Welcome back! I hope you all brought your eagle-eyes today, because we’re going to be looking at little details in photos. We’ve got two cars that are both said to run and drive well, but the photos hint at some potential issues. Are you ready to check them out?
First, we should wrap up yesterday’s truck battle. I honestly thought this one would be a bit closer, but the Nissan seems to have taken a fairly decisive win. Lots of support for the Avalanche in the comments, but it didn’t translate to votes.
For what it’s worth, I’m on Team Nissan here. I had a 720 pickup in college, and a WD21 Pathfinder when my wife and I moved from California to Oregon, and both were excellent. I have no doubt that this truck would be the same. And as for the comments that it would be “slow,” well, yeah, it’s a truck. I don’t want a fast truck; I want just enough power, and nice deep gears to make the most of it. Torque and leverage – that’s where the magic happens.
All right, ready to look at some janky rides? These two may be better than they look, but I doubt it. Get ready to zoom in; we’re gonna study some details. That’s where the devil is, I’m given to understand.
2004 Infiniti G35 – $2,800
Engine/drivetrain: 3.5-liter dual overhead cam V6, five-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Richmond, TX
Odometer reading: 179,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
All right, let’s just go photo-by-photo and see what there is to see. First thing I see is some terrible shutlines and panel gaps; I know Nissan didn’t let it leave the factory that way. Also, it could be a reflection, but it looks like the bumper cover is a different shade of silver than the fender above it. It looks to me like some badly done collision repair. The Plasti-Dipped wheels and grille are just tacky, not really a problem, but it does make one wonder what else was messed with.
Moving to the inside, we find dangling wires under the passenger’s side of the dash. What’s over there? Well, an airbag, for starters. Not something you want to disconnect, or even mess with the wiring of. It could be from a stereo amplifier, or something HVAC-related, as well, I suppose. It actually looks like the entire glovebox is missing as well. The leather is torn, but it’s a twenty-year-old car for under three grand; I expect some upholstery issues.
There’s more torn upholstery on the other side, and a missing sun visor. Again, not a huge deal, and a quick trip to a junkyard could probably score you a visor and a glovebox door pretty easily. The multiple vent-mounted air fresheners aren’t a great sign; hopefully they’re not covering up any really horrible smells. And of course, the tinting is turning purple, because they used the cheap stuff.
It’s banged up in the back, too, but no worse than you’d expect, I suppose. I’m not sure why it was de-badged, though. Is that a thing?
2004 Mercedes-Benz E500 – $3,750
Engine/drivetrain: 5.0-liter overhead cam V8, five-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Berwyn, IL
Odometer reading: 170,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Moving on to a W211-chassis Mercedes, we find some really bad aftermarket wheels. Those aren’t a crime, of course, but they’re also ill-fitting, which isn’t great for the suspension. But worse, if you look closely at the driver’s side door, you’ll see rust along the bottom edge, and a line of – something – coming down from the mirror, some kind of stain. Could be more rust. And we all know the rule with rust is that if you see some, there’s a lot more in places you can’t see.
This one doesn’t look terrible inside, actually. I see an aftermarket stereo with a screen, and the ad does mention a backup camera. But the seats are in nice shape, as is everything else, except that wrinkly armrest cover. The ad says that everything works, too, so that’s a good sign.
Yeesh. Another painted grille. But worse than that are those headlight covers. Why would you put smoked covers on lights? Their whole purpose is to provide illumination. And those half-covers on the low beams make the car look stoned. There’s damage to the bumper cover; the whole bottom lip is missing. And I have absolutely no idea what that red thing is behind the lower grille; if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know in the comments.
In the back, we find the biggest, dumbest exhaust pipes ever fitted to a Mercedes-Benz. I know it’s a V8, but come on; there’s no call for those things. It’s also badged as an E55 AMG model, but for some reason they have crossed out the AMG logo in the photo. Very strange. I have no idea what’s going on there. The rear bumper shows some damage as well; the left side has been touched up, and badly.
I don’t mean to pick on these two cars, or sellers, necessarily; they’re not really much worse than other cars out there. But they’re both described as being in “Excellent” condition and clearly, that’s not the case. Obviously sellers exaggerate and talk up cars; we all do it, but when it’s so easy to find flaws in photos, it brings into question the condition of everything they’re not showing you. The only sure-fire way to know what you’re looking at is to look at it in person. Which one of these is worth going to look at?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
The G37 is a survivor. They tend to wrap themselves around telephone poles before the age of 10.
They are both full of problems, but Nissans are up there with old Chevys for running badly forever, so I voted Infiniti.
Poorly maintained rusty old German cars should be saved for Autopian writers.
the Yellow plug is most likely the suspected Airbag wiring. the rest is at least still viable to be plugged into whatever. thankfully not just cut wires.
I would be pretty scared of a Merc with 170k on the clock either way, however the older Nissan’s were less concerning. I have always like the 1st gen G35 styling too, so I would probably go with that one….if I had to take one of these.
Nope. Not a chance. Both may run “excellent” for the suspiciously short test drive you are allowed, but not a whole lot further.
If pressed, I’d take the Benz as it has a nicer interior to wait for the tow truck when it inevitably grenades the engine on the trip home from buying it. If I’m buying it for someone I hate, it’s that Big Altima Energy all the way.
I’ve had a 350z for few years prior, racking up around 70K (bought it with 15K) Was very reliable sans the power windows.
G35 is just too roached out for me. Very reluctant vote for the Benz, I’d talk them down a bit for a wheel replacements.
Going Benz here, despite the dire need for a wheel transplant. I’m guessing that the Infiniti will not pass the Carfax test.
Geez, what garbage and bad, bad choices. The Infiniti fits all the stereotypes of the G35/Altima owners. Bad updates, ungodly crappy wiring done, bad tint and probably driven poorly and abused. So no.
The Benz is in Florida and has some rust (flood damage?) and poor repairs/repaint done. Stupid headlight changes. Fake badges maybe? Ok, I hate it too. I’d take the Benz I guess but I’d rather take the bus.
I’ve had a few of those Infiniti’s so I’d go with that for the familiarity. They aren’t too hard to fix and the engine comes out pretty easy (same with the transmission). Don’t ask me how I know.
That Merc is down the street from me! I’m taking the Benz, because it looks like it’s been messed with less
I used to live on a street with two tatty G35s, plus a knackered 350Z for good measure. The Z car belonged to someone who also had a C8 Stingray that sounded like a freaking diesel. Like someone poured in a healthy amount of ball bearings and sand with every oil change. Point is, all three of them seemed totally impervious to all the abuse.
Also that cracked lower lip and blacked-out chicken wire situation on the Mercedes is just too damn sketchy. Plus the bumper looks cracked. So I’m not really sure it’s any less banged up than the Infiniti. And the wheels, my goodness!
So, Infiniti.
This would be an easy choice if the Benz had stock wheels (or at least appropriately sized aftermarket wheels). I could see this being a solid deal at $3750. It might irreparably fail tomorrow, but it might be a fun car for a while. If I have to spend $1000+ to get appropriately fitting wheels, it is far less of a deal.
Also influencing my choice is that I am not a fan of the g35. I don’t like these cars. However, if I am in the market for a $2800 car, I’m probably settling for a vehicle I am not enthused about. So while I dislike this particular model, it isn’t a deal breaker.
Honestly, this is approaching coin flip territory for me, but I think I prefer the Benz. While buying new wheels could be expensive, I could presumably sell the stupid aftermarket wheels to another person who has poor taste to partially offset the cost.
I went Benz, but man do I hate it. Those wheels would have to be thrown out immediately, which makes the already more expensive car another $1k or more to get not awful wheels and tires. Definitely not worth it, but man that G is unappealing so I will take it I guess.
I had an ’03 Infiniti G35 sedan for 13 years. It was enjoyable to drive, handled well and wasn’t insanely expensive to keep running. While I would never waste actual money on this example, I’ll spend my Auros (Autopian Euros) on the G35 over the equally sad M-B.
But know now, Mark, there is not a scenario that you can imagine this Friday that would get me to vote for either one of these over any of Monday’s or Tuesday’s SBSD options.
I went with Infinity of Anonymity.
The joke about which will run badly longer doesn’t apply here.
But, honestly, is going to be cheaper to keep running in it’s current state longer will likely be the G35.
German parts aren’t cheap, so pick up the Infiniti with a quick stop at a junkyard for seats/dash-bits on the way home – and I would hope to just go on my merry way until the next thing pops.
The Mercedes belongs in an Albanian 2005 gangsta rap videoclip.
The Infinity belongs in a DashCam Accidents video of 2017.
I’d rather walk than turning my life into some sad Youtube experience.
jesus christ, the specificity of these burns LMFAO
The Merc is likely a mess, but I’d rather deal with those and the other inevitable used German car problems than this era Infiniti and it’s “Altima-adjacent” vibes.
Yeah, I got those vibes too. Complete with duct tape and a vape pen.
They’re both roached, but one’s not rusted to hell underneath because Texas.
Infiniti G35s have an almost Cavalier-like resistance to Big Altima Energy abuse. The wheels are tacky and say something about the owner, but the add-ons to the Mercedes scream that more questionable modifications have been done poorly.
They’re both one foot in the ground at 20 years/170k+. The Mercedes seems about six inches deeper and a thousand bucks more expensive. The Infiniti can probably be haggled down several hundred dollars based on the bangs, dings, and rough interior.
Let me get my flat brim (to hide my greying hair) and off to buy a vape pen. I’ll do the sad middle age rendition of Big Altima Energy until the G35 expires (which will be soon enough).
Gun to my head and I have to take one I’ll take the (seemingly) non-collision damage hiding Mercedes, who knows how much else is going to be messed up on the Infiniti…
The sad thing is that the Benz won’t cost any less to keep on the road than the Nissan with wires hanging out LOL
More accurately, the M-B will cost a bank-account-draining amount more to keep on the road vs the at one point fancier Nissan.