Traded my '07 G35 Sedan on a new '08 BMW 335i Sedan yesterday, car will be here 1st of next week (dealer swap).

If I could sum up my experience with my '07 G35 it would be somewhat bittersweet. I really liked the look of '07 G35 Sedan.

It's probably the best looking sports sedan on the market imho and the interior looks really good too.

However, the Infiniti dealership where I live simply sucks. I simply can't trust leaving any car with them after the experience a few months ago where they
kept my car over the weekend, promised to secure it in the garage, and instead left it out on the back lot, unsecured, no fence, cameras, nothing and then call me monday to tell me the cars sitting on blocks on their lot with the wheels gone, then claims it's not their responsibility. I ended up filing a claim with my insurance company (Alstate) and they covered the tires and about 1/2 the cost of the rims. Dick Smith has so far refused to even cover the difference.

This was my 2nd G35 from this dealership and I bought a Nissan from the same dealership. I hope the $1800.00 was worth it to them. Idiots.
I could sue, have already talked to a lawyers who says it's a clear cut breach of contract on their part (told me car would be kept in a garage over the weekend, it wasn't) but he's done work for the dealership in the past and is conflicted. Not sure it's worth the hassle for the $1800 to even try to find a lawyer to take a case this small.

Anyway, when Infiniti allows dealerships like this to sell their products, they should expect to lose customers. I called Infiniti corporate. The lady I talked to was nice but basically their line was it's an independent dealership, yada, yada, yada. My response was, do you sell them cars? Uh, yes. What would happen if you didn't sell them cars?

Well, like I said, I hope the $1800 was worth it. I'll never buy another car from Nissan/Infinti again unless I hear they pulled this dealerships franchise.

Anyway, back to the G35... While I liked the way it looked, it really didn't "fit" me. I'm tall, 6'2 with a long upper body and the drivers side armrest and console arm rest were too low and too far to the rear. If I tried to use them on long drives my shoulders would hurt so I ended up having to put my elbow on the window sill and twist a little to get my other elbow on the console. If I tried to lower the drivers seat enough that the armrests would not be to low it bottomed out. Overall it was just wasn't a comfortable car or me to drive more than 15-20 miles in. I really liked the seats in my '03 G35 better.

I actually grew to like the G35's Bose Studio on Wheels. I think I'm going to miss the SOW.

I had not driven a 335i until this week but after reading all the side-by-side comparisions in the car mags, I had expected that the 335i would pretty much "feel" about the same as the G35 but they are very different.

The G35 has a high reving engine that spins up quickly even in normal driving. The 335i on the otherhand does not spin up nearly as quickly. You really don't hear the engine in the 335i unless you get on it. The 335i also has less road noise and less wind noise. But there's tradeoffs with soundproofing. The G35's exhaust sounds really good. If Infiniti had soundproofed the G35 you wouldn't be able to hear it.

Steering on the 335i is "tighter", maybe a little too tight for my tastes. At slow speeds it takes some muscle to turn the wheel but on the otherhand, the 335i feels a little more "glued to the road" than the G35. Not a huge difference but perceptable.

Honestly, I couldn't really get on the 335i with the salesguy in the car so I can't really comment on how the 335i really performs. My G35 was scary fast to me, so I think the 335i will be plenty fast enough

 

That is too bad you went through such a horrible Dealer experience. I don't blame you for wanted to get away from them.
Congratulations on the Bimmer, sweet cars . Remember to post us some pics in the Other Car section, would love to see your new ride and what mods you have planned for that one .

 

hope u'll still stick around man. I think 90 percent of everyone here would go with a 335i like you including myself. i too had bad experience with infiniti dealers. Post some pics will u, i love to see the 335i. Though i question about the sedan over the coupe, but if u got a family its clearly sedan pick. u getting the car fully loaded?

 

Check with your state, but for $1800 you can file in small claims court in VA. No lawyers needed. Fill out the paperwork, tell the judge what happened, and you get a verdict. May take a few months to get the court date, and your time filling out the paperwork, but I think it'd be worth it.

 

'08 335i Sedan - Jet Black, w/Beige Dakota Leather, Prem Pack, Sport Package (18" wheels, sports steering wheel w/paddle shifters, sports suspension, increased top-speed limter) Steptronic Auto, Comfort Access System (push button start without having to put FOB in dash - BMW charges $500 extra for this), Sat. Radio, wired for iPod/USB for MP3 playback. No Nav/iDrive. 46,795.00

 

Very nice .

 

What a brutal experience with your stealership RG, such a shame that there are ones like that out there.

Great choice for your new ride!

 

good for you man...can't go wrong with a BMW. As for Infiniti dealerships, it has also been a hit and miss for me. Thankfully, I found a great dealer that really cares about their customers and are mod friendly. Good luck with the new ride and post some pics when you get it.

 

Yeah, the people here seem to be a little more laid back than the yuppies over on bimmerforums not to mention the excellent anything goes forum

 

This is just sad.. i really liked how your G looked.. but you gotta do what you gotta do good luck on the new ride man hopefully that dealership treats you better..

 

Railgunner - Sorry to see you go and about your ownership experience, but glad you are getting into another exceptional car. I'm sure you will find much to enjoy about your 335i.

What was Allstate's rationale for covering 1/2 the cost of the rims? From what I recall, the stock rims are pretty expensive and not all that much cheaper than Volks. If they were to pay you for the cost of brand new stock rims, wouldn't it have covered most of the cost of your Volks?

For future reference, take a look at State Farm Insurance. They are very aftermarket friendly as long as the aftermarket parts you are trying to replace are not illegal like a turbo kit or something.

How about small claims court? Here in CA, Small Claims limit is $7500. I'm sure it's definitely over $1800 in your state. You can sue for the difference plus deductible and out of pocket rental, etc. all w/o involving your attorney friend.


How did the 335i feel for you in terms of space? When I test drove the 335i, I thought it felt a bit tighter than the G35. The 535i was perfect, but I wasn't going to shell out $60K for a car.

I found your observations re: SOW to be spot on - no low end bass, but plenty of hard hitting mid-bass. I've also grown to like the SOW. I also really like the 08's iPod integration and I'll be pissed if I can't get a car in the future w/ at least as good an implementation as on the 08 Infinitis.

When I test drive cars, I always ask the salesperson if I can open it up and they always oblige. I think it's only fair to have an opportunity to push the car a little if I'm about to drop a bunch of money on a car.

I test drove a 335i just after test driving a 6MT and an AT G35. While I'm sure the 335i is quicker, from my full throttle accelerations in 1st and 2nd gear, it didn't feel all that much quicker - maybe just a bit. I guess this is to be expected since the G35 is somewhere around 5.2 sec 0-60 and the BMW is anywhere from 4.8 - 5.1 0-60. I'm sure at fwy speeds on a roll, the 335i will easily walk away from the G.

Good luck on your future experience w/ your BMW. What color did you get? Any rims you are considering? BMWs get the best selection of rims. I love how you can get a bunch of replica rims like M6 or M5 or CSL rims made to fit a 3 series for really cheap.

 

Alstate has a disclaimer where they will not cover more than $800 for the cost of "after market" accessories which is what they consider the rims to be.
They paid for the tires + $800 on the wheels. Initially they even tried to claim the tires were after market accessories because they were not the same size as what came on the car from the factory.

Basically they screwed me in the small print on page 49 of the benefits booklet. They said I needed a separate "rider" on the wheels. They didn't make sense to me because the cost of the factory rims is within a few hundred dollars of the Volks and when I think of a rider, it's to cover something that is significantly more expensive that the factory equipment.

The 335i had more headroom up front. The drivers seat was more comfortable (to me) and the armrests are in the right spot. I think the rear legroom might be a touch less but I rarely carry people in the back so that's not a big deal.

 

and with the vishnu ecu thingymajig, you can bump up power significantly by just plugging in something for relatively cheap too

i'd still file small claims or get a lawyer, it's the principle of the matter..

 

Sorry to see you go Railgunner...I too liked your ride, and you have provided a lot of great info on this forum.

Good luck with your Bimmer...and glad to hear that even buying one you still appreciate the G!!! Hope you'll join us every once in a while still...at least for AG...