My wife picked up her G35 with everything on it one week ago today. (CPE 6MT, Laser Red, Graphite Interior, Premium Package, Navigation, XM Radio, Body Side Molding, Aerodynamic Body Kit w/Rear Spoiler, Trunk Mat. MSRP $40,020. Ordered 1/27/05. Received 6/7/05. 131 day wait! Paid $500 over Invoice or approximately $3017 below MSRP. (At the time she ordered the car in January the “prevailing price” on the then new CPE 6MT was close to MSRP according to many posters here.) The delay in receiving her March-built car was due to the front chin spoiler being damaged at the Port of Departure in Japan costing Infiniti $247 to replace prior to loading on a ship.

I would like to thank the many knowledgeable contributors here for sharing their knowledge in this forum – it has proved invaluable. I want to also thank wnt1bd for steering me to a good price/deal here in the suburbs of our Nation’s Capital!

I am likely going to stop reading (obsessing? )here unless future problems crop up, however I wanted to share a few observations after one week of CPE 6MT ownership.

We asked the dealer not to apply their decal to the car, we also asked that the front license plate holder be installed, and finally asked that they remove the plastic protective film both inside and out but NOT wash or otherwise tidy up the exterior. No problem.

The only negative associated with picking up the car, for which we paid cash, was the finance guy pushing the Paint Protection, Tire & Wheel Protection, LoJack, and the Extended Warranty. We do want the Extended Warranty but their mark-up was too high in my judgement. Remember, you may purchase this from ANY Infiniti dealer and you have six-months or 6,000 miles to do so. I’m shopping around. (The sponsor on another forum was earlier this spring offering "no markup" Extended Warranties that were actually $470 OVER “cost.”) I posted above the sheet I found on an earlier thread – my dealer ultimately came down to $300 over this, $200 below what they originally claimed was cost. I think $200 above cost is fair and doable for this and that is my goal.

We drove directly from our dealership to our home on Tuesday. On Wednesday I spent over eight hours doing the full Zaino treatment including washes, Clay Bar, etc, on the external paint. On Thursday we left the car garaged. On Friday we used the Nav system for the first time and went directly to PROFORM in Ellicott City, MD, for a 3m Clear Bra install. My wife now is driving her car as any other car we’ve owned – to and from work, shopping etc, and she seems quite content with our choice of vehicle and options.

While I have learned a lot from many posters here, I learned not to pay as much attention to some posters that seemed to be dealing with a first car – or at least ownership of a first car. I think sometimes that some reported “problems” will disappear as the driver gains more experience. The problem with suggesting this is that it usually evokes a defensive reaction. A great example of this is the complaint that the clutch or transmission is defective because it frequently stalls when starting out on a hill when the driver leaves for school in the morning.

My wife has been driving for over forty years, mostly with manual transmissions, and for the past 14 years had been driving a red 1991 Mitsubishi 3000GT 5MT. (Which is now my car. ) I would categorize her driving style as “aggressive” but not “reckless.” )

She has indicated that she has NOT noted a "problem" with the clutch, particularly starting out from a complete stop or when shifting from first to second gear. (She reports the throw of the gearshift lever is shorter on the G35 than the 3000GT, but it’s really nice and took little time to become completely comfortable with!)

Also, she has NOT found the need to post a Crib Sheet on the dash telling her when to shift gears. I did tell her that if a red light comes on under "REV" that it meant she should stop at the next Package store and pick me up a six-pack of Corona.

She doesn’t seem to see a problem with having to push the Remote Key Fob button twice to unlock both doors.

She hasn’t found improper design of the coin holder by Infiniti allowing the coins to rattle.

Her car DID come equipped with all four clips to hold the trunk net.

And finally, no difficulty in seeing the speedometer and tachometer.

I guess that I would sum up what I learned from our Forum is firstly that no one that buys a $35k-$40k car wants to admit he or she paid more than they needed to – so beware of posts that suggest that you can’t get the car for less than the poster paid. Secondly, I learned to not give as much weight to perceived problems that might be attributed to inexperience, but rather seek info from more experienced owners.

Again, thank you to all that contribute so much to this forum!

 

u summed it up quite nicely right there!
enjoy the ride.

 

Congrats again on her new car and if you need anything just feel free to ask...car payments excluded...LOL

 

No car payments!

 

sounds like a good buying experience.

I see your points, but you cant blame all the clutch/syncro problems on the drivers. You dont want a serving of crow if you have to come back in 6000-12000 miles and ask for help getting the dealer to replicate.

Straight to the CB installer, good move.

 

Just a few questions I have that resulted from reading this post that I'd like to ask, if you guys don't mind. This is going to be my 4th car, and my 2nd new one so all help is greatly appreciated.

First, I've noticed a lot of posters talk about how they got the car at $500 above "consumer" invoice. Is it as simple as walking in asking for the car and options you want, and saying you want it for $500 above what edmunds says the invoice for everything is and being prepared to walk out otherwise? Do you guys usually add Tax, Title, and License on top of that $500 + Invoice or are you saying your getting the car for Invoice + $500 Out the door?

Just some curiousity here but, why did you ask to have the protective film removed but not wash it and not clean the interior? I can understand the fact that you can probably do a much better job, but I'm curious if I'm missing something?

Where do you shop around for the extended warranty? Can you just shop at any dealer and try to get the best price from different dealers?

Should you wash and wax/zaino the car before the clear bra is installed? Is that going to make more of a difference in the quality of the appearance under the clear bra? I'm assuming it's better to get a clear bra at a 3rd party installer and NOT at the dealership?

My last question is about lojack. I plan to get lojack installed on my car when I get it, but I'm not sure if I should have the dealer install it, or someone else? Can I have someone else install it and would it be cheaper?

 

The selling price was Invoice + $500. Add to that Taxes, $4 Recycling Fee (tires in MD), $128 State Registration, $20 Title Fee

I had them clean the inside, but I can do the outside to my satisfaction and at best they would not introduce any swirl marks, etc.


ANY Infiniti dealer. Yes, shop around.


There have been various suggestions on this matter posted in htis forum. I went with what my installer said - yes wash, Clay Bar, and Zaino it before installing the bra for a better appearance. YMMV

Like a Clear Bra, you certainly can Shop around. You can get a list of local installers at Lojack's www site, IIRC. Many dealers use a third-party to install Lojack and also to install Clear Bras. In each case you likely can do better by cutting out the middleman and by shopping around. Cost is only one factor - quality of film and quality of the installer are critical.

 

Congrats! It looks real good.

I've read a lot of threads, but haven't ever read anything on this site about ppl complaining that it stalls? Or that they need a crib sheet for shift points (amazing)??? Or even that ppl have trouble unlocking both doors with the remote.....guess you read more threads than I do

 

Give it sometime, and you both will notice the flaws like any G enthusiast.

 

That is a Beautiful G. Enjoy!

 

Have fun with that, SaltiDawg. It looks very nice.

 

I think I have ADDDHDHDHDDDHD, I can't sit here and read all of that, what did he say in a Nut Shell?

 

I have waited six-months to reply to this. After six-months to the day we have not seen even one of the flaws that I identified above. Indeed, I continue to believe that the vast majority of reported problems six months ago were simply the inexperience of the driver.

Will report again in six months.

 

Continued enjoyment with your G bro. Congrats.
C.

 

It's now been 12 months with the G-35 Coupe 6MT with all options and not one single problem. My wife still looks so happy just getting into the car!

Will check back in in six months and continue the updates!