You guys (and ladies) are among the most knowledgable and help ful of any forum I've ever visited, so I'm hoping you can help me. Considering the pros/cons of a pre-owned gs4 vs a new g35. Max budget is about $30k - what can I get for that and what will be the required mantenance/upkeep of the pre-owned gs4 that I would need to account for vs a new g35 - suppose I could consider a gs3, but the real comparison would be a gs4 (99 or 00?) vs the g35 - Love the gs, realize it's better interior than g35, but don't want to deny the potential that the 3-4 yr newer g35 may represent -

How 'bout all you who have gs's that have lived with them for 45k miles weighing in on the maintenance cost of 'life with a gs' and others of you who own gs's but have also some seat time in a new g35? Looking forward to hearing from you and thx in advance. This is a very informative and great forum - and you're all very fortunate to live with such a great machine in a world filled with mostly mediocre 'functional transportation.'

Jeff

 

I guarentee you that you will lose alot more money buying a new g35. Its all what you want really. The gs is the one...imo...drove a g35...i wasn't into the price...rather have a new cobra...i know i will catch the dung for that

 

I have a 03 Maxima SE with AT and the 3.5L V-6 for winter driving. I just purchased a low-mileage 99 GS400 for a great price. GS400 is much faster than my SE. The interior of GS uses real wood, higher quality leather, plastic, and I have Navigation system in the GS too. My previous Lexus was an used 93 LS400 and I didn't have a single problem with it except regular maintenaces at my Lexus dealer. The Lexus dealer charges $600 for major maintenance at 30,000, 60,000 and 90,000 Miles. I recommend a low mileage used GS400. Go test drive both and I believe you will agree.

 

Thx - something tells me your right long term, and I usually keep a car for 7+ yrs and well past 100k mi
What was the price/mileage on the 99 preowned gs4 you bought?

 

Jeff:

I think someone already mentioned it, but the used GS will always be worth more.

 

Jeff - I guess there is no tax or license in TN but getting a G35 out the door here in Cal would be tough at 30K. My wife was shopping the end of last year and a G35 sedan with tax and license out the door was about 35K (As I recall the G35 was just under 32 and tax and license made it just about 35). She bought a GS3 and got it out the door for just under 40K. I would think you have a better chance of getting a used GS4 at the 30K price that will not need much maintenance reserve if you get a good one (no damage history).

Good luck.

 

Welcome dude. I think we might have had a G35/GS 4 thread before. The G35 is a great handling car with great power. It has the Infintii dealer network, which is Lexus Like in execution. It is new if that means anything to you.

Having possibly the hardest driven GS on the board (100k miles now) and nay a problem, you can't go wrong with it. The GS is faster, more luxurious, more reliable, has more space and better ergonmics. One is a 28-38k car loaded (with OEM bodykit). One is a 39k-55k car. HUGE difference in quality and not just big things like power, but little things like seat controls, Optitrion gauges, dash padding etc.

Please understand, buying a basically 50k car when it was new, will have higher cost maintenance than a 30k car. Such is life. But rest assured, you probably will only need scheduled maintenance.

 

I test drove the G35 twice. I have to say, it drove real nice, felt basically almost as fast as the GS400. Handled and braked perfectly, good Manu-Matic system. In terms of exterior styling and interior, I guess you cant really criticize it too much but its pretty bland to say the least. You will not feel the same as when you own a GS4, you will just feel like another entry level luxo car and not a king of the road beast. Back when I drove it, I still had my very sharp looking 98 Maxima SE 5 Spd, Black on Black, every single factory option that was every available, as well as 2K1 Maxima 17" Wheels, HID, Intake, Clear front lenses and tails and I got back into my car and felt like it was much more attractive and didnt see a need to upgrade. Also, I know Nissan and Infinity resale value and next year the car will probably be worth half of its sticker price. While the Lexus will always be up there no matter how much time goes by.

I'd also like to say that my 99 GS 400 has given me more headache in one and a half month, than my 98 Maxima did in my one year of ownership. I never did anything to that car except change the oil and drove the hell out of it and it was consistent and reliable.

The thing that kills me most about this car is that its like some star player that likes to take nights off, while the Maxima was maybe the third best player on the team but played its heart out every night. First day I bought it, battery died on me, so I boosted it, thing ran at like 200RPM, then just stalled. Got a new battery, so then my lexus tech friend told me the ECU has to reset itself for about 200 miles, so the next day I drove it for half of the day, purposely ripping it up, and it gradually it got back to normal. So my reaction was WTF, this is was at some point a $55K auto? Then I had that annoying water gurgling noise that I was able to fix with the help of members here. That was an easy fix, as all it needed was a bit of coolant added to the tank. The I popped the right rear 245/45 tire which I never did on the Maxima after a year of driving on 225/45 but that can be attributed more to bad luck. Also, the car kind of shook a bit at high speeds, took care of that with some high speed balancing. Now only thing left is this annoying low idle which forces me to run my headlights all the time to even out the RPM. The most annoying thing by far however is the sometimes spotty performance. Sometimes I'm thinking about selling it, pocketing about $7000 and getting a 2K2 Maxima SE 6 speed fully loaded instead but then it comes down to exterior styling and the 2K2 Maxima is definitely nothing special in that department. This car just flat out gets attention and status and a Maxima, at the end of the day is just a Maxima, and so is the G35 but the one thing is they are built solid.

Sorry to drift away from the topic, but I think this should help.

 

I have a hard time buying a new Infiniti because of poor resale value (historic)...that would keep me from buying a *new* G35....I do think the car is great (especially the coupe) but would I take it over a used GS400, no...the GS400 is a higher end car and built like it...it is nice having a new car but the depreciation hit sucks. Just make sure you get a '99 and up...the '98s are plagued with lots of noise issues...

 

Thx all - my heart says preowned gs - just don't want any 'big surprises' in repair, maintenance, can't afford to go from say $30K purchase to 'instant $33-35K' due to big maint/repair issue.

What about 99 v 00 gs - better to have lower mile 99 or a 00 with say 10-15 more miles? Any signif diff in repair hist, recalls, known probs in 99 v 00?

If anyone knows of a sweet 99 or 00 within say 250 mi of nashville, let me know - Thanks again

 

You can't really tell what the car has been through on the gs. You do know that a brand new car has no unknown history. But I think a GS4 is a better car vs. a G35. Comfort, resale value, quality, hp, speed, SPACE, etc. The GS is a bigger car with more room. GS, imo

 

Been there done that.
I bought the G35 in Nov.2002 and after 30 minutes of ownership returned it to the dealer.
I can tell you of all the little annoying problems since I was reading the G35 forum.
I did my homework but the deal killer was a problem with the venting system that was supposedly fixed in the 2003.5 model which I had. Well, not true and I went back to the dealer for my money back.
Got me a new 2K3 GS300 Blue Marlin and I am SOOOOOOO HAPPY.
To me there is no comparison between these 2 cars. One is more sport oriented (G35) but the quality, finish and the silky smooth ride of the GS300 makes me forget everything else.
Now, since you are comparing the G35 to the all mighty and powerfull GS400, I will tell you again there is no comparison. Take the GS400 and **** on all Infiniti G35.
I sure did.
Did I said I am a very happy GS owner now???

 

you're all helping to confirm what i believe - that i'd be happier long-term with the gs v g35 - the 'new car thang' doesn't mean much to me - i look for reliable, nice blend of lux/sport, timeless design, and something i'll still love at 100k-150k+ miles

so, now on to the hunt for the right gs4(or 3 if optioned right) - budget? $25-32k, so prob 99 or 00 gs-4, or 01 gs-3, dep on the specific car - colors? prob silver, blue, white (last 2 cars black, so maybe something diff, and easier to clean, but you gotta always consider black - a classic if well maintained) - options? need xenon/hid's, would prefer nak (or ML course), not sure if nav is worth the $, and what the potent. probs might be at 100-200k mi, esp since climate controls are 'bundled' w/nav

know you gotta be patient, but sure would be nice to 'join the club' - btw, what's the 'initiation?' - (now, remember, take it easy on the gs-virgins! -lol*

 

Good luck Jeff,

I found myself always wanting a GS4 , despite the fact I could've bought plenty of other NEW cars for ~$30k. It took me a full year to find exactly what I wanted , and was comfortable with, but I have no regrets.
If you can locate a car that has all service records and has been pampered, it's likely to be a reliable car well into the 6 figure mileage area. I drove a friend's new 2003 Acura TL-S a couple months back, and I was still glad I bought the GS4, for many reasons. (I didn't tell him that, lol).

Mine hasn't needed a repair yet, (knock on burl walnut) and I get the feeling it won't for a while. I purchased the Warranty Gold Diamond warranty but I sometimes wonder if I should've just gambled. Ahh, it's peace of mind I guess, and that's worth a lot of $$$.

 

Thx Dan - saw your pics, nice ride! - what was mileage/price for your 98 at time you purchased, and how much was the warranty? Is Warranty Gold/Diamond best of the aftermarket warrantys? (never found one that was full of 'disclaimers') - bty, where r u in FL? I spent a few yrs in Orlando, in entertainment mgmt for Disney