Ok if you had a horrible experience purchasing a G35 from out of town, post it right here so we could learn a thing or two. I'm about to go out of town in a couple of days to buy a coupe and feel like the dealer is going to throw me a curve ball once I get there. It's going to be something like..."oh, there's actually 400 miles on your car instead of 40" or "we didn't agree on that price did we?" Well, wish me good luck and hope that Clearlake Inifiniti doesn't screw me.

 

I didnt have a horrible experience, just some tips.

Just make sure you get everthing in writing.
Do your research first and learn everything about it so if they are talking smack you will know if they are trustworthy or not.
When you are bargaining on "invoice" price, make sure it is the same "invoice" price as you see online and not some fuzzy math the dealer makes up. (They got me on this).
Check everything over before you take delivery. Have a helper with you.
Get a clear bra immediately! <----VERY IMPORTANT to stay paint-chip free
If you are unhappy with something, give them a call, THEN Do the survey.

 

are you dealing with Billy at clearlake?

 

All I can say is they screw you in financing. You think all the psychological games are over once you get past the salesman, but its not. They get you when you're guard is down. Many times the numbers don't come out right when you get to the financing office and people don't even notice and just sign away. And when you say something about the numbers the financing person always say they didn't know about it or come up with some stupid *** excuse. Also they try to sell all kinda of insurance crap when you get in there. So remember, they screw you in Financing! BEWARE!!

 

great advice. just educate yourself on the options and price as much as you can beforehand. dont just let them reel you in - keep your skin a little thick. salespeople can be pretty ruthless and very persistent - there are a lot of salespeople in my company, and the best line i've heard is "i could sell a ketchup popsicle to a lady wearing white gloves". they'll probably try feed you some type of 'canned' sales pitch. just educate yourself so youre not overwhelmed by the hype and pressure from the salespeople.

 

like what they stated....just keep the $#####'s you're looking for and don't over spend...

I probably had like 6 cars within the past 2 years and the steps usually go in this order:
1. saleperson - settling the exact price you're willing to pay/finance...
2. warranty person - warranty for interior/exterior against rust/interior stains/etc...
3. finance person - which he'll offer you drivetrain/powertrain warranty

for me, I bought the 8yr/75K warranty along w/ the lifetime interior cleaning(incase I spill coffee or whatever on the seats) ...it didn't add too much on top of my monthly payment....besides, I GET FREE LIFETIME OIL CHANGES!!

 

the salesman was trying to convince me that I shouldn't be so picky if I found little scratches and nicks on the car, telling me those who compain about these things are the type of people that are always bringing their cars in for the dealership to cover the cost of repairing minor imperfections. Then he told me ,"People that pay more are always happier." I laughed in his face. I wanted to slap him for that ridiculous comment. What a douchebag!

 

and 1 more thing...when you go into a dealership, try to buy from the head manager of the sales-team....most of the time, they don't have commission sales, cause their on salary pay....that way, they'll work with you to get the price you're willing to pay...

 

Did you guys get all those extras like: Alarm, extended warranty, etc.?

 

alarm?!?!? do you mean the stock alarm that comes standard or an aftermarket system? for the extended warranty, do you plan on keeping your car for more than five years? most will tell you that extended warranties are the dealer's way to squeeze more money out of you.

as someone else noted, make sure you look at the numbers before you sign away. they always try to sneek in some things at the end to increase the total price of the car and then play dumb when you point them out.

 

You shouldn't have to leave your house!!! The two car bought out-of-town were in Dallas TX, and Dayton OH. Both agreed on a price over the phone, then e-mail, then by mail with paper and explanations of everything.

Even did the financing via FedEx. Dallas car was shipped to me, Dayton car I picked up. No questions asked!

 

Didn't have a bad buying experience, but had a nasty warranty experience with my dealer. You've prob seen me post this before. The letter I wrote to Inf and never got a response on:

Please let me preface this by saying that I am quite disappointed with the overall quality of service I received from Infiniti. I purchased an Infiniti based on the level of prestige, class, and reliability the company prides itself on being know for. Instead I was called a liar, told I didn't know how to properly drive the car, threatened with excessive fees - indicative, in my opinion, of a level of professionalism associated with car companies no longer in business. I don't think that I, or anyone in my immediate family, will be purchasing your product anytime in the near future.

I researched the G-35 6-speed coupe for almost a year before deciding to
purchase the car. When I first saw the car at the Chicago Auto Show in
February of 2003, I loved it. It seemed to offer the best luxury sport bang for the buck. Finally, I bought my 6-speed coupe in January of 2004. The first 20K or so miles went without incident. However, starting around 21-22K miles, I noticed a problem with the manual transmission. There were a few other things going wrong with the car, as well. The driver's seat cushion came separated from the frame, the rear axles were snapping from 5-15mph, and heavy grease streaks developed on the windows. Being that I read and subscribe to many online G-35 and Nissan 350Z forums, I found that many these were common issues regularly serviced under warranty by the dealer. However, the transmission problem worried me.

My drive to work consists of 70 miles round trip on the North West Indiana Toll Road. Cruising speed averages 65-75 mph with little to no traffic.
From there, its a two mile drive through country back roads to work. Around the same time everything else on the car began falling apart, the transmission developed a really bad grinding when shifting from fourth to fifth, and fifth to sixth gears. It ended up being so bad that the car would rarely even engage sixth, and sometimes pop out of gear.

So, I called Consumer Affairs to make them aware of the problem. I spoke with Norma Jean, who was quite helpful in the beginning. I asked if, since the nearest dealer to me was nearly 90 miles away, Infiniti would come pick my car up or have it towed to Fort Wayne Infiniti. Unfortunately, I was told neither service would be possible unless my car was un-drivable due to a manufacture defect. I was also told the dealer did not offer the option of bringing me a loaner in exchange for my car, so I wouldn't have to take personal time driving over there.

I make my living in straight commission sales. I work for a large performance tire and wheel company here in South Bend Indiana, primarily in phone sales. Every minute I'm away from the phone is income lost. Luckily, my father was available to drive the car over to Fort Wayne. Once there, a description of the problems were noted, and my father asked to take them (the service manager and mechanic) for a test drive so they could experience what the transmission was doing. Dave declined. After sitting there almost all day, they gave my dad a loaner and he came home.

It wasn't until that next week that I had to call and get the status on my car. Dave told me all the repairs had been authorized except the transmission. Bewildered (because this was the most serious of the problems
- the main reason I took the car all the way to Fort Wayne), I asked why.
He proceeded to tell me that Brian at the tech center in California said the car was not designed to skip gears. I was told I didn't know how to drive the car properly, and I was the cause of the transmission failing. Dave also said they could not get the car to duplicate the problem when shifting from fifth to sixth, but had no problem getting it to grind from fourth to sixth. Even though they acknowledged a severe issue skipping gears, he said they would not replace the transmission under warranty because of what the tech in California told him. He said they would proceed with the other repairs and let me know when the car was finished.

The next day I called Consumer Affairs back and talked with Norma Jean.
Unfortunately, customer service reps take the brunt of customer's anger and can rarely do anything to help. I explained my situation to her, and she said she would check with the dealer and confirm what they had told me. I was told there was no way for me to talk directly to tech in California since I was not an Infiniti employee. She confirmed that the dealer refused the request to have the transmission replaced. She said there was nothing she could do beyond what was already said, and I was told to pick my car up and return the loaner when the car was done. I told her I would pick the car up when the items that needed to be replaced were replaced. She said if I didn't pick up my car they would either charge me per day for the loaner, or they would tow my car back to me and charge for the tow and days I used the loaner.

Appalled, I called the dealer back. I told Dave I would again inconvenience my father and send him on the 90 mile journey back over to the dealer with the loaner (again because I cannot just get up and leave work). Once there, my father took Dave and a mechanic with him for a test drive (as he originally requested to do before he left my car there the first time). When my father took my car out onto the highway, the Infiniti reps asked where he was going.

My father explained that he was going to take the car on the highway in order to get it up to speed and prove to them it was grinding, not only when skipping gears, but also when shifting properly. They then said they hadn't even taken it but a few blocks down the road when initially attempting to
diagnose it. That dealer is on a road where the top speed is 35-45 miles
per hour, so I cannot figure out how, given those speed limits, they could have even got the car going fast enough to properly shift it into fifth or sixth gear.

Seven out of the eight times the car was "properly" shifted from fifth to sixth when my father took them for the test drive, it ground. Every time from fourth to sixth it also ground. Dave finally confirmed the transmission needed to be replaced.

The car was fully repaired and I went to pick it up about three weeks after the initial visit. I went over on a Saturday and was told Dave wouldn't be there but a sales representative could assist me. So, I decided to skip a family function and drove over with my wife to the dealer. I told the sales representative I wasn't going to sign the release papers until I took it for a drive. He said that was fine, but that, in any event, I would not be leaving it there. I told him if the car wasn't shifting or driving right, or had a problem, I wasn't taking it back home. Again, he told me the car would have to be taken home today and there were no exceptions. I drove the car and it performed without incident.

Because of this whole ordeal I honestly don't think anyone I know who has heard this story will purchase an Infiniti in the future. I will be disappointed for a long time because of the way my family and I were treated. First, I was told I didn't know how to drive my car, then that I caused the problem, threatened with fees by Consumer Affairs, made to inconvenience myself and others, then forced to take the car even if it wasn't fixed correctly. This doesn't really sound like a premium car company to me. I received better service from the local Dodge dealer when I owned an Intrepid in my college days.

If I wanted to be shrugged off and called a liar, I would have purchased some low grade car from a local dealer. Personal attacks and total disregard for service and customer satisfaction aside, the simple quality problems with a car that costs upwards of $35,000 are disturbing enough.
All of the problems I had just before 25K miles makes me wonder what will come in the next 20K or 50K miles. Unless there is a change in the customer service side of Infiniti, I don't think there will be an Infiniti sitting in my driveway again.


Pretty sad man...

 

Maxpower, it is Billy at Clearlake who I am working with. Did you buy your car from him and if so what was your experience? Was this an out-of-town or in-town purchase?

 

I had no problems with Billy, he answered all my questions etc. and he gave me a discount off sticker, but I actually bought my G from Southwest Infiniti since they offered the same deal ( both dealerships are owned by the same guy and have excellent reputations) and are 10 minutes from my house. Good Luck on your new G!

 

My advise would be check everything before you take delivery of the car.

I brought mine from Inskip Infiniti, in Rode Island. I signed and paid, went into the new car and the A/C / radio control console didn't work. Turned out there was a recall on it. This was at 9pm when the dealer was close. I was there 'till 11 when it was finally fixed. I drove 3 hours from Jersey to Rode Island for this baby so I didn't get home about 1am. It sucked but I didn't care so much but I felt really bad for my parents, who went to pick up the car with me. Keith, the manager at Inskip, promised us $300 in compensation but only if I filled out a nice satisfaction survey for them, and mailed it to him directly. But now it has been three weeks since I mailed it to him I don't see the check. Everytime I call he tells me he didn't receive it yet. What a b*****! So I just mailed it out again in certified mail but I don't think that'll work either, he will probably just wipe his *** with it. but, I will keep on mailing and calling his *** for this. Now, it's not just about the money.

This was my first time buying a brand new car for myself. I learned.