I've had my '03 G35 sedan for about 2 weeks. Here are my questions:

1. I have a few scratches on the outside of the passenger side door and on the plastic rear bumper. I have heard that infiniti dealerships generally have some "Infinity" paint in small tubes to use on scratches. Do you guys recommend this? I'm a little leary.

2. The clock on the dash (right above the navigation) does not light up at night. Is there a bulb in there that I can replace? If so, how the heck do you get to it?

3. Both rear tires are pretty bare. I have a full size spare in the trunk though. Can I put this spare on the car and save one of the bald ones for a spare? Just trying to save a buck and only buy one tire instead of two.

4. My breaks squeel very loudly when I hit the breaks and back out of the garage initially. Usually once I drive for a little bit the squeeling stops (even when braking). Is this a break pad thing?

5. Is Premium gas a must or can I get away with Unleaded plus?

Thanks guys! Great Forum.

 

sorry to be brutal but man you bought a car knowing you were gonna spend some money and money you don't probably have?

If low on cash, you shouldn't worry about #s 1 and 2. Make the rest of them a priority.

as for #5, do the math. The amount you save per fill-up wont make you rich.


Welcome to the forum.

 

First off welcome to the forum and congrats on the sedan.

#1: Unless they are deep, try to buff them out. Try and talk to a pro detailer and see how they can help or maybe teach you how to do so yourself. Dont try the touch up paint, its useless and it makes your car look like ish.

#2: Need to get the NISMO glow in the dark, only way to fix it without being ghetto.

#3: Are you serious? Spend your money on new tires, its your life on the line. A spare is made to go under 55 mph or so and not for everyday use. Bald rear > Spare anytime.

#4: Could be that they are worn.

#5: Premium gas is not a must but for the 2-3 bucks you will save is it worth it?

 

Hard to say without seeing pics. My advice would be if it's just a scratch, meaning the clear coat is scratched but the paint hasn't been damaged, then you can polish it out. Don't use touch up paint, unless you see black (as in the paint is gone). Polishing a deep scratch is tricky and generally requires a Polisher (google PC 7424), pads (Lake Country Orange, White, Gray) and various grades of polish (i.e. Poorboy's World SSR2.5, SSR2, SSR1, etc.). You can hide some scratches with a glaze, generally applied after washing,claying, or polishing but before sealing/waxing, but glaze is by no means a permanent fix. It will have to be reapplied periodically.

If it's a full size spare, with a new, quality tire, then there's no reason you can't add just one other new tire. However, my recommendation is that you run with quality, brand/model matching tires all around, and I wouldn't keep a bald tire as a spare. Personally, I have a full size spare that's a good quality tire, but I don't touch it.

I'd have them checked just to be sure. Typically there's a built in mechanism that starts squealing/grinding as a warning when your pads are in need of replacing. When it begins, it can sometimes be intermittent. It may be nothing, but brakes is an area you shouldn't screw around with, imo.

Check your owners manual. Some year/models recommend premium, others mandate it. Either way, at $.10 more per gallon, if your tank is bone dry, it cost you $2.00 more to fill with premium. It's better for your engine and provides a smidge more pep, so I wouldn't sweat it.