As the mileage on my G37 increases, I am beginning to contemplate the maintenance costs vs value of the car, and want to know what I shall expect in the upcoming years, regarding high mileage maintenance. I went to the Infiniti dealership last week for an oil change and talked about a trade in on a new Q60 RS. The sales rep was very rude, said my car is worth $7,000 and I should have never bought a used car in the first place; stating it would have been a better investment to finance a new Honda civic. I told him I would rather have a lightly used Infiniti any day over a brand new cookie cutter Honda.

My finances/ car specs are as follows:

2012 G37X coupe, 70,000 miles, good condition (typical wear and tear cosmetics), $183/month 5% interest (first loan, 24 years old), $6800 left on loan)

When will the following items require maintenance and how much will they roughly cost?

- Transmission fluid flush
-coolant flush
-differential fluid flush
-power steering fluid
- belts
- spark plugs
- wheel bearings
- other (what am I missing?)

Also; some guy rolled into my car at a red light last week, causing $700 worth of damage to rear bumper cover (scuffs, small crack, not too noticeable mostly labor costs). The culprit paid me for the damages

In summary my questions are as follows:

1. Pay off the car, keep up with the maintenance, and sell the car at 140,000 miles for about 5 grand

2. Pocket the $700, and sell the car this summer before it reaches 100,000 miles and use the car towards a trade in on a new, low-mileage sports vehicle (Ford Mustang GT for example)

3. Invest the $700 towards getting the car vinyl wrapped ($3000), pay off the car, build it up, and keep it forever

 

Check out the owner's manual for standard maintenance intervals. Costs will vary if you go to a dealership versus a local mechanic. You can also tackle most of these items yourself (see DIY's) and save hundreds.

I would recommend scrapping the cracked bumper and buying a used one for $300-400. Also, keeping a car for long term use is typically a more sound financial decision than trading in for another car because of transaction costs, steeper depreciation, and financing.

 

One thing I figured... is never give the payoff, or pay off (lender) info until you are absolutely ready. If you owe 680p left, of course they ll hit you at 7k. And resell it for 15k+. Or private party sell it and pocket more money.

Only you know what is the better idea, listen to those closest to you.

Since the new models came out, your car will depreciate more every month, pay it off and roll with it until you are stable enough to do (insert life situations here)...

 

The maintenance on these cars is low if you look after them and relatively inexpensive (compared to a BMW, Audi etc). Is everyone suggesting I just keep the car, buy a used bumper, get it painted, and just keep the vehicle? I'm also moving to SoCal and bringing it with me. There it will last longer in the nice warm climate without anymore harsh winters

 

^^ What these guys said. It will be more economical to keep the maintenance up on your current car and keep the car than it will be to buy a new car.

Here is a link to a service and maintenance guide that might be helpful as well

https://owners.infinitiusa.com/conte...ance-guide.pdf

 

Keep your bank account healthy and stick with the G. Almost every car out there depreciates, it just depends where along that depreciation curve it falls. We've already made it to over 50% depreciable value so previous owners have already taken the hit for us.

 

If you haven't done a transmission flush yet, I'm not sure if I would. I have 88k miles on my car and brought the car over to my mechanic and he said to not change the transmission fluid at all and that the fluid will last the duration of the car, (via manual). I've also heard this being said by other people too, (not sure if true). My mechanic's reasoning was because if I haven't changed the fluid yet, overtime there is build-up within the transmission and the old fluid is use to it. If you were to flush it with new fluid, it would break up the build-up and destroy the transmission. Is it true? I don't know.


I also just changed out my spark plugs, valve gaskets and valve gasket covers and sealed my timing chain cover which were all leaking with the mechanic which wasn't exactly cheap lol

 

Other than the mildly scrapped bumper, the car is in excellent condition. I get oil changes done every 4000 miles, garage kept, etc etc. I guess the best idea is to keep it well looked after, maintain, and build it in intervals? Should I pay if off faster or keep paying the min payment required?

 

Simple answers:
(1) Keep the G and pay off the loan ASAP
(2) NO MODS until the loan is paid off

The best situation is when the G is paid off and the maintenance costs are low.
Any decent new/used car will cost about $300-800 per month.
Enjoy the G and drive it into the ground.

 

Door number one!!!

 

LOL I couldn't stop laughing at the value the guy told you. I traded in my G35 with 140k miles on it for more than that given it was 2.5 years ago now but still. I had my 2008 6mt g37 with 73k miles on it appraised recently while trying to buy an Evo X and they were willing to give me $15,000 trade in value. I would say unless you have your eye on something and don't mind being in a loan again then get a new car, but a paid off car is always the best. I've had my eye on an Evo X recently but after thinking about being in a $15,000 loan again plus having to buy mods again I decided to just keep my paid off g37. In your case I think you should pay off the loan and do the maintenance. Out of the things you listed you don't really need spark plugs,coolant, belts, wheel bearings (unless they are bad) yet. The rest of the stuff is done every 30k so it's typical maintenance.

 

Guys,

I appreciate the advice! This is my first time financing my own vehicle and everyone's advice gives me more confidence that I am currently in the correct situation. Also; I believe the G coupe will become rare and may increase in value or become a classic in the distant future as they are becoming more and more scarce. I see one G37 coupe a week on average and maybe one G35 coupe every two weeks, compared to about a dozen G37 sedans a day.

 

"You might want to visit www.gatorwraps.com, you can request for a quote plus they have a lot of vinyl wraps with lots of colors to choose from.
"

 

Awesome! I had a quote from a different installer for $2500!! The life expectancy on wraps is only 3-5 years....

 

Try 1-2 years because the people who usually get them done always want something new