My New G Ride

[lexusk8]

After less than 3 weeks from the accident (refer to original thread here), I finally found my ride to replace the gone-but-not-forgotten ES.

Here she is... 2003.5 Infiniti G35 5AT sedan (Brilliant Silver on charcoal interior)

I purchased this beautiful car from a private seller near Daytona Beach for $18K. It only had 41,290 miles at the time of purchase (nice to have a non-high mileage car this time around). All maintenance has been kept up to date as far as oil changes, tire rotation, and the 30K service. Never been in an accident, and no dings, dents or scratches. The G35 is pretty much in tip-top excellent condition, inside and out, and drives very nice! :D

Now, things I like about this car:

- The 5-speed automatic transmission. It shifts quick and smooth with no interruptions or hesitation

- Exhaust tone. Sweet-sounding with a definite race-like tone to it. I love it when the G35 goes from 1st to 3rd :)

- The overall sweeping exterior design. Very attractive especially looking from the front and side

- The sport suspension. It's readily tuned to take on the tough and curvy roads around town. I absolutely love the handling and steering feel; it's so good even in stock form :whistles: I drove a GS from another seller when I was car-searching, and apples to apples, the GS suspension certainly can't compare to the one from the G35

- 260hp 3.5L V6 engine. Nuff said :P

- LED tailights and 3rd brake light, and HID headlamps

- Instrument cluster and center console light up in orange like the BMW gauges

- All auto-function windows

- Steering wheel audio controls

- Spacious headroom and legroom in the rear

- Simplified wood trim touches on the door panel handles and gear shifter

- Driver seat automatically moves forward/back in position when key is put in/out of ignition

- Bose audio system (mfg'ed by Clarion). Bass is noticeable on this system compared to the Pioneer stock ones on the Lexus. Great sound quality and clarity.

Things I dislike so far:

- Two-piece remote control key fob. Why didn't Infiniti think about the ease and convenience of the one-piece master key design made by Lexus?

- No trunk key hole (trunk is operated from either the trunk switch in the cabin or the trunk button on the key fob)

- Lots of plastic material in the interior. Makes me worried about its durability and keeping it scratch-free.

- Biggest issue now: The in-dash 6-CD changer is not working! Probably a jammed CD or CD-R from the seller. I've been told that this is a very common problem on the 03-04 G35's. Good thing this car is still under basic factory warranty for another 4 months, so I can get the unit replaced at no charge from the dealership.

Overall I believe I made the right purchase even though I had considered getting a 02-03 GS300. This G35 met my requirements as far as number of miles, condition, service history and price. I've read that the Infiniti/Nissan reliability is not as high as Lexus/Toyota but still better than the majority of the car industry. I'm looking forward to keeping this car for at least a year, then we'll see what happens (new car models have been coming in left and right). Not ditching Lexus at all, just giving it a break for now as I plan to get back into the game not too far in the future!

Cheers,

Doug

[amf1932]

Hey Doug-

The car looks great!!! Use it well.....and drive carefully.

[SKperformance]

Oh man ,how could you!!!!!

Are you going to bring it to Lex fest?

Enjoy it is a nice car and i am sure it is what you like and prefer.

It drives much nicer than previous Lexus models .The present day Lexus' that are better i cannot afford yet.

So what does this mean with your MOD status?

I so far have never seen a mod who sold there car stick around after 6 months as it is not a high interest anymore.

[steviej]

benedict arnold!

just kidding.

enjoy the ride, looks beautiful.

steviej

[OmarG]

I really like g35's but one thing i never got was the pedal for the emergency brake. This is a 3-series fighter. Why not a hand brake? Oh and the seat controls are daft. 260 hp is quite a step up man. Lucky you. I still can't believe that payout.

Looks good man!

[Geo]

Traitor !!...

Nice G35 !!! Congrats.

Seriously do you have any repair manulas for the 2001 ?

gspatta@worldnet.att.net

[93LSOwner]

Congrats on the new car, it's very nice.

But I think this is the ultimate "G" ride ;) :

[denslexusgx470]

Nice. Looks pretty clean and well taken cared of. ;)

[blake918]

Congrats Doug! I'm sure your new G35 is going to be a fun car to own! B)

Congrats on the new car, it's very nice.

But I think this is the ultimate "G" ride ;) :

That is just great!!!

[SW03ES]

Lookin good buddy, even for a turncoat ;)

[5spd Lex]

good choice! i'd always loved the g35s! it would be even better if it was in stick!!!! For the manual transmission models, does it have a foot pedal ebrake or a hand brake?

[SW03ES]

I'm sure it has a handbrake. I've never seen a manual that had a foot operated parking brake.

[Lexusfreak]

Beautiful car Doug! Enjoy. B) :D

[justin97]

I'm sure it has a handbrake. I've never seen a manual that had a foot operated parking brake.

my friends silverado does..

[SW03ES]

I'm sure it has a handbrake. I've never seen a manual that had a foot operated parking brake.

my friends silverado does..

Thats a truck though...

[Rx330driver]

what about the manuals on the benz, c class. I think they have the foot operated brake, but ill have to check. I dont think theres room on the center armrest area for a handbrake.

yes, the C230 manual does not have a handbrake, it has a "foot" brake. looks carefully, you can spot a footbrake right underneath the steering wheel

[SW03ES]

I see that it doesn't have a handbrake, but I dont see a footbrake either. Maybe its electronic?

I can't remember a manual I've ever been in that had a foot operated parking brake.

[Rx330driver]

looks closely, between the middle spoke of the steering wheel on the left side. there is a small small very small silver pattern like the rest of the pedals next to the SRS airbag lettering

this better?

[SW03ES]

I noticed that, could be a footbrake.

[denslexusgx470]

well obviously there isn't a handbrake in that picture. ;) I really dislike foot brakes but I guess I have to live with it. Toyota seems to be using the American car technology by using foot brakes in most of the Toyota vehicles! <_< What's worse (currently dealing with it for a couple of days) is a foot brake in a Chrysler Town and Country that has a release handle that you can't find at night! Really annoying! Handbrakes are the only way to go for me. :P

[98es]

My great grandmothers 88 cadillac had the foot brake.. but with NO release!!! After searching for like 10 minutes on how to release it, I got so frustrated I just decided to try and drive it. Ends up, it automatically disengages when you shift out of park... would have been nice to know :) I'm not sure if cadillac has changed that design or not, but it was unusual at least from my experience.

[dcfish]

looks closely, between the middle spoke of the steering wheel on the left side. there is a small small very small silver pattern like the rest of the pedals next to the SRS airbag lettering

this better?

Looks like the dead pedal, Not a foot brake. It appears to be on the floor. And the foot brake is usually located closer to the left and up of the driver.

[SW03ES]

well obviously there isn't a handbrake in that picture. ;) I really dislike foot brakes but I guess I have to live with it. Toyota seems to be using the American car technology by using foot brakes in most of the Toyota vehicles! <_< What's worse (currently dealing with it for a couple of days) is a foot brake in a Chrysler Town and Country that has a release handle that you can't find at night! Really annoying! Handbrakes are the only way to go for me. :P

The foot brake on my ES disengages with your foot, which is better than a release lever I think.

My great grandmothers 88 cadillac had the foot brake.. but with NO release!!! After searching for like 10 minutes on how to release it, I got so frustrated I just decided to try and drive it. Ends up, it automatically disengages when you shift out of park... would have been nice to know I'm not sure if cadillac has changed that design or not, but it was unusual at least from my experience.

I think they still do that, my dad's 95 STS did. The new LS460 has a completely electronic parking brake that can be set to automatically activate and de-activate.

I hope everybody is using their parking brake when they park. The parking prawls on Lexuses are very weak.

Back to LF's G35, I may very well go to an Infiniti next time. I really like the M35, and now that the ES has gotten so expensive (a almost fully loaded M35 is only 4k more than a fully loaded ES350) and Lexus has moved away from having wood on the dash and things like that which I like, I may very seriously consider an M35 next year when I trade mine in. They also have some teriffic subsidized lease programs Lexus doesn't have. I could probably lease a more expensive M35 for $150 a month less than a less expensive ES350!

And I dunno, this is basically my second Lexus. Might be time for a change. They sure do catch my eye.

[lexuus]

well obviously there isn't a handbrake in that picture. ;) I really dislike foot brakes but I guess I have to live with it. Toyota seems to be using the American car technology by using foot brakes in most of the Toyota vehicles! <_< What's worse (currently dealing with it for a couple of days) is a foot brake in a Chrysler Town and Country that has a release handle that you can't find at night! Really annoying! Handbrakes are the only way to go for me. :P

The foot brake on my ES disengages with your foot, which is better than a release lever I think.

My great grandmothers 88 cadillac had the foot brake.. but with NO release!!! After searching for like 10 minutes on how to release it, I got so frustrated I just decided to try and drive it. Ends up, it automatically disengages when you shift out of park... would have been nice to know I'm not sure if cadillac has changed that design or not, but it was unusual at least from my experience.

I think they still do that, my dad's 95 STS did. The new LS460 has a completely electronic parking brake that can be set to automatically activate and de-activate.

I hope everybody is using their parking brake when they park. The parking prawls on Lexuses are very weak.

Back to LF's G35, I may very well go to an Infiniti next time. I really like the M35, and now that the ES has gotten so expensive (a almost fully loaded M35 is only 4k more than a fully loaded ES350) and Lexus has moved away from having wood on the dash and things like that which I like, I may very seriously consider an M35 next year when I trade mine in. They also have some teriffic subsidized lease programs Lexus doesn't have. I could probably lease a more expensive M35 for $150 a month less than a less expensive ES350!

And I dunno, this is basically my second Lexus. Might be time for a change. They sure do catch my eye.

do you have a kid? why not an IS350? or maybe the next G35 when it comes out?

[Rx330driver]

personally, i do not like the new M's. The rear brake lights in circles are weird to me. the dash also seems to complicated with all the buttons. but i do like that large slab of wood

lexus is getting more expensive every year, partially because the brand is gaining for prestige.

are we suppose to use the parking brake everytime we park? i only use it on hills.