I have a 10 month old 2002 Lexus IS300. It has about 4500 miles on it nad I have just over 3 more years left on my loan. I am really intrigued by the Infiniti G35 coupe, though. It looks just as nice, has more power, as good performance and comes with just as many options for a similar price. Obviously, on the financial side, I need to do more reasearch to see what this would set me back, if anything, post trade in or sale of my car. So, a couple of questions: 1) I have good credit, but am still young, so would probably get someone with great credit to co-sign with me. Does anyone know what kind of rate I could get right now. I'm paying 5% on my current car and am looking for something similar over 36 months. 2) Does anyone know about Infiniti realiability? One of the draws to Lexus was that I knew the car would last a while and wouldn't break down on me. How is Infiniti in this regard? 3) Your overall opinions of the two cars. 4) What would you do? Besides for the fact that I currently think the Infiniti looks just as sleak and would be more fun, I am perfectly satisfied with the Lexus. I just think the Infiniti is "cooler" and, I know that's stupid, but I guess it matters.
1) Don't know. 2) The G35 uses the same VQ35 engine shared by many other vehicles in the Nissan family. They're all just tuned differently. The Maxima and Z share variants of this engine as well. This engine has gone through many generations of revisions to get the knocks out of it, so it should be reliable. The engine and its variants have won several awards from folks such as Wards as being the best V6 you can buy. 3) Wouldn't even be a consideration to me. The G35 blows the doors off of the IS300. You paid what for huh? The G35 has recently been picked over the BMW 330ci by a couple of magazines - if that makes any difference to you. The G35 destroys the IS300 for about the same money. 4) I wouldn't buy the car if I already has the IS300 unless you just like payments. I don't like car payments, so I save up enough to just buy cars outright and then drive them for at least 150k miles or a few years. That's probably why I'm 32 and have only owned 2 cars in my life. But I've been told I'm not normal. To me a car is something to get me from place to place and also have fun driving it on a weekend with the sunroof open or the top down. I need performance, too. I need reliability first. I need looks second. I need performance last. The G35 Coupe satisfies all requirements. And oh yeah.. the Infiniti is cooler because the G35 was named the Motor Trend Car of the Year. ... Full Disclosure : I'm a Nissan nut, if that isn't already apparent.
LOL Dr of Dunk..... I own the G35 sedan and my close friend just bought the coupe. . Cohen owns a G35 too. I have good credit, but I'm 23. For my G35 the rate at my bank was 5.25% for 36 mo. The dealer offered me 6.25%. This was in April of this year. So I don't think Infinity dealers will offer you a lower rate than your bank. My friends coupe ran him at 5.5% for 36 at the same bank. MOODY Bank alows me to pay off early without penalties. So with Infinity I would say go to your bank and you might do better. This was in April and your chances might be better now. Well when I bought my G35 people would literally gather around my car to check it out and still do. I'm serious, at work, out to dinner... it draws attention...which can be good and bad....My friends coupe gets even more glares....dammit!. My only problem with the IS is that now its seems too "the Fast and the Furious".....the g35 provides more of a luxury car appeal than the Lexus IS but thats just my opinion. If I could have waited I would have bought the coupe but its in high demand so I probably would have paid more. TAKE A TEST DRIVE if you can thats what sold me. I had just bought a 02 Sequoia 4 months earlier and thought I would be ok with one ride. My buddy who bought the coupe came with me "Just to test drive" see what the fuss was about. Two weeks later I was at the dealer watching it roll off the truck. Driving the car? well no it doesn't drive like a Beamer but close. And sure the interior isn't a beamer but I love knowing that the 325 sitting next to me at the light only has a wimpy 2.5 liter and he paid the same price for his car if not more.
I don't know the IS300 that well, but I can vouch for what DoD and jwun say about the G35. I had a 328i for 3 years. Loved the car, but the roominess, better nav unit, better value, good write-ups, and well, something new, made the G35 irresistible. Nothing will beat the BMW drive, but the G35 is not too shabby ... to say the least. BTW, I cannot believe how often we use the nav unit. Often for directions to a restaurant or store, but sometimes just to find a shortcut or bypass an accident. It is quite cool...'I highly recommend it'. I have had no problems with the car, but I've only had it since about June.
You guys and your wussy ass cars. Get this puppy: I wish I had one. Anyone wanna buy a 2000 Lexus GS300?
I was looking a both models along with the BMW 330 but settled and bought the MB c240 because of it's price and my equity situation in two years when I trade it in for the e500. The infiniti was amazing but just not enough history to convince me to get it over the Benz. Maybe I was wrong Doctor.
This is one of my concerns, when it comes to resale, reliability, etc. Anyway, thanks for all the advice. I'll give it a test drive. The problem is DoD is right about payments. They suck. This would almost certianly mean more. But it seems so sweet.
Man, I don't want to drive a luxury mini-tank. And you drive a Lexus GS300 and talk about wussy cars? You could've at least bought the GS400 and got the real engine...
It looks like a fatter 350Z. Well I mean since Infiniti is the parent company of Nissan. Anyhow, Infiniti historically has depreciated at a faster rate than cars in its class. Will the G35 depreciate that fast?
I agree with ya but you have to also consider that Infiniti has never had a car create the buzz the G35 has. Especially with the coupe recieving these recent awards (awards that used to go to BMWs). Reading the reviews you'll hear alot of Beamer comparisons which I'm sure is a first for Infiniti. My point is Infiniti seems to be making a real push to change their image from a value alternative to a real player in the luxury market. If they can keep making G35 types I wouldn't think the resale figures would stay poor.
The G35 does look bigger than the Z. Whats its weight? I know it has 7 less horses. I think the Z looks better too!
Get the Z, it's cheaper and it's loads of fun to drive. The interior is not as luxurious as the G35, but you don't miss it much. The interior styling is very similar tho ... the whole silver pedals, the center console layout etc. I've had the car for about 4 months now, and everytime I take it out (once a week) ... everyone just stares at it, it's great, basically the same reaction as jwun You can get the Touring edition fully loaded for about $35K ... not sure about what the G35C runs fully loaded.
The G35 is a bit bigger than the Z. I know the wheelbase is about 8 inches longer than the Z's. The coupe's curb weight was around 200 lbs more than the Z's (I think). You do get a rear seat with the G35 (if that's important to you). Has anybody actually gone out and looked at pricing for a coupe? I know several people that are saying it's so high in demand that dealers are jacking up prices... and getting those prices. So when they say you can get the coupe for anywhere from $29k - $32k, I'm wondering if you'll get screwed by the dealer that knows he can sell it for $35-$40k and still get buyers...
lol. No, I don't... I'm just anti-Mercedes until you get into their performance sedans. The C240 is a good car and it really is a pretty sweet ride, but if you're looking for stock performance + luxury, I think it comes up short to the likes of BMW's 3-series and the Infiniti's being mentioned in this thread. I think they have a fairly weak V6 in them, which I hate (don't they have like a 2.?L that makes less than 200 hp?). I'm guessing the interior beats the Infiniti, although I haven't looked at a C240.
We actually wanted an E something but budget wouldn't allow for now. After looking at all of the above mentioned (except H2, which is actually a Yukon), we decided to go with style and sacrifice a little substance. The engine is pretty powerful, it has some really neat features (tele-aid, 6 disc CD changer, data read-outs) plus the warranty and service agreement is nearly unparalleled. Given my money and my immature enamouration with the history of the vehicle's name, it was the best buy for me. Now all I need is my AIR FORCE ONE'S!
