Just picked up my fully loaded 04' 6mt coupe last night. It's funny because I have read a lot about Mercedes and BMW's over the last few months as I was making my decision. Having just turned in my CLK 320, I have to say that outside of the name (Mercedes) I really don't see the big deal. I think that my coupe is a much better looking car, it's much quicker and although the benz clearly has a smoother ride I don't feel like it handled any better. I also felt really good last night when a group of guys walking by said "Damn that's a funky car" and they were talking about the coupe even though the benz was parked right next to it. I liked the benz and have only had the coupe for several hours but for those choosing between so called luxury cars and the 6mt coupe....to me it's a no brainer. SAVE THE MONEY AND HAVE MORE FUN AND GET AS MANY LOOKS IN THE G35. Other previous owners of "luxury cars" do you agree???

 

No doubt I got rid of a 328ci and never looked back.

 

Absolutely!!

Congratulations on your choice!!

'04 G35C / 6MT / DP / Graphite / Prem / Aero / Pedals / Clears

 

You'll get more looks in your G, then you did in your old CLK320. =) Good choice! Enjoy.

Black / Black 2004 GcoupeMT. Premium. Splash Guardz.

 

hmmm .. .I agree, but only partly. I had a 99 CLK430. I was one of the first people driving that car . . .and that car got serious looks. For the first year I had that car, I got more attention than a Ferrari. No joke. That car had tons of curb appeal because there was nothing on the market at the time that was even close.

Not to mention the CLK430 is an amazing car. It was fast comfortable, good looking, and safe. Too bad they ruined the CLK class with the new look.

Now for the G . . .I love this car. Its an amazing product. My wife misses the Benz, but I made a good point to her the other day. I told her that "Mercedes doesn't know how to make a car this good for this price." And you know what, its totally true. The G35 is a great looking, great handling, fast car that offers everything Benz offers on their CLK. All the G35 needs is better sound insulation to reduce road noise and more expensive materials in the interior . . .and there would seriously be no debate at all. The G35 would rule without question.

But as things stand now . . .the G35 is the best car in its class and a very persuasive argument against any BMW, Audi, and Benz mid luxury coupe.

 

As the gentleman said in the last post a little more sound insulation and better materials inside would be no contest. G35 would win hands down.
When it comes down to it Benz wants a premium of 15K for a 2 door C class.
Also in the last few years MB is dropping the ball. They build a great car but over 3 yrs mine was in 4 times for remote key locking problems 3 times for showing false malfunction problems. Seems these are common problems on both C & E ( E new model and last ) but MB never seems to find why these problems persist just lets the customer hang.

 

mazal tov

04 6mtC, DG - possibly most babied G on the board.

 

I can't comprehend how you could go from a BENZ to an Infiniti, help me understand this please...because, isn't that moving backwards to some extent.

 

It's only a "step back" if you look at price or are overly concerned with brand names.

 

"It's only a "step back" if you look at price or are overly concerned with brand names."

Exactly. I went for the G35 for a lot of reasons, none of which were the standard "he couldn't afford the Benz." When I got the Benz it really was about the symbol. I was a 27 year old who had been moderately successful and wanted to show it. Now 4 years later I was really more interested in bang for the buck. The CLK was nice but as many people have pointed out it has so many small problems that it was irritating. I love the look of the G, love the performance, don't really mind a sports car sounding like a sports car and feel like I got a lot more for my money. I lease so I don't really care about the resale value (I got 58% residual on my lease). I have owned a 3 series BMW, A Mercedes CLK and now the G and although the BMW was clearly the least overall headache I can speak from experience when I say the G is truly a great looking, performing, technologically sound car and it's 7-10 thousand less then a similarly equipped CLK. Hopefully it will live up to my expectations.

 

Hopefully, but like all cars and everything else in life you will have problems with it eventually...Good luck with your new G buddy :-)

 

Well I'm probably gonna be even more extreme.
Went from 99 SIlver CLK430(crappy transmission problems)
to 99 Black CLK430(crappy transmission problems)
to 99 E55(Love it!)
moved to taiwan ...
to 523Individual BMW(freaking cost the same as the e55 in the states)(BMW's suck!)
now getting a G35Coupe Manual.

The E55 is going to the wife since we have 2 kids.
Decided to get a fun car for a while ...gonna lease it for 2 years then get the Skyline GTR spec if it comes out or maybe the new NSX.