G35 Coupe Opinions

[MaliciousBraham]

My sis kinda jumped the gun and picked up one of these last night.

She's the easily influenced type and I dont know enough specifics on this car to see how good a deal she got or what exactly to look for as far as problems go on this car.

It is an '03 G35 coupe, white, all options except Nav and Rear Spoiler. 13k miles. Immaculate condition, one owner, purchased through a very reputable dealer, although not an Infinity one.

I am not sure exactly what she paid (she was a little excited on the phone) but I believe it's in the $27k range. On the surface it seems like a pretty decent price, but I dont know much about the G35.

anyone have any links to owner's forums, etc? Common problems or things to look for?

[gtoast]

a friend of mine has one. i'll see if she has some info

[AZ Scott]

Same platform as the 350Z. Everything I've heard indicates it's a great car. Price seems about right...

Here's a good forum that can probably answer your questions:

Fresh Alloy message board

[MaliciousBraham]

Originally Posted by AZ Scott

Same platform as the 350Z. Everything I've heard indicates it's a great car. Price seems about right...

Here's a good forum that can probably answer your questions:

Fresh Alloy message board

Thanks Scott! That will definitely get me some more info.

She brought the car up today at lunch and I gotta say, I'm proud of my sister. The car had 3M clear protectors on all the critical areas, looks like since the car was bought new... The original owner was well-to-do, owned several cars, and apparently just drove this one till the tires wore off and traded it in on a different car instead of buying new tires. It was well taken care of though.

She talked the dealer into including a new set of Pilot Sport Tires in with the price, so looks like she is set for a while. A few people I talked with at work dont like the Pilot Sports (flex alot and dont last long), but she will never be able to tell the difference as she isnt a performance driver by any stretch. The original Pilot Sports on the car were just about gone, though...

I kinda feel bad for the car, as youre really paying for the performance of the car, but she's not going to be driving it that way. I didnt much care for the interior compared to my 330Ci, but she seems to love it.

I think she got a good deal.

[HanZcap]

The G35 and the 350z share the same engine,drive train, and some other odds and ends. That being said most everything else is different. The G is seven inches longer and down on hp and torque to the Z. I owned two at one time but am now down to one. The Z is ok, what it lacks in interior refinement it makes up in driving refinement. Some things to watch for are bad window motors, alternators, the rubber around the front windshield will crack and deteriorate. The leather seats wear ok but need to be treated constantly or else the wear quickly. The 6 speed transmissions are junk, I'd say one in 10 owners has had it replaced once and 1 in 20 have had it replaced twice. I know Z owners who have had their transmission replaced 3 times or more. I would assume that the same rings true for G owners but I don't frequent G forums as much as I do Z forums. Overall its a good car for the money but I will be selling/ trading mine in the spring for a new SUV. I wouldn't buy another one until they work out more of the kinks...

[MikeVG]

Just got an 03 G35 Coupe 5AT and love it, do i wish i had gotten the 6MT, sure but then again i am not doing the clutch thing in traffic.


Hope your sis enjoys her car, you can check out G35driver.com for all the info and ideas you or she can handle.

PS i picked mine up for 28k, but it only had 14.7k miles on it, came w XM already installed, a car cover, and new rims and tires. And the owner gave me the stock rims also. So it looks like your sis got a great deal!!!

[MaliciousBraham]

My sis has the 5 Auto tranny. I have driven the car a couple of times... gotta say, absolutely do not like the steering.

Its got too much go-kart feel for the lux-sport car its marketed as. In hers it seemed like you never turn the steering wheel past a half-turn in either direction, and thats when making a u-turn I may be exaggerating a bit about that, but it sure seemed that way. Suspension was very unrefined (for a sport-lux car, if it was a barebones sports car it would be fine).

But take my comments from the base that I drive a 330Ci every day. If I were driving the G every day I could get more used to it and probably would make different comments. But based off a couple relatively short drives in her G, it was very, very easy to go back to the BMW.

My 330Ci is a 5 sp man. I've personally never owned a car with an auto trans, and never ever will have one as a daily driver

Every car my sis has owned has had the same steering though, so I'm sure she loves it, she got a great price on it, and I'm happy to see she got a car she loves. It may just be the hidden mechanic in me talking, but I love seeing people who love their cars.