Hey guys. I've been into cars and modifying them for a long time, but I've decided to replace my current car (turbo E36 M3) with a G37 sedan. I am interested in the G37 because my mom drives a G35 and every experience I've had with her car has been great, apart from one major setback, the gas consumption. My M3 gets better mileage and it makes 420 whp & wtq.

I've grown weary of driving a fast, loud and impractical coupe. One thing I know for sure is that no modifications, of any kind, will go on the car I buy next. Been there, done that. I think the G37 is a perfect combination of speed and luxury that a daily driver should have.

I did not do a search, but hopefully you guys are not too opposed to answering some basic questions.

1) What are the biggest maintenance issues that need to be addressed within the first 60K miles?

2) If purchasing pre-owned, is it difficult to find a manual G37 sedan?

3) What are your biggest qualms with the car?

4) Most importantly, is the gas consumption any better on the G37 than the G35?

TIA

 

1. Nothing major
2. Probably yes but check in the Cars For Sale sub forum.
3. Front wheel gap and lack of torks
4. No, not better.

 

1)Just what is in the manual. Fluids and filters.
2)6MT is equally rare new/used
3)Coupe is heavier than the sedan. Paint is softer than other brands, but mine self heals.
4)Gas consumption is better, but not much. All my cars that I have owned in my current house have consistently performed just above the City rated mileage. I have just over 20 mpg for the first 10k driven on my 2011 G37S Coupe 7AT.

 

1) Nothing that should break the bank as long as you can do minor maintenance yourself (air filters).
2) Probably harder to get used than new for 6mt (check classifieds on here)
3) The transmission isn't very smooth, could use more low end torque, interior can make rattling noises at times going over bumps (can probably be blamed on stiff stock sport suspension and low profile tires).
4) I'm getting about 21mpg driving mostly city/canyon type roads with big hills.

 

1. nothing really
2. probably...but could depend on your geographic region
3. 7AT tranny. Harsh, jerky shifts. Lag. Lack of low end torque. The 2012 should be a litle better, but not confirmed.
4. Not by much. I average 19mpg city/hwy combined.

 

1. as others said, nothing in particular. regular preventative maintenance & wear & tear.
2. search cars.com. decent selection there, but 6MT sedans account for only ~5% of production for the G37 sedan.
3. paint chips, not the greatest low-end torque, warped brakes (replaced under warranty).
4. a bit better on the G37 compared to G35. i average ~20mpg (US gal) city driving. my range is more with the G37 though. i get 40-50 more miles in the G37 for a city tank.

 

Thank you for your responses guys.

I have driven a G37 for about 200-300 miles and I don't find the automatic transmission too irritating. It seems to be extremely sensitive in sport mode and a little laggy/dimwitted in regular mode but that's ok with me.

I have driven a 335i and it seems to have the same issues in regular mode.

 

The new 8 speed 335i is great, the older coupe style not so much.

I personally like the 7AT and it has been behaving much better over the past few months. If you look on the FS section, there is a sedan with a crazy low sale price for a 2011 compared to when I last price checked. Plus he's done some tasteful mods to upgrade it.

 

With a nationwide search, you'll find maybe 10% of the 6MT G37's are Sedans. For example, I searched AutoTrader just now, and found 300 used G37 6MT Coupes, but only 36 Sedans. And here's another disappointing tip: people place these ads thinking their 7AT is a MT transmission because of the gate shifter. Seriously. That drove me nuts.

Fine tune your search by mileage and options, and the pickings get even slimmer. Dare (!!!) to insist on a particular color or model year, and you need to prepare for a long search.

Took me two months to find my Moonlight White 2011 (used w/3k miles). And even then, I was looking for a 2009 in Lakeshore Slate.

To answer your question directly: Yes, it is extremely difficult to find a used G37S 6MT Sedan.

 

My 07 35 got about 5-10% less mpg than my 09 37 both had ATs but the 7 speed cruises about 700 rpm less at 75 mph so that's where the savings are, around town it's about the same. With a 6MT I'm guessing you'll probably get the same mpg as a 35, maybe even worse sine the 37 has a bit more power, but th VVEL may help in that regard

Infiniti paint is horribly fragile, if you can find a model w/ a clear bra installed you'll be much happier. The seat leather is also quite thin, especially compared to your M3 seating, just be aware of this and check the side bolsters carefully when shopping around, make sure the cracks aren't too deep or any serious abrasions.

And you really need to mod it a little, at least get rid of the as$ ugly stock wheels

 

Thanks guys. I know exactly what you mean by fragile paint by looking at my mom's G35.

No more modifying though. Over the past 10 years I've owned 2 E36 M3s and modified both of them. The first one was modified only with N/A modifications. Thousands of dollars for 50 horsepower, what a mistake.

The second one I bought in 2007, with 12K miles and put a turbo on it. So much money spent on adding something to the car that doesn't belong on it in the first place and then more money spent on reinforcing other components (clutch, suspension, etc.). In retrospect, I could have just bought a lightly used, stock C6 Z06. My brother has a stock one and he put an asswhipping on me when we raced.

In any event the plan was to buy an E92 M3 or a C6 Z06 but I realized both of those would up getting modified and I would want another DD for when it rains. Buying 2 cars is not a good decision financially, not to mention maintenance costs, especially on the M3 are ludicrous.

Then I thought, well why not a 335i? For the same reason as the Corvette and M3. So easy to modify. I would just buy software and get another 50 hp and 70 lb/ft. But then the mod bug would kick in and I would buy the next software "stage" which in turn would require an oil cooler, etc. Just not for me anymore.

After dealing with practically every aftermarket performance company in the BMW world, I came to a conclusion that a person with the slightest semblance of common sense reaches instantly. That none of these companies have the knowledge or experience that the manufacturer's engineers have and that the performance of a tuned car is only superficially and temporarily "better".

For me, the G37 sedan creates the perfect balance between quickness and luxury for a DD and it is a car which I definitely would not modify because I don't consider it a sports car per se. The plan is to drive this car until I turn 35 at which point I will get the newer model M5 and use the G as a daily driver.

I'm looking for a pristine, low-mileage white sedan.

 

Good luck with your search. My 335i is loaded enough so that I would have to remove options to modify it in any meaningful manner. The different drive modes make it like owning multiple cars. That said, I am leery of the new F30 reliability which is where the G shines. You really can't lose with this car. After seeing some of the lease deal threads recently, you might come out ahead on those unless you are searching for an older model.

 

Not to be argumentative, but a little light modding to the G isn't necessarily contrary to common sense. A nice set of aftermarket sway bars, a pair of high-flow cats, a long-tube intake, and an uprev tune... these things can be done relatively inexpensive compared to what you're used to with the BMW, and are reasonable mods, without compromising the baseline design of an otherwise fine performance sedan.

For your search, you ABSOLUTELY want the Journey Sport RWD, or the 6MT. Do not get the AWD G37S, because when matched with AWD you get nothing that makes the Sport Package actually "sport". Coming from your M-class bimmer, you will be wanting the big brakes, sport suspension, LSD, and sport-tuned steering... none of which is there in the AWD car.

And lastly, yes, Moonlight White is a classy look. Particularly with the Stone Leather interior.

 

I've been looking at a bunch of g37's on my search. I've only spotted 1 sedan that's manual so far. G37S manuals are a little hard to come by already, the sedan manual are really tough. Especially if you want a particular color etc.