First G37. Bad car, bad dealer or bad luck?

[nsxvette82]

Hi! This is my first post. I purchased my first G37 in September. I my previous cars have included corvette, s2000, GTO and Trans Am. I wanted something a little different, and would be commuting so I wanted something reliable. G37 seemed to provide that while also having enough power not to get bored. It's been a complete disaster, and the worst car experience I've ever had. Below is what all has happened. Is this normal, or do I just have really horrible luck? Very close to giving up on it and going with something more familiar. Sorry it's so long.


9/12/14: After much searching and research, I purchased a 2009 Infiniti G37s convertible from carmax
9/19/14: I cranked the car up that morning, and there was a loud noise following by smoke and screeching. Ended up being the ac compressor seizing, and had to be replaced along with several other parts. It had to go back to carmax, and was completed roughly a week later.
10/7/14: Clutch starting making a ticking sound and slipping. I took it back in, and they said the clutch was bad and had to be replaced. It took 3 weeks before it was complete. I picked it up, and started on my way. I was being easy on it seeing how the new clutch felt, and about a mile away after I had gotten on the interstate, I shifted in to 5th and it was a bit tougher than normal. When I released the clutch there was what sounded like a small explosion under the car and the car came grinding to a halt in the middle of the interstate. Shockingly, my cell phone was dead, so I had to jog up the interstate back to carmax, jumping a 6 foot fence to get back. It ended up being a catastrophic failure of the transmission. It was going to take several more weeks to repair, and at that point I had enough, and said I wanted the car switched out.
10/8/14: To carmax’s credit, the next day, they approved the replacement of the car with a 2010 G37s coupe.
10/14/14: Noticed a metallic clicking/knocking sound whenever starting or stopping. The steering sheel was also vibrating from the wheels being out of balance. Took it back into carmax and 3 days later, they say they balanced it but I would have to take it to infiniti for the axle repair which would be covered under warranty., but it wasn’t something that would fail immediately and I didn’t need to bring it in right away. (have not yet taken it to infiniti for axle repair)
10/28/14: Go to leave for work, and the rear drivers side tire is flat. Since it’s within the 30 day warranty, carmax said to bring it in. They said because of the speed rating, the tire couldn’t be repaired, and a new tire would have to be special ordered. It took 4 days before the car was ready to pick up again, for a TIRE.
11/7/14: Check engine light comes on. I have a the code read and it says its a small leak in the evap system, probably either a bad gas cap or sensor. Call carmax and they said to bring it in when convenient, but not an emergency. Also, usb hookup stopped working with my external hard drive for stereo.
11/15/14: The tire pressure light comes on. I notice the rear drivers side tire is a little low. The SAME ONE that was just replaced with a brand new one. It was a very slow leak so I just topped it off every few days until I was able to bring it in to a local Tire Kingdom on my day off.
12/6/14: Took car to Tire Kingdom to have tire checked out. They found a nail in the tire through the sidewall, but also noticed that it was a well used tire, and an exact match produced on the same day with the same wear as the passenger side rear. So A), carmax repaired the tire that they said couldn’t be repaired B) Replaced the rear tires with used ones from another car. Either way, they previously lied about special ordering a new tire, and somehow took 4 days “waiting on the new tire” that didn’t exist. And not sure if the nail was there already or if it’s just really bad luck to get a nail in the same exact tire a week apart. Planning on taking it into carmax on Monday, or setting it on fire.

[audtatious]

Wow, sounds like you have had some bad luck and the car buyers at Carmax should be fired.

I've had many Nissan's and the worse I've had to deal with are usually batteries and brakes. My current G37 I've had since new (2008, 85k miles) and other than the mods I've done I've only had to replace the battery (twice). Our previous sedan was a G35s (same as the G37 sedan but with the 3.5 dual-tb motor instead of the 3.7) and other than standard brakes and battery we had a bad alternator at 105k miles. My 2k2 Maxima only needed a battery after 158k miles of use. I never had issues with the prior Quest vans nor Sentra I owned.

The Q50s I have has 14k miles on it and I've only performed oil changes.

[telcoman]

First G37. Bad car, bad dealer or bad luck?

You sir made a bad decision and bought a used car

I put 171792 very happy miles on my first Infiniti which was an 06 G35

I have 52k happy miles on my current 2012 G37S

Keep in mind that there were over 400k damaged vehicles from hurricane sandy as well as flooding from other weather related disasters.

You may have purchased one of them?

If you want pure happiness from owning an Infiniti just purchase one brand new.

Just my $.02

Telcoman

[audtatious]

Not necessarily. My G35s was a used car with 42k on it when I bought it for the wife. It had SES lights on but I was OK with that since it still had factory warranty and my local dealer fixed it. The Q50 I replaced it with is a dealer demo vehicle that had 8k. Again, full warranty (plus they gave it the extended certified warranty) so I know it will be repaired if there are problems.

I do agree with the potential for getting a post-hurricane car and that was the first thing I thought of when he was talking about the issues with the first vehicle.

I also think Carmax has no idea how to really fix anything as I doubt they get the Infiniti dealership to do the work.

[larsG35]

I'm not sure if you generally have bad luck, but I wouldn't go out and buy any lottery tickets right now if I were you.

Joking aside.

Clearly, carmax is s***.

From reading this, I get the impression that 1. They first sold you a salvage (or clearly in disrepair) car, then after it (as expected) fell apart, they 2. gave you a decent car, but with crap used tires, then after you complained, Carmax 3. blames it on an axle problem (which I find a suspicious diagnosis). One of the crappy used tires goes flat so Carmax 4. takes WAY too long to replace (the tire, not to mention the clutch issue from before) and then 5. lied to you and gave you a used tire.

Bear with me here. Sorry to be blunt, but did you test drive and fully inspect the first car? Did you have it independently checked by someone you trust? The second car? I'm fairly sure there would have been at least a couple warning signs along the way since healthy transmissions rarely suddenly blow up.

I bought a 2004 G35 6MT sedan with ~ 123,000 miles on it from a dealer I thoroughly researched, after I had it checked by a mechanic I trust, and spent over 1 hour checking everything I could myself. When I take it in for scheduled maintenance, I look over the work when they finish, and I've called them out when it doesn't meet my expectations (only takes 1 or 2 times, they usually learn you mean business). I love the car. I'm at 144,000 now. No surprises; just oil, filters, brakes, and a couple light bulbs.

I know people are busy, but I'm sure you've learned that taking some time and making some closer looks might have saved you days and headaches at this point. I'm sure Infiniti can make a lemon car along the way, but the hand full of people that I personally know that have/had owned Infiniti cars are generally very happy.

Hope your luck changes out there (and thanks for the heads up with Carmax - I won't touch 'em with a 10 foot pole ),

Lars


(let us know how it all ends up)

[audtatious]

While we all can't afford new cars, or simply do not want to pay for immediate diminished value when a new car is freshly titled, I will only buy a vehicle where I have at least 1 years worth of bumper-to-bumper factory warranty available. At that point I have full access to the dealership than having to deal with flunkies that may be employed by places like Carmax.

[FlipSwitch]

First G37. Bad car, bad dealer or bad luck?

You sir made a bad decision and bought a used car

Used cars are just fine.

Did you check the car fax? Are you informed of the lemon laws? I had a nightmare of a situation before regarding a motor replacement. Thankfully, it was all within the 30 purchase date so I just ended selling the car back. Get informed check the laws. Consult an attorney if you have the means.

Honestly, I'd never buy a car (new or used) from anywhere but the manufacturers store and always make sure it's certified. It saves you a lot of time and headache in these kinds of situations.

Hope everything turns out ok!