Mid 2000s used car
 

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice on getting a used car for from the list below. I'm pretty much set to the following, and I'm looking for some feedback on reliability/maintenance cost with good power/speed. I've been looking at...

Mid 2000s

Sedans
Acura TL
Infiniti G35/G35X
BMW 5 Series
Audi A4 2.0T

OR

Coupes
RX-8
Mustang GT Coupe or Convertible
BMW 3 Series

I'm not loyal to a specific manufacturer so that's why my list is fairly general. The next week or so I'll be checking out private sellers and local dealers for these cars so if If I can get any feedback that would be much appreciated. Some of these cars might be higher mileage vehicles but I'm ok with that as long as the vehicle has the right combination of reliability and power. Right now I don't plan on doing any modding, perhaps in the future. My budget is under 10K preferably. Thanks.

RSX S, EP3 Civic, 350Z.

TL's with a manual are fairly bulletproof. decent luxury with some sportiness. i would tell you to get a type-s but they are not within your budget.

g35s and 350zs are fairly bulletproof as well

i would stay away from rx8 (no power, burns oil), as well as any 5 series (especially the 535i).

TL vs g35: TL has nicer interior but G35 has a better sounding engine and power. I think they both look good but G35 is more aggressive

Stay away from the RX-8 unless you are fairly dedicated to rotaries and are certain you know how to properly drive and maintain a rotary. This is I'd say more important than the significant increase in fuel and oil costs you'll experience from RX-8 ownership, comparatively speaking.

TLs are great cars, especially with a stick. G35/350Z are great as well. Stay away from any mid-2000s German luxury vehicles unless you're ready to pay for costly potential repairs down the road if shit does hit the fan. the Lexus GS is another great option.

Accord V6 Coupe with the 6spd might be good fun as well? Super reliable and rather quick. Can be found for quite cheap these days too

Bro you should totally get a mustang bro


But in all seriousness from your list I'd choose the TL or G35

Akinsri brought up Lexus GS which is a pretty good suggestion imo Lexus ES maybe as well?

Honda Accord ?

Chev Malibu?

Camaro? Production stopped in '02 though so it won't be mid 2000s.

avatar girl looooooks so hot :ahwow:

"Ballin' on a budget Surrey Jack starter kit" list of cars. Maybe go full Surrey jack with a 300C or Charger R/T. Ex police woop woop

E90/92 328i are coming down in price, decent power. Pretty comparable to a TL despite having lower power figures. Considerably more reliable than a 335 of the same era.

If you're checking out G35 you might as well check out the 350Z. Somehow the interior styling has held up better over time on the Z versus the G in my opinion.

3rd gen TL-S is my fav for a road car.

RX-8 has all the power you need on a track. It's just a shitty straightline car.767

If you are considering A4, why not gti? Mid 2000 gtis can be had for 10k and under I'm sure. Probably one of the best reviewed hot hatches in the world.

I fairly recently bought a G35, I was trying to narrow it down between a Lexus GS, G35, and 3G TL. I liked all of the cars, the G35 wasn't my first choice though. There were not many GS's for sale when I was looking and the ones that were on the market were ones not worth buying (very high mileage, rebuilds, or neglected while still commanding high prices.) A nice GS400 for a reasonable price showed up but sold within 2 days. I really liked the 3G TL but I couldn't get past the transmission problems with the automatics.

I was working for an Infiniti dealer at the time and between talking to the techs and some of the customers I got the impression that the G35 was quite reliable. Although terrible on gas and some burnt oil pretty badly, the pre-facelift (03-04) cars had a few common problems as well. I was going to wait for one to be traded in to potentially buy until a friend of mine offered me his 2003 auto sedan at what it was appraised at for trade-in value when he was buying a new car. I was holding out for a 6 speed sedan but they are hard to come by, especially in decent shape so I went ahead and bought my friends car. I knew it was in decent shape, It already had inevitable the bose head unit and climate control board issue dealt with, didn't burn oil and was well maintained. I liked the color, Emerald Mist, which only came on the 03.

After the roughly 8,000 km I have put on it I have enjoyed it so far, aside from the gas mileage :lol For a big heavy car it doesn't corner all that badly after putting summers on it. Parts are abundant and fairly cheap, it is DIY friendly as far as working on it yourself and G35driver.com is a good forum for advice and has lots of good info on it. I wish it was an 05+ car. It's not perfect but this one was the right car, at the right time, for the right price and I'm happy I went through with it even if it wasn't my first choice.

If you're considering one there are some nice looking ones for what you're looking to spend.

2005 Infiniti G35 Sedan 6MT Midnight blue 2005 INFINITI G35 SEDAN FOR SALE
2005 Infiniti g35 coupe

I strongly suggest this.
2004.5 Jetta GLI - Stage 2

I purchased a G35x sedan in March 2014 and have loved it ever since. If you're wanting great fuel economy, this is not the car for you though. Mines a 5at(wife can't drive manual) which I think is part of the problem. The gearing in 5th gear sucks...its barely an overdrive gear. I think the 6spd manuals are better on gas simply because of this.

If you're looking at slamming the car I would stay away from the G35x. There's only a couple options for coilovers(like 3) and you have to make sure your front end isn't more than 26.5"(approximately) from ground to top of fender or else you'll start tearing up front boots. There's only one swaybar option made by hotchkis and those are getting harder and harder to find. Replacement parts in the suspension aren't as easy to come by as the RWD models either.

The AWD grip in the wet from a start is really great though.

I would suggest looking at the 2005/2006 G35s, they're a bit more but they revised issues with the compression rod bushing wearing out and these have larger front and rear disc brakes and the fronts get a caliper upgrade to 2 pistons. (the G35x didn't get the upgrade until 2006 though).

The best part of this car is that it shares lots of parts with the G35 coupe and 350z, so things like springs/swaybars/coilovers/exhaust/intakes/etc... that fit the 350z will fit the G(opens up options on the used market too).

One thing that really bothers me about "newer" cars is the laggy throttle response from poorly calibrated drive by wire. The G35 is fantastic. Doesn't feel laggy or like it's trying to figure out how 'safe' it is to apply throttle before actually doing it. Power delivery is great and I never feel that the car is too heavy or underpowered for overtaking maneuvers. Ride quality is really good too. I'm not sure what its like on a rwd sedan as the G35x has a more compliant suspension and is set about an inch taller than a rwd sedan. But this also gives me more body roll than I'd like. The only rwd sedans I've driven have been 2nd Gen Sport models, so obviously those felt much better than my x. not sure about a 1st gen non-sport though..but I'm sure its still very good.

Prior to my Porsche, I've owned

04 RSX Coupe
04 Maxima SE Sedan
04 FX45
05 Accord EXL Sedan
05 G35 Sedan
06 Acura TL Sedan


I was heavily considering an A4, 3/5 series when purchasing my next vehicle. Like someone said above, do not get anything 2008 and under for European vehicles. You may get a depreciated vehicle at 10k but the maintenance will still be of a 60-80k vehicle.

All the vehicles listed above were great. Low maintenance and I've never had to do anything major on any of the vehicles. Just basic maintenance for wear and tear items. The cost of ownership is extremely low. Parts are a dime a dozen and I am not mechanically inclined but was able to do some basic things such as oil changes/bulbs/intake, ect.

If I could do it all over again I would of gotten manual in the accord and TL. The v6 automatic transmissions had issues. Nothing big enough to fix but there were some lag coming into gears.

As others have said the TL or Accord in 6speed V6 is essentially bulletproof. The G35 sedan felt faster and sounded ALOT better but the interior was meh. The G35 has a very nice stiff feeling steering wheel and you have to put more effort into the vehicle and that was fun for me. The Accord/TL felt lighter and more nimble. The looks of the 3G TL win it for me. if you can get one with aero kit that would be awesome!

(oh forgot to mention, I had an FX45 as well. It was the longest vehicle I've owned 5+ years and it was my favorite of the bunch!.. you can get an FX35 a bit better on gas for around 10k these days!)

Goodluck!

If you are seriously still in the phase where you are cross shopping a TL and an RX8 or Mustang Convertible, you don't need any advice on models, you need to sit down and decide what is actually important first - drivetrain, cargo capacity, seating, doors for access, etc.

Come in with "Here are 3 sedans I am torn between" and you may get useful feedback... with a list like that above you are just going to get the car that everybody has owned.

Mark

This.

There's too many "good" cars out there that does well what they're respectively made to do.

Narrow down your priorities/desire, then focus on a type of vehicle, then go from there.

after reading your post this came to mind :lol
http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uplo...er-inline4.jpg

TL!

or 8 gen civic Si

:pokerface:

^ listen to the BMW salesman :P

tsx 6spd navi

I've driven all those cars and would choose a
TL (manual only, honda autos still prone to failure, minor torque steer)
G35 ("feels" heavy even though similar CW to TL, bad on gas but fast, nissan reliability is questionable)
3 series (pricey if serviced at dealer (never do that lol) get a non-turbo as the first E90 turbos were terribly unreliable)

well i did just bring in a TSX...... :ilied:

I got a 2006 325xi last year and I've been happy with it.

I mainly got it because it was a one-owner, no accidents, all service records, low km, low price private deal from a retiree with a new 2 series convertible on the way, so it was a steal, IMO.

Looking online, they're still going for more than I paid over a year ago with at least 20k km more.

I'm a bit worried how much it'll cost me driving 35,000 km/year, though. Just passed 130,000 km ... So far, so good at least.

how about a civic hatch? :troll:

The TLs definitely feel quite light on their feet, seems to be a Honda thing for their cars to drive well, but feel insignificant.

The 2007+ TL autos come from the RL, and aren't prone to failure.
The manuals have issues with 3rd gear grind/pop out with high mileage, but come with an LSD and brembos.