my impression of 2007 g35s

[shimman]

hello,

well, this is my impression of my 2007 g35s used for about a month. i cannot say i am satisfied with my car, and i am kind of having buyer's remorse

likes:

1. price...at least 5kusd cheaper than other cars i considered like is350 and 335i

2. looks: i am getting some unwanted attentions while driving in the city

3. brake: very responsive...hopefully, i will last at least 50kmiles

4. sporty shifting transmission (5speed auto)

not mad at:

1. idiot dealer who damaged entire paint by putting swirl marks (might take legal actions soon) when they washed the car right before the delivery 2. less than expected torque (i have to admitt that vq35hr is a class lower than is350 & 335i engines)

3. terrible fuel economy so far like 14mpg in city 18mpg in highway at 70mil/h; this is worse than my previous car s430 with at least 1000lbs more weight

4. major quality problems: already having problems with a passenger side seat heater, leaky windows on both sides of rear doors, minor rattles from a rear seat, and a wrinkled leather of the rear seat

so far the experience was even worse than my previous car 2002 s430; and i hope i can get the car fixed right. body integration problems like leaky doors are very difficult to fix as i have experienced with couple of toyotas. the paint seems far weaker than what was on s430, and not sure why japanese cars have gotten this low

the feel of the car is great just like driving a sportcar except the seating position is bit taller.

if anyone is about to buy g35 2007 model, i would recommend to wait until summer or 2008 year models when most problems are going to be resolved hopefully

btw, i heard from my friend that light swirl marks from the factory are common among japanese cars especially nissan cars. should i just polish it, or should i look for an attorney?

thanks
Modified by shimman at 5:15 PM 2/5/2007

[Huy]

Shimman...Sorry to hear that you are not happy with your new ride.I had previously owned an 04 FX and agree with the poor leather quality. Currently driving 06 M45 Sport and 06 G35 Coupe. Both are great with no complaints. Leather could be nicer on the coupe.As for paint swirls, I am affraid to tell you that all vehicles will have this problem depending on color. Some would show more... such as red or black. Perhaps you can ask the dealer to wet sand it. In regards to people giving you weird looks, so what. It's your car it should only matter to you.Anyhow, it seems that you have some legit complaints.No need for an attorney. You will then pay way too much for this car. The good news is. You can get another new CAR.

[G_whizz]

Sounds like you got a rotten apple??

This is the first I have heard about most of these things!!

As for the torque...when you peg it, you turn the VDC off right?

The car is brand new, you WILL get better fuel economy once it's "broken in"

The leaks and leather problem I would definitley get the dealer to look at ASAP!

Let us know how you make out.

But still, sorry to hear about these unfortunate problems

[J-Owner]

Well I don't know about the fuel economy. For some reason I have gone from 19 in the city to 15 in the city????? I am not fast accelerating or anything, not racing but I do have normal stop and go traffic in Dallas.

I still get 24-25 on the highway but my in town mileage is suffering for some reason. I have an '05 coupe with 25K miles on it so it is broken in.

Shimman, I hear you on the swirl marks but there is nothing you can do about it. It is going to happen eventually as it is scratches in the clearcoat and is to be expected. However, for them to do that before delivery is ABSOLUTELY unacceptable so your complaint is legit to me. Make them fix it!!

Less than expected Torque I have no comment on. The car is powerful enough for me so this is something that I don't pay attention to.

Fuel economy I commented above.

Rattles and such. BELIEVE ME.......I had the same complaints. A $40K car should not have rattles PERIOD!! This also gave me buyers remorse but I isolated the problem, took it back to the dealer about six times to make them fix things and now it is as quite as can be. Drives and sounds the way it should have off the showroom floor.

I came from a J30T and that car drove so incredibly smooth even with 133K miles on it to a G coupe with sport suspension so it was a shock for me. I hated the car at first but I love it now.

The sedans are even better. Lots of power, good styling smooth luxury ride and yes it does turn heads. Which I always thought was a good thing.

Anyway, I hate to hear that you are unhappy. I am on my fourth Infiniti and will likely never by anything but Infiniti so I hate hearing people that people aren't happy.

Of course, if you can afford a luxury car then you can afford another one. Get rid of the one you hate and buy something else. There are tons of Infiniti lovers and you should have no problem selling the car. If you leased it then you are screwed.

Good luck whatever you decide.

B

[shimman]

thanks for your replies,

well, i guess my expectation was little too high just because my g35 was made in japan; it seems like MIJ means nothing nowdays as sony & toyota not to mention honda having major quality problems.

i think i will give my g35 little bit more time before i trade it to another (love 335i, but with the mechnical troubles i had to endure with 2002 s430, i am trying to stay away from germans for now)

here are things i hope nissan had done for 2007 model.

1. electrical power assistant steering (i thought it was epa, but it isn't making feel little bit worse than other cars)

2. lower the riding height by 1" & making track wider

3. adding another speed or two to the transmission

4. 4 piston fixed caliper front brake (even tl type s has one) although stopping power is great but it would look better...oh, w/ drilled or slited rotor would be even better

5. last but not least, e-brake on the center as a hand brake not a pedal parking brake

the feel of car is great (love the engine sound) except the steering is bit number than i like & i think this is because of the engine powered hydraulic type assistant mechanism rather than electrical type. well, i am kind of new to nissan, but it appears that nissan is slower to adapt new technology.

one more thing, mine does not have a 4 wheel steering system, and i am wondering whether it really makes any difference in handling & the steering "feel" because when i drove my friend's 300z with 4 wheel steering system about 10 years ago, i felt nothing from the rear wheels

btw, any recommendations on how to deal with the swirl makrs or where to look for helps? ...maybe, i will get used to it.

Modified by shimman at 7:19 AM 2/8/2007
Modified by shimman at 7:20 AM 2/8/2007

[J-Owner]

ok........I guess I am not as big of a car buff as I originally thought as I have not noticed any of that kind of stuff you mentioned nor is it anything I care about. Ha! I mean steering is steering to me...I guess I never thought about it.

I guess it comes down to different strokes for different folks. I personally would not be caught dead driving a BMW, I simply hate those cars, or a Lexus (snobs drive them mostly and frankly an Infiniti is just as good as a Lexus. If Infiniti had not bombed on their initial marketing campaign in '89 and faught harder against Lexus in the '90's, Lexus wouldn't have near the name recognition they do now.

I wouldn't own a Mercedes as it is in todays terms a piece of S$%t! Quality has seriously gone in the toilet. My mom has an '07 CLS and for $100K I would have expected better. I can't drive a hummer because my **** is bigger than 2 inches so I don't qualify. (Don't bother inserting a cheap shot about size here

Seriously, I am on my fourth Infiniti and will likely never buy anything else. I like the ride, the power, the style, the build quality. If I didn't then I wouldn't have bought it. I always take a car home over the weekend and test drive the hell out of it before I buy it.

If I buy it and hate it then I blame myself not the car as it was my decision to purchase it. As for wanting all the options and problems fixed to our specific criteria, every car owner wants that and in a world where the planets and moon perfectly aligned we would have that but back to reality.

Again, it goes back to different strokes for different folks. I hate to hear that you don't like it but again, if you hate it trade it!

Good luck with whatever you do.

[J-Owner]

Sorry, In my diatribe above I forgot to comment on the swirl marks.

If they delivered that car to you with swirl marks and if I were you, I would get the owner of the dealership, the sales manager and the service manager in a room together and chew some serious a$$.

They would have two choices 1) fix the clearcoat and swirl mark issues to new condition and to your satisfaction or 2) adjust your paperwork and pick a new model from the lot. Anything less would be unacceptable to me.

And considering that in 2005 I sent close to $350M in business to my dealer and a little over $200M in 2006 you better believe I will be getting my way. The average customer deserves nothing less. You bought the car and no matter the price you are the customer and things are to be done to your satisfaction. Make them fix it!!

[shimman]

j-owner,

thanks for your swirl mark solution tip; i really appreciate it, and since you mentioned it, i like to ask you your 2cents on my problem, again.

one of my colleague told me that light swirl marks are normal even for new cars especially from nissan....hardly believable, but that's exactly what i was told; in that case, am i being too picky?

anyway, you must be a die-hard infiniti fan well, i am getting to like g35; it feels very sporty while maintaining functionality & comfort; i think my feeling toward g35s ruined after finding the swirl marks.

haha, s430 was sold because it felt like heavy & big (& it was) & its reliability (i guess you know about it), but i needed such a big car because i usually took company clients to lunch and our project sites, but we decide to lease a cooperate vehicle (hyundai azera limited + garmin 4.2" nav system; well absolute downgrade, but our clients seem like liking it & even asked me what that vehicle is)

speaking of steering feel, you have to drive cars like bmw 3 series to know what i mean. i used not to like bmw because older models were ugly & expensive, but once i drove the car, it realized what others were talking about. however, my sister felt that bmw was too responsive for her as she is a toyota lover, i could not blame her for liking of numb handling.

btw. only thing i like about is350 is the engine; somehow it is more responsive (maybe g35's new swell technology is slowing the car down), but the overall feel is far worse & felt somewhat close to new camry se v6 which my sister is driving.

one more thing; my colleague, who told me about the swirl marks, told me that toyota is noting in fine prints that is350's sports package summer tires might not like more than 15k miles & brake pad for 20k miles & rotors for 50k miles if i remember correctly what he told me, so infiniti isn't only car maker having brake problems unless people are reading those fine prints which i did not find anywhere in g35 catalog