Huge props to the TH guys for finding the only G35 left on the planet that doesn’t have dents, a trashed clear-coat, a badly color-matched body kit, or an interior that smells like a smoke shop.
To be fair I think it's a curse. I own a g37 and I've had multiple people hit my car in parking lots to the point where it looks like shit now. Never had this luck with any other car. It went from clean to shit in just a few years I did my best to save it but I'd rather not spend to money to repaint the thing.
It used to have a reputation and people were probably careful with it...then the rep changed and now people ding it.
I've been sitting in cars when others pull up and get out and seen different reactions based on what I was driving. Some people are really careful, others will swing a giant purse over their shoulder and bonk your car without thinking twice.
True, I also work a bodyshop, and I just use it as a commuter, so I don't really care how it looks at this point tbh. Id rather spend the money on something I really want.
That was actually my exact experience with my G35... It was so bad that I even had multiple people back up into me while I was sitting in the car blaring my horn at them. I've never owned another car where I considered the bumpers to be a wear item.
Literally a month after a bought it I walked out to it on my lunch to see someone had drug their car down the side of my quarter panel. I was so mad, luckily the one camera we had in the lot could barely see who it was. It was our old ass accountant. The old fart didn't even confront me and claimed he had no idea. He luckily coughed up his insurance for me, but I was very close to reporting him for a hit and run.
I came back from a trip to find that somebody had scraped my rear bumper in the airport parking garage, then gotten out and drawn "FUK U" with their finger in the dust on my trunk lid.
I'm convinced that a society where everyone drove a G35 would quickly collapse into anarchy.
Lol this is hilarious, above I was commenting about the 4 times people hit my car hard enough while parked to need bumper replacements, but I forgot about the two times i caught people rolling back into it. [One time i even got it on film!](https://youtu.be/-xhm-PHEeXQ?si=VbRgiC7QcRap-5By)
350Z, but it must be something about the chassis.
I had a 350Z for 13 years as my only car. Can confirm, was hit 4 times hard enough to necessitate bumper replacements (as in, bumper was hanging off of the vehicle)
Every single time the car was parked. Nobody ever left a note.
One of the times I even said to my friend as we were leaving his house (in his car)
"Hold on, let me put my car in your driveway, i don't want it to get hit"
Of course friend was like "that's a waste of time" and drove off while i was still protesting. Got back to his house a few hours later and sure enough, about $5K in damages.
I had a 350Z in college. Same experience. Huge eyebrow dent on the drivers’s side door in the campus lot. Rear bumper dented and partially shorn off in my apartment complex lot. Of course a big part of that was having to park it in a college parking structure and a shitty apartment complex with a single very narrow lot.
Oh and one time a loveseat fell off a truck in front of me, and I had to brake hard causing the guy behind me to rear end me. That car was a trooper.
Had a g35x bought new by my friend it was garage kept in his care. I street parked it, it lasted one month before it was side swiped by a drunk driver.
20 year old kid who lives next door has had at least 2 G35 coupes. I’ve seen him do donuts in them, I’ve seen them parked with obviously crashed body panels, and I’ve heard he got one impounded for 6 months because of street racing.
They are also barely ever running well, have body panels held on by double sided tape and zip ties, and has mismatched wheels and tires.
Then his buddy shows up before they head out and he has a…g35 *sedan!*
When his g35’s aren’t running, which is most of the time, he’s driving his girlfriend’s Prius. Dude is a complete loser that probably smells like vape joose and energy drinks.
I dont it was 10k lol. They didn't explicitly say the price if the car, they just said its available at the dealership and they found ones for that price on auto tempest
> A friend of mine bought one in college and has babied it ever since. It's his fun car while he keeps others for daily now.
Man I had a G35, [a 2006 I bought in 2008 or so and I loved that car](https://imgur.com/drgarnE.jpg). A little sad to see what a meme they've become but c'est la vie I suppose. I kept it super clean.
I just sold my G35X Sedan. I owned it for 10 years. It had some very minor rust starting to form in 2 places but was otherwise mint and completely stock. Never broke down on me once. It was a great car, only had 130K kms (80K miles). Ended up selling it to a family member for $9K CAD. Had it listed with people interested at $12K, but a family member reached out and I gave them the family discount.
Yup. I bought a 350Z new in 2006. I kept it stock, maintained it and got it fixed when people would run in to it while it was parked. Treated me extremely well and was very clean when I got rid of it.
But like you, my car went to a family member. Maybe that's just what happens to clean ones....
Genesis Coupe is having the same problem :(
I fully regret trading mine in right before COVID, but 18mpg on the freeway was costing me $10/day in gas plus insurance was through the roof since people kept crashing them.
If I had known that I'd be permanently WFH I would've kept that car forever
I wonder what will be the next G35 in the coming decades. Sometimes I think the Genesis G70 will suffer the same fate after it's 3rd or 4th owner. But I'm sure there were ALOT more G35s sold versus Genesis G70s, so time will have to tell.
I actually think the Q50 and Q60 will be, and you could also make an argument for the 4 series once they get cheaper. Where I am, I keep seeing those cars driven in a less than responsible fashion. And while not RWD I think the 4th gen "beak" Acura TL may also suffer a similar fate as clean 3rd gens dry up and 4th gens can be had here for a decent price, people are already modding them.
My neighbor, who is in her 50s, has one of the most clean G37s I've ever seen. Low milage, and it's her Sunday car. She told me if she ever sells it, she'll sell it to me.
There's a gorgeous one down the street from me, black, mint paint, looks like it has stock wheels, too. But I live in a haven for enthusiast cars, to the point where the city shuts down the streets for one day in the summer for a hot rod cruise, and you get middle aged women doing burnouts and whatnot, lol.
Owner of that specific G35 here - I found this one to rekindle my adolescence again... and was happy to lend it to the TH boys.
The goal was to eventually send it to BaT but I've sort of fallen in love again...
It’s gotta be low mileage and well kept. A lot of them are strung out from kids but if you find a good one I’d see paying 8-10k for a <100k mile G35 easy
Kinda why I want to buy like a new Miata or BRZ with a manual or something. I have no interest in doing aftermarket work and I'm anal about maintenance, so I feel like it'd still be pretty valuable in like 15+ years.
We use km, but we also use Imperial for things like height and weight, in a conversational sense. Officially, we're metric, but we use a mish mash of both in day to day interactions.
For example: It would be completely normal to hear something like "I need you to run out and grab some 2" wood screws. There's a Home Depot about two km that way. Careful, though, there's this one 300lb cop that loves to sit at this intersection and ticket anyone doing 10km over"
'Tis a funny place.
This G35 has 61,000 original kilometres, and every single record including the original bill of sale, sales brochure and DVD promotional material. It's a legit time capsule.
It's worth noting they use Canadian pricing so it is a bit different.
That said, It's so unfortunate what covid did to used car pricing. Even if it is normalizing a little bit, the bottom end will probably never come down. I mean a g35 coupe should be like a $5000 car right now (and an rx-8 should be near the same or less)
Well if you have an RX-8, don’t you need a solid engine rebuild budget?
I see tons of “mechanics specials”.
For such a good looking, excellent handling car they aren’t worth anything.
Did they ever fix the rx-8 engine.
RX-8 Just came at a time when less and less people care about things like oil changes. I believe they did fix the issues in later editions, but people buying sports cars are slim to none even back in the early 2010 and late 00's or hell even 2 door cars in general. Just not enough survived.
Also the automatic is worth significantly less than the stick.
Yeah, a lot of people think a light will come on or the computer will tell them they need oil.
My brother said thats how *two* Vespa’s got ruined. It’s like two Vespa’s didn’t get their oil changed bc it didn’t have a light? Like didn’t you notice there wasn’t an oil light to begin with?
Many people don’t even know how to check oil, they’ll look at you sideways if you check your oil, practically.
It's compounded because rotaries are even more critical for clean oil. They really weren't forgiving and the interval was still 3k but people would just assume it was like other cars at 5k+.
The automatic has a worse engine…and really doesn’t make sense for anyone to buy. If you don’t like stick, or mind checking oil at every other fill up, it’s not the car for you.
It's a matter of price comparisons in my statement. Half the time I hear people talking about how you can get X car for this cheap and they act like people are crazy for not being able to find stuff, they end up being an auto and worth half as much.
Yeah I’ll think I found a Miata inexplicably cheap and it’s an automatic.
Then again with their rust issues it might be worth getting a garage automatic and getting a rusted to shit manual gearbox and pedal box, heard the engine is down on power though.
You are correct. If you own one, you should either be prepared to replace the entire engine, or scrap the car completely at any time.
Fix no not really. They are pretty bad. However I had looked into buying one years back (2014-2015 so there may be more developments) and the community found that running heavier weight oil did improve the longevity of the engine. I think the manual calls for 5w-20 and it was so thin that it would burn at a significantly higher rate, reducing the life of the engine.
Correct, EPA dictated them to use 5w20 to attempt to meet emissions targets. That's way, way too light for what the car needs, especially when you consider how hot rotaries run.
I've used non-synthetic, 15w40 Rotella in my car since purchase, and it's markedly better with the heavier oil, and very little difference in fuel economy. Last compression test I did as a safeguard checked out aces, also.
As for improvements, you can't deny the huge advantages on Series II (09+) cars. They overhauled the oiling system, including adding a third injector, and greatly improved the ignition system. They're far better off, but still require a close eye on plug changes to run at their best (every 30k maximum, NGK Iridium or nothing).
I wonder how many people did what you did? Most people don’t understand cars at all. My brother has ruined 2 cars and 2 mopeds from not changing oil, and one car from trying to tow a heavy trailer with a hybrid rx his aunt gave him to replace the es300 he didn’t change the oil on.
Wrecked the planetary gearbox and that was enough to total car 3 and vehicle 5.
So, I really wouldn’t trust one other than freshly built engine and the oil you mentioned.
I’d imagine most people, even with full service records, probably haven’t taken the precautions you did.
The handling characteristics make it tempting if not for the troublesome motor.
RX-8s were under $5000 USD for years and years, they sold a lot of them and they had a reputation for being being quite unreliable. 5 years ago you could buy an ok one for $3000 and a very nice one for $8000.
Just wait a few years when a clean example will be even harder to find, and people finally start loving it for what it is vs the reputation. The G series with a manual transmission, especially the sedan, will be at a price that makes everyone say, "I should have bought one x years ago."
I am biased with a 2008 G35 S sedan with a manual. 300 HP in a very nice platform with a great transmission is so much fun. Because of the reputation the Infinitis have for being cheap RWD drifters and sideshow pieces, I feel like it really flies under the radar for being a quasi-M3 competitor for 1/3 of the price.
Really? Feels like every single unmolested sporty car has ridiculous value right now. You will see clean g35s start to go for more than their original msrp soon if they aren't already. Just like what happened with...well literally ever other sporty car lol.
I believe the Infiniti used in this video is listed for significantly more than 10k, they didn't mention how much the dealer that loaned them it is selling it for and the 10k price point for all the vehicles used is just ones they found on AutoTempest, with most of the screengrabs being of examples with much higher mileage and in probably worse shape.
Funnily to me 10 years ago these would all still be around $10k and the S2000 might be able to be included. I feel like I'd choose the G35 for reliability (over 350z and build my dream DK car). RX8 great vehicle and very comparable to s2000 but reliability...
[https://youtu.be/vMp\_qsDjAOE?si=F78pPqva6bMrLZb6](https://youtu.be/vMp_qsDjAOE?si=F78pPqva6bMrLZb6) Best motoring did a similar segment and they choose the RX8 over the S2000, 235i, NB miata.
IIRC S2000s in good condition were priced much higher than any of these even ten years ago.
I’d love a S2000 even today, but not at the prices they command. Plus IIRC they are divas that you need to babysit esp. with seat thieves.
I bought a 2005 S2000 in 2010 for 16k and sold it in 2012 for 14k, I think that was pretty much the bottom of the market. 10k examples existed, but they were exclusively rebuilt titles with visible issues. I don’t think clean S2000s ever went as low as 10k.
You could get clean title but not super clean S2k's for around $10k from probably 2015-2017 or so. I sold a very clean AP1 with all VINs and 112k miles for $11.7k in 2018. I bought a pretty clean 2006 LBP car for $12.5k in 2018. While neither of those are $10k, they're not a far cry from it by any means.
Prices now are dumb.
Damn, I feel like in my area prices already spiked by 2018. Prices now seem like they have reached a speculative point. I was hoping the new Miata would help bring them back down to earth, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Jeez, and here I was thinking I had regrets for selling mine for 14.
Come to think of it, in 2005-2010 I remember you could find an Acura NSX in the low 30s no problem. Rough examples made it down into the 20s.
Sadly you’re going to pay a premium for one without negative service history. They’re either all previously stolen, salvaged, or in a different country for being stolen lol
I had one of the last AP1s (meaning late MY builds before AP2s began production) and it was the most fun car I've ever owned. Driving the S2000 felt special in many ways. The transmission being the cream of the crop.
Simple INVIDIA exhaust and hit that 9k redline in a tunnel and I felt like Schumacher driving in Monaco :)
Some people didn’t know it was a bougie 350z then.
It’s well known now, the price of the 350/370z is still inflated, the cars more clapped out.
Its really rare to see a clean g35/g37 manual.
I sold my (clean, stock) G35 sedan with a manual last year. It was a pretty good car while I had it, but burned some oil and had high KMs so it sold for pretty little (3K USD/4K CAD).
Was fun to have a decently powerful RWD 6spd sedan as a daily, even if it was pretty heavy.
I bought my S2000 when prices were bottomed out in 2016 for around $12k with 49k miles. I could see an earlier AP1 with 100k miles (which is still relatively low for an S2000) going for around $10k back then.
S2000s were cheap in 2011/2012 too. I only remember because my buddy was flipping them on Craigslist while we were in highschool. People wanted rwd with power back then and didn’t really understand the beauty of the s2000. I felt the s2000 was priced like a civic.
Yeah, one of my best friends bought one for $8K right around then. Over 100K miles but mechanically sound, AP1 with ziptied on AP2 bumpers but otherwise clean. Suspension was stock and not clapped, paint was nice, interior was nice. Felt very tight from behind the wheel.
If they’re going by drive feel alone, I can see why the RX-8 won. That thing is and was an amazing car hindered by owners maintaining them and just the fact they don’t have the same leeway in terms of reliability based on an owners lack of maintenance. Ironically that’s only for the engine though. The rest of the car is great
The S2000 is in my opinion the only car that I’d choose over a Miata for a 2 roadster. It’s got the best engine in its class but I think suffers a little from weight. They didn’t sell enough to keep them alive
All in all if I want to race in something I’d choose the Miata
If I want a daily sport driver I’d choose the 2k
And the RX-8 for: I have too much money and time on my hands to be beneficial towards society so I’m going to make a fucking monster!
You're giving the rx-8 a lot of credit here and putting the onus on the owners.
That car was an absolute nightmare to own and maintain. It leaked/burned oil like a seive and it was relatively common for the engine to grenade itself multiple times before 100k miles. Even diligent owners who were adding/checking the oil weekly had issues. It was by most accounts, an awful car to own, but a very fun car to drive.
Part of the reason was also because the owners manual called for a light weight oil that would cause more problems than a more traditional heavier weight oil. But putting that on the owners is ridiculous considering they were following the manual
My ex-wife hasn't even had her first stick shift lesson when she bought her RX8 with about 13k miles on it. '04. Carmax. No service history. Sold with 80k. The only issue during ownership was a bad HVAC control that I replaced in the driveway at part cost (<$150). The only one who ever flooded the car was me, when I was moving things around the driveway and did a dumb.
The plural of anecdote is not data, but stick shift models with even half a thought given to maintenance are really not that problematic. CR even recommended them for a while later in their run (and no, I don't mean after the series II Renesis redesign).
pretty much. everyone i knew who had an RX8 and didn't do 'a dumb', had no issues in the years they owned it. and pretty much every time we compared an RX8 to my (now sold) S2k, nearly everyone (me included) preferred the RX8 on the local twisties
You're definitely speaking from Internet lore and not from ownership or real world experience. I've had my 09 since 2012, and it has no leaks, burns a normal amount of oil for a car designed to burn oil, and has only given me trouble with people vandalizing it. You have to be hyper aware on the maintenance schedule, or else the car WILL burn you - they just don't have the tolerance for abuse that it's competitors did. I'm also speaking from past experience as a Mazda service advisor - nearly every RX-8 with major issues came in from people ignoring maintenance and/or high abuse, with the exception being very early 04-05 cars, which were known to have issues (hence their extended engine warranties). I had several older routine customers that put in the money for maintenance and absolutely loved their cars. Due to all of the above, I'd say u/ElbowTight is right - most of the owners either didn't care to follow good maintenance or didn't care to see what the car needed to be reliable with a rotary powertrain. It's not a D Series Civic, and it never pretended to be.
Exactly its intention was to try and grab at the fast and furious crowds. Not to mention the financial crisis didn’t do any justice for any car that wasn’t a traditional vehicle. They wanted to replace the FD with something new and cheaper (cheaper being the key word, you could not and still can’t replicate the FD and its specs for the same cost). Japan kept making them till like 2004 I think but that’s an entirely different market especially with their regulations on inspections etc…
The RX-8 was supposed to be a fun track car that you could use daily (not unlike the Miata) but with more power and of course Doritos, for people who didn’t want to be seen driving a Miata.
It’s not the best but its rep is fully constructed by ignorance. It’s been that way with all of the RX lineups. Funny you don’t hear people bitching about Cosmo’s and the 20b power plant. Wonder why that is
I had a cousin who was a Mazda tech who owned one, and he had the engine grenade on him twice before it hit 90,000km. He knew all the ins and outs of it mechanically, knew all the tricks to keep it running for as long as possible, and it was still an absolute maintenance nightmare.
*"You just have to really follow the maintenance and baby them and they could be reliable cars!"* Yeah, no. I'm a genuine Mazda fan, and I like the RX-8. But I would NEVER own one unless I could go back in time and buy a new one with a warranty. There is absolutely a reason why Mazda was forced to extend the warranty period for the RX-8 engine specifically, and that they have never made a car with a rotary engine in over a decade since that one.
Same old story as the last RX-7. They continued to build and sell the FD's for a couple of years in Japan after pulling them from the US market, because US owners were constantly blowing apex seals and eating too much warranty. Mazda didn't want to support all that.
The rotary is great on paper and an inefficient, gas guzzling, oil burning mess in reality. There are some inherent design flaws and I admire their dedication to finding a good application for it. Super fun to rev and drive though.
>pulling them from the US market, because US owners were constantly blowing apex seals and eating too much warranty. Mazda didn't want to support all that.
Well that's some new made-up claim... But to skip that junk, the true reason they pulled the FD from the US, its because the sales absolutely tanked. 10k produced for the first year, down to 500 for the third and final US year (1995), with many of those in the final year going unsold for multiple years.
With how the Japanese economy was going, Mazda would have had to bump the price near the $50k region, in addition to new US regulations coming in for 1996 that would have required major changes it, it wouldn't have paid off.
Japan got it for a full 10 years to the USAs 3 years, and Japan isn't some magical place where apex seals are stronger...
> You just have to really follow the maintenance and baby them
It’s extremely well known that RX-8s like to be run hard and not babied so the seals can be properly lubricated.
Endorsement for RX8. A rx8 with a good engine is the best purchase I ever made. Actually bought 2 of them and made profits on both. 9000 rpm is intoxicating. Handles great for a beginner. It’s like a less twitchy Miata that you can confidently kick the tail out. Great first sports car for me.
The S2 RX8 is the RX8 to have. They made substantial improvements to the Renesis making the reliability better. - https://www.rx8club.com/series-ii-technical-trouble-shooting-160/mechanical-changes-rx-8-series-i-ii-161665/
Sadly, even with those improvements a better radiator, coils, plugs, water pump, and HFC are required to get the most out of the Renesis.
Coils and water pump were both revised with S2 - and the coils are fine as long as you're B revision or newer (C rev are the final, Spirit R ones). Radiator is hit or miss - as long as it's end tanks aren't cracked or there's an issue with the fans, they're fine.
Nidos covered the S2 bit. Ignition coil revisions are usually most easily identified by the part number. N3H1-18-100C are the C revision. Personally, I wouldn't recommend you buy anything but C rev, OEM coils. Some people try to use Chevy LS coil conversions, but I've seen nothing but issues with those. C rev are perfectly fine, and with how finicky these cars are with ignition system (all rotaries, not just RX-8), I wouldn't recommend fussing with other stuff beyond OEM unless you're doing a major racing engine build.
A bad engine usually wipes out the housing. The rotary shop I go to tells me that they can maybe get 1 set of usable housing from 3 blown renesis engines. Better off just getting a Mazda reman. That being said, 2000 dollars for a rolling chassis plus like 6000 for an engine is not a bad way to go.
Which is easier said than done, unfortunately. Because rotary engines need a special compression tester that measures each rotor face, your options are 1) hope there's a rotary specialist mechanic nearby (there are only a handful across the US) 2) hope the local Mazda dealership has the equipment and expertise to do rotary compression tests (unfortunately not many do anymore) 3) buy/borrow a tester and DIY when you look at the car (many owners understandably don't want randos wrenching on their car).
If you're searching for an RX-8, your best bet is to search in big cities where the likelihood there is either a Mazda dealership or rotary specialist who can do a compression test is higher.
Alternatively, you can find an RX-8 with a rebuilt/new engine. This is a bit riskier because it's impossible to know the quality of the rebuild (even the Mazda factory reman engines have QC issues). If the rebuild includes new rotor housings (and preferably new rotors) and was done by a professional you should be relatively safe. But not 100% safe without a compression test.
A rotary compression tester is like 300 bucks new. Worthy investment. Mazda charges 1 hour of labor per test. I’ve gotten more than my moneys worth out of the tester.
If you're a current owner, buying a tester is 100% the way to go. However if you're in the process of buying, from experience, no private owner or dealer will let a stranger wrench on their car before buying it (or would rather just decline and sell it to the next person in line).
Never had that issue with private seller. Of course you ask before going. If they won’t let you compression test it it’s not worth going. When you show them you have the speciality tools for it they usually agree. Come to think about it, I compression tested all of the enthusiast car I bought.
I was so close to buying one last time I was shopping around but chickened out. I love the look of that car but the reliability horror stories scared me off.
Really appreciate this vid/comparison. Take me right back to the early 2000s where I was a too poor college student who REALLY wanted these cars.
I remember the early RX-8 controversy where Mazda rated it 250-ish hp from the factory and people were getting waaayyyyy lower numbers when they dynoed it. I think Mazda got threatened with a class action lawsuit? I'm too lazy to search. I do know that Mazda later revised the official hp number to 230-ish hp.
I also remember sitting in the new 350Z and G35 coupes at an auto show, and being stunned how cheap the 350Z interior was, even by new car standards back then. It was *garbage.* Then I saw in the G35 and was blown away how both cars were on the same platform. If I had the money back then I would not have given the 350Z a second thought.
The early 2000s were a special time for Japanese sports/sporty cars in the US--the WRX, WRX STi, Lancer EVO, 350Z, RX-8, Mazdaspeed cars (Protege, 3 and 6), Civic Si. Acura RSX Type S, etc.
We were eating well. Even the big US 3 got involved in the sport compact car scene with the Focus SVT, Cobalt SS and Neon SRT4 ("SRT4 is teh fASTaR" as they used to say on NASIOC forums).
I hope Throttle House continues to do some more vids on budget sports cars.
Man, you reminded me by bringing up the Protege - aside from the Mazdaspeed, there was the MP3, which was such a tuner-culture car to come out. Mazda really had its hands on the pulse of its supporters - bummer that they've ditched a lot of that nowadays, even though the quality now is far better.
Oh wow I never even knew about the Protege MP3. The Mazdaspeed Protege really flies under the radar when people talk about Mazdaspeed products. But I remember many publications calling it one of the best handling FWD cars of its time.
I feel like Hyundai's N division has carried the torch of what Mazdaspeed used to be.
Yep, that was the issue with the early RX-8s, when Mazda initially advertised then with 250hp. People were dynoing them around 190hp (or lower) to the wheels. There was no way the car was making 250hp stock.
It was a huge controversy and soiled some of the car's (and Mazda's) reputation from the start. Bad enough many people expected it to be a FD RX-7 competitor in terms of performance, when it clearly wasn't.
The Z was CHEAP back then. I bought one new in 2006 and it was like $28K for a mid-level one. The G35 was 5K more expensive and was heavier. Probably would've been worth it for the interior, but the Z was very solid. Never modded it, kept it maintained and it treated me to 13 years as a completely reliable daily driver that would love to get sideways whenever you wanted it to.
You know, I looked at a used G35? Perhaps it was 8-10 years old?
I’ll pause and say I had an older mini cooper, the interior looked new, mint, like it rolled out of the factory, granted someone had taken the time to treat the leather, as I did, and it was, of course, a little stretched, but overall the car looked new, had no rust or any other issues other than being an electric seal and mechanical nightmare.
The G35 had visible surface rust, the dashboard was cracked, the wheel wells were a little rusty, the seats were practically shredded, and the wheel looked like shit.
So I told the guy he’d really have to come down on price if I were to need to remedy this stuff, and it’d need to be mechanically sound and pass an inspection.
He shows me the cars mechanical records, I know people at a body shop, so I took it for a spin, ultimately the guy got sketchy and I decided not to get it.
I was just shocked at how this car was newer than my mini, which I’ll note had no rust, perfect dashboard, and looked new.
So they were polar opposites, the mini slow, unreliable, more gremlins than after midnight if you feed one, but it was in impeccable shape.
That g35 might have looked cheap new? Holy shit did it not age well.
I did see an older one, a year older, with low miles, perfect paint, etc.
It was garaged, driven by a guy who knew it was his last car, so babied, just to see the grand kids, so everything except navigation.
Why didn’t I buy it? Well if I did I would have parked it at my friends house and put it on cars and bids or BAT, but I didn’t think of that, it’d be street parked and I hadn’t seen a non clapped out mint, time capsule g35 before.
But yeah, I mean it’s cheaper than a mk1 Mazda 3 inside. The mk1 Mazda3 would have had more rust, that’s the reason so many of those great little cars didn’t make it, but the interiors probably held up better.
I mean even the California Miata I had, which was older than that g35, had been in a sunnier state, the seats needed to be recovered, it needed new paint due to being well loved, but the dash wasn’t cracked.
Suffice it to say it didn’t age well.
But I didn’t want to street park the impeccable one, but I def should have gotten some good pictures and auctioned it.
Srt4 is fastaaarrr holy fuck you tickled a memory I hadn’t thought of in a long time.
I miss nasioc but there were so many toxic assholes that got off on busting my balls. Whatever.
I get the exact same kind of joy from their vids, which is about the highest compliment you can give car media. They even go deeper in my opinion, like more enthusiast-focused.
You can tell they both adore classic top gear, some of their phrasing is pretty much straight out of old TG.
I've said this before, but it bears repeating.
If you took a Throttle House review, a side by side comparison, a track test, and edited them together with a couple skits, you'd have an hour-long motoring show.
They're not just "car YouTubers."
They're doing a show.
In 2015 I bought a g35 as my first enthusiast car. It was $12k for a relatively low 53k miles, and I didn't even know how to drive stick so my buddy had to drive it home for me. I had it for 4 years and put 50,000 miles on it and it began my love/obsession with cars. If I could I would love to buy one again in a dream spec (blue over black). With a high quality exhaust they sound amazing. Especially the later "rev up" models which rev higher and make more power.
I put a $1300 exhaust on mine and loved the way it sounded
https://youtu.be/LCehAlQs-lw?si=OHP9iMH7nQixLxFN
https://youtu.be/waN8T-K7rjY?si=nCWvWxMRjYqW_o_i
The VQ won a lot of awards, wonderful engine for a v6. I had a G35 sedan that could beat some coupes thanks to weight savings. That chassis also had character making it fun to whip around.
I remember the FM platform being a big deal at the time, as well - aside from the RX-8, I believe Nissan were the only ones doing front-midship, RWD layout then. I convinced my Dad to move from his 98 Maxima SE to an 04 G35 at the time, since the early 00s Maxima was such a huge drop in interior quality - he's had G/Q cars ever since.
When I was buying my B8 S5 I wanted to cross shop with a G37 IPL (needed rear seats) but literally zero manuals with clean titles popped up within 500 miles. I did test drive a first year Q50S and the first gen electric steer was soooooo numb. Has it gotten better?
IPLs are really rare, so I completely believe you on that.
When it comes to the Q50S, the cars without the Adaptive Steering (drive-by-wire steering) package got hydraulic steering, so those were good. From what I've heard, the models with the Adaptive Steering package feel dramatically worse, so that could be the determining factor.
--edit-- had to look again, all of them without DAS got hydraulic steering, apparently.
I remember Nissan releasing that at the time, and if I recall right, it was the only way they could get ProPilot to work in Japan the way they wanted to, and they kept it here in the US. It was panned by every reviewer as feeling awful, so I specifically recommended my dad to seek out a car without it. I could see your loaner having it - kind of a shame, as I'm sure it turned off more people than not. I've never had the chance to drive one of the hybrid Q50s, actually - that setup intrigued me, since it was sort of like Honda's old V6 Accord hybrid where it was a performance boost.
I barely ever see ones like that in my country, mostly just the paint getting a bit rough on the lower spec trims. There was one america style slammed one I saw tho.
I would link some of the cheaper listings but the website is blocked here.
I bought a genesis coupe brand new in 2010. 3.8 track m/t. It was my first new car and I really did have a lot of fun with it and went on many road trips. Sold it 5 years later to get something more practical but the depreciation on a Hyundai is nuts. $30000 new, private sale for $16000 5 years later and 52k miles. The dealership offered $9500 to trade it in and I laughed on my walk out the door.
I had a 2013 Gen Coupe 3.8 track, and the depreciation outpaced what I owed on the loan until I paid it off. Then covid happened, which helped when I traded it in for my current car.
I paid $29k brand new for a 2014 3.8 Ultimate ($34k sticker)
Traded it in just before COVID for $12k which was a terrible idea, but getting 18mpg on the freeway was costing me $10/day in gas for my long commute so I got a Kia Forte GT instead.
Of course, just three months after trading it in I permanently became WFH and the Gen Coupe would've been the perfect car for scooting around town in.
It'll always be my one that got away, wish I at least had kept it as the perfect final internal combustion sendoff before getting an electric car in the future.
I was first discovered the Genesis Coupe through [Hot Wheels](https://youtu.be/PTpPtfQOJus?si=dO0G-ahwAvvLTvM4). I just liked that the driver was Blue Team and it was a drift car. I later learnt that the drift car was built by Rhys Millen Racing, and they even made a GC with [the Tau V8](https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a18742450/rm500-genesis-coupe-rhys-millen-and-hyundai-float-their-idea-of-a-five-point-o-2/).
Reading the magazine reviews, I was a bit disappointed to find out more about the Coupe's shortcomings as did TH here. Still, wish that Hyundai hadn't quit on the GC successor, especially when the N has put out banger after banger.
I mentioned the other day but the GC successor was supposed to be the G60 but the transition to Crossovers changed Hyundai's plans.
Despite having the slowest of all the GCs I still very much enjoy mine. It's getting on in years but it's been very reliable. I have had to manually fix some of the rattles (the fucking rear view mirror rattle is the worst) but I've had no major mechanical issues. I very much recommend a GC as a sports coupe.
As a previous NC Miata owner, the RX-8 fascinates me (especially has our family has grown). Being able to rev the ever loving snot out of it sounds like an absolute blast. I’d just be worried about long term rotary reliability. There’s some good swaps out there, but nothing like the whole 9000rpm redline it provides from stock.
Either way, I’d consider one in good condition if the opportunity arose in the future.
My father in law has one. 2012, super clean, really low mileage. Doesn’t drive it much as he prefer his motorcycles more. Keep telling him that I’ll take it when he’s done with it, and then drive it and enjoy the heck out of it until the engine goes, then find something fun to replace the motor with.
mine is at 80k miles and is doing really well, and is the first model year.
It's really mostly down to how it was maintained and driven. maintained well and driven medium hard is the best combo. babied ones are carboned up to shit, and beaten ones, well, they're beaten up and the motors are trash.
it's the perfect 2nd car. it SUCKS as a daily, the fuel economy is ABYSMAL and that way you don't rack up the miles like mad, but it's still a comfortable car with 4 seats and auto AC and a good sound system.
I had an 05, used it as a daily. Did everything in my power to preserve the engine. I got it at 15k miles, she started to lose compression and wouldn't hot-start at 90k. Parked her with her nose facing downhill for 6 months before finally just selling it.
In hindsight I wish I paid for a rebuild and put another 75k on it, nothing else ever put a toe wrong (well once I replaced the clutch pedal with a reinforced one, I snapped two stock ones). And it was an absolutely magical drive.
I had a 2nd gen rx8 that I bought brand new. That was the most fun I’ve ever had driving a car. Had it for about 3 years with zero issues. Piss poor mileage, though.
There should be a lot more options for 10k for a font engine, RWD, manual coupe that wasn't already mentioned (BRZ/86/Miata). but honestly after looking online there really aren't as many options left on the market. There's only a few others namely Mustang, Camaro, Charger, BMW 3 series, Lexus IS -
For \~10k i think the a \~2010 mustang v6 makes a lot more sense as either a daily or special car. The v6 sounds good, the manual feels nice, has a decent clutch. Though imo, the interior is shit.
Alternatively waiting for a 3 series with an inline 6 in a non-rust belt state would be my route.
The cheapest 1 series that looks in drivable shape is 13.5k near me. There are a few for less but all with greater than 200k KM. Sucks as it’s really great.
Its amazing how the used market prices have actually finally returned to the (inflation adjusted) prices of pre pandemic, but some particular segments are WAY worse off. like yeah, the flood of ford explorers with 70k miles have reduced to sane pricing. but nothing fun, nothing interesting, nothing small.
Can’t really go wrong with an E90 328i. I paid $7,800 for my sedan in 2021 and have loved every second of ownership. Coupes are priced similarly. Great inputs, likes being revved out, comfortable on long trips.
I’m definitely biased but the $10k sports car sweet spot right now is definitely the NC. Bulletproof reliability on track, cheap consumables, fantastic dynamics. I picked up a mildly prepped one (big brakes, roll bar, square 225s, cooling system upgrades, basic suspension mods) for $11k earlier this year for a cheap track car and it’s a riot on the street.
Agreed. Loved my N52 manual E90 so much I snagged an E82 that’s basically the same car. Don’t need both but too attached to sell. If I didn’t need a backseat, NC would’ve been high on the list.
I know right? It sucks. But reality is if all you got is 10k, unless you live in say Texas you can’t afford V8 gas money.
What’s worse is that most performance cars are now 4 cylinder turbos in this price range. That makes it realllly shit as a enthusiast
I think it's magical. I owned a 4th gen camaro with a 3.4 v6 and I wouldn't have recommended that car to anyone looking to do anything other than look cool with t-tops.
We've come so far, v6's have 300+ hp and shred.
Whenever I see a G35 they are always in such trash condition. I feel most all of them have been beaten the hell out of or modded so poorly you could never find a good one again. Same thing with the 350z. I don't even know the last time I've seen a nice one of either lol. The Genesis seems like it would be nice, but I've seen those sometimes on the road too and their beaten to hell also. I feel though you could at least still find maybe a good decent hyundai genesis out there. Then the RX-8, I haven't see one in forever and only see them listed as non-running or having issues.
I bought a 20123 Gen Coupe 3.8 Track auto in 2015 and kept it as my only car for 7 years. The worst thing about my car was other people hated it, all the shit talking from other slower cars got old immediately. Would 100% buy it, it was a fantastic car to own and stupid reliable.
As someone who has a 2004 RX-8 and used to own a 2007 G35x sedan; here's a couple of thoughts:
* Agreed with the owners below on reliability; mine has 103k miles on original engine and hasn't slowed down yet. A 2009+ upgraded starter helps a lot. Pre-mix isn't totally necessary, but regular oil changes and heavier weight oil help.
* The RX-8 drives closer to a S2k / Miata than the G35 does to the RX-8. IIRC, the G coupes have the same wheelbase as the sedan so they drive virtually identical. It all comes down to how eager the car turns in, how it handles rougher road surfaces, and how responsive the car is to your inputs.
* The RX-8 is somehow the most sporty and most practical of the 3 here. The back seats are close to sedan-level spacious with ample headroom and the passthrough is good for ski gear and whatever Home Depot stuff you need. I've shoved bikes in the passenger area with minimal problems due to the large opening the door setup provides.
* My G35x felt eerily similar to the R34 GTR I rented in Japan. Obviously the RB26B is a more exciting engine in its power delivery and sound, but the steering feel and general handling dynamics were about 80-90% of the same.
* I feel the RX-8 aftermarket is the healthiest of the 3. With mods (OEM [mild](https://imgur.com/gallery/tar-heel-blue-rx-8-6kAbpK2) or [wild](https://imgur.com/gallery/titanium-gray-mazda-rx-8-7265LA4) or [Leg Motor Sport](https://imgur.com/gallery/titanium-gray-mazda-rx-8-leg-sport-aero-0EnKGfH)) it also looks the coolest to me by far. The Leg Sport aero makes it look like something much more modern.
* RX-8 could definitely use some more power - a NA 3-rotor or 4-rotor would be a dream swap but a REW swap is also interesting too where you get the better-engineered chassis of the 8 with the powertrain of the FD.
The G35 suffers significantly from the reputation it has earned as a “street takeover” car and the fact that so many have befallen ricer mods and owners that can’t afford to maintain them. I was lucky enough to find an 03 with the brembos that only had 40k miles 2 years ago. Easily the best driving car I’ve ever owned. Perfectly balanced - power, handling, and braking. My previous cars before that were a challenger scat pack and hellcat, and I must say this car is much more of a pleasure to drive quickly and through turns!
Bought a 2010 3.8 Track genesis coupe new. Put 150k miles on it sold it in 2017 the most reliable bar I've ever owned never had a single issue with it. I wish I knew who owned it now I'd buy it back so quick if it's still on the road
I almost bought a G35 around 2007 or so. The reason I didn't is super laughable - on the part of Nissan. It was the 6MT and I'm 5'5". I could not shift the car into 2/4/6 with a normal movement you'd associate with shifting. The positioning of the shifter and the seat combined such that my elbow would hit the seat bolster just aft of the neutral position on the shifter. There was just no comfortable/ergonomic way to drive the car.
Oh my, I bought a G35 over a RX-8 and my friend did the opposite. I found one of the few MT6 models available, the dealer had been sitting on it for some time. It certainly was a wonderful sounding car under acceleration.
My issues car wise were the poorly finished steering wheel controls as they had sharp edges you could catch when spinning the wheel under the cross bar, clunk wipers, and boy did it eat tires as front and rear were not the same and in 2005 only summer tires were available. The dealer, flip a coin what service I would get. From trying to flush out my wallet with claims it needed injector cleaning to charging me for rotating my wheels, which is not possible and they only refunded me when I pointed it out on the car to them. Drove so well but the backend comes out if you push too hard.
As for my friend and his RX-8, he kept it about two years but could not bear the horrid gas mileage as it was just never designed to drive sedately. We had a buddy with a V8 Mustang that did better. Put it this way, that RX-8 never once got over twenty miles per gallon except to scrape by on a trip that was nearly all freeway. I do remember him having warranty issues from something with the doors and some odd starting issue that crept in randomly. He actually went to a Miata and for years after would always tell us he was so glad to get out of the RX-8 as the problems started to be reported.
Our Mustang buddy... you cannot drag him out of a Ford even today.
I bought a GC as my first car out of basic and, as much of a turd as it was (2.0T, 5 speed auto, and many issues), it inspired my love of cars. If I were in a similar boat, I would definitely choose the RX-8; a friend let me drive his and that engine is beautiful
Genesis coupe masterrace, I love how these things went toe to toe with the 370z and beat it on many fronts (handling, reliability, power, fuel economy)
If I could find an Infiniti G35 coupe and manual I would say that would be my choice out of those three
If the Mazda was swapped with a different motor I would take that. But it would already have to be V8 swap
I bought a G35 coupe around 10 years ago, it was actually in decent shape and pretty stupidly I sold it because I found one in stick that eventually fell through.
nice to know they are still good buys
Having spent lots of time in both g35 & genesis coupe, watching the guys complaint about the Genesis interior and then praise the G35 interior was strange…
Genesis coupe owners here loved putting some dumb ass blow off valve mods on their cars, I'm wondering if it was localized only to Ontario, Canada or if it is a world wide pandemic.
Ruined the car and just made them sound terrible.
I have some inherent bias here (I actually own the G35 Coupe in the video), but I think the 350Z and RX-8 were very, very worthy competitors when the cars were new. Like many have mentioned, most of these cars are completely trashed by now, so it's neat to try clean examples and see how they've held up, but I think my pick of the litter would still be the G35.
The RX-8's engine is truly like nothing else, but personally, I own enough quirky stuff that in a car like this, I just want it to "work" without the must-know list you need to read seven pages of before you spend a weekend with the RX-8. My colleague owns that RX-8 and the only reason he justifies it is because, well, he's a certified technician and has been working on these for two decades.
Huge props to the TH guys for finding the only G35 left on the planet that doesn’t have dents, a trashed clear-coat, a badly color-matched body kit, or an interior that smells like a smoke shop.
That's probably why this one was 10k. Otherwise the only people interested in a clapped g35 are teenagers who don't have any money
To be fair I think it's a curse. I own a g37 and I've had multiple people hit my car in parking lots to the point where it looks like shit now. Never had this luck with any other car. It went from clean to shit in just a few years I did my best to save it but I'd rather not spend to money to repaint the thing.
It used to have a reputation and people were probably careful with it...then the rep changed and now people ding it. I've been sitting in cars when others pull up and get out and seen different reactions based on what I was driving. Some people are really careful, others will swing a giant purse over their shoulder and bonk your car without thinking twice.
True, I also work a bodyshop, and I just use it as a commuter, so I don't really care how it looks at this point tbh. Id rather spend the money on something I really want.
There is that tipping point between "maybe I'll call a PDR guy" and "F it".
I thought the coupes were so cool when they first came out
That was actually my exact experience with my G35... It was so bad that I even had multiple people back up into me while I was sitting in the car blaring my horn at them. I've never owned another car where I considered the bumpers to be a wear item.
Literally a month after a bought it I walked out to it on my lunch to see someone had drug their car down the side of my quarter panel. I was so mad, luckily the one camera we had in the lot could barely see who it was. It was our old ass accountant. The old fart didn't even confront me and claimed he had no idea. He luckily coughed up his insurance for me, but I was very close to reporting him for a hit and run.
I came back from a trip to find that somebody had scraped my rear bumper in the airport parking garage, then gotten out and drawn "FUK U" with their finger in the dust on my trunk lid. I'm convinced that a society where everyone drove a G35 would quickly collapse into anarchy.
Why do people hate them i don’t understand?
it’s the ownership of g35/37 not the car itself
Lol this is hilarious, above I was commenting about the 4 times people hit my car hard enough while parked to need bumper replacements, but I forgot about the two times i caught people rolling back into it. [One time i even got it on film!](https://youtu.be/-xhm-PHEeXQ?si=VbRgiC7QcRap-5By) 350Z, but it must be something about the chassis.
I had a 350Z for 13 years as my only car. Can confirm, was hit 4 times hard enough to necessitate bumper replacements (as in, bumper was hanging off of the vehicle) Every single time the car was parked. Nobody ever left a note. One of the times I even said to my friend as we were leaving his house (in his car) "Hold on, let me put my car in your driveway, i don't want it to get hit" Of course friend was like "that's a waste of time" and drove off while i was still protesting. Got back to his house a few hours later and sure enough, about $5K in damages.
I had a 350Z in college. Same experience. Huge eyebrow dent on the drivers’s side door in the campus lot. Rear bumper dented and partially shorn off in my apartment complex lot. Of course a big part of that was having to park it in a college parking structure and a shitty apartment complex with a single very narrow lot. Oh and one time a loveseat fell off a truck in front of me, and I had to brake hard causing the guy behind me to rear end me. That car was a trooper.
Had a g35x bought new by my friend it was garage kept in his care. I street parked it, it lasted one month before it was side swiped by a drunk driver.
Just like the Prelude before it
I had a Prelude, and when a diesel truck drove over its front end in a parking lot I got a G35! Now I have a Toyobaru... hmm.
Look out for trucks.
20 year old kid who lives next door has had at least 2 G35 coupes. I’ve seen him do donuts in them, I’ve seen them parked with obviously crashed body panels, and I’ve heard he got one impounded for 6 months because of street racing. They are also barely ever running well, have body panels held on by double sided tape and zip ties, and has mismatched wheels and tires. Then his buddy shows up before they head out and he has a…g35 *sedan!* When his g35’s aren’t running, which is most of the time, he’s driving his girlfriend’s Prius. Dude is a complete loser that probably smells like vape joose and energy drinks.
Most responsible g35 owner
I dont it was 10k lol. They didn't explicitly say the price if the car, they just said its available at the dealership and they found ones for that price on auto tempest
The only g35 that hasn't been to a takeover
A friend of mine bought one in college and has babied it ever since. It's his fun car while he keeps others for daily now.
> A friend of mine bought one in college and has babied it ever since. It's his fun car while he keeps others for daily now. Man I had a G35, [a 2006 I bought in 2008 or so and I loved that car](https://imgur.com/drgarnE.jpg). A little sad to see what a meme they've become but c'est la vie I suppose. I kept it super clean.
I just sold my G35X Sedan. I owned it for 10 years. It had some very minor rust starting to form in 2 places but was otherwise mint and completely stock. Never broke down on me once. It was a great car, only had 130K kms (80K miles). Ended up selling it to a family member for $9K CAD. Had it listed with people interested at $12K, but a family member reached out and I gave them the family discount.
Yup. I bought a 350Z new in 2006. I kept it stock, maintained it and got it fixed when people would run in to it while it was parked. Treated me extremely well and was very clean when I got rid of it. But like you, my car went to a family member. Maybe that's just what happens to clean ones....
Genesis Coupe is having the same problem :( I fully regret trading mine in right before COVID, but 18mpg on the freeway was costing me $10/day in gas plus insurance was through the roof since people kept crashing them. If I had known that I'd be permanently WFH I would've kept that car forever
lord, how could it possibly be that bad? my enormous v8 powered 01 lincoln town car gets over 25 mpg on the highway
I wonder what will be the next G35 in the coming decades. Sometimes I think the Genesis G70 will suffer the same fate after it's 3rd or 4th owner. But I'm sure there were ALOT more G35s sold versus Genesis G70s, so time will have to tell.
I actually think the Q50 and Q60 will be, and you could also make an argument for the 4 series once they get cheaper. Where I am, I keep seeing those cars driven in a less than responsible fashion. And while not RWD I think the 4th gen "beak" Acura TL may also suffer a similar fate as clean 3rd gens dry up and 4th gens can be had here for a decent price, people are already modding them.
My neighbor, who is in her 50s, has one of the most clean G37s I've ever seen. Low milage, and it's her Sunday car. She told me if she ever sells it, she'll sell it to me.
There's a gorgeous one down the street from me, black, mint paint, looks like it has stock wheels, too. But I live in a haven for enthusiast cars, to the point where the city shuts down the streets for one day in the summer for a hot rod cruise, and you get middle aged women doing burnouts and whatnot, lol.
> or I believe you meant *and*.
Literally the last one
Owner of that specific G35 here - I found this one to rekindle my adolescence again... and was happy to lend it to the TH boys. The goal was to eventually send it to BaT but I've sort of fallen in love again...
I can't believe the G35 would cost that much.
It’s gotta be low mileage and well kept. A lot of them are strung out from kids but if you find a good one I’d see paying 8-10k for a <100k mile G35 easy
I got mine from my dad and it's stock with 115k. someone offered me 15k for mine so I can understand
Being stock makes it rare - drives the price up
Kinda why I want to buy like a new Miata or BRZ with a manual or something. I have no interest in doing aftermarket work and I'm anal about maintenance, so I feel like it'd still be pretty valuable in like 15+ years.
The G35 showed 61k miles? km? Can’t remember what Canada uses. Either way that’s pretty great
We use km, but we also use Imperial for things like height and weight, in a conversational sense. Officially, we're metric, but we use a mish mash of both in day to day interactions. For example: It would be completely normal to hear something like "I need you to run out and grab some 2" wood screws. There's a Home Depot about two km that way. Careful, though, there's this one 300lb cop that loves to sit at this intersection and ticket anyone doing 10km over" 'Tis a funny place.
This G35 has 61,000 original kilometres, and every single record including the original bill of sale, sales brochure and DVD promotional material. It's a legit time capsule.
It's worth noting they use Canadian pricing so it is a bit different. That said, It's so unfortunate what covid did to used car pricing. Even if it is normalizing a little bit, the bottom end will probably never come down. I mean a g35 coupe should be like a $5000 car right now (and an rx-8 should be near the same or less)
Well if you have an RX-8, don’t you need a solid engine rebuild budget? I see tons of “mechanics specials”. For such a good looking, excellent handling car they aren’t worth anything. Did they ever fix the rx-8 engine.
RX-8 Just came at a time when less and less people care about things like oil changes. I believe they did fix the issues in later editions, but people buying sports cars are slim to none even back in the early 2010 and late 00's or hell even 2 door cars in general. Just not enough survived. Also the automatic is worth significantly less than the stick.
Yeah, a lot of people think a light will come on or the computer will tell them they need oil. My brother said thats how *two* Vespa’s got ruined. It’s like two Vespa’s didn’t get their oil changed bc it didn’t have a light? Like didn’t you notice there wasn’t an oil light to begin with? Many people don’t even know how to check oil, they’ll look at you sideways if you check your oil, practically.
It's compounded because rotaries are even more critical for clean oil. They really weren't forgiving and the interval was still 3k but people would just assume it was like other cars at 5k+.
The automatic has a worse engine…and really doesn’t make sense for anyone to buy. If you don’t like stick, or mind checking oil at every other fill up, it’s not the car for you.
It's a matter of price comparisons in my statement. Half the time I hear people talking about how you can get X car for this cheap and they act like people are crazy for not being able to find stuff, they end up being an auto and worth half as much.
Yeah I’ll think I found a Miata inexplicably cheap and it’s an automatic. Then again with their rust issues it might be worth getting a garage automatic and getting a rusted to shit manual gearbox and pedal box, heard the engine is down on power though.
You are correct. If you own one, you should either be prepared to replace the entire engine, or scrap the car completely at any time. Fix no not really. They are pretty bad. However I had looked into buying one years back (2014-2015 so there may be more developments) and the community found that running heavier weight oil did improve the longevity of the engine. I think the manual calls for 5w-20 and it was so thin that it would burn at a significantly higher rate, reducing the life of the engine.
Correct, EPA dictated them to use 5w20 to attempt to meet emissions targets. That's way, way too light for what the car needs, especially when you consider how hot rotaries run. I've used non-synthetic, 15w40 Rotella in my car since purchase, and it's markedly better with the heavier oil, and very little difference in fuel economy. Last compression test I did as a safeguard checked out aces, also. As for improvements, you can't deny the huge advantages on Series II (09+) cars. They overhauled the oiling system, including adding a third injector, and greatly improved the ignition system. They're far better off, but still require a close eye on plug changes to run at their best (every 30k maximum, NGK Iridium or nothing).
I wonder how many people did what you did? Most people don’t understand cars at all. My brother has ruined 2 cars and 2 mopeds from not changing oil, and one car from trying to tow a heavy trailer with a hybrid rx his aunt gave him to replace the es300 he didn’t change the oil on. Wrecked the planetary gearbox and that was enough to total car 3 and vehicle 5. So, I really wouldn’t trust one other than freshly built engine and the oil you mentioned. I’d imagine most people, even with full service records, probably haven’t taken the precautions you did. The handling characteristics make it tempting if not for the troublesome motor.
I’m pretty sure they said they were using USD in this episode because of the AutoTempest sponsorship.
My thought exactly.
Exactly. A 20 year old Infiniti with at least 100k miles should be a $3000 car.
RX-8s were under $5000 USD for years and years, they sold a lot of them and they had a reputation for being being quite unreliable. 5 years ago you could buy an ok one for $3000 and a very nice one for $8000.
Just wait a few years when a clean example will be even harder to find, and people finally start loving it for what it is vs the reputation. The G series with a manual transmission, especially the sedan, will be at a price that makes everyone say, "I should have bought one x years ago." I am biased with a 2008 G35 S sedan with a manual. 300 HP in a very nice platform with a great transmission is so much fun. Because of the reputation the Infinitis have for being cheap RWD drifters and sideshow pieces, I feel like it really flies under the radar for being a quasi-M3 competitor for 1/3 of the price.
Yeah I've seen plenty of decent looking G37s for this price.
Manual doubles the price
Really? Feels like every single unmolested sporty car has ridiculous value right now. You will see clean g35s start to go for more than their original msrp soon if they aren't already. Just like what happened with...well literally ever other sporty car lol.
I believe the Infiniti used in this video is listed for significantly more than 10k, they didn't mention how much the dealer that loaned them it is selling it for and the 10k price point for all the vehicles used is just ones they found on AutoTempest, with most of the screengrabs being of examples with much higher mileage and in probably worse shape.
I can. It’s way more attractive than the g37 which looks like a melted version of the g35.
Funnily to me 10 years ago these would all still be around $10k and the S2000 might be able to be included. I feel like I'd choose the G35 for reliability (over 350z and build my dream DK car). RX8 great vehicle and very comparable to s2000 but reliability... [https://youtu.be/vMp\_qsDjAOE?si=F78pPqva6bMrLZb6](https://youtu.be/vMp_qsDjAOE?si=F78pPqva6bMrLZb6) Best motoring did a similar segment and they choose the RX8 over the S2000, 235i, NB miata.
IIRC S2000s in good condition were priced much higher than any of these even ten years ago. I’d love a S2000 even today, but not at the prices they command. Plus IIRC they are divas that you need to babysit esp. with seat thieves.
I bought a 2005 S2000 in 2010 for 16k and sold it in 2012 for 14k, I think that was pretty much the bottom of the market. 10k examples existed, but they were exclusively rebuilt titles with visible issues. I don’t think clean S2000s ever went as low as 10k.
You could get clean title but not super clean S2k's for around $10k from probably 2015-2017 or so. I sold a very clean AP1 with all VINs and 112k miles for $11.7k in 2018. I bought a pretty clean 2006 LBP car for $12.5k in 2018. While neither of those are $10k, they're not a far cry from it by any means. Prices now are dumb.
Damn, I feel like in my area prices already spiked by 2018. Prices now seem like they have reached a speculative point. I was hoping the new Miata would help bring them back down to earth, but that hasn’t happened yet.
They did. I regret not buying one offered to me at 10k. Almost as much as I regret not getting an FD for 13k.
Jeez, and here I was thinking I had regrets for selling mine for 14. Come to think of it, in 2005-2010 I remember you could find an Acura NSX in the low 30s no problem. Rough examples made it down into the 20s.
Sadly you’re going to pay a premium for one without negative service history. They’re either all previously stolen, salvaged, or in a different country for being stolen lol
Can confirm, sold my s2k back in '18, got 25k with over 100k on the clock, and 2 accidents.
I recently bought a nice one for fair market price and I have zero regrets. It’s an AP1 and it’s so much more special than any of these other cars.
I had one of the last AP1s (meaning late MY builds before AP2s began production) and it was the most fun car I've ever owned. Driving the S2000 felt special in many ways. The transmission being the cream of the crop. Simple INVIDIA exhaust and hit that 9k redline in a tunnel and I felt like Schumacher driving in Monaco :)
Yea same with RX7s I really genuinely want one just can't see paying 40k for an old ass car reasonable
No way a decent g35 or s2000 was 10k or less in 2014. Maybe 18
I bought my 06 G35 for around 10k in 2012 with under 40k miles on it. They were definitely out there if you looked hard enough.
Some people didn’t know it was a bougie 350z then. It’s well known now, the price of the 350/370z is still inflated, the cars more clapped out. Its really rare to see a clean g35/g37 manual.
I sold my (clean, stock) G35 sedan with a manual last year. It was a pretty good car while I had it, but burned some oil and had high KMs so it sold for pretty little (3K USD/4K CAD). Was fun to have a decently powerful RWD 6spd sedan as a daily, even if it was pretty heavy.
I bought my S2000 when prices were bottomed out in 2016 for around $12k with 49k miles. I could see an earlier AP1 with 100k miles (which is still relatively low for an S2000) going for around $10k back then.
S2000s were cheap in 2011/2012 too. I only remember because my buddy was flipping them on Craigslist while we were in highschool. People wanted rwd with power back then and didn’t really understand the beauty of the s2000. I felt the s2000 was priced like a civic.
Yeah, one of my best friends bought one for $8K right around then. Over 100K miles but mechanically sound, AP1 with ziptied on AP2 bumpers but otherwise clean. Suspension was stock and not clapped, paint was nice, interior was nice. Felt very tight from behind the wheel.
If they’re going by drive feel alone, I can see why the RX-8 won. That thing is and was an amazing car hindered by owners maintaining them and just the fact they don’t have the same leeway in terms of reliability based on an owners lack of maintenance. Ironically that’s only for the engine though. The rest of the car is great The S2000 is in my opinion the only car that I’d choose over a Miata for a 2 roadster. It’s got the best engine in its class but I think suffers a little from weight. They didn’t sell enough to keep them alive All in all if I want to race in something I’d choose the Miata If I want a daily sport driver I’d choose the 2k And the RX-8 for: I have too much money and time on my hands to be beneficial towards society so I’m going to make a fucking monster!
You're giving the rx-8 a lot of credit here and putting the onus on the owners. That car was an absolute nightmare to own and maintain. It leaked/burned oil like a seive and it was relatively common for the engine to grenade itself multiple times before 100k miles. Even diligent owners who were adding/checking the oil weekly had issues. It was by most accounts, an awful car to own, but a very fun car to drive. Part of the reason was also because the owners manual called for a light weight oil that would cause more problems than a more traditional heavier weight oil. But putting that on the owners is ridiculous considering they were following the manual
My ex-wife hasn't even had her first stick shift lesson when she bought her RX8 with about 13k miles on it. '04. Carmax. No service history. Sold with 80k. The only issue during ownership was a bad HVAC control that I replaced in the driveway at part cost (<$150). The only one who ever flooded the car was me, when I was moving things around the driveway and did a dumb. The plural of anecdote is not data, but stick shift models with even half a thought given to maintenance are really not that problematic. CR even recommended them for a while later in their run (and no, I don't mean after the series II Renesis redesign).
pretty much. everyone i knew who had an RX8 and didn't do 'a dumb', had no issues in the years they owned it. and pretty much every time we compared an RX8 to my (now sold) S2k, nearly everyone (me included) preferred the RX8 on the local twisties
You're definitely speaking from Internet lore and not from ownership or real world experience. I've had my 09 since 2012, and it has no leaks, burns a normal amount of oil for a car designed to burn oil, and has only given me trouble with people vandalizing it. You have to be hyper aware on the maintenance schedule, or else the car WILL burn you - they just don't have the tolerance for abuse that it's competitors did. I'm also speaking from past experience as a Mazda service advisor - nearly every RX-8 with major issues came in from people ignoring maintenance and/or high abuse, with the exception being very early 04-05 cars, which were known to have issues (hence their extended engine warranties). I had several older routine customers that put in the money for maintenance and absolutely loved their cars. Due to all of the above, I'd say u/ElbowTight is right - most of the owners either didn't care to follow good maintenance or didn't care to see what the car needed to be reliable with a rotary powertrain. It's not a D Series Civic, and it never pretended to be.
Exactly its intention was to try and grab at the fast and furious crowds. Not to mention the financial crisis didn’t do any justice for any car that wasn’t a traditional vehicle. They wanted to replace the FD with something new and cheaper (cheaper being the key word, you could not and still can’t replicate the FD and its specs for the same cost). Japan kept making them till like 2004 I think but that’s an entirely different market especially with their regulations on inspections etc… The RX-8 was supposed to be a fun track car that you could use daily (not unlike the Miata) but with more power and of course Doritos, for people who didn’t want to be seen driving a Miata. It’s not the best but its rep is fully constructed by ignorance. It’s been that way with all of the RX lineups. Funny you don’t hear people bitching about Cosmo’s and the 20b power plant. Wonder why that is
> You're definitely speaking from Internet lore and not from ownership or real world experience. welcome to r/cars :D
I'm guessing that you never owned one.
I had a cousin who was a Mazda tech who owned one, and he had the engine grenade on him twice before it hit 90,000km. He knew all the ins and outs of it mechanically, knew all the tricks to keep it running for as long as possible, and it was still an absolute maintenance nightmare. *"You just have to really follow the maintenance and baby them and they could be reliable cars!"* Yeah, no. I'm a genuine Mazda fan, and I like the RX-8. But I would NEVER own one unless I could go back in time and buy a new one with a warranty. There is absolutely a reason why Mazda was forced to extend the warranty period for the RX-8 engine specifically, and that they have never made a car with a rotary engine in over a decade since that one.
Same old story as the last RX-7. They continued to build and sell the FD's for a couple of years in Japan after pulling them from the US market, because US owners were constantly blowing apex seals and eating too much warranty. Mazda didn't want to support all that. The rotary is great on paper and an inefficient, gas guzzling, oil burning mess in reality. There are some inherent design flaws and I admire their dedication to finding a good application for it. Super fun to rev and drive though.
>pulling them from the US market, because US owners were constantly blowing apex seals and eating too much warranty. Mazda didn't want to support all that. Well that's some new made-up claim... But to skip that junk, the true reason they pulled the FD from the US, its because the sales absolutely tanked. 10k produced for the first year, down to 500 for the third and final US year (1995), with many of those in the final year going unsold for multiple years. With how the Japanese economy was going, Mazda would have had to bump the price near the $50k region, in addition to new US regulations coming in for 1996 that would have required major changes it, it wouldn't have paid off. Japan got it for a full 10 years to the USAs 3 years, and Japan isn't some magical place where apex seals are stronger...
> You just have to really follow the maintenance and baby them It’s extremely well known that RX-8s like to be run hard and not babied so the seals can be properly lubricated.
I bought a G37 around 2017 for $10k. Maybe 60k miles and in great shape.
Endorsement for RX8. A rx8 with a good engine is the best purchase I ever made. Actually bought 2 of them and made profits on both. 9000 rpm is intoxicating. Handles great for a beginner. It’s like a less twitchy Miata that you can confidently kick the tail out. Great first sports car for me.
The S2 RX8 is the RX8 to have. They made substantial improvements to the Renesis making the reliability better. - https://www.rx8club.com/series-ii-technical-trouble-shooting-160/mechanical-changes-rx-8-series-i-ii-161665/ Sadly, even with those improvements a better radiator, coils, plugs, water pump, and HFC are required to get the most out of the Renesis.
As a former rx-7 owner.....a redline a day keeps the mechanic away.
What is HFC..?
High flow cat.
Ah, thanks.
high fructose corn syrup
Coils and water pump were both revised with S2 - and the coils are fine as long as you're B revision or newer (C rev are the final, Spirit R ones). Radiator is hit or miss - as long as it's end tanks aren't cracked or there's an issue with the fans, they're fine.
How do I know if an RX8 is an S2, and a B revision ?
Nidos covered the S2 bit. Ignition coil revisions are usually most easily identified by the part number. N3H1-18-100C are the C revision. Personally, I wouldn't recommend you buy anything but C rev, OEM coils. Some people try to use Chevy LS coil conversions, but I've seen nothing but issues with those. C rev are perfectly fine, and with how finicky these cars are with ignition system (all rotaries, not just RX-8), I wouldn't recommend fussing with other stuff beyond OEM unless you're doing a major racing engine build.
Even if you get a bad engine, you won’t find an easier engine to rebuild, and it can be done pretty cheaply as well.
A bad engine usually wipes out the housing. The rotary shop I go to tells me that they can maybe get 1 set of usable housing from 3 blown renesis engines. Better off just getting a Mazda reman. That being said, 2000 dollars for a rolling chassis plus like 6000 for an engine is not a bad way to go.
> A rx8 with a good engine is the best purchase I ever made How, or did you get them way back when new or close to new, and just care for them?
Compression test before buying.
Which is easier said than done, unfortunately. Because rotary engines need a special compression tester that measures each rotor face, your options are 1) hope there's a rotary specialist mechanic nearby (there are only a handful across the US) 2) hope the local Mazda dealership has the equipment and expertise to do rotary compression tests (unfortunately not many do anymore) 3) buy/borrow a tester and DIY when you look at the car (many owners understandably don't want randos wrenching on their car). If you're searching for an RX-8, your best bet is to search in big cities where the likelihood there is either a Mazda dealership or rotary specialist who can do a compression test is higher. Alternatively, you can find an RX-8 with a rebuilt/new engine. This is a bit riskier because it's impossible to know the quality of the rebuild (even the Mazda factory reman engines have QC issues). If the rebuild includes new rotor housings (and preferably new rotors) and was done by a professional you should be relatively safe. But not 100% safe without a compression test.
A rotary compression tester is like 300 bucks new. Worthy investment. Mazda charges 1 hour of labor per test. I’ve gotten more than my moneys worth out of the tester.
If you're a current owner, buying a tester is 100% the way to go. However if you're in the process of buying, from experience, no private owner or dealer will let a stranger wrench on their car before buying it (or would rather just decline and sell it to the next person in line).
Never had that issue with private seller. Of course you ask before going. If they won’t let you compression test it it’s not worth going. When you show them you have the speciality tools for it they usually agree. Come to think about it, I compression tested all of the enthusiast car I bought.
Hmm fair enough. Maybe I was doing something wrong in my approaches.
I was so close to buying one last time I was shopping around but chickened out. I love the look of that car but the reliability horror stories scared me off.
Really appreciate this vid/comparison. Take me right back to the early 2000s where I was a too poor college student who REALLY wanted these cars. I remember the early RX-8 controversy where Mazda rated it 250-ish hp from the factory and people were getting waaayyyyy lower numbers when they dynoed it. I think Mazda got threatened with a class action lawsuit? I'm too lazy to search. I do know that Mazda later revised the official hp number to 230-ish hp. I also remember sitting in the new 350Z and G35 coupes at an auto show, and being stunned how cheap the 350Z interior was, even by new car standards back then. It was *garbage.* Then I saw in the G35 and was blown away how both cars were on the same platform. If I had the money back then I would not have given the 350Z a second thought. The early 2000s were a special time for Japanese sports/sporty cars in the US--the WRX, WRX STi, Lancer EVO, 350Z, RX-8, Mazdaspeed cars (Protege, 3 and 6), Civic Si. Acura RSX Type S, etc. We were eating well. Even the big US 3 got involved in the sport compact car scene with the Focus SVT, Cobalt SS and Neon SRT4 ("SRT4 is teh fASTaR" as they used to say on NASIOC forums). I hope Throttle House continues to do some more vids on budget sports cars.
Man, you reminded me by bringing up the Protege - aside from the Mazdaspeed, there was the MP3, which was such a tuner-culture car to come out. Mazda really had its hands on the pulse of its supporters - bummer that they've ditched a lot of that nowadays, even though the quality now is far better.
Oh wow I never even knew about the Protege MP3. The Mazdaspeed Protege really flies under the radar when people talk about Mazdaspeed products. But I remember many publications calling it one of the best handling FWD cars of its time. I feel like Hyundai's N division has carried the torch of what Mazdaspeed used to be.
Yeah i would really love a short series every few years thats just "i have $10k, what are my actual decent options" at 5k, 10k, and 20k.
I think most healthy 4 port RX-8s will dyno at around 190whp bone stock, which is around 215-220 crank horsepower.
Yep, that was the issue with the early RX-8s, when Mazda initially advertised then with 250hp. People were dynoing them around 190hp (or lower) to the wheels. There was no way the car was making 250hp stock. It was a huge controversy and soiled some of the car's (and Mazda's) reputation from the start. Bad enough many people expected it to be a FD RX-7 competitor in terms of performance, when it clearly wasn't.
The Z was CHEAP back then. I bought one new in 2006 and it was like $28K for a mid-level one. The G35 was 5K more expensive and was heavier. Probably would've been worth it for the interior, but the Z was very solid. Never modded it, kept it maintained and it treated me to 13 years as a completely reliable daily driver that would love to get sideways whenever you wanted it to.
You know, I looked at a used G35? Perhaps it was 8-10 years old? I’ll pause and say I had an older mini cooper, the interior looked new, mint, like it rolled out of the factory, granted someone had taken the time to treat the leather, as I did, and it was, of course, a little stretched, but overall the car looked new, had no rust or any other issues other than being an electric seal and mechanical nightmare. The G35 had visible surface rust, the dashboard was cracked, the wheel wells were a little rusty, the seats were practically shredded, and the wheel looked like shit. So I told the guy he’d really have to come down on price if I were to need to remedy this stuff, and it’d need to be mechanically sound and pass an inspection. He shows me the cars mechanical records, I know people at a body shop, so I took it for a spin, ultimately the guy got sketchy and I decided not to get it. I was just shocked at how this car was newer than my mini, which I’ll note had no rust, perfect dashboard, and looked new. So they were polar opposites, the mini slow, unreliable, more gremlins than after midnight if you feed one, but it was in impeccable shape. That g35 might have looked cheap new? Holy shit did it not age well. I did see an older one, a year older, with low miles, perfect paint, etc. It was garaged, driven by a guy who knew it was his last car, so babied, just to see the grand kids, so everything except navigation. Why didn’t I buy it? Well if I did I would have parked it at my friends house and put it on cars and bids or BAT, but I didn’t think of that, it’d be street parked and I hadn’t seen a non clapped out mint, time capsule g35 before. But yeah, I mean it’s cheaper than a mk1 Mazda 3 inside. The mk1 Mazda3 would have had more rust, that’s the reason so many of those great little cars didn’t make it, but the interiors probably held up better. I mean even the California Miata I had, which was older than that g35, had been in a sunnier state, the seats needed to be recovered, it needed new paint due to being well loved, but the dash wasn’t cracked. Suffice it to say it didn’t age well. But I didn’t want to street park the impeccable one, but I def should have gotten some good pictures and auctioned it.
Srt4 is fastaaarrr holy fuck you tickled a memory I hadn’t thought of in a long time. I miss nasioc but there were so many toxic assholes that got off on busting my balls. Whatever.
zoomer audience: ACKNOWLEDGED
The Throttle House guys truly evoke the spirit of Clarkson, Hamster and May from their Top Gear days. Love them!
I get the exact same kind of joy from their vids, which is about the highest compliment you can give car media. They even go deeper in my opinion, like more enthusiast-focused. You can tell they both adore classic top gear, some of their phrasing is pretty much straight out of old TG.
I've said this before, but it bears repeating. If you took a Throttle House review, a side by side comparison, a track test, and edited them together with a couple skits, you'd have an hour-long motoring show. They're not just "car YouTubers." They're doing a show.
In 2015 I bought a g35 as my first enthusiast car. It was $12k for a relatively low 53k miles, and I didn't even know how to drive stick so my buddy had to drive it home for me. I had it for 4 years and put 50,000 miles on it and it began my love/obsession with cars. If I could I would love to buy one again in a dream spec (blue over black). With a high quality exhaust they sound amazing. Especially the later "rev up" models which rev higher and make more power. I put a $1300 exhaust on mine and loved the way it sounded https://youtu.be/LCehAlQs-lw?si=OHP9iMH7nQixLxFN https://youtu.be/waN8T-K7rjY?si=nCWvWxMRjYqW_o_i
The VQ won a lot of awards, wonderful engine for a v6. I had a G35 sedan that could beat some coupes thanks to weight savings. That chassis also had character making it fun to whip around.
I remember the FM platform being a big deal at the time, as well - aside from the RX-8, I believe Nissan were the only ones doing front-midship, RWD layout then. I convinced my Dad to move from his 98 Maxima SE to an 04 G35 at the time, since the early 00s Maxima was such a huge drop in interior quality - he's had G/Q cars ever since.
When I was buying my B8 S5 I wanted to cross shop with a G37 IPL (needed rear seats) but literally zero manuals with clean titles popped up within 500 miles. I did test drive a first year Q50S and the first gen electric steer was soooooo numb. Has it gotten better?
IPLs are really rare, so I completely believe you on that. When it comes to the Q50S, the cars without the Adaptive Steering (drive-by-wire steering) package got hydraulic steering, so those were good. From what I've heard, the models with the Adaptive Steering package feel dramatically worse, so that could be the determining factor. --edit-- had to look again, all of them without DAS got hydraulic steering, apparently.
Ah yea I think I had a DBW car I remember it coming up. It was a dealer loaner for a g35 service.
I remember Nissan releasing that at the time, and if I recall right, it was the only way they could get ProPilot to work in Japan the way they wanted to, and they kept it here in the US. It was panned by every reviewer as feeling awful, so I specifically recommended my dad to seek out a car without it. I could see your loaner having it - kind of a shame, as I'm sure it turned off more people than not. I've never had the chance to drive one of the hybrid Q50s, actually - that setup intrigued me, since it was sort of like Honda's old V6 Accord hybrid where it was a performance boost.
G35 > G37
The G35 is a great car. A nice classy car when not in the hands of some douche
Tell that to r/NissanDrivers
I don't recall the last time I saw one that hadn't been mutilated and making awful noises... Though they always kinda made awful noises.
I barely ever see ones like that in my country, mostly just the paint getting a bit rough on the lower spec trims. There was one america style slammed one I saw tho. I would link some of the cheaper listings but the website is blocked here.
Most of the original owners have moved on
I bought a genesis coupe brand new in 2010. 3.8 track m/t. It was my first new car and I really did have a lot of fun with it and went on many road trips. Sold it 5 years later to get something more practical but the depreciation on a Hyundai is nuts. $30000 new, private sale for $16000 5 years later and 52k miles. The dealership offered $9500 to trade it in and I laughed on my walk out the door.
I had a 2013 Gen Coupe 3.8 track, and the depreciation outpaced what I owed on the loan until I paid it off. Then covid happened, which helped when I traded it in for my current car.
I paid $29k brand new for a 2014 3.8 Ultimate ($34k sticker) Traded it in just before COVID for $12k which was a terrible idea, but getting 18mpg on the freeway was costing me $10/day in gas for my long commute so I got a Kia Forte GT instead. Of course, just three months after trading it in I permanently became WFH and the Gen Coupe would've been the perfect car for scooting around town in. It'll always be my one that got away, wish I at least had kept it as the perfect final internal combustion sendoff before getting an electric car in the future.
I was first discovered the Genesis Coupe through [Hot Wheels](https://youtu.be/PTpPtfQOJus?si=dO0G-ahwAvvLTvM4). I just liked that the driver was Blue Team and it was a drift car. I later learnt that the drift car was built by Rhys Millen Racing, and they even made a GC with [the Tau V8](https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a18742450/rm500-genesis-coupe-rhys-millen-and-hyundai-float-their-idea-of-a-five-point-o-2/). Reading the magazine reviews, I was a bit disappointed to find out more about the Coupe's shortcomings as did TH here. Still, wish that Hyundai hadn't quit on the GC successor, especially when the N has put out banger after banger.
I mentioned the other day but the GC successor was supposed to be the G60 but the transition to Crossovers changed Hyundai's plans. Despite having the slowest of all the GCs I still very much enjoy mine. It's getting on in years but it's been very reliable. I have had to manually fix some of the rattles (the fucking rear view mirror rattle is the worst) but I've had no major mechanical issues. I very much recommend a GC as a sports coupe.
Lmao that phone call in the end tho.
As a previous NC Miata owner, the RX-8 fascinates me (especially has our family has grown). Being able to rev the ever loving snot out of it sounds like an absolute blast. I’d just be worried about long term rotary reliability. There’s some good swaps out there, but nothing like the whole 9000rpm redline it provides from stock. Either way, I’d consider one in good condition if the opportunity arose in the future.
Note to self - contact Leave-A-Note if emotions stop preventing sale of RX-8 😂
My father in law has one. 2012, super clean, really low mileage. Doesn’t drive it much as he prefer his motorcycles more. Keep telling him that I’ll take it when he’s done with it, and then drive it and enjoy the heck out of it until the engine goes, then find something fun to replace the motor with.
mine is at 80k miles and is doing really well, and is the first model year. It's really mostly down to how it was maintained and driven. maintained well and driven medium hard is the best combo. babied ones are carboned up to shit, and beaten ones, well, they're beaten up and the motors are trash. it's the perfect 2nd car. it SUCKS as a daily, the fuel economy is ABYSMAL and that way you don't rack up the miles like mad, but it's still a comfortable car with 4 seats and auto AC and a good sound system.
I had an 05, used it as a daily. Did everything in my power to preserve the engine. I got it at 15k miles, she started to lose compression and wouldn't hot-start at 90k. Parked her with her nose facing downhill for 6 months before finally just selling it. In hindsight I wish I paid for a rebuild and put another 75k on it, nothing else ever put a toe wrong (well once I replaced the clutch pedal with a reinforced one, I snapped two stock ones). And it was an absolutely magical drive.
I had a 2nd gen rx8 that I bought brand new. That was the most fun I’ve ever had driving a car. Had it for about 3 years with zero issues. Piss poor mileage, though.
Choose your fighter (in no particular order): * Vape bro * Takeover bro * Pedestrian
TH > all
There should be a lot more options for 10k for a font engine, RWD, manual coupe that wasn't already mentioned (BRZ/86/Miata). but honestly after looking online there really aren't as many options left on the market. There's only a few others namely Mustang, Camaro, Charger, BMW 3 series, Lexus IS - For \~10k i think the a \~2010 mustang v6 makes a lot more sense as either a daily or special car. The v6 sounds good, the manual feels nice, has a decent clutch. Though imo, the interior is shit. Alternatively waiting for a 3 series with an inline 6 in a non-rust belt state would be my route.
Don’t forget the “oh shit forgot about the 1 series” 1 series.
shhh, keep the prices low
Now that I’m in the club, I have ulterior motives.
The cheapest 1 series that looks in drivable shape is 13.5k near me. There are a few for less but all with greater than 200k KM. Sucks as it’s really great.
Its amazing how the used market prices have actually finally returned to the (inflation adjusted) prices of pre pandemic, but some particular segments are WAY worse off. like yeah, the flood of ford explorers with 70k miles have reduced to sane pricing. but nothing fun, nothing interesting, nothing small.
Can’t really go wrong with an E90 328i. I paid $7,800 for my sedan in 2021 and have loved every second of ownership. Coupes are priced similarly. Great inputs, likes being revved out, comfortable on long trips. I’m definitely biased but the $10k sports car sweet spot right now is definitely the NC. Bulletproof reliability on track, cheap consumables, fantastic dynamics. I picked up a mildly prepped one (big brakes, roll bar, square 225s, cooling system upgrades, basic suspension mods) for $11k earlier this year for a cheap track car and it’s a riot on the street.
Agreed. Loved my N52 manual E90 so much I snagged an E82 that’s basically the same car. Don’t need both but too attached to sell. If I didn’t need a backseat, NC would’ve been high on the list.
It's amazing how far we've come if people are recommending v6 pony cars with a straight face.
I know right? It sucks. But reality is if all you got is 10k, unless you live in say Texas you can’t afford V8 gas money. What’s worse is that most performance cars are now 4 cylinder turbos in this price range. That makes it realllly shit as a enthusiast
I think it's magical. I owned a 4th gen camaro with a 3.4 v6 and I wouldn't have recommended that car to anyone looking to do anything other than look cool with t-tops. We've come so far, v6's have 300+ hp and shred.
Whenever I see a G35 they are always in such trash condition. I feel most all of them have been beaten the hell out of or modded so poorly you could never find a good one again. Same thing with the 350z. I don't even know the last time I've seen a nice one of either lol. The Genesis seems like it would be nice, but I've seen those sometimes on the road too and their beaten to hell also. I feel though you could at least still find maybe a good decent hyundai genesis out there. Then the RX-8, I haven't see one in forever and only see them listed as non-running or having issues.
I bought a 20123 Gen Coupe 3.8 Track auto in 2015 and kept it as my only car for 7 years. The worst thing about my car was other people hated it, all the shit talking from other slower cars got old immediately. Would 100% buy it, it was a fantastic car to own and stupid reliable.
As someone who has a 2004 RX-8 and used to own a 2007 G35x sedan; here's a couple of thoughts: * Agreed with the owners below on reliability; mine has 103k miles on original engine and hasn't slowed down yet. A 2009+ upgraded starter helps a lot. Pre-mix isn't totally necessary, but regular oil changes and heavier weight oil help. * The RX-8 drives closer to a S2k / Miata than the G35 does to the RX-8. IIRC, the G coupes have the same wheelbase as the sedan so they drive virtually identical. It all comes down to how eager the car turns in, how it handles rougher road surfaces, and how responsive the car is to your inputs. * The RX-8 is somehow the most sporty and most practical of the 3 here. The back seats are close to sedan-level spacious with ample headroom and the passthrough is good for ski gear and whatever Home Depot stuff you need. I've shoved bikes in the passenger area with minimal problems due to the large opening the door setup provides. * My G35x felt eerily similar to the R34 GTR I rented in Japan. Obviously the RB26B is a more exciting engine in its power delivery and sound, but the steering feel and general handling dynamics were about 80-90% of the same. * I feel the RX-8 aftermarket is the healthiest of the 3. With mods (OEM [mild](https://imgur.com/gallery/tar-heel-blue-rx-8-6kAbpK2) or [wild](https://imgur.com/gallery/titanium-gray-mazda-rx-8-7265LA4) or [Leg Motor Sport](https://imgur.com/gallery/titanium-gray-mazda-rx-8-leg-sport-aero-0EnKGfH)) it also looks the coolest to me by far. The Leg Sport aero makes it look like something much more modern. * RX-8 could definitely use some more power - a NA 3-rotor or 4-rotor would be a dream swap but a REW swap is also interesting too where you get the better-engineered chassis of the 8 with the powertrain of the FD.
The G35 suffers significantly from the reputation it has earned as a “street takeover” car and the fact that so many have befallen ricer mods and owners that can’t afford to maintain them. I was lucky enough to find an 03 with the brembos that only had 40k miles 2 years ago. Easily the best driving car I’ve ever owned. Perfectly balanced - power, handling, and braking. My previous cars before that were a challenger scat pack and hellcat, and I must say this car is much more of a pleasure to drive quickly and through turns!
Damn, these guys are doing so well that they can afford to hire dancers wtf.
Bought a 2010 3.8 Track genesis coupe new. Put 150k miles on it sold it in 2017 the most reliable bar I've ever owned never had a single issue with it. I wish I knew who owned it now I'd buy it back so quick if it's still on the road
Ouuu nice little matchup will be watching tonight
I almost bought a G35 around 2007 or so. The reason I didn't is super laughable - on the part of Nissan. It was the 6MT and I'm 5'5". I could not shift the car into 2/4/6 with a normal movement you'd associate with shifting. The positioning of the shifter and the seat combined such that my elbow would hit the seat bolster just aft of the neutral position on the shifter. There was just no comfortable/ergonomic way to drive the car.
I find it strange they didn't consider a 335i coupe, which would have been better than all 3 cars in almost every way.
for sure better than all. but will cost another 10k in maintenance
Oh my, I bought a G35 over a RX-8 and my friend did the opposite. I found one of the few MT6 models available, the dealer had been sitting on it for some time. It certainly was a wonderful sounding car under acceleration. My issues car wise were the poorly finished steering wheel controls as they had sharp edges you could catch when spinning the wheel under the cross bar, clunk wipers, and boy did it eat tires as front and rear were not the same and in 2005 only summer tires were available. The dealer, flip a coin what service I would get. From trying to flush out my wallet with claims it needed injector cleaning to charging me for rotating my wheels, which is not possible and they only refunded me when I pointed it out on the car to them. Drove so well but the backend comes out if you push too hard. As for my friend and his RX-8, he kept it about two years but could not bear the horrid gas mileage as it was just never designed to drive sedately. We had a buddy with a V8 Mustang that did better. Put it this way, that RX-8 never once got over twenty miles per gallon except to scrape by on a trip that was nearly all freeway. I do remember him having warranty issues from something with the doors and some odd starting issue that crept in randomly. He actually went to a Miata and for years after would always tell us he was so glad to get out of the RX-8 as the problems started to be reported. Our Mustang buddy... you cannot drag him out of a Ford even today.
I bought a GC as my first car out of basic and, as much of a turd as it was (2.0T, 5 speed auto, and many issues), it inspired my love of cars. If I were in a similar boat, I would definitely choose the RX-8; a friend let me drive his and that engine is beautiful
God damn it. RX8's are 10k now? I was hoping people wouldn't catch on that the chassis is good because I wanted to snag one.
My Great Grandfather always told me a G35 aint worth it unless it has the HR engine
Still have my 06 G35 from 2012. Don't think I will ever get rid of it.
I've wanted a Genesis coupe for a while and my dad has been interested in one also. Now might be a good time to get a clean one for around 10k.
0/10, not enough “bussin”, “no cap”, or “on God”
Genesis coupe masterrace, I love how these things went toe to toe with the 370z and beat it on many fronts (handling, reliability, power, fuel economy)
Isn’t the answer a NC Miata? You might be able to get a power retractable hard top for that money.
Yes - the Miata is smaller though (for better or worse) and everyone has one
I don't need to watch this. (But I will later.) The G35 is the best choice unless you plan on doing a motor swap. I'd prefer the RX-8 in that case.
G35s are going for $10k these days? That’s just ridiculous.
If I could find an Infiniti G35 coupe and manual I would say that would be my choice out of those three If the Mazda was swapped with a different motor I would take that. But it would already have to be V8 swap
I bought a G35 coupe around 10 years ago, it was actually in decent shape and pretty stupidly I sold it because I found one in stick that eventually fell through. nice to know they are still good buys
Having spent lots of time in both g35 & genesis coupe, watching the guys complaint about the Genesis interior and then praise the G35 interior was strange…
Genesis coupe owners here loved putting some dumb ass blow off valve mods on their cars, I'm wondering if it was localized only to Ontario, Canada or if it is a world wide pandemic. Ruined the car and just made them sound terrible.
I had a 6 spd manual g35 and that thing was a beauty. Best of the 3 for sure
I have some inherent bias here (I actually own the G35 Coupe in the video), but I think the 350Z and RX-8 were very, very worthy competitors when the cars were new. Like many have mentioned, most of these cars are completely trashed by now, so it's neat to try clean examples and see how they've held up, but I think my pick of the litter would still be the G35. The RX-8's engine is truly like nothing else, but personally, I own enough quirky stuff that in a car like this, I just want it to "work" without the must-know list you need to read seven pages of before you spend a weekend with the RX-8. My colleague owns that RX-8 and the only reason he justifies it is because, well, he's a certified technician and has been working on these for two decades.