Purchase assistance por favor

[Sentientbydesign]

Hello all.

After much worrying and deliberation, I finally got good financing and am going to buy a used 6MT coupe.

I need as much info as possible regarding what to look for, be careful of...etc. I read that there were some issues with the 03s regarding the transmission and just being an "intro" year.

Can anybody shed any additional light on the subject?

Are there any specific items to look at for wear?

Also, I was hoping to get the VLSD. What versions did it come on? And how do I tell before buying if the dealer doesn't know?

I really appreciate any and all help.

[W661335PF]

You may get 10-15 responses here, but your best bet may be reading Consumer Reports, Edmunds.com and JD Powers. They'll reflect what is pretty well known here but with a much larger market and statistics--- on the G sedan brakes are a nightmare and last <15K for many folks, the audio system is of poor quality and has a tendency to break down, and there has been an emerging history of burning oil, loosing oil or basic oil problems for some of the G's. I would check the TSB's on some of the G forums to get a better feel for real world problems.

The G gets extremely high marks every where else but much lower than average on the audio and brake system. It's a fantastic and fun ride-- very smooth, powerful, sexy ride.

Regarding the VLSD-- I had no idea the car came with virtual LSD, where's it hidden? Actually, the VLSD comes standard on the G's.

Good Luck and congrats on your new toy

Modified by W661335PF at 2:50 PM 12/18/2007
Modified by W661335PF at 2:52 PM 12/18/2007

[gwoods]

In my exprience a car that looks good is usually in good mechanical shape as well. I would steer clear of any car with any modifications even just a cold air kit. If its been modified chances are someone like me has been driving it and even at just 60,000 miles it is probably used up!

I think he meant VDC, to my knowledge some kind of stability control came on all the G's

[SVTCOBRA]

I would get a subscription to carfax while you're looking.

Check for mods, check for scratches around areas where you do mods, check bolts to see if they have been turned. I'm with Jeff on staying away from cars that have been mod. Check the transmission to make sure it shifts quickly and smoothly thru all gears at high RPMS. (Of course, let the RPMS come back down before letting out the clutch.) Just checking the synchros - grinding noises are bad.

[joe603]

Welcome to NICO and congrats on your future purchase! Please take a look around the site for answers to your questions. These topics come up all the time!!

The best advice I can give you is to buy the newest model year you can afford. With the G37 out, the price has dropped for all earlier model years.

[Sentientbydesign]

VLSD- Viscous Limited Slip Differential.

It essetially stops one wheel from getting all of the torque in the event that it looses traction. This is different from VDC- Vehicle Dynamic Control, which monitors the car for loss of control and essentially applies the brakes to individual wheels as needed.

Joe603- Thank you for the warm welcome, but if you checkout my profile, I've been a NICO member for 2 or 3 years now. I just "live" in the Max/I30 forum.

As far as purchasing as new as I can, I was hoping for some pointers from you guys. I'm realistically going to get an '04-'06 6MT coupe.

I'm still a little confused about which coupes came with LSD. Another recent thread mentioned 04s with the sports wheel and tire package came with it, but how can I find out for sure. Anybody can buy G35 rims and tires and slap them on a non VLSD car.

I'm aware of the crappy sound, which is very disheartening since the Bose in my I30 is awesome.

I'll do a search for TSB in this forum, but like so many others, I think our search function SUCKS!!! After being considered a google whiz by family, friends, and co-workers, I find NICO's search function to be almost impossible to use.

Sorry for ranting.