owner, and only had 58k miles. It was a bit of a pain to ship it and it needed a bit of maintenance to catch it up. Also the original paint was toast from the Florida sun and heat. So after new paint and a lot of suspension work on my part, I decided to just keep it as an extra vehicle because I liked driving it so much.
I’m an engineer and avid hobby mechanic. Been into MR2s for years and recently rotary Mazdas and older Mercedes. Looks like a great forum and hope I can contribute.
Some before and after pics of my car.
Last edited by kelman81; 10-07-2018 at 08:53 AM. Reason: Added Pictures
#2
10-05-2018, 11:23 AM
#3
10-07-2018, 08:32 AM
#4
10-10-2018, 09:23 AM
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#5
10-16-2018, 12:28 PM
From what I can tell on Carfax, the original owner had traded it in to a local dealer in FL on November 2016. The car then went through at least 6 auctions where dealers kept buying it and giving up. I bought it on eBay auction on a whim while watching the opening Winter Olympics 2018 ceremony on TV. I can tell the car had seen that many live auctions because I cleaned the remains of 6 different stickers off the front and rear windows.
When I finally received it after shipping, it seemed like the car had a small and smelly oil leak. The leak actually turned out to be someone didn't put the dipstick back in all the way (we all know how awkward these dipsticks are), so that was an easy fix. Also when people are used car shopping they probably want a sunroof so that hurt this car not having one. After years of buying sunroofs and never using them, I wanted a slicktop to not worry about future leaks or drains clogging.
When I finally received it after shipping, it seemed like the car had a small and smelly oil leak. The leak actually turned out to be someone didn't put the dipstick back in all the way (we all know how awkward these dipsticks are), so that was an easy fix. Also when people are used car shopping they probably want a sunroof so that hurt this car not having one. After years of buying sunroofs and never using them, I wanted a slicktop to not worry about future leaks or drains clogging.
#6
10-16-2018, 01:25 PM
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Bulk auctions are SUPER common, typically a new car dealership will receive the vehicle as a trade-in and immediately put it up for auction because they don't want used fleet on their lot. It takes up space that could be occupied by a new vehicle as well as costing them montly bulk insurance on a vehicle that will have little profitability.
Multi-auctions happen frequently as well because if it doesn't sell within 3-4 months sitting on another lot they will usually just auction it off to get rid of it and break even on cost. No sense having a car sit on your lot if your demographic isn't interested in it. With how readily available the G35 is right now at a low price point I'm not surprised that a base package vehicle didn't sell, you can easily pick up a premium package one for a very low price tag.
Looks like it turned out really nice, how much did the car end up costing including the paint if you don't mind me asking.
Multi-auctions happen frequently as well because if it doesn't sell within 3-4 months sitting on another lot they will usually just auction it off to get rid of it and break even on cost. No sense having a car sit on your lot if your demographic isn't interested in it. With how readily available the G35 is right now at a low price point I'm not surprised that a base package vehicle didn't sell, you can easily pick up a premium package one for a very low price tag.
Looks like it turned out really nice, how much did the car end up costing including the paint if you don't mind me asking.
#7
10-16-2018, 01:48 PM
My $4250 win on the low mileage car quickly added
up to $5000 with dealer fees and shipping from Miami area. Tax, title, and reg ran about $500. Then many hours of my time, $1000 worth of suspension parts from RockAuto (all because I was changing a ball joint and noisy wheel bearing, figured I might as well do it all since bushings were original) and a $3500 cash deal for a quality paint job.... let’s just say it is worth much more to me than anyone else!
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#8
10-16-2018, 02:02 PM
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Sounds like it was worth it, you now have a low mile vehicle with a LOOOOOONG life ahead of it and an excellent platform to work with if you ever want to add performance goodies.
Even if going the full bolt-on route isn't something you're interested in you should at least throw a 5/16 plenum spacer and a z-tube+revup airbox on it. Consider a tune as well, the vehicle is much more free with an uprev tune.
Even if going the full bolt-on route isn't something you're interested in you should at least throw a 5/16 plenum spacer and a z-tube+revup airbox on it. Consider a tune as well, the vehicle is much more free with an uprev tune.
#9
10-16-2018, 04:34 PM
Sounds like it was worth it, you now have a low mile vehicle with a LOOOOOONG life ahead of it and an excellent platform to work with if you ever want to add performance goodies.
Even if going the full bolt-on route isn't something you're interested in you should at least throw a 5/16 plenum spacer and a z-tube+revup airbox on it. Consider a tune as well, the vehicle is much more free with an uprev tune.
Even if going the full bolt-on route isn't something you're interested in you should at least throw a 5/16 plenum spacer and a z-tube+revup airbox on it. Consider a tune as well, the vehicle is much more free with an uprev tune.
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#10
10-16-2018, 05:30 PM
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#11
10-19-2018, 11:11 AM
Yeah, I always wanted a rotary, and I especially wanted an RX-8 when they were new. Glad I didn't because what crazy depreciation. While any 13B lacks torque, it was probably one of the best handling/shifting/braking/steering cars I've ever driven. Nothing like burping flames out the exhaust when ripping off a second to third shift at nearly 10k rpm! Of course if my current G35 was a manual, I might not miss the RX-8 at all.
Last edited by kelman81; 10-19-2018 at 01:15 PM.
#12
10-19-2018, 11:30 AM
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I hear 6MT swaps aren't hard on these Gs and that car is probably the mintiest most original car with the lowest miles on here right now, and likely completely unabused. Your car + CD009 + Brembos + Sway bar + blacked out grille/debadge G35/exhaust would really transform that car into a classy sports sedan that'll handle with the best of them. Sounds like you've got the money to spare, why not throw on a NOS kit so you can keep up with the 335? 
#13
10-19-2018, 12:21 PM
#14
10-19-2018, 01:10 PM
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Awww I read a bunch of threads saying the VQ35DE could take a 100 shot with meth injection safely... Is it just these people threw a 100 shot on their cars, posted a week later saying its safe, and then a week later their engine blew up? Do you have any personal experience with nitrous? I'm curious because it seems NOS kits don't really lose their value or wear out so you could pick up a used one, run it, and sell it for the same price you bought it for a couple years later...
#15
10-19-2018, 01:59 PM
Originally Posted by cswlightning
Awww I read a bunch of threads saying the VQ35DE could take a 100 shot with meth injection safely... Is it just these people threw a 100 shot on their cars, posted a week later saying its safe, and then a week later their engine blew up? Do you have any personal experience with nitrous? I'm curious because it seems NOS kits don't really lose their value or wear out so you could pick up a used one, run it, and sell it for the same price you bought it for a couple years later...
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