So I recently found a person on the g37 Facebook group that is interested in trading his 2009 G37S 6MT for my 2009 G37XS 7AT. He is an older gentleman who isn't enjoying the 6mt in the city traffic. We both agreed that I could swap all my parts over to his car and he would take mine with it converted back to stock. I would really like to go through with this but I have a few things holding me back.
CONS
1. His car has 115,xxx miles while mine has 70,xxx
2. He is located in Las Vegas, Nevada, so we would have to ship the cars and I wouldn't be able to inspect the car and the shipping fee would be a few hundred dollars to 1k. I am located in Michigan lol.
3. My car is tuned, so I would eat the cost of that.
4. Somebody else's car and don't know who worked on it.
PROS
1. It will be lighter
2. Being an 09 as well all my parts will transfer over.
3. Transmission can handle much more power.
4. More mods available.
5. I really want a standard transmission.
6. Lot less rust and corrosion being from Nevada.
I really like the idea of having the same year and car but with the rwd/6mt. I drove my XS all winter and it was a tank through the snow but I now have an older Chevy truck I can drive when it actually snows a lot. I love the XS and don't mind the auto trans and I can now turn off the AWD if desired. I am really bummed I can't change the final drive gearing very easily with the AWD model.
What would you do????

 

Only you can answer that question.

If you have hobby plans for this 6MT that will reward you for a few more years, go for it. YOLO and all that.

Personally, I wouldn't do it, but I'm probably less of a DIY guy then you are.

 

Cons:
I wouldn't worry too much about 115k miles if you have good maintenance records but it always carries a risk if you can't inspect the car first before buying. I would consider it a plus that it's been owned by an older guy as long as he's not cheap and skimped on maintenance. There's plenty of proof that these cars can go for 200k or more miles if taken care of properly. Has the galley gasket been replaced? I would be concerned about that because it's a model year 09 and it's not cheap to do.

Pros:
I don't know how extensive you plan on modding it. If you aren't going with forced induction, then either transmission is fine as far as handling the power. It will be more nimble with the lighter weight and RWD vs AWD so that's always a plus if you do any spirited driving or tracking.

Having owned my 6MT for over four years now, I can say it's definitely a fun car to drive after you do some mods. I'm not sure which mods you'll be carrying over so I can't comment much on this subject. You did mention changing the final drive gear, which is something I'd recommend (I haven't gotten around to doing it yet). I say this because the transmission/drivetrain are one of my biggest gripes with the 6MT in our cars. Even with full bolt-ons, minus headers, my car still doesn't feel sporty enough simply because the gearing is a bit too long for my tastes and the stock flywheel is SO heavy. It makes the car feel a few hundred pounds heavier than it is and the gear changes (rev drop) takes forever. It may sound like a small thing to some, but for me it is one of my biggest complaints. I do come from a Honda/Acura background though with the higher revving Integra, S2000, and RSX-S and so I'm used to the more nimble feeling of those drivetrains.

Other than that, I love the 6MT and I'm finding it very hard to move on from it. I think it will be a very well-rounded car with the aforementioned changes.

 

Funny enough I was in a similar situation a few years ago, and sold my '13 g37xS (with 60K mi) for an '07 G35S (with 126K mi). I primarily wanted to do it because Carvana offered me $20K for my '13, and I purchased the 6MT for $8K. But here's some additional thoughts:

1) 6MTs don't really depreciate. As a guy in finance, this was one of my big concerns with modding the X. Regardless of miles, a clean well maintained 6MT always command a premium and will have a buyer
2) The 6MT Sport trim is so much more fun. One thing that's often overlooked is the "tighter" steering rack- it does a lot to make the car more sporty. Also since you're looking at an '09 it should come stock with the akebonos.
3) I wouldn't worry about the milage (VQs are stout), but definitely budget for a gallery gaskets. You can see my recent post in my build thread on how toast mine were. Also inquire if the slave cylinder has been replaced- if not that might be another consideration to budget for (mine was replaced once at 60K mi by previous owner- I plan to eventually do a CSC elimination kit when it's time to replace clutch).

Overall if you have the time and the budget to handle the potential maintenance- I'd spring for it. Not many 6MT owners would trade their car straight up for an X so this is a bit of unique situation. I'm quite glad I made the switch.

 

I live in Las Vegas - u want me to check it out for u

 

If the higher mileage on the 6mt is a concern for you (I respect that), have the current owner take it to a shop in their area of your picking, and get them to perform a leak-down and compression test. It will cost a little, but worth it if you plan to keep and mod the car. Especially if the current owner is willing to do that for the trade. I'd also verify if the valve cover gaskets and gallery gasket have been replaced and ask if the OEM plastic coolant heater hose connecter has been replaced. If those have not been replaced, I would budget ahead for that or have them knock some off the trade/price (or credit you) to account for that, like deep0542 said. Coming from NV definitely have them send pictures of the all the hoses as some may be cracking from the heat. I have purchased cars from nearby AZ before- typically they are in great shape other than dried out hoses and cracked trim seals.

Be warned (in a good way), there is a rabbit-hole of mods for the 6MT you can get into to make the experience even better...various short shifters, CSC delete kits like Zspeed's CMAK kit, custom clutch pedal assemblies, custom/HD clutch master cylinders, let alone the aftermarket clutches and flywheels available if you ever plan to venture into that. If you do end up getting the 6mt send me a DM and I'll send you a spring for the clutch pedal that helps a ton with clutch modulation and feel on the OEM setup (you can have it). It's the JSOLO spring mod from a forum member here. Not sure if he still makes/sells them but you're welcome to mine if interested- I've got no need for it anymore and would rather see it go to a good home.

6MT is the bees knees. We need more people like you who enjoy them to keep them alive!

 

Nice round-up for typical mods on the 6MT. Add to that how the 6MT is well suited to support shorter gears in the rear diff.

Bees knees

 

Thank you all for the replies! Also, another 6mt is up for sale that's within driving distance. I will be checking this one out. I am really looking forward to switching to a 6MT. I was even looking at some BMW N54s with 6mt, but after working on one all summer just to have the turbo seals blow out, I really would like to stick to a JAP car. The G platform is 100x easier to work on compared to the German engineering BS we were dealing with LOL. I will keep you all updated.