Hello all. I'm trying to make a decision and am hoping some of you can help me out. Here's my situation...

A little over a month ago I bought a 2007 Acura TL Type S. It was Acura certified and had 26,000 miles. I paid $27,500 for it. I've seen a lot go for less, but this was at my local dealership and they wouldn't budge off of that. Since I've owned it, it's been in for service 3 times. Mostly for annoying rattles and the latest for squeaky brakes. It now needs to go back a 4th time because the rattles are endless and the brakes are still squeaking. I don't find this acceptable from such a highly priced vehicle.

I finally called my salesman and explained the situation. He was more than understanding and asked if I would consider a 07 or 08 G35 to replace it (it's an Acura/Infiniti dealer). He said they would give me credit for almost the entire 27,500, possibly minus a mileage charge for what I've driven. He assured me that they would adjust the numbers however necessary to make me happy with the deal. Here are my options...

2008 G35 Journey; 12,000 miles. Listed at $28,400, but he mentioned this one specifically as a replacement at the same price.

Several 2007 G35 base/Journey models with anywhere from 21,000 to 31,000 miles priced from $23,000 to $26,000. So I could actually save some money with one of these.

What is everyone's opinion on this possible deal? Will I have similar issues with the G35? If it is a good idea, which of the available cars would be the best idea?

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this long post!!!

 

Well okay, To be honest this is my experience with my car,

I have rattles, what type or rattles did you have in your Acura? Also on cold + wet days my brakes squeak too, all i do is brake hard once and the sound goes away.

Personally the rattles aren't that bad, you only really hear them when you have the windows up and no music, and only on not smooth roads. I don't drive with the radio because i love hearing my exhaust and when I do that i don't really notice any rattles. What you should do is ask your dealership to take the car out to a road you know is bumpy and then tell them so shut up and roll up all the windows and turn off the radio, listen to rattles and see if you can bear with them. then try that road again under what you would normally be driving, eg, with the radio on or whatever and see if you can live with that.

I haven't owned a lot of cars, actually this is my first one, but from sitting in my friends cars and such, I've heard rattles in M3s Bmws, Lexus, Mercs. I guess it's impossible to make a car 100% rattle free.

Lol Sorry long reply. I hope this helps.

 

get a G sport man

 

The rattles that I've been able to locate have been fixed. What's left is just a feeling and sound of instability when I'm on a less than perfect road. Kinda of like the difference in driving a new car that feels like a tight, solid piece of machinery and driving a 100k mile car that feels loose. Does that make sense??? I suspect that the previous owner really drove the car hard and took every speed bump and set of tracks at full speed in order to loosen the car this much.

The dealer has offered to let me keep the G35 overnight so that I can drive it everywhere I would normally go. This should be a good test.

 

Yeah good idea, good luck as well.

 

They have a 2007 G Sport with 23K miles listed for $26,790. Do you think that's a good price?

Does the sport have a far stiffer ride than the Journey? If the ride is too stiff I'm scared of more rattling issues. The Type S has a pretty firm ride.

 

Dont get the Base model without any packages on it at all. the Base Gs come pretty bare bones. at least try and find one with the premium package. If you were into the type S Acura (what i was looking at before i got my G) you should probably drive a G35s and a regular G35 because they are 2 different cars. I bought my 2007 G35s Sport Premium Nav Tech with 23500 miles with the Infiniti Certified 100,000 mile warranty for 28,000. so i wouldnt let them tell you you have to get a base journey. Look around on auto trader at other infiniti dealers to see what they are charging for cars and take that in to use it as a bargaining chip.

 

Or would I be better off buying an 07 Journey they have for $22,600 and putting that $4000 towards some mods, which would include some new rims/tires to equal or exceed the set on the Sport???

 

I was thinking of the Type s Before getting the G too. I wouldn't swap my G for a type s Lol.

 

have you driven a sport? i feel like the Base Seats are somewhat unsupportive. the sport has a pretty good suspension and brake setup from the get go.

 

Assuming you like the idea of RWD, yes - do it. Drive the Journey and Sport models to test the suspension, I have a Sport and it doesn't seem harsh to me.

From what I've read (I only test-drove RWD or AWD cars), the Gs are as nice (or nicer) inside than the Acura, and the performance is a bit better. Think you'll enjoy it.

My '07 has no rattles, if that helps.

Good luck! Check KBB and local listings to figure out if you're getting a good price.

 

Austin, looks like you got a pretty sweet deal on your car. Unless the dealer's descriptions are just very poorly written, it doesn't look like they have anything above a Sport or Journey. Is just a Sport or Journey equipped well enough without the Premium option?

 

Depends what you want, Sport gives you better performance and looks,
Premium gives you all the fancy luxury stuff, better radio, dimming mirrors, power seats etc.

 

It depends if you care about that kind of stuff... the premium has Memory seats, electric tilt steering wheel (that adjusts in when you get out to give you more room) Bose stereo, 6 disc CD. heated seats, Bluetooth (real important if you have hands free laws which mosts states will in a few years) and sunroof.

 

For that offer, I wouldn't hesitate. I've driven both vehicles and I was down to the G/Type S decision when I finally bought the G.
The other half of my garage holds an Acura and I have to say, there is little comparison in terms of fit & finish quality.

Yes, all cars can aquire rattles, but the TL is rediculous. One out of 20 owners claims to have a TL with no rattles. The other 19 are all ready to drive their TLs off a cliff in disgust.

With that said, I'm currently in an 07 G35 loaner. It's a base model with no options.
I know I'd lose interest in this car without the toys. I miss my backup camera, my stereo, my ICC, my homelink mirror, that beautiful FI sound, and I keep reaching for that left hand paddle shifter

My baby comes home tomorrow... can't wait!