Well the good news that after months of indecision re the G35X sedan via the competition, I am finally taking the plunge this week. I have a number of last minute decisions to make. I wouldn't mind some thoughts.....

1) COLOUR : I decided on a graphite (vs stone) as I have had light interior colours for years and need a change - also want to worry less about the dirt. External colour is between:

- Diamond (Platinum) Graphite or
- Blue Onyx (Slate).

I am leaning toward the Diamond as :

a) I think its a better contrast with the dark interior...the Blue is real real nice, but I think it may look a little too dull with the graphite inside??

b) I have had black for the last 7 years - so I want a car that looks cleaner longer - I am assuming the Blue will get show the dirt quicker?

c) At night, the Blue looks black!..but during the day its beautiful!

d) Might go for a clear bra - had read some posts where its least visible on the Diamond Graphite - true?


2) CHROME WHEELS - Do I go with the standard or chrome wheels. The infiniti web site has pics of the car with standard wheels but does any one have links to pics of the chrome wheels in Diamond (Platinum) Graphite or Blue Onyx (Slate) ? Curious what it might look like.

3) CLEAR BRA - Pros and cons on this one. Plan to keep the car 5-7 years. One one hand it seems so much easier to forget about it, save the $$$, and just Zaino the thing to build up protection/shine (and not worry about too much abrasion on the flimed part of the car)etc....besides one good rock and there goes the film anyway....or a rock can hit an unprotected part..................one the other hand, it does offer protection and people swear buy it.

4) TIRE/RIM WARRANTY at $499 - Will likely go for this once I read the fine print.

5) 3 yr LEASE vs 5 yr FINANCE. In both case I have $18k available. In both cases the rates are 5.9%. I get no tax advantage on a lease. And I would not put down all that money as a lease downpayment .

My choices are :

Thoughts ??? !!

 

Diamond Graphite, no question.

Chrome, on a dark car, chrome for sure.

Yes unless you want a sand blasted front end a year or two from now.

Waste of money. Only covers defects on the wheels won't cover if you hit a curb or something along those lines.

I like to own my cars. Lease is like a 3 year enlistment in the Army easy to get in hard to get out.

Good luck!

 

Sedanman and I tend to agree on things, including this I like the blue, but silver looks...sleek. Silver hides dirt REALLY well - my old silver car had to be filthy to really notice. Dunno on the clear bra re PG, but clear bras are pretty well hidden anyway.


Eh...personally not a chrome guy, and aren't chrome wheels heavier?

I had a clear bra on my last car and liked it, but now after 63k miles the parts of the hood and fenders not covered have rock chips. So either cover the entire hood, most of the fenders etc.; or don't bother. This time I'm going to try "don't bother", and figure that if it gets really bad I'll pay the $$ to get it repainted. Less noticeable on PG anyway

Sport wheels are expensive, and the tires are close to $200 / copy. For $500 for five years (think mine was less than that though?) it seems like good insurance.

Ohhh, this is in CDN. I was thinking "holy crap, $18k down and $730 a month??". Can't make the call on this one, haven't ever leased a car.

 

Not to be biased since I own a Blue Slate, but because there's so much chrome on this bad boy, I feel like it complements a dark car very well. If the car is silver, the chrome won't stand out as much. It's too silvery for my taste. Plus, there are too many silver cars out there. But if I had to choose between the silver and the gray (diamond graphite), I'd pick the silver.

 

I'm rather partial to Blue Slate. If you get the graphite, get it with the rosewood trim. This combo is hot. Yes, it does show dirt more than PG will.

Platinum Graphite is also really hot. With the black interior, I'm not sure if the wood or aluminum would look best.

Stone interior looks great on both of these colors too, by the way.

I'm still up in the air about the clear bra myself. Not sure if it is really worth it, and kind of tight on money now.

I passed on the tire and wheel insurance. I'll self insure on that. I haven't had a blowout or rim damage in 10 years. And, the roads in SE Michigan, well, mega suck.

Chrome wheel? Blech! Gross! Stay Away!!

 

Lease the car. In 3 years you would probaly do the same thing you are doing now. Getting a new car. Save your money and lease it and wait to see if you would like any other car in 3 years then decide if you want to keep it. A difference of 1000 usd isn't really alot. I use to buy my cars but now i lease them because technology is too fast and its not worth the money to buy it. If you hate your lease car you can always trade it in or sale it. It works the same as if you bought the car.

 

Don't you mean a week?

 

I used to think exactly the same way...but I think there is a flaw in the argument and it relates to the loss of equity.

Suppose I lease, and decide not to buy, but re-lease, as the new cars are a little nicer/better/cooler. If I continually lease very 3 years, that means every 3 years I put down $2200 and pay 35 x $825. Over a 6 year period ( 2 lease cycles), thats $64k out of pocket, and no car.

But if instead I financed. I would end up paying approx the same amount , ie $62k, but I would have a car that might be worth $15k in 5 yrs and I could sell it. My net cost is then $47k. So I am $17,000 ahead over a lease.

Given the choice, for me, I would rather save that $17, 000 and get a car every 5 or 6 years, than get a new car every 3 years.

Or, better still, I take that money to upgrade cars, ie get a BETTER car ever 5-6 years rather that the SAME priced car every 3 years.

Please challenge me if I am wrong, as I need to convince myself pretty soon!!

 

1) COLOUR : IMO the Diamond Graphite looks amazing but I am a little biased as I had thouroughly sold myself on it by the time I took deliver. The Blue Slate is a great colour too, you have to pick the one you think will look best in your driveway


2) CHROME WHEELS - Chrome wheels are too blingy for my taste, I'm leaning toward getting some nice alloy wheels with a polished chrome lip for my summers.

3) CLEAR BRA - Get it, and the sooner its installed the better. Make sure that you get 3M installed not some cheap copy cat brand. Though you may never get that money back fully in the resale of the car, it will look a heck of a lot better for longer.

4) TIRE/RIM WARRANTY at $499?? If it only covers defects I would skip it. I wasn't even offered this when I bought my G.

5) 3 yr LEASE vs 5 yr FINANCE.
I agree totally with Sedanman07, a lease can be a real pain in the *** if you need to get out quick. I purchased mine out right and I don't regret it. Sure it's a diminishing asset but at least I can sell it at anytime.

 

I beleive manfucaturer defects are already covered by the manufacturer. This package covers road hazards. eg "The Safe-Guard Tire & Wheel Protection Program provides coverage in the event of damage to your tires or wheels as a result of metal, nails, glass, debris, potholes, blowouts, etc. You can choose a plan that covers your vehicle for up to 5 years."

What I don't know is if it covers a scanraio like sliding the car on black ice into a curb and damaging the rim. Had that maybe 20 years back.

Like anything else, its insurance. I dont remember the last time in the recent past I had tire/rim problems....but for $100 buck a year for all tires/rims, it sounded reasonable -- as long as they cover you when needed !!

Anyone have any experince with Safe-Guard??

 

I would get the Clearbra over the Tire/Rim warranty and wouldn't think twice about it.

 

What are the chances that you will need to replace more than 1 rim under this warranty? Any situation I can think of that will lead to multiple replacements would be an accident, and that's why we all carry car insurance. I'm not sure how much a replacement infiniti rim will cost, but it can't be that much more than $500. Given the time value of money, in 5 years your $500 saved at only 3% interest will be $580.

+1 I would much rather spend the extra cash on a clear bra.

 

TIRE: Fair enough, but what about basic road hazards...The manaufacturer only covers defect, so I guess the strategy there is just repair/repalce tires as needs, at a cost more than likely less than $499..and use free road-side assistance to get to the tire shop. BTW,, I contacted Safeguard and they confirmed that any fixed object incident ( eg rim into curb) would NOT be covered..but damage caused by loose items (metal, nails, glass, debris) or defects in the road (potholes) would be covered.

CLEAR BRA : if one does the entire hood, a local 3m dealer mentioned that this can be done, but the film only comes in 48" widths and so if the G hood is wider than that, there may be a seam at the two top corners.

So 'is' the hood wider than 48" ?

Anyone here have the whole hood done????

 

Any insurance is a gamble (you're spending the money on insurance to mitigate risk). But in this case, to answer your question:

2 tires replaced would pay for my tire hazard ins. One wheel ditto.

So I figure for ~$80 / year (think I paid $399) I'm covered for as long as I expect to own this car. Will I win or lose? Dunno - but since there's no deductible, and one incident would cover the cost, I decided it's worth the money.

 

I don't think it is necessary to Clear Bra the whole hood for protective reasons (i.e. sand blasting). One would only do it for cosmetic reasons (to not see the edge line). A clear bra will not protect the sheet metal from projectiles!

The EXPEL kit goes up almost 1/2 way up the hood to cover the front curved portion. The rest of the hood is mostly horizontal, so less need for protection from "sand blasting" effects.

Also, one rock can potentially damage the film, but your most likely going to see a dent in the sheet metal by then. If you plan to leave the dent, why bother replacing that protion of the clear bra? One would only replace the damaged section of film if the sheet metal were repaired. Hence, the need to go to installers that can cut and replace "just" the damaged section (i.e. hood, fender, light) thus saving you from buying a whole new kit!