Wall Street Journal Articles About Reinventing Infiniti

[HamsterDR]

The WSJ had an interesting article about Infiniti and the recent attempts to increase sales against the increasingly tough competition - particularly the Europeans (MB, Audi, BMW). I have a different take on this - I have a 2010 G37 Journey that is going off lease and will be returned to Infiniti in August. I think Infiniti has the cars nailed - I traded a Lexus IS350 for the G37 and I think the G37 has been better in almost every respect - a better driving/handling/ride compromise, more comfortable and more features. It has been almost perfectly reliable. I would buy/lease another (the 2014), but we are going to be a one-car family when I retire later this year.

The issue is how Infiniti seems to treat their lease customers. I have leased several Lexus vehicles, and about 5-6 months before the lease end, Lexus would contact me to say I could end the least early if I purchased or leased a new Lexus. With the G37 I didn't hear from Infiniti until two months before the lease ends - and they wanted me to buy a 2013 G37 which would be essentially identical to what I have now. Both Cadillac and Jaguar contacted me several months earlier offering to buy out the G37 lease. I think Infiniti management needs to focus on their customer relationship if they want long-term customers. The other odd thing is that Infiniti requires an inspection of the car from an independent inspection agency - there is no charge, and they will come to your home to do the inspection. I understand why Infiniti wants to make sure the car is not damaged or that there is no excessive wear, but this contrasts with how Lexus deals with this. The Lexus dealer does the inspection, and they are remarkably casual about it. In one transaction, they didn't even bother to look at the old car before signing papers to get the new one. I understand that this is an awkward time for Infiniti as they are transitioning to new models - but still.....

There are so many very good cars available now - particularly in the price range that the G37/Q50 competes in, that they are going to have to provide extraordinary customer support.

David

[kmckis1029]

totally agree...

for me my customer experience has varied with what dealership i went too. One infiniti dealer treated me like i was "too young" to drive a luxury car when i got my first brand new G37 at 25. literally calling me "son" instead of "sir", talking down to me. Then i went to another dealership and got treated like i was a celeb. I say they need to get all their dealerships all on the same page of customer service.

[Warpkor]

Me too. I was in my late 30's when I went to the local Sacramento dealership. I had just sold my car and was ready and able to buy a new G. Because I didn't have a car, I road my motorcycle. I had the jerk of a salesman look me up and down and then declare that we don't allow the Gs to be test driven. So be it. Called a dealership in Santa Clara and by phone negotiated a price and said I'd pick it up the next day. I warned that saleschimp that I will be bringing the money with me and that if the transaction takes longer than an hour that I'd walk. He got me out in 59 minutes. My experience with the service departments has pretty much clinched the deal with their swindlers tactics. I love my car but will be moving on to a different manufacturer.

[HamsterDR]

The two comments focus mostly on dealer behavior - I have been happy with the dealers I have used - Thousand Oaks Infiniti in California and Park Place Infiniti in Las Vegas. My comments were directed toward Infiniti Corporate - as they seem to control the lease termination process. I had the inspection done - it was efficient, and there are no chargeable issue on my car, which is low mileage and very clean. I understand Park Place Infiniti has some Q50 models in stock, so I will take a look when I drop off the G37. It looks like the price has gone up some, though they have added new features.

David

[audtatious]

I didn't think the Q50 had arrived at dealerships yet.

[370Z/28]

It is the dealership and not the brand. My Infiniti dealership was the best experience ever. I loved my salesman and even received Christmas cards every year with a picture of his family. The idiot that I had to BEG to sell me this Lexus was an idiot. If I ever do buy another Lexus, it won't be from him. He was the worst ever and I totally threw him under the bus when I filled out my survey from Lexus.

It is a shame to have to beg someone to sell you a $50k car. Business must be good.

[LuckyLuke]

I saw two Q50s at the dealership last weekend. Still had the tapes on, parked on the side of the dealership.

I always have problem with the sale people.

[HamsterDR]

I returned my 2010 G37 off lease to Park Place Infiniti (Las Vegas) yesterday. The return was fast and easy. I had an interesting discussion with the sales manager. I asked him about what they would do with the car - and he said Infiniti owns the car and will likely wholesale the car. They generally give the dealer a chance to buy the car, but the residual value on the car ($24,500) was too high and he said they would likely pass. What a shame - this is a very clean low mileage car, and it would be nice to have the dealer be able to resell it. Again, a Infiniti corporate policy that I don't understand.

On a slightly different topic, they had a Q50S (~$46K) in the showroom - it looks very nice - it looks longer and lower than my G37 (probably due to the sport equipment and the 19" wheels. The interior is nicer and more modern looking than the G37 - they seem to have gone upscale a bit.

He had 17 Q50's at the dealership, but can't start selling them until early August. Another 60 are on order. He seemed very optimistic that they would sell. He talked a little about the new cars coming from Infiniti in the next couple of years - including a small model designed to compete with the small (European-sytle) models like the Mini Cooper and the Audi A3. It will have a turbo 4 cylinder and he said it had very nice styling - due in early 2015.

Clearly, Infiniti is more serious about competing now - but so are a lot of other manufacturers. It is hard to get a bad car these days.

David

[audtatious]

Wish I had time to drop by a dealership to see if they have one already since the official release is not until aug 5th. But, alas, not going to happen it seems.