I'm thinking about getting a G35 coupe. I was originally going for the new G37, but I'm leaning toward a used G35 right now. You can get a decent used one for around $15k. Anybody has any experience on the G35?

2/14/2010 8:45:03 AM

yes...I owned one for 3 month but sold it in favor of buying a house. I absolutely loved it and I'm going to buy another one in a couple month once my house is built.

When I buy another one, I'm NOT going to buy either a 2003 or 2004 model again. The window motors in those models are fucking terrible and it's a really annoying problem to have. There is not much difference in performance between a 2003 through 2006 G35 but they fixed the previous model's window motor and brake pad issues for the 2005 and 2006 models. They also changed the interior a little (not much else though).

If you do decide to buy a 2003 or 2004 G35 then make sure you ask about the window motor and brake pads. Ask if they have replaced the brake pads with after market brake pads or kept with the original style pads. The original OEM pads that came with the 2003 and 2004 models wear away really really quick and produce an shitton of brake dust.

I bought my G35 at around 36k miles and the driver side window motor was replaced twice in the 3 months that I had the car. It was a quick fix and the window motor part has a lifetime warranty so you'll only have to buy one. You can read about it everywhere. This is a widespread problem but was fixed in the 05 model.

You'll have to shell out a little more for an 2005 model but I think it's definitely worth it. You'll be glad you did when you won't have to replace a window motor multiple times per year.

[Edited on February 14, 2010 at 9:10 AM. Reason : yo]

2/14/2010 9:08:31 AM

My brother drives a '05 G35X and my mom drives a '08 G35. Both sedans though.
Both have been awesome. My brother's has 70k on it, and my mom's has 7k on it.

2/14/2010 11:34:31 AM

ibt H8R

2/14/2010 12:14:28 PM

I have an '07 G35s sedan, absolutely love it. Great performance for the money, mine is all the way loaded (nav, sat radio, bose audio, heated seats, etc.) and of all the cars I test drove (BMW 3 series, Audi A4, Merc C-class, and Lexus IS) it was by far the best value for money. I've had it for over 2 years now, have just under 29k on it and have absolutely loved it.

2/14/2010 1:08:01 PM

I had a '03 sedan for a few years. I loved that car, but was not compatible with carting dogs around or skis and mountain bikes. Never had a single mechanical problem in ~50k miles. I went through three sets of brake pads, but the manufacturer acknowledged premature wear issues with them, and they were all done under an extended warranty for the pads.

There were some other nitpicky issues I had with the look and feel of the interior, but since I had the first generation some of that has to be expected.

2/14/2010 1:51:46 PM

do the right thing. get an m3.

i didn't like the one g35 coupe i drove. it felt heavy, bulky, and underpowered.

2/14/2010 10:14:41 PM

I have an 05 Sedan and I love it. It has 102k miles and it very very reliable. The 335i is bad ass, but BMW sucks with reliability.

I wouldnt buy an 05-07 G35 coupe 6spd. The 6spds in those years came with a slightly different engine called the VQ35de-revup. It basically had better cams, vtc on exhaust side, giving it 298hp vs 280hp. That engine has oil consumption issues. Stick with the regular engine found in the automatics. 03-04 6spd had same engine as the automatics (280hp).

You cant beat that sexy coupe with the factory staggered 19s.

The 03-04 standard brakes were very aggressive. The actually stop the car better than the brembos, except for at the track. Starting in 2005 Infiniti ditched both of those brakes in favor of bigger rotors with ceramic pads (no dusting). The brakes are good, but dont stop as good as the older ones.

2/15/2010 9:06:50 AM

Quote :

"but BMW sucks with reliability."

really?

ahahaha

2/15/2010 9:53:19 AM

yeah BMW does suck with reliability. Their engines are great, transmission are good too, but its the little stuff that adds up. Infiniti service department is alot better too.

2/15/2010 11:54:09 AM

I drove an automatic 2004 G35 sedan for a road trip to GA once... not comfortable at all. The seats were extra large (I'm not). The suspension was too stiff for a fancy sedan. Much stiffer than my stock WRX (when it was stock). Decent power. Nothing over the top, but just enough power to give you that confident feeling. OK handling for a big car, but felt "big" nonetheless. Overall experience for me was mediocre. The only thing it's got on my wife's Mazda 6 is power and a heavy price tag. Her Mazda 6 is much more comfy to drive and better interior. No opinions on 05+ G series... hopefully they were much more improved.

[Edited on February 15, 2010 at 3:21 PM. Reason : meh]

2/15/2010 3:17:42 PM

Nmsj.

2/15/2010 3:33:57 PM

Quote :

"The seats were extra large (I'm not). The suspension was too stiff for a fancy sedan."

Seats are made for fat Americans... your skinny Asian ass is too small

As for suspension, it is a sports sedan, so that explains it.

2/15/2010 4:22:03 PM

Quote :

"do the right thing. get an m3."

I was thinking about getting an 2002 or 2003 M3 until I realized that every douchebag who owns one price their M3s thousands more than the blue book value. I get listing your car for more than kbb value but not thousands more. M3s (e46 model) outperform a G35 coupe anyday but good luck finding an e46 model that is priced right.

Quote :

"I wouldnt buy an 05-07 G35 coupe 6spd. The 6spds in those years came with a slightly different engine called the VQ35de-revup."

Good call. I forgot about this problem. I would rather deal with the window motor issue in the 03 and 04 vs. having to deal with this engine. Plus I'm quick at replacing a G35 window motor now after having to do it so much

I do like the stock 03/04 brakes but the brake dust sucks. I replaced mine with a set of Hawk brakes and was definitely satisfied with though.

2/15/2010 5:03:11 PM

Are the later coupe engines known for being unreliable? I drove a brand new 07 model G35 coupe back in 07 at a dealership. I liked it. My friend's mom had an 06 automatic Sedan. It was a great car. And I disagree that the seats are too big. My 97 Q45 has much bigger seats. The G seats are sporty in comparison.

2/15/2010 8:24:18 PM

Like the 350Z, there are 3 engines in the G35. I think the dates are:

2003-2004 have the VQ35DE
2005-2006 have the VQ35DE RevUp
2007-2008 have the VQ35HR

2/15/2010 9:00:52 PM

Coupe:
03-07 Automatic VQ35DE 280hp
05-07 6spd VQ35DE Rev up (298hp)
08-10 VQ37VHR 330hp

Sedan:
03-04 VQ35DE 260hp
05-06 Automatic VQ35DE 280hp (same engine as 03-04, just rated higher to top the 270hp Acura TL)
05-06 6spd VQ35DE rev-up 298hp
07-08 VQ35HR 306hp
09-10 VQ37VHR 328hp

2/16/2010 7:40:58 AM

I have an 04 coupe 6mt and love it. Transmissions are the biggest problem in these cars. I just had mine replaced under warranty at 68k miles. They want you to do a clutch and flywheel and the same time since the tranny is already out. I did the clutch, but not the flywheel. It is a dual mass flywheel and cost $1200. You can get aftermarket lightweight flywheels but the chatter they create is loud.

Another problem with the 03 - 04 is the valve cover gasket around the spark plug wells. These are BUILT INTO the valve covers, therefore the valve covers have to be replaced. Just had this done under warranty as well, its about a $1800 job.

Other than these 2 issues I am happy with the car. I paid little more for this particular one because it was still under Infinitis 6 year 70k mile power train warranty. You can find 03 - 04 for under $15k all day, but they will be out of warranty by that point.

Great car to drive, I find myself with the radio off most of the time just listening to the motor.

[Edited on February 16, 2010 at 10:26 AM. Reason : manual trans]

2/16/2010 10:25:34 AM

Nissan fixed all the small issues in designing the VQ35hr and VQ37VHR

2/16/2010 10:42:17 AM

yeah the HR motors are definitely the way to go if you can find one in your budget.

2/16/2010 10:53:18 AM

I'm in the market for the G35 sedan, I test drove an 03 yesterday and absolutely loved it, but it sounds like the 05 or later is the way to go. I'm also on a budget of ~15k

2/17/2010 9:21:36 AM

S60R imo!

/shameless plug

2/17/2010 10:36:58 AM

^^ if you get the auto, you should be fine. Before you buy it, take out the #6 spark plug. Driver side towards firewall. Check to see if there is oil on it. If there is pass it up unless the seller will fix it for you. Sedan, I don't think you have to worry about the window motors since it has a framed door and the window doesn't drop and raise back up every time the door is opened.'


Also if you get a sedan and want it to sound like the coupe, buy a coupe mid-pipe

[Edited on February 17, 2010 at 11:35 AM. Reason : sound]

2/17/2010 11:33:53 AM

Yeah I got the coupe mid pipe on my car. Lowered on 350z shocks and springs. Rides nice.

Oil on the plug comes from a bad spark plug tube seal. In order to replace them, u must do a complete valve cover job. Not hard to do, but does cost alot because of the labor. I had mine done for free.

2/17/2010 2:25:27 PM

yeah I have the means to do engine work myself if I have to. That is an easy way to check though checking the spark plug.

My next question is can you really feel a huge difference in the 280hp motor in the 2005+ years vs the 260 hp. Enough to justify the few thousand dollar difference that I could use to get it above 280 anyway?

2/17/2010 4:42:57 PM

There is no difference. The engine was underrated at 260hp. Acura came out with their overrated 270hp TL in 2004 (later found to be 258hp in 2006), so Infiniti rated theirs at 280 which was later found to be 275hp.

The 03-04 and 05-06 engines are the same. Only difference is the exhaust is slightly louder on the 05\6 due to smaller center resonator and bigger muffler. Trust me that doesn't equal 20hp.

Same thing happened with the 03-04 Altima. It had 240hp, then accord matched it, so in 2004 Nissan rated it 245hp, and 250hp in 2005. Nothing changed.

2/18/2010 9:31:59 AM

thought the 05-06 had the uprev motors? Which are known for oil consumption. Then 07+ had the HR motors.

2/18/2010 9:46:34 AM

i was talking about the regular motors on the automatics. Uprevs only came on the 6spd models.

2/18/2010 12:18:39 PM

What's the difference between an uprev and an HR motor in terms of the actual engine design? I drove the HR. I didn't even know the uprev existed.

2/18/2010 12:51:55 PM

nmsj

2/18/2010 12:53:51 PM

The uprev is the basic Vq35de motor with better cams, and CVT on the exhaust and intake cams. Slightly different intake manifold.

The HR is vastly different. The block heigh is 1 inch taller, longer rods, different head, twin induction intake manifold, tubular exhaust manifold, higher compression, stronger bottom end. all this was done to give more top end power.

http://www.my350z.com/forum/engine-and-drivetrain/410769-stock-de-vs-revup-vs-hr-vs-vhr-numbers.html

2/18/2010 1:08:50 PM

^^^ a lot. start at the dual throttle bodies on the HR and work your way down.

There is a chart on wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infiniti_G35

[Edited on February 18, 2010 at 1:13 PM. Reason : ^ mad beat me]

[Edited on February 18, 2010 at 1:15 PM. Reason : .]

2/18/2010 1:13:08 PM

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/1605847593.html

other than checking the spark plug, what else should keep me from buying this car? When i spoke with the owner he was fairly knowledgeable but I don't want to drive to fayetteville to drive a dud.

I know the mileage is a tad high, but it seems like a reasonable price and worth an offer of around 10000 if everything checks out.

[Edited on February 21, 2010 at 12:59 PM. Reason : .]

2/21/2010 12:57:07 PM

drive it, make sure the transmission shifts smoothly, Not that I have heard of any problems with them though. Also I would tell the guy to not drive it before I looked at it. Make sure it is cold when you start it. A warmed up engine/transmission can hide problems.

2/21/2010 5:14:41 PM

Interesting how Nissan brought back the dual throttlebodies from earlier engines, and of course they installed a more modern the variable valve timing system. My Y33 Q45 has the old VTC system which advances the intake cam a fixed amount. SR20's and RB25's had that as well.

[Edited on February 22, 2010 at 1:01 AM. Reason : .]

2/22/2010 1:00:32 AM

get the vin number and rule it thru the dealership to see what service has been done.

at those miles.. all fluids should have been flushed atleast once, transmission, differential, power steering, brake, etc... accessory belts should have been changed too.

Does the car have the premium package? (intelligent key, rear vents, rear seats that recline, bose radio??)

2/22/2010 7:59:15 AM

picking up that car today for $9500. looks like a little bit of hair from a dog in between the seats that i'll need to get out but other than that the car is in great shape for the mileage.

Spark plug was clean and the transmission shifted very smoothly from a stop and using the trip tronic once i got up to speed a bit but the tires probably only have about 10000 miles left on them so I got him to go down a bit further. Very excited to drive it back from Fayetteville tonight.

The spare is a full size but he said the pressure gauge on the wheel needed replacing, anybody had to do that and what it might run if I decide to change it?

3/1/2010 3:21:38 PM

good luck on tires having 10k left on them

you're in for a rude awakening if you think that's not the case

3/1/2010 3:23:38 PM

I don't even know what that means

3/1/2010 4:09:27 PM

I'm just sayin that you'd better be prepared to buy tires way before 10000 miles are driven

3/1/2010 4:21:07 PM

oh ok well yeah you're right, my dad sells tires from his shop, I planned on getting new ones on when I got the oil changed when I go home with it in a week or so. I was just saying I used the fact that there wasen't much tread left to get the price lower.

3/1/2010 4:49:47 PM

you're damned right I'm right

i went through 3 sets of rears in 14k, and all i have is a little honda

no where near as much hp or as piggy as a G35

good thing you got a hookup on tires though, that's nice

3/1/2010 5:21:26 PM

I am guessing he is talking about the tpms in the spare tire. 'think' they run around $75, then they have to be programed. Not sure if you can get it programmed just anywhere or if you have to take it to the dealer. For a spare tire, I am not sure I would even put a tpms in it, youre only gonna use it for short distances until you get the blown tire replaced so who cares if the tpms light is on at that time. Good deal on the car though, I am sure you will love it!

3/1/2010 6:37:18 PM