Any (prev/current) G35c owners here?

Been thinking of jumping into a used ~2004 G35c, but a bit concerned about the reliability and quality issues...

yeah, I know the interior sucks, but looking from a subjective perspective, how's the car so far? any known/common problems?? suggestions? Wanted to get some different perspective on the car than from the G35 forums...

 

it's meh.

 

I had a 04 G35c and now have an 05 G35c. I never had a problem with my 04. The sunroof made a rattle at one point but the dealer fixed it no problem. Infiniti in general is very reliable minus the QX56. Its a great car, you wont go wrong getting one. The interior in the 04s isnt as great as the 05-06 interiors, but it's still nice.

 

^^ What changed in the interior from 03-04 to 05-06? and why did you trade from 04 to 05? power?

I've contacted two infiniti dealers... is it just me or they sound arrogant?? I already feel pressured by them already... I thought Infiniti dealership were #1 in service??? Maybe it isn't true anymore

 

Wait till the new G37 is shown at the autoshow next month... It'll be released this September (or so) as a 2007 model. The old G35's will probably see a drop in value as some of the G35 owners upgrade to the G37

 

ahh... good point

No wonder one of the salesman kept bsing things like "you should try to get it by the end o fthe month to get special finance rates, and also your trade in will depreciate in value, blah blah blah....", I thought it was just a standard thing, but this particular case sounded a bit unusually nagging, and trying to talk me into a new one....

any ideas what's a good price for a G35c with ~30k miles or less?

 

I had an '04 G35c, sold it when we moved and bought a G35 sedan. What reliabilty concerns do you have? As far as I know it's always been a very reliable car. The only problem I ever had was my drivers seat squeaked when it was all the way back, they replaced the harness under warranty. I drove it from 0-45k miles and other than that and oil changes it was good to go. I've driven the sedan from 29k km to 109k km with no issues.

Criticisms? Kind of tough to get into the back seat and people sometimes bumped their heads on the roof when they sat in the back. The manual transmission was a little notchy sometimes (mostly 2nd to 3rd), it never made a grinding noise or anything, just not as slick as a Honda/Acura. MPG was only so-so (usually like 15 city/22 highway)

Praises? Damn sexy, good power, awesome exhaust note, comfortable up front, inexpensive for what you get, very reliable... I'm biased since I've owned two but for the money I don't think there is much else out there I would buy.

Oh, re the '07's - odds are the '07 update will be the sedan, and the coupe won't be replaced till '08.

 

I had a G35c... Fawk, I miss that car.


Great car for the money. If you could wait until the 37, do it! Otherwise, the 35 is a great car. You won't be disappointed.

 

Good to know

Hopefully we'll have a better idea when they show off the production model next month at the autoshow...

 

I thought for #1 in service would be LEXUS, isn't it? correct me if I'm wrong

 

Well, Infiniti was #1 back in ~2000, so that might might explain why... I guess I"m a little outdated on that one, but I did have much better service at the Lexus dealership (heck, I even had better service at the Toyota dealership, when compared to my Acura dealer)

anyway, so sounds like coupe won't be really updated until 2008, I guess that makes sense since they're introducing the GTR late next year....

JackieO: I was just a little skeptical about Nissan/Infiniti reliability... I know they have improved a lot and came a long way, but the fact that they went in such pace in the past few years makes me wonder if they skimp out on the reliability/quality part, but from what you've experienced, sounds like it's not really of a concern. I guess gas mileage is more of a concern. Also, I heard that the tires wear out very quick in the rear (~17k miles), is that true?

Sounds like the G35c might be a good buy (considering the used prices I've seen), but I just have trouble looking at that orange guage Feels like I'm looking at a orange monitor from the 80's Would be nice if they had these guages:





Having trouble deciding if I should trade for a used one, or wait a couple of years for the next batch of Acura's...

 

Nope, Lexus is #1 in customer service.
Infiniti is pretty bad actually. Not Acura bad, but still not great.

 

Dealers - ya. One of them here is terrible and the one I now go to is *awesome*. Kind of a crap shoot - I've always said Infiniti needs to have seperate dealerships from Nissan. I think they're going that route.

The coupe was originally introduced in '04, one year after the sedan, that's why people are speculating that it won't be replaced until '08. The new sedan will definitely be here in '07.

RE: reliability - Infiniti reliabilty has been very good in the last 5 years except for one of their models (the QX) which happens to be the only model manufactured in the U.S. All their other models have been very strong in 1 and 5 year reliabilty, the G and M being the best in the lineup. Over at g35driver.com you do here some folks mentioning tranny's grinding, but it's usually at low mileage, so they replace it early and you're good to go - those instances seem pretty rare though. My rear tires lasted till 29k and I got them replaced, one thing worth noting on the wear thing is the brembos - if you get brembo brakes be aware that they do tend to wear quickly. They are designed as "high performance brakes" so it's kind of a given, but it's good to know ahead of time. Mine were replaced at the 35k checkup and it was an $800 bill (so kind of a lot for brakes). Some folks have mentioned having them replaces as early as 15k, so if the car has 30k make sure they've been replaced already or you might be doing it in a couple k. There are some TSB's (replace fuel hose, etc...) but like Acura's/Lexus's it's all preventative stuff. You can find out if the car has had the TSB's performed by calling Infiniti and giving them the VIN or taking it to a dealer.

Otherwise like I said as far as I know and in my experience they're very reliable cars.

And ya, the orange gauges aren't great. I don't mind them personally (I turn them down really low), but what can you do... it's a 3 year old model so it does have some flaws. I guess the trade-off is the performance, look, and drive you get for the money. Really when you think about it for the price you can get an '04 w/ ~30k miles (premium, aero, 18's, for 30k) they're a great buy.

 

Actually, the 90's Nissans were more reliable than the current batch.
Not to say that the current ones aren't reliable, but with flurry of new products quality does slip a little.

Unless Acura comes out with a pure RWD platform, there's not much to look forward to if you've already done the FWD thing.

 

Just keep in mind guys that Nissan and Infiniti cars are made at different plants in different countries. Nissan's reliabilty in the last 5 years has not been good (at or below industry average), but Infiniti's has consistently been in the top 5.

It's actually kind of funny - the 350z is the only Nissan produced in Japan and has had good reliabilty, and the QX is the only Infiniti produced in the U.S and it's been terrible.

 

Thanks, that's very informative

Since you mentioned it, I think the Brembo's only come on the 6MT's (optional?), correct? I guess it's not a concern if I'm planning to get a 5AT? I would love a 6MT with Brembo's, but I drive a lot in nyc...so I guess it's a no-go for me...

now I just need to find myself a good dealer in NY/NJ...

 

I have to agree on that one.... but now that I think about it, Acura actually hasn't been that bad for me. At least everytime I take my car in to complain about small things like rattle and whatnot, regardless of if they can fix it or not, at least they were willing to look into it, and so far haven't failed to provide me with a loaner (even though I didn't buy the car from them).

 

The G37 wont come out until the 08 model for coupes

 

Nissan reliability and infiniti reliablity are in different leagues. There is a clear difference between the two

 

Basically, the quality of materials was vastly improved and the dash layout, gauge cluster, and other little things were changed slightly. All for the better. I traded from an 04 to an 05 for the power and improved interior.

03-04 interior


05-06 interior

 

That's right - so you won't have to worry about the brembos. If you're going to get one with around 30k I'd just make sure it's had all the TSB's performed (via the VIN), make sure it's had regular oil, and see if you can get new tires (if they aren't already). Pretty much standard used car buying stuff.

Good luck!

 

@ GTR _____________^^

 

I really wanted the G35c over the TSX for a long time, but I don't know how much more my insurance would be for a 26 yr old almost 27 yr old single man.

I'm just going to wait for the next gen G35c or G35 sedan coming out, hopefully I can have saved more money by then and my insurance rates would go down if I got married too. Actually wouldn't it be called G37c and G37 sedan actually?

 

When I checked, it was less than $50 increase for me, and I'm right at about the 25 yr old border...

 

The gauge and the dash does look a lot more up-to-date on the 05-06, you're right... How much of a difference was the power, in terms of real world driving? I remember it was like a ~20hp increase (280 to 298)...

I love the seats in the Infiniti's, plush yet very supportive...

 

I have a close friend who works for Johnson Controls (makers of the interiors to most Infiniti and Nissan cars) ... they use the cheapest things you could imagine. At the plant she works at ... no one has an Infiniti, let alone a Nissan car.

Now ... they've got something going with the M-series interior. If it trickles down to the G-series, then things will be definitely moving in the right direction. Personally, I think the GS has an overall nicer interior fit & finish than the M but it's all relative. (I do like the speakers built into the M front seats ... those are awesome).

As for G37 ... Infiniti recently patented the name. Normally the car manufacturers only do this just prior to releasing a model. Infiniti is as secretive about their plans as Honda is ... so don't be surprised if the NY Auto show debuts a G37 sedan AND coupe. But conventional wisdom says ... Infiniti has a 4-year model cycle so the coupe won't 'officially' be out until 2008 but something called a GT-R is coming out that year too.

I'm purely speculating here but why would Infiniti want to release 2 sports coupes in the same year? (I'm just saying that because I want to buy the new G37c this fall / winter. )

 

So your friend works in japan then? All infiniti's interior and exterior are made in japan except for the QX56. Most nissans are made in the US. I agree nissan interiors are pretty bad, but not infiniti's.

 

Actually, she lives in Michigan ... a lot of stuff is made here and shipped BACK to Japan. Weird, I know ... but it's true. The critical parts of the car, (engine, tranny, etc), I believe, are still made in Japan. But the seats and trim pieces ... Johnson Controls makes A LOT.

Of course, all the cars assembled here have stuff from Johnson Controls, as well. Check out their stock ticker ... JCI ... should have jumped on board when she told me to buy.

 

So that's the price they gave me, '04 5AT with premium package (judging by the moonroof, power (only) driver's side seat, and Bose... the salesman told me it has winter package since it has heated seats, which I assume is incorrect... (?) It also has splash guards and the spoiler (sports package, maybe??)

The car has ~25k on it, and is a off-lease car, in pretty good shape except the rubber strip along the lower part of the door was kinda beaten up... I also noticed the engine to be a bit noisy under acceleration, is this normal? This is the second time I've been in a G35c, so I'm not sure if that's normal.

This particular dealership pretty much just sell at the advertised price, which the saleman claimed that that's the cost of their car, and they only make money from the trade-ins, finance, and mainly to attract customers to come in and get into their new cars... He even went and show me their purchase price in their system, and all that stuff (heck he even showed me his comission chart). Is this for real? or just some new trick they're playing on me?

They're only offering me $19,500 for my '04 TSX, which was straight out of the little book they have (the one that most dealers go by)....

 

The spoiler is the aero package, basically it's a spoiler and underbody diffusuers (better drag coefficient), it isn't to be confused with the aero kit, which are a front and rear underspoiler and side sills (it's a dealer installed option). As far as I know heated seats are standard, never heard of a winter package.

RE: the engine noise - it's hard to say, noisey is relative. The VQ isn't a quiet engine and the G35 has a pretty potent exhaust note (on purpose), but it should still sound smooth as the rpm's rise. I'd open the hood to see if maybe the previous owner installed a z-tube, it's like the most common first mod and a dealership might not even notice it if it's there. A z-tube is just an intake from a 350z, it's the same as the g35's but minus a noise baffle. You can tell if it's the z-tube if it's just a tube, if it's the g35's tube it'll have a big ol baffle hanging off it (looks like a paddle), there are pics online. Maybe take out another one to see if the engine noise in the one you're considering is normal?

As for the price it looks really good for an '04 with 25k. I don't know about the whole "we sell at cost" bit, sounds like a line to me but the price *is* decent, so even if they won't move it isn't like you're getting ripped.

Oh, have them replace that rubber strip, it's the least they can do.

 

an 04 with 25k and no navi? that price is way too high.

 

Am I missing something? I just checked autotrader and the lowest price in the country for an '04 with under 30k is $26,550, so 27k seems good?

 

22,995 is the lowest price; 23k miles:
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/search...&isp=y&lang=en


he's also getting screwed on the trade. you can't look at that as two transactions; it's one. it means he's way overpaying for the g35. i'd sell the car privately.

 

$22,995 is for sedans. You need to search for coupes - the coupe has always been 3-4k more. The lowest coupe in the country with under 30k is 24k, but it's a private seller and it's the only one below 26k (all the rest are between 26,5-29k).

You're right on the trade, though. I guess you have to figure out how much tax you save if you trade it in against the G35 versus how much more you would make selling it privately. You're probably right about getting more selling it privately.

Cheers.

 

If you sell privately, you still can get the tax savings (just like a trade in) in most states... In MA all you need to do is fill out a form and buy another car within a certian time period (30 days IIRC).

The tax collectors don't usually advertize this as it's cuts into their profits

Oh, and if you sell your car sometime during the year, you're probably eligible for a tax abatement on the excise tax you paid (prorated, so if you sell your car 6 months into the tax year, they'll give you 1/2 of what you paid)...

 

$26.9K for an '04 G35C is a good price, hell most '03 coupes sell for that much with higher mileage.

 

i probably wasn't as clear as i should have been. considering the raping he's getting on the trade, he should be getting a much better deal on the G.

 

Ahh, IC.

 

___________________________
Unless he wanna go through the hassle selling the car privately.. otherwise it is expected to get RAPED when he trades in his car......

It s like they either give u a VERY GOOD price for the trade in and a very high price on the G35C

OR

A very fucked up price for the trade in and a very low price for the G35c

Doesnt make any difference technically but a lot of ppl dont realize that....

 

do you have any more information on this? NY doesn't have any excise tax, but I wonder if the tax savings still applies in NY if I sell the car privately. The only reason why I was considering trading in was because at $19,500, it's probably about ~$2000 lower than if I would've sold it privately (with a lot more hassle), but the tax savings would've pretty much offset that amount.

The tax difference would've been (assuming no tax savings on private sales and $21,500 for private sales of my trade in):

private sales:
$26,988 * 8.25% = $2200 in tax
Total = $26,988 - $21,500 + $2200 = $7688 out of pocket for the trade.

vs trade in:

$26,988 - $19,500 = $7,488 * 8.25% = $618 in tax
Total = $7,488 + $618 = $8106 out of pocket for the trade.

Both cases neglecting the finance charges (probably do it through credit union).

If I can sell it privately AND get the tax savings:
$26,988 - $21,500 = $5488 * 8.25% = $452
Total = $5940 out of pocket for the trade... (that would be ideal)


It seems like they wouldn't budge on the selling price of $26,988, whether I have a trade or not, and they dont' seem to care if I finance through them either, since that's the asking price of the car that they advertised on the internet. This is a Nissan dealership, btw.