Sister got a new car and I'm curious (attn: G35 owners)
 

My parents just bought her a 2004 Infiniti G35 coupe (3.5L V6, 282/269) with ~50k miles on it for $13000 USD.

I'm aware that the '04 models have stronger and more responsive brakes than the '05 models (only referring to the '03-'05 coupe generation), but the '04's brakes wear much faster. The dealer is willing to put new pads and machine the rotors for free, so I'm assuming that's a good thing. It also has a brand-new set of tires.

As a concerned (and somewhat envious) older sibling, I'm interested to hear from owners or afficionados on what other problem areas this car has that she should look to prevent since she's only 17 years old, after all... can't really afford a transmission rebuild.

What worries me is the gas -- I hear it only gets ~20mpg combined and recommends the use of premium fuel, which means a full 20 gallon tank will cost upwards of $70 to fill.

Anyway, thanks for the input! [thumbup]

Your parent's bought your sister an Infinity G35!? Sorry this is another world I'm not even a part of.

Then shut the hell up and stay out of the thread.

Anyway moving on...wait what?! Your parent's bought your sister a $13,000 car!? Sorry, this is another world I'm not even a part of.

This is what I figured might happen... http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/sad1.gif

Besides, it wasn't just my parents, more like my entire family. Grandparents, parents, and my dad's old '96 Impala SS contributed to the lot. My first car was bought for me outright at $12500 and my sister deserves the same... this is middle-class America... if you think this is bad, you should see my neighbors who bought their kids $30000 Chevy Silverados.

Anyway, as it turns out, it does need a brake job as the brakes are already squealing.

Brake wear and tire wear are the main issues. Mechanically I've never had any issues with my 2003. It's not the greatest car to drive in the winter and the coupe is worse than the sedan (which I have).

I've read a bit about oil consumption on these cars but mine is not affected.

I always put premium in mine (91 octane). I get about 23mpg on the highway.

I don't have any input, but I can say that the G35 coupe is one of the best looking cars on the road.

Depends on the color, black should be mandatory on it.

Premium fuel is recommended, not required (its all about the exact words). It can give you a better mileage, but you would have to test what gives you the best value.

Gas can be better or worse, depending on the additives (primarily) and the source, so not all gas is created equal.

Mobil, for instance, is one of the worse gas brands, down there with the no-name ones. Shell and Chevron are considered to be the best, followed closely by BP. Also, if it's possible to get it where you live (not all states allow it), try to find gas that doesn't use ethanol, as you get both higher horsepower and better gas mileage in the absence of ethanol.

For me, BP ultimate (which is 93, as opposed to 91, and has no ethanol) works MUCH better than Mobil. I use the GasCubby app for my iPhone to track my car's use and maintenance, and switching from Mobile to BP gave me extra 2MPG on average (over the past 3 months)... and it's statistically significant.

Not only that, but I can certainly feel the difference in acceleration between the worse gas and the better gas (had to fuel up on the highway once, when I was very low, and didn't have a choice... but I felt the difference... so I drove on it until I was empty again, and put BP back).

Just like with conventional vs. synthetic oil... sometimes you get what you pay for.

P.S. Somehow the 6-cyl higher-performance cars seem to be performing under spec, in my experience. My dad's TL gets something like 13/22, which is significantly under its 16/26 spec. On the other hand, my TSX gets 15-30... which is under spec for city (NYC traffic sucks), but over spec for the highway.

V6 + 17 year old girl = http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/wacko1.gif

I disagree. I think both red and white look good on it as well.

This one is gray metallic with a black interior.

I was wrong about the brakes, they don't make any noise at all, but the car makes a vibrating/rumbling noise when slowing down whether the brakes are active or not (using the brakes only amplifies the noise).

Uneven rotor wear perhaps?

Rotors shouldn't make noise, no matter how screwed they are, unless the brakes are engaged, because unless the calipers push the pads to them, they're not coupled to the chassis.

Normally a vibration and rumbling noise while braking would indicate uneven rotor wear, and/or rotor warping... but if the same symptoms are present when the brakes are not engaged, then it's more likely to be a suspension problem.

Performance brakes generally have to be worn in after installation, to deposit an even coating of the brake material onto the rotor. If you raise their temperature immediately after installation (of either the pads or the rotor), and clamp the brake at a stop, you can deposit a larger amount of pad material, which can then lead to uneven wear.

I've heard people recommend that a good bed-in procedure is a series of of 60-10mph braking maneuvers, without coming to a stop, and about a minute of driving time in between. I've had uneven wear issues on the set I bought my car with, and after bedding in replacements using the process above 10 times, the braking seems to have smoothed significantly.

Pricewise it's nothing outrageous at all. Myself, my sister and my cousins all got new cars that cost around £10,000 (I've included inflation as mine was 12 years ago) as our first cars and my parents are not rich. The big difference lies in the type of car! I got a 1.2 Vauxxhall Corsa and my sister a 1.2 Renault Clio. Giving a 17 year old a 3.5 litre V6 that does 20mpg as their first car would get you ridiculed right out of town in most parts of the UK. I'm guessing this is more normal stateside though?

Oh I agree with you on the practicality, it's not the best by any means. But hey, it's what she wanted and we got an excellent deal on it.

****! We were shocked when one of our class mates got a Clio, that was in 93. That was it I knew one person who's family bought them a car. My family and most of the kids I know were distinctly middle class but it was usually considered ridiculous to buy your kids a car period. My sister for instance had to buy some £400 clunker and insure it herself. People drove their parent's cars when they could. In Uni I knew two people who had a car a one of them also lived in it. Again we are talking about old Metros and Novas. Call me old fashioned but it seems bizarre to treat a kid to car they probably aren't going to be able to afford themselves for a good 10 years. It's also about frugality as well I guess maybe that's more respected in some parts of the UK than others. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo.../confused1.gif

Oh yeah sorry for expressing my shock in a PUBLIC forum. When you are a mod then you can't start telling me what I can and can't say around here. Until then how is retroactively posting something telling me to shut the hell up contributing either?

I think supporting your Kid's completely during adulthood is wrong (i.e they don't work) but big purchases if you have the money is OK as they are good investments, particularly a house, as well as saving on vast amounts of mortgage/other interest payments. My flatmate has been bought a £500,000 flat in London by his parents (yes half a million pounds) and a brand new £30000 car. Good for him though, he works 12 hours a day on his own business and works hard for the rest of his money. If I have money I'll do the same for my kids.

I just want to see the faces of the guys when she pulls up in it, those must be priceless.

Humour goes over someones head swoooooshhhhttp://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/laugh1.gif

Your parents had 13k lying around to buy somoene a car? You must of had a good childhood.http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...es/tongue1.gif