So, I'm a first time buyer of Infiniti products.

I currently have a 2004 Acura TL. This is a first year car of the model. It has been riddled with many minor bugs and also a few major problems.

I really want out of this car and want to get into an '07 G35S.

For those of you who have owned the G1 G35, how has the car been with minor issues? Should I just wait for mid-year to come around? Or should I skip the entire first year all together?

If the car has to go into the dealer like 3 times for minor issues in its first year, I'll be satisfied.

What's Infiniti's track record with first year models? Maybe owners of some other models can also chime in on this one since every model must have had a first year right?

 

Well I can only speak from my own personal experience, but I have had a trouble free 03. I have had my 03 for 3 years and haven't had one single problem with it. Outside of routine maintenance, the only thing I have had to do is get my pads and rotors replaced and that was under warranty. My 03 has treated me extremely well, which was the reason why I purchased an 07.

 

My 03.5 Gs was a dream and has lived up to and beyond my expectations. I've had to take the car in for brake issues twice and had a rear window squeek that was fixed free. My automatic seat slider mechanism had to be replaced because I kept dropping coins out of my pocket onto the track. I bought the car new in '03 and it's because of it's reliability, handling, and looks that I'm seriously considering the '07s or '08 coupe.

 

I've often wondered if the "first-year-jinx" is real or urban legend. It seems to proceed on a logical premise - that car companies use their first-year customers as beta testers - but I haven't seen solid evidence to back it up. The Consumer Reports reliability ratings (for what they may be worth) are based on user reports and they show that first-year models are sometimes less reliable than later years, and sometimes not. The '04 G35 has better CR reliability ratings than the '03, but the difference isn't shocking. The '03 and '04 TL have about the same ratings, even though they were different generations. My '03 German car is the first year of its generation and isn't rated as reliable, but my particular example has been very reliable (so far).

It may be unfair to dis Ohio, since Ohio isn't here to defend itself, but if your '04 TL has been unreliable, it may have more to with where it was made than what model year it is.

 

My 2003.5 is like everyone, great! Just brakes and one recall and that is it after 3 1/2 years and 54,000 miles.

 

I never had any issues w/ my 2003 Coupe....I think 1st year bugs is def an urban legend or just isolated cases.