Nissan 240sx vs Infiniti G35 for first car?

Strangereal

Strangereal

46
United States
United States
killstreakr
I love cars. Always have since I was a wee lad. Now technically this wouldn't be my first car to drive daily. Currently I drive a Pontiac g5 coupe. Fun car but I'm borrowing it from my grandma. So I'm in college, have 2 jobs, but I need my own car. I can't keep using hers. I want to modify and have fun with a car and show it off at meets. I wanna love it and hate it. I want it to run smooth and then make me find out what's wrong with it. This is gonna be my first big purchase (my price range is 15k and lower with 2-5k downpayment) and I just want an opinion on how I should go about this. So my questions I want answered is...
Which car needs more maintenance?
Which is more fun?
Which is worth its price?
How hard is it to find parts for each?
How hard is it to find the car for sale in general?
Which has a better aftermarket?
Which is a better car to learn how to modify?
Which one do you think looks prettier?
PRICES?!
and any other things I might not have asked would be awesome to know.
Hopefully I'm on the correct thread because I can never forum correctly.
I do appreciate all replies but don't let this turn into any arguments so keep replies mature and informative. Please.
 
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You're going to get a lot of replies going on about not getting a project for your first car, especially considering your situation, but... the key is if you are going to get either one or any car for that matter it has to be solid and extremely low maintenance.

I'm not familiar with Infinitis but the 240SX will most likely be tough to find in good condition.
 
Downhill Dino
You're going to get a lot of replies going on about not getting a project for your first car, especially considering your situation, but... the key is if you are going to get either one or any car for that matter it has to be solid and extremely low maintenance.

I'm not familiar with Infinitis but the 240SX will most likely be tough to find in good condition.
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Most of his questions are quite vague, he doesn't give a price range and he is also asking us to give our subjective view on his potential purchase that he has to live with. Strange thread, as per usual.
 
240SX to nearly all the above. The G35 is going to carry a premium on parts & maintenance because of its brand.

Buy a solid example and avoid making a project out of it if it's your only car.
 
I wouldn't go for either choice to be honest. I had a '89 240SX as my first car, and while I don't think it was a serious mistake because I ended up learning a lot from both the experience and the car itself, there are a lot of things that go into owning and maintaining one - while this is true for every car, the 240 in particular has some additional 'special' quirks.

First off... good luck trying to find one in decent condition that isn't a project car or is reasonably priced. The drift tax is a killer for funds, and while my example was reasonably priced, I spent about half of what I originally paid for it in rust repair and undercarriage work. That's not to say there aren't good examples out there, but the good ones are usually going to be priced rather high for a 25-year-old car.

Second, parts and maintenance... a big network exists for aftermarket stuff, but for things like a fuel pump or alternator (two of the things I had to replace during my ownership) a parts network exists, but the problem is that if you're not on the West Coast where 240s are more readily available and parts can be had, expect a wait time for parts. I had to use RockAuto, and while they had stuff, it usually took two weeks or more to arrive. You can find stuff, just be prepared to wait. Since mine was stock, and I kept it that way throughout my ownership, I can't comment on modifying it or anything like that.

Third... undoubtedly one of the most fun cars I've ever driven, if you can ignore my Nissan bias. if you can find a good example for a reasonable amount, and this is a big if... it is well worth it, despite what I said above about maintenance and repairs. Put a smile on my face every time I drove it, learned how to drive stick shift, and while I don't think I'd ever get another one unless the right one came up, it taught me a lot about what goes into owning a car and what you need to do to keep it running.

I say this not to discourage, but to inform, and if you can find a good one and understand what goes into owning one, then by all means go for it. There's a number of 240 owners here on GTP that can also help and share their experiences, all you have to do is ask.
 
Thanks for feedback guys. Sorry I didn't give a price range, I am going for 15k usd or less to spend on a car. I am going to do 2k at least on downpayment. 5k would be ideal but ofc I'll have to go strict ramen diet for that.
 
Just go reliable and inexpensive. I have a bit more money than you at the moment, and even I can't reason with getting a used sports car I really like for all the maintenance and trouble that could unfold.

Don't get caught up on the dream of having a nice car when you're young at the expense of screwing up your health and wellness in the long term.
 
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Geez with 15K I would get a used FRS if I was you.

Strangereal
I love cars. Always have since I was a wee lad. Now technically this wouldn't be my first car to drive daily. Currently I drive a Pontiac g5 coupe. Fun car but I'm borrowing it from my grandma. So I'm in college, have 2 jobs, but I need my own car. I can't keep using hers. I want to modify and have fun with a car and show it off at meets. I wanna love it and hate it. I want it to run smooth and then make me find out what's wrong with it. This is gonna be my first big purchase (my price range is 15k and lower with 2-5k downpayment) and I just want an opinion on how I should go about this. So my questions I want answered is...
Which car needs more maintenance? 240sx, its older and a lot of things go bad on it.
Which is more fun? 240sx, just personal opinion.
Which is worth its price? mmMM depends. G35 is worth more than the 240sx stock. It gets pretty expensive to mod the 240sx.
How hard is it to find parts for each? G35 isnt that bad, 240sx you gotta wait some days unless (as mentioned above) you live in the west coast
How hard is it to find the car for sale in general? Depends on location. When I was in California I saw tons of 240's. In the midwest I rarely see 1.
Which has a better aftermarket? I would say the 240
Which is a better car to learn how to modify? 240 for sure haha.
Which one do you think looks prettier? 240!!!
PRICES?! Mmmm depends on the 240. A clean one is around 3000-5000 if your talking about the S13. S14 is 5000-8000.

Example of a S14
S14 http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=656530

and any other things I might not have asked would be awesome to know.
Hopefully I'm on the correct thread because I can never forum correctly.
I do appreciate all replies but don't let this turn into any arguments so keep replies mature and informative. Please.

If you get a 240sx I would suggest also getting a cheap daily driver. You can go to any forum for these things man and they will recommend that. Daily Driving one is the worst, it sucks. I don't know how I did it for as long as I did. If you end up getting one I suggest joining Zilvia.net, however be careful how you post there. They don't play nice like this forum haha.
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JrDarknes
Geez with 15K I would get a used FRS if I was you.
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Was going to post the same thing.

240s are massively overpriced due to drift tax. Trying to find a clean one is very difficult. Add to this that even the newest 240sx is now 19 years old and you're probably looking at a project or in the best case scenario a car that will need to be looked over pretty thoroughly and lightly refreshed.

The FR-S/BR-Z is a similar layout but much newer and it's very possible to find stock ones with low miles (sub-50k) for under 15k. It's also a much more capable & faster car than a 240sx, stock for stock. The cars have a few minor issues, but if you can find a 2014 or later you will generally be fine as they are generally pretty solidly built and reasonable to maintain.

At the same time, if you are gonna have to eat Top Ramen to be able to put down a decent down payment, I would reconsider your budget. Don't stretch yourself financially, it's not worth it.
 
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McLaren
Should be cheap enough to buy out right.
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You could get a 240sx for $2000, but I wouldn't expect it to be in that great of a condition, assuming it's not just a rolling shell. $5000 opens up your options a bit, but I don't think the OP is in the financial standing to be spending that much money at once.
 
Strangereal
Thanks for feedback guys. Sorry I didn't give a price range, I am going for 15k usd or less to spend on a car. I am going to do 2k at least on downpayment. 5k would be ideal but ofc I'll have to go strict ramen diet for that.
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You're going to borrow for a used car? Don't borrow for a used car.

I recommend a used honda accord. There's a '96 EX with 77k mi for $2,400.
 
If you have that much to spend, you're probably better off buying something preowned that comes with some type of warranty just in case.

Although in all honesty, I'd avoid anything above 3 liters because the insurance premiums aren't good.
 
Well, thanks for the advice everyone and your input. I ended up getting neither of these cars. Instead i got a infiniti g37. My credit score is good, I have USAA as my insurance. The prices are affordable for me. It is my daily and I think I'm going to be fine with this car for a long time.
 

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