Considering picking up a 2005 G35 Coupe 6MT

[theeedude]

Been looking around, and I see these are selling for around 15K with reasonable miles (~50K). Anyways, what should I know about these cars. Do all 6MT models come with limited slip? I know they dropped Brembos for that year, but interior is much nicer than 2004 for me. So I am thinking about a 2005, maybe 2006 if price is really right.

 

[chorb]

15K for a 2005 with 50K miles? I'd love to pick one up at that price, but all the ones in my area are ~20k. They did remove the brembos starting in 05, but I believe the calipers are even bigger and unless you plan to track the car the brakes shouldn't matter to you. I'm also fairly certain that all 05 and 06 models come with the LSD.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

http://www.6mt.net/

 

[theeedude]

Originally posted by: chorb
15K for a 2005 with 50K miles? I'd love to pick one up at that price, but all the ones in my area are ~20k. They did remove the brembos starting in 05, but I believe the calipers are even bigger and unless you plan to track the car the brakes shouldn't matter to you. I'm also fairly certain that all 05 and 06 models come with the LSD.

Actually, I am not sure what the expected pricing is. I've seen some at around 16K asking price on craigslist, so I figured I can bargain it down to maybe 15K in this economy, but they go up to about 20K as well. I have a friend who works for a company that supports dealer auctions, so I asked that person to help me locate one of these, hopefully close to dealer wholesale value. In any case, I am willing to pay a little bit more for the right car, and I am also willing to wait for the right price. I am mainly interested in whether there are any issues to look out for, what kind of maintenance costs I can expect. I heard FM platform sounds from premature front tire wear, or has that been fixed by 2005 model year?

 

[RGUN]

First off, beautiful car - and they sound incredible. I was very excited about buying one myself.... until I drove it.

Driving one of them was the biggest mistake I made, I absolutely loved those cars for years - I think they are the sexiest machine on the road and 300hp right?

They are slow like you wouldnt believe.... I didnt think it handled well, you cannot turn off traction control (changed in a later model year, not sure which one). I also happened to think the interior was terrible, and the GPS nav option in the one I tried looked like it would break if I touched it. The seats were also highly worn with only 30,000miles or so on them.

I was very disappointed. Also, note that it uses premium fuel, and lots of it.... not a problem for me, expect that its power didnt seem to justify it.

Go for a test drive and report back to us!

 

[SithSolo1]

My fronts are wearing fine but I'm eating the rears alive for no apparent reason.
The the premature front tire wear was more an issue for the Z than the G, though I dunno why.

Issues I've had with my '05 so far(only 27kish miles on mine):
Both windows have had the motor replaced once
The rubber strip at the bottom of one of the doors started to peel and was replaced
One of the belts/wheels in the engine bay is making a noise

Maintenance costs:
Replaced the front/rear pads(rear was shot, front was fine but replaced anyway) @ 16k ~$130 for the pads
Replaced front/rear tires @16k (19", rear was basically bald) ~$850 for the tires, as of last month the tread was 8mm up front and 5mm rear
Oil change ~$80 @ Infiniti/~$40 @ Nissan
Get ~260-280miles before the gas icon lights up(100% city), highway you can get well over 400

 

[theeedude]

What was standard Infiniti warranty on these?

 

[SithSolo1]

# 4-year/60,000-mile Basic coverage
# 5-year/50,000-mile Emission Control coverage
# 6-year/70,000-mile Powertrain coverage
# 7-year/unlimited-mileage Corrosion coverage
# 10-year/unlimited-mileage Seat Belt Warranty

 

[Aimster]

Originally posted by: SithSolo1
My fronts are wearing fine but I'm eating the rears alive for no apparent reason.
The the premature front tire wear was more an issue for the Z than the G, though I dunno why.

Issues I've had with my '05 so far(only 27kish miles on mine):
Both windows have had the motor replaced once
The rubber strip at the bottom of one of the doors started to peel and was replaced
One of the belts/wheels in the engine bay is making a noise

Maintenance costs:
Replaced the front/rear pads(rear was shot, front was fine but replaced anyway) @ 16k ~$130 for the pads
Replaced front/rear tires @16k (19", rear was basically bald) ~$850 for the tires, as of last month the tread was 8mm up front and 5mm rear
Oil change ~$80 @ Infiniti/~$40 @ Nissan
Get ~260-280miles before the gas icon lights up(100% city), highway you can get well over 400

(meant to quote the guy above you)

probably a bad used car. Bad owner

They are based off of a 350Z and those aren't slow.

 

[fstime]

Originally posted by: Aimster

Originally posted by: SithSolo1
My fronts are wearing fine but I'm eating the rears alive for no apparent reason.
The the premature front tire wear was more an issue for the Z than the G, though I dunno why.

Issues I've had with my '05 so far(only 27kish miles on mine):
Both windows have had the motor replaced once
The rubber strip at the bottom of one of the doors started to peel and was replaced
One of the belts/wheels in the engine bay is making a noise

Maintenance costs:
Replaced the front/rear pads(rear was shot, front was fine but replaced anyway) @ 16k ~$130 for the pads
Replaced front/rear tires @16k (19", rear was basically bald) ~$850 for the tires, as of last month the tread was 8mm up front and 5mm rear
Oil change ~$80 @ Infiniti/~$40 @ Nissan
Get ~260-280miles before the gas icon lights up(100% city), highway you can get well over 400

(meant to quote the guy above you)

probably a bad used car. Bad owner

They are based off of a 350Z and those aren't slow.

They are neither slow nor really fast, but above average.

The ones that got the 300 hp engine have a bit more punch.

The IS350 or 335i are both better IMO but also more expensive for being so.

Oh and they arn't supposed to be the greatest on gas in the city, but nothing tragic.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Nice car, good blend of luxury and performance. Great looks too.

I've driven my friend's G35 Coupe a few times and always enjoy it. It's a very nice car IMO.

 

[theeedude]

Mainly I am looking at used cars in mid teens with reasonable miles, so 335i does not really qualify since it's too new. IS350 does not come with a manual, which I want, and also does not come as a coupe. I am fine with it not being the fastest, my current car is Mazda3 with 160hp, and I think it's plenty fast with a 5MT.
My main concern with used cars is durability, so it's good to hear that at least the powertrain is covered to 70K miles. I hope it's not just for original owner though.

 

[Kadarin]

For what it's worth, when I was looking at different cars before I bought mine, I drove a new 08 G37S and compared it to a 335i. The 335i felt like it had a lot more torque and better acceleration. It also felt somehow weird sitting in the driver's seat, in that everything (the trim and layout) was very angular with lots of edges.

 

[theeedude]

Not really looking into 335i, or G37s, since the main point of the exercise is to pick up a lightly used luxury sporty car at distressed valuations. I am looking at mid teens for price.
Not really interested in used German cars because of more expensive maintenance costs once it goes off warranty and higher resale value, and lack of LSD on non M models. Power is also not as much of a concern since I like to get my kicks in the corners, not off the line.

 

[Chapbass]

Originally posted by: RGUN
First off, beautiful car - and they sound incredible. I was very excited about buying one myself.... until I drove it.

Driving one of them was the biggest mistake I made, I absolutely loved those cars for years - I think they are the sexiest machine on the road and 300hp right?

They are slow like you wouldnt believe.... I didnt think it handled well, you cannot turn off traction control (changed in a later model year, not sure which one). I also happened to think the interior was terrible, and the GPS nav option in the one I tried looked like it would break if I touched it. The seats were also highly worn with only 30,000miles or so on them.

I was very disappointed. Also, note that it uses premium fuel, and lots of it.... not a problem for me, expect that its power didnt seem to justify it.

Go for a test drive and report back to us!

hmmm, a couple quick things.


first off, I own this exact car (an 05 g35 6mt). Handling goes up alot with the sport package, I love the way mine handles. Traction control CAN in fact be turned off (they call it VDC, and theres a switch on the left next to the trunk release).


Some minor gripes I have with mine:

Mine doesn't have too bad of tire wear (yet)...but on alot of them the front tires wear out quick and youll hear a significant rumble/rubbing noise when decelerating from say 30mph down to about 10. New tires fixes it as does a...negative chamber? something like that, check g35driver.com for details on it, search for tire feathering.

The heated seats do NOT have a heating element on them, so they do take quite a while to warm up (mine take about 10 minutes or so).

Not all of them come with dual zone climate control if thats important to you...look on the dash for the "dual" button...bottom row, far right next to the temperature wheel.



Other known issues:

The paint is known to be very thin, so be careful with it (my biggest gripe, even though mine still looks clean with 36k miles on it)

Be sure to check your oil levels, as that model uses the rev-up engine, which can burn oil. With 50k miles on it youd think they would've found out by now, but they extended the warranties on them to get your engine replaced if your burning gas.


Thats all i can think of right now, ill post again if something comes up I love mine though!

 

[Doggiedog]

Originally posted by: RGUN
First off, beautiful car - and they sound incredible. I was very excited about buying one myself.... until I drove it.

Driving one of them was the biggest mistake I made, I absolutely loved those cars for years - I think they are the sexiest machine on the road and 300hp right?

They are slow like you wouldnt believe.... I didnt think it handled well, you cannot turn off traction control (changed in a later model year, not sure which one). I also happened to think the interior was terrible, and the GPS nav option in the one I tried looked like it would break if I touched it. The seats were also highly worn with only 30,000miles or so on them.

I was very disappointed. Also, note that it uses premium fuel, and lots of it.... not a problem for me, expect that its power didnt seem to justify it.

Go for a test drive and report back to us!

You must have driven a 2004 model.

I didn't have a coupe but I had a 2005 G35 sedan 6MT and I thought the car was quite fast and the interior nice. My car, like Chapbass mentioned, does have the option to turn the traction control off. The '04s sport sedans had 260HP while the '05 sport sedans had 298. The did a very nice overhaul for the '05s.