G35 coupe?
 

looking at a used 04, looks fun to drive. if anyone has info or exp with it that would be awesome thanks. the only thing holding me back on this would be the gas milage.. 16/23 its within my 15k price range tho. Any other car suggestions?

ive looked at 350z also but mpg is bad too. miata doesnt really look like something i would drive. thanks for any help.

Also, it takes prenium gas too. The G35 is a great car, but it's really in a different league than the FT86. It really comes down to wether or nit you want a new car, because the pricing will be similar between the two cars.

I was considering a G35 myself but you need to keep in mind maintenance and operation costs (not just purchase price). As mentioned, not only does it use premium gas but maintenance will be significantly higher than a brand new simplistic Toyota (as the G35 ages).

Without over generalizing too much, aging cars require replacement parts and according to my friend who used to drive a G35, infiniti decided to use a lot of different parts from nissan making genuine replacement parts relatively expensive.

Keep in mind its a 'luxury' car and maintenance associated with it is as such!

I also considered the G35 and 350Z. They are good little cars from what I've heard, but maintenance does get expensive and you have to think of the price that you're paying for an 8 year old car. $15,000 is a lot of money, and I can only assume that the car will have 70k-100k miles in that price range, and it won't have a warranty (not sure if that matters to you) - But when buying a car like that, you just don't know what kind of problems it might end up having as soon as you drive it home. I'm not sure what the lifespan is of the VQ35. I've heard guys say that it was developed to last 200k miles, but in some cases it does have a bad reputation and I honestly haven't seen many 350zs/G35s with over 110k miles.

Not trying to scare you away from your decision, but just a few things to consider.

My co worker have the VQ35hr in her car going 90k miles strong. She never once had engine problems.

I had a buddy with an 04' 350 that went through four manual transmissions. Not sure if that problem would carry over to the G or not. I know the parts and maintenence usually cost more compared to the Z.

My friend sold his 350z after a transmission failure and a engine failure at 80xxx miles

american car, early model but damn that put me off on getting a G35

not sure if its a isolated incident but I don't think so looking at some of these replies.

if you do get one go for a newer model and hope the fixed the tranny issues (I hope the engine failure was a isolated incident)

03-04 models have the older transmission with weak syncros which was fixed in later years as well as tire feathering issues. I believe 05-06 VQs had possible oil consumption issues if you flogged it. But you should visit g35driver.com to confirm.

I personally would not get a used one again. My '03 had about w/ 54k miles when I bought it for $15.7k and 70k miles when I sold it. Clutch was near gone when I first got it... had it replaced for around $1000 at a Nissan dealer though Infiniti quoted around $2000+.

Eventually my steering rack needed replacement, faulty airbag sensor light never got fixed after 3 dealer visits covered under recall, stock Brembos needed pad replacement and rotor resurface (they chomp hard but wear fast in such a heavy car, premium braking system costs A LOT to maintain). I sold mine to a dealership just in time before having to fork out all this cash on maintenance.

If you're not interested in waiting for the FT86, I'd suggest an Acura RSX Type S. I believe fuel economy would be a little better than the G or the Z. Sure its FWD but it'll hold its value well and the build quality is really great. Although I've heard bad things about gear grinding. The Honda S2000 might be a good choice too if you don't mind losing some of the practicality of the RSX or G35.

...or wait for the FT86 and then make up your mind!