PERSPECTIVE OWNER QUESTIONS AND SOME MUCH NEED ADVICE...

[FALCON 1]

Whats the general opinion to hit the wife with on G-35S v Lexus I-350??

What are your best thoughts on the G-35 and worst points?

How about service and MPG ??

What is a fair for us walk out price less tax on the $40k MSRP ?

Help a newbie to be out here so I can add to this forum.

Thanks Guys

FALCON 1

[rn79870]

Welcome to the forum. Your questions are going to be answered skewed towards the Infiniti, but you already probably know that.

Best and worst about the GIt has excellent fit and finish. It has excellent overall performance. VS. The Lexus. It's hard to describe, but the G has a personality. The Lexus is a great car, but it lacks a personality. Lexus = Buick/Cadillac, Infiniti = BMW. If you like being in contact with the road, you'll like the Infiniti.

Service is like any other new car. 3750 mile oil changes, 100,000k plugs. Drive it hard and consider accelerating those figures. I had a oil change done at the dealership. 40 bucks for everything including a hand wash, inside and out.

MPG. well, anything with a 300HP V6, Lexus and Infiniti, or who ever, won't impress you with great gas mileage numbers. Some members report mileage in the mid 20's. I've seen reports as high as 28. In town I've seen reports as low as 12. I average 16.9 in town (and that's 90% in town, with 10% hwy) and about 24 on the hwy. I've never had it on long trips over flat terrain where I expect it would do better than 26 using the cruise control.

Price depends on where you are and the equipment. Many people have been successful at negotiating well below the window sticker. You can search for info on what people paid here, there have been a few threads back a year or so ago.

One thing is guaranteed. For which ever way you go, you'll love the cars. I had to choose between the G and a C350 MB. Both were great cars. I'm not sorry I went with the G.

Welcome to NICO again.

[telcoman]

Whats the general opinion to hit the wife with on G-35S v Lexus I-350??

What are your best thoughts on the G-35 and worst points?

How about service and MPG ??

What is a fair for us walk out price less tax on the $40k MSRP ?

Help a newbie to be out here so I can add to this forum.

Thanks Guys

FALCON 1

Falcon1

Welcome to NICO

I spent 3 months visiting over 12 dealers for Lexus, Acura, and Infiniti.We started in October and purchased New Years Eve 12/31/2005.My previous vehicle was a 92 Lexus ES300 5 speed and my Infiniti is the best vehicle I have ever owned including my 58 Ford (my first car) and my 53 Studebaker.The 6 speed manual is superior over the automatic and the G is a very comfortable car for long drives. We make a drive to Florida once or twice a year.Check out prices on Edmunds or cars.com and obtain internet prices. Once you learn what the dealer approximately pays for the vehicle you can start negotiating. Take your time, don't be in a rush and don't be shy about telling an Infiniti dealer that you want to test drive that Lexus one more time. If you can hold out, in my opinion, December is the best month to purchase a vehicle with Christmas and New Years Eve the two best times of the month. You can learn a lot about the Infiniti by reading here between now and December. If you shop outside your zip code you can sometimes play one dealer off another on price.

Good luck

Telcoman

[smockers83]

3750 mile oil changes, 100,000k plugs. Drive it hard and consider accelerating those figures.

Noo, definitely not 100,000K plugs, nor 100,000 mile plugs. 50-60,000 mile plugs, shorter if you drive it hard.

[rn79870]

Psssst...Smocky...100,000k = how many miles?

[snwbrdr435]

haha well rn79 you wrote 100,000k but the k is for thousand. but you wrote out 100,000 instead of 100k

i duno

[rn79870]

or kilometers???

[snwbrdr435]

yea that to but since we decided to be unlike the rest of the worldwe get stuck with miles

but anyways

to the op i would go with the g you will end up liking it more then lexus and in return probably end up keeping it longer
Modified by snwbrdr435 at 3:27 PM 5/10/2008

[zozoka1212]

I pretty much did the same as others. Shoped around and found the G is the best for your$ and most personality. Also if you pick the G you'll end up having another big family. E-family. Nico is just like that.

Whatever your decision going to be. You won't regret it. Both cars are nice. IO just think the g is more fun. It is like me vs. RN I am young and fast and RN wel he is not so young and not so fast.

zozo

[joe603]

Welcome to NICO!

Personally, I hate front wheel drive...so the Acura and the Lexus didn't make the cut.

[smockers83]

100,000K is equal to 100,000,000, so my answer is 100,000,000 miles. Now if you're looking for kilometers, there are 62,137.1192 mi in 100,000 km. Haha, get your units right then...plus CA and GA don't measure distances in km, otherwise K stands for 1000.

Best thoughts on the G--its awesome, it just is. Worst thoughts on the G--red paint sucks because it chips easily (I have it on an 06). Apparently this is only a problem with red but I'm not sure if they've fixed it down the line.

The best way to do it is to test drive them back to back in the same day. Our tastes may be different from yours and your wife's.

[snwbrdr435]

the paint problem is a problem with almost all infiniti's easily stopped by getting a clear bra before its to late

[rn79870]

Just checked. Infiniti has switched to Iridium Spark Plugs and they apparently last, in Infiniti's words, "almost indefinitely." They are 8 times stronger than platinum, 6 times harder, and have a melting point 1200 degrees higher.In fact, there is no recommended replacement interval in the 2008 Infiniti service recommendation booklet. 100,000++ miles is likely.

[Raylo]

Personally, I hate front wheel drive...so the Acura and the Lexus didn't make the cut. [/QUOTE]

Hey Joe the IS350 is rear wheel drive only thats one of the reasons I went with the G, got the X.

For the OP, I have two kids in car seats so the back seat was an important factor for me as well. The G doors open wider and there is more room in the back. Both are great cars and they were the 2 cars that I had to choose between.

[BrandAidDesignG35]

welcome

For me....

there was no question of brand... Nissan is my company, now the question is... will it be the nissan altima coupe, the altima se-r... 350Z... G35coupe, Maxima... or what I decided on...

[Buzzman]

Piggybacking onto this thread: I'm looking at trading in my Altima for a low mileage 2003 G35. Is this the first year they were made, and is there anything in particular I should be looking for, or checking, before I buy it?Thanks.

[Tampa G35 Sedan 6MT]

I had an Is 300 and I drove an is350 for about 2 months. If you are going for an automatic and you want a smaller car the lexus is much smoother. It is for your wife so i we guessing that is what you were looking for! The 6AT trans in the lexus is far better than the 5At in the G35!

The lexus is very quite and smooth. You have an sc430 so you know. The MB is just junk when you compair it to the lexus SC or LS

The G is more of a Guys car.... the Lexus is more for women... but I loved my IS's

If you are wanting a 6MT then you need to get the G. The lexus only comes with a 6MT if you get the 250... who wants a 6mt with only 204 HP??

DJ

[smockers83]

Buzzman, if you want my complete and honest recommendation, don't go with an 03. Yes it is the first year they were made, so most of what was wrong eventually got fixed by MY 05, so I'd say an 05+. Things to look out for--make sure CD player works, oil consumption issues, Brembos have a lot of dust if that bothers you.

[Buzzman]

Thanks for the advice.I told my dealer to keep looking.

[BigWill]

Welcome to NICO!

Personally, I hate front wheel drive...so the Acura and the Lexus didn't make the cut.

The IS line is all rear wheel drive, with the exception of the AWD. The 250 is only 204hp, where the 350 is 306, and is a tad lighter than the G sedan. I'd bet that it leaves the line quicker too. There was always an annoying lag in my '04 G coupe until it hit about 3 grand, then it launched. (Auto).

Here are the specs from Edmunds on the IS 350:

PerformanceAcceleration (0-60 mph): 5.6 sec.Braking Distance (60-0 mph): 119.93 ft.Base Number of Cylinders: 6Base Engine Size: 3.5 litersBase Engine Type: V6Horsepower: 306 hpMax Horsepower: 6400 rpmTorque: 277 ft-lbs.Max Torque: 4800 rpmDrive Type: RWDTurning Circle: 33.5 ft.

This is what I found on the 2008 G35 sedan on Edmunds:

PerformanceBase Number of Cylinders: 6Base Engine Size: 3.5 litersBase Engine Type: V6Horsepower: 306 hpMax Horsepower: 6800 rpmTorque: 268 ft-lbs.Max Torque: 4800 rpmDrive Type: RWDTurning Circle: 35.4 ft.

Unfortunately, Edmunds didn't have the performance numbers on the G, but other research I did showed it to be in the same range, about 5.5 sec. to 60. The G sedan has the same hp, but less torque. They look pretty evenly matched. the G coupe will have a bit harsher ride than the Lexus, but the Lex can hold it's own in the twisties!

[FALCON 1]

I wanted to take this opportunity to Thank all the members who had some aspect in helping me make this decision.

Today I signed the papers on the G35S White with Stone .NAV-Premium-Sport packages.

You all were right , we drove the IS 350 and G-35 almost 24 hours apart and the G has a soul, the IS sadly did not........nice machine but for almost 10 grand less I got a better one. Since I have the 2 seater Lexus I had to compare the IS and the G was for me (wife's car ........yeah) and it is stunning.

FALCON 1

[G_whizz]

Congrats!!

Looking forward to pics and seeing you around here more often!

[Tampa G35 Sedan 6MT]

Falcon,

Glad you drove both... Both are really good cars when you compair them to other cars like Fords

Welcome to the NICO Family

DJ

[SVTCOBRA]

Great choice!!! Congrats!!

I did see a blue IS-F on Friday and he 'flogged' it leaving the Harris Teeter parking lot...I was like I looked at my 15 yr old son in the passenger's seat of my cobra and he was like We wanted to persue, but got caught in traffic....

[SVTCOBRA]

Falcon,

Glad you drove both... Both are really good cars when you compair them to other cars like Fords DJ

well....DUH!!

[BigWill]

I wanted to take this opportunity to Thank all the members who had some aspect in helping me make this decision.

Today I signed the papers on the G35S White with Stone .NAV-Premium-Sport packages.

You all were right , we drove the IS 350 and G-35 almost 24 hours apart and the G has a soul, the IS sadly did not........nice machine but for almost 10 grand less I got a better one. Since I have the 2 seater Lexus I had to compare the IS and the G was for me (wife's car ........yeah) and it is stunning.

FALCON 1

Excellent choice! Congratulations.