Hello G-People!
I have been shopping cars for over a year now, and thought I was sold on the new Altima. After spending a lot of time researching, reading and visiting altimas.net, I am not so sure now. The Altima is burdened with lots of rattles and small problems that seem to really add up.
At this point, I am seriously considering a G35 sedan. The car is beautiful and I feel really comfortable in it. I haven't even driven it yet, just checked it out at several auto shows. Considering a well-equipped G is not much more than a loaded Altima, the Infiniti makes a lot of sense.
I do have a couple of questions that would be a big help:
1. Have you experienced any flaws in the car, as it is a first-year model? Rule of thumb is to not buy a first-year car.
2. Is this car as good as all the reviews state?
3. Which dealerships in SoCal will deal?
Thanks for listening and the help!

 

technically, G35 is not in the first year model any more, g has been slightly modified and problems fixed for 2003.5.

Silver/Graphite/Premium/Sports/Winter and love it

 

No matter what car you choose, its gonna have problems...now some are more than others...If you have read the reviews..their basically telling u the flaws on the car..but for me..I had very little problems...I had a door rattling..but its fixed..no A/C problems or any others...

and yes..the reviews do live up to what they say and more...Only one way to find out is to actually test drive the car...

Your last question, I have no idea...

 

The drivetrain on this car isn't brand new, it's an evolution of one that's been around awhile, and is in several Nissan/Infiniti products. All the teething problems of the first year have been fairly minor, and as mentioned, mostly fixed. The Bose stereos still seem to have problems with the cd player getting jammed. They're on backorder right now, and I'm waiting for my replacement to come in. Other than that, no troubles with my car.

This car is definately as good as the reviews say. I had a tough time choosing between it an a BMW 330i. If your price bracket doesn't go that high, it's most definately the best choice.

Any SoCal dealership should deal with you on a sedan now. The coupe is the hot ticket at the moment, and they have sedans piling up in inventory. Where in SoCal are you? I'm in San Diego, so my choices were limited to Discover Infiniti, Discover Infiniti, or Discover Infiniti.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

You could have driven up here to OC and had more choices, right? Although, you definitely gotta stay away from some of these dealers.

Andrew

2003 coupe 6MT blue premium aero (on order)

 

Didn't want to drive that far away. Besides, the one in San Diego actually had the car with the options I wanted, gave me a decent price w/o hassles, and has been very pleasant to deal with so far. My salesman (Victor Cutroni, Discover Infiniti of Kearny Mesa) even called me up a few days after the sale just to see how the car was treating me.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

BoneDaddy, here are the major problems with the G:

1. They look so good that people are always staring at your car.
2. The motor is a torgue monster and it's too fun to floor it, you become paranoid about the po-po.
3. The car is a drug, you quit hanging out w/ friends and watching TV because you're always driving it
4. When you're not driving, you're @ g35drivers.com reading and posting.

I would definitely not buy one if I were you, run for the hills!! [img]/w3timages/icons/cool.gif[/img]

Seriously, as mentioned above, no car is perfect, but most of the "major" flaws have been worked out. Continue to do your research and test drive anything you are seriously considering.

Drive safe, have fun, kick butt when necessary
<font color=green>'03 Emerald Mist</font color=green>
Premium/Sport/Xenon

 

Tre5, #2: Yes, torque monster it is. It begs you to drive in such a way as to cut your fuel economy in half. I'm coming from a 92 Accord (2.0L I4, pre-VTEC, A/T) - had to drive it hard to get anything out of it, and it still got 22mpg. This G35, I have to baby to get 17mpg. I'm not done with the break-in period, though. And it spanks the old Accord even under break-in driving rules.

Then there was that Eclipse that tried to cut me off the other day. Operative word being "tried." If I still had the Accord, he would have succeeded. Actually, it probably would have been far enough ahead not to consider it being cut off.

I do find myself volunteering to run more errands for my wife now. "The local Costco doesn't have that? That's okay, I'll drive to the one across town...."

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

I've read pretty much all the messges on this board over the last few months, and the most common issues that people on here have complained about are

1. Door Rattle
2. Bose Sterro
3. A.C. unit
4. Transmission Problems (only a few have complained about his)

I've also noticed the people with the problems have had more problems trying to get the service department to fix them without a hassle..... I would think its safe to say that Infiniti service is better then your average Honda/Toyota/Ford Service Departments, but no where near Lexus/MB/BMW Services

But the G35 is definatly a step in quality over the Altima, but I'm afraid its still a notch or two behind BMW/Lexus in the quality department

That said, I still ordered a G35 Sedan.. Mostly because for the money you really can't beat it...

 

A perfect example of what I'm trying to BoneDaddy from. Most of us got it bad. I hide the toilet paper so that I have to make a trip to the store, then you might not see me for days!

BTW ryoken, way to keep that pesky Eclipse out of your lane!! [img]/w3timages/icons/cool.gif[/img] I'm coming from a 88 Ford Escort Pony (sub-base model), I once got cut off by an electric wheel chair.

No flames, I'm not capping on wheel chairs, I'm capping on the Pony

Drive safe, have fun, kick butt when necessary
<font color=green>'03 Emerald Mist</font color=green>
Premium/Sport/Xenon

 

hahaha Couldnet agree with you more Tre5...

BoneDaddy...

the G is a great car, I purchased mine at Glendale Infiniti from Tim (fleet manager) for 1400 above invoice on oct 3rd. The dealership was nice and I had a good experiance. I also went to Metro Infiniti the other day for my second oil change... while i was there for an hour (they applied the new TSB for the lights and my oil change) everyone in that dealership seemed very nice. I would check those two places out...

I live near Los Angeles by the way..

..pestilence..

 

I've had mine since last spring. Never regretted the purchase. No major flaws to speak of that I've found. My biggest complaint was the dead-pedal position! LOL!
If you do some research on the forums, you'll see most of the things that have come up from owners. As per all of these forums, be aware that the nature of a forum itself draws many negative comments (out of proportion to the general public) as it also becomes a meeting place for everyone to complain to others that are most likely to listen. Basic psychology at work.
Not all cars experience the same problems (which would be indicative of a design flaw). The most consistent complaint I believe has been with the visibility of the clock at night. Others, like the original trunk design, were discussed at length with a resulting change mid-year. Interestingly, when a poll was taken AFTER the change, more posters liked the original design!
Bottom line, all cars will have some flaws, whether they are from Infiniti, M-B, BMW, or Bentley. The best advice is to research, weigh the importance of the reliablility, performance and design, go for a few test drives, look at your bank account, and buy the car that best fits your needs!
I don't think you will regret buying the G35 over the Altima, but if you do, it probably won't be because it's a 1st year model.
Good luck, and keep us posted after you go for a test drive!

 

Talking about flaws... I heard that the new BMW 745's have major electrical problems... Anyone else heard the same?

..pestilence..

 

Talking about flaws... I heard that the new BMW 745's have major electrical problems... Anyone else heard the same?

..pestilence..