So as some of you may have been following, I flipped and wrecked my '06
G35X in February and bought an '07. I don't like the steering wheel on the '07 at all, it's too "chubby" and in order to see the speedometer and blinkers I have to tilt the wheel way too high to a position that's unnatural and my hands get fatigued. After looking at a boatload of '06 G35's since February, I have made a deal at a local Subaru dealership who had the '06 I want. Only one other dealership wanted to give me a fair refund back on my '07 but that '06 had some obvious issues. The other dealerships wanted to give me an even swap for my '07 (ya, right! I paid $7,000 more for it) and some dealers wanted me to pay THEM money back, as much as $1,500! I found the exact '06 as the one I wrecked with the exact color (silver on black) and has 52K miles (mine had 54K miles when I wrecked it). It has a few body blemishes here and there (no dings) and the driver's door sounds like the handle or window may be a tad loose or maybe the glass is, not sure which but they are going to try to address it. They're not an Infiniti dealer so they may not be able to diagnose it. Otherwise the test drive was really great and has a clean car fax, two owners. Bottom line is I'm getting back a decent refund on the swap for my '07 and getting back the car I LOVE and miss so much. In addition to some cash back they're paying for the doc fees, registration fees, title fee, etc. Only thing I have to pay for is the $29 inspection sticker. This one has bluetooth and memory seat/wheel as well as auto dim mirror and 1st generation **** intelligent ignition (I don't care about intelligent key but it's got it so not gonna turn it down). Mine did not have these 4 things so these are upgrades from what I had. They're going to try to fix the door, detail it and deliver it to me Wed or Thur. this week. If they can't fix the door, I may see if Infiniti will look at it under factory warranty. Since it's not an Infiniti dealer they can't certify it so I'll get a 2500 mile/2 month warranty. Wish me luck!

Drop and sways made my steering stiffer as far as i remember, but personally that's a BIG downgrade to go from a newer interior to a older gen.

well as some say, you are going for a downgrade, but to be honest if you are happy i see why not. at least you are getting some key features with it... the smart key rocks. not like the 07 but! you get the "feel" of you actually turning on the car.. unlike the 07+ which is a button.
all in all.. at least you get to stay in our section of the forums

Welcome back!

Not sure what you mean by "drop and sways made my steering stiffer".
I honestly did not like the push button start on my '07. Funny how you just like what you like.

Congrats! Personally, I don't like the looks of the '07-up, so IMO you're getting the better car. Good luck with the new one!

TPI: Amen! I don't know how else to put it but besides the awful steering wheel redesign, in my opinion, the earlier body style is just more, well, dare I say "naughty"? I'm not kidding. To me the 07+ models look a tad too "corporate" to me. I'm a corporate gal so don't get me wrong, but the 07 in my opinion is too tame looking. Also the '06 when you start it up actually SOUNDS better. Maybe they changed the exhaust, not sure. But I have to say when I start up an '06, I hear a growling "vroom" which sounds SO nice. I like that the 06 is a bit grittier in style and sound. I know most people say "oh, you're crazy, the 07 and newer models blow away the 06 and older. As someone who has owned and driven both extensively now, I have to say the 06 wins out hands down. And I didn't lose too much with this swap down, either. The dealer is giving me back a decent refund towards my 07 swap and they're paying for all the fees involved with the transfer of plates, etc. I'm not shelling out any money, they are!!!!

^ Hey, congratulations on getting a swap deal done. I hope you're getting a pre-purchase inspection from another dealer/mechanic instead of who you're buying it from - a clean carfax isn't the last word on the condition of a used car. You can always use whatever problems an inspection could uncover to increase the money you're getting back to fix them?


And it's been said before but 'downgrading' to a '06 from a '07 is a subjective opinion. Personally, I'd never buy the first year of a new generation and the new G35/G37's don't do it for me outside of the HR engine.


Good for getting some money back and getting back to the G35 model you wanted all along.

No, I hadn't planned on an inspection. But now you have me thinking I should!!!! The Subaru dealer said he'd let me take it to an Infiniti dealer. Any idea what that may run me? Ballpark cost to inspect? The service dept is closed now so will call first thing tomorrow but just curious if anyone knows what that may run me to have it looked at an Infiniti?

^ I wouldn't say lame but it would give you more information on the car than what the dealer you're buying it from is telling you. The more you know is always better.

When I bought my sedan I had a mobile inspector drive to the seller's house and he did the inspection there without me. Very thorough and it didn't cost too much ($80?). If there's an option for a mobile pre-purchase inspector to look over the car before you make the purchase final I'd suggest it. Any dealer that would not let you get one done before a final sale or try to dissuade you from doing one may be hiding something. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks, S854 for the tip. I edited my post above to say, hey, you have me thinking now to do it. I may take Wed off and just do that. He DID just say I could even take it overnight if I wanted to so at least it seems they are on the up and up, they're not saying no at all. That's cool. I'll keep you posted. I may take it to Infiniti if they can give me an appt. Wed. to inspect it.

^ You can post up in your regional subforums to see where local members bring their Infiniti's to. I was referred to my inspector by a friend (very thorough guy, had 200 points of inspection ); you can also try craigslist or google for local mobile car inspectors. Of course, you can always take it to an Infiniti dealer who should know problems inherent to the '06 sedan but I figure an independant shop/mechanic that knows Nissan's/Infiniti's are as just as good an option only cheaper. I don't think an inspection should be more than $100 but an Infiniti dealer would charge you their 1 hr labor rate I would think (here it's $135 ).


If that Subaru dealer will let you take the 06 overnight for an extended test drive, that's great. You would get a 2 hour road trip home, see how it starts up in the morning, get it to your (more) local Infiniti dealer for the pre-purchase inspection, etc. Outside of the obvious like checking the brakes/tire tread/paint discoloration on different body panels, you can take a look at the TSB's to see what other problem areas to look at. Not sure if inspector would have time to see if oil is leaking in the #3/#6 coil packs of the valve covers but I hear that's a big problem around ~50-60k miles.

I'm not hating on the 07-up either but I agree I don't find them appealing to me at least.. considering people that don't know about cars still think mine is new or current!! lol

Jayflyxx, I think it may be because the newer models look more "classy" as a co-worker joked today to me. She said, "oh, what it's too classy for you?" Tee hee. I think that the key for me is the 07 and up are just not naughty enough looking or sounding. I'm a 45 year old single professional woman, so you'd think I would want something more conservative or classy but naw, I'll take the racy looking 06 any day!!!

that is true.. to me its not new enough looking just evolving to softness! They seem great but ours stick out still to people more then 07-up

Girl don't listen to the haters that think you're crazy. I wouldn't trade my 05 for a newer version ever. Bottom line is you like what you like and if you like the 06 better that's all that matters. Remember the commercial "When you turn your car on does it return the favor?" or something like that? Mine does and I don't give a **** if other people think I'm crazy. I'm 48 and have learned not to be a sheep that follows the flock. I march to the beat of my own drum and wouldn't have it any other way.

Congrats for doing what makes you happy!!