Hi all,

Name's Chris, I'm from Pennsylvania and I'm new to the forums! I have never owned a luxury car, nor a sports car, but now because of finally having a good paying job, I'd like to get a little of each. The car I'm looking at is an 08' G37 5 speed automatic with Sport package, the one in my attachments to be exact, and I have a few questions. Please forgive me if these have been answered in great length on the forums, I've been doing a few days of searching and reading, but there is quite a bit of info to sort through!

First, I am finding an abundance of 08's on the market, but very few 09's, I'm guessing because leases are up. My price range is around the mid $20's, which there are quite a few 08's about there. Is there any good reason to wait until the 09 leases are up, and get one of those over an 08?

Secondly, (and this may belong in the buying and leasing section, but I'm already posting so here goes:-) I would be buying the vehicle from a non-infiniti dealer, Ford dealer to be exact. Is there any huge benefit to getting one from an infiniti dealer? I found the certified ones are thousands more, is the benefit of the certification really worth the extra cost? It may be good to note that the car has VERY low mileage (under 15k), so that makes me wonder all the more if the certification is really needed.

Last, does anyone have any recommendations for a NEWB to luxury sports cars, especially one who has never driven a RWD before? Even if the recommendation is 'don't buy this car, you will hate it because of xyz...' I would appreciate the honesty. I am also planning on making this my daily driver, including in winter (in PA, we get maybe 10 - 15 days a year at worst of snow driving, but I plan on throwing some good winter tires on it from Dec - March). Is this car a good one for a non - track commuter?

Thanks in advance all! I look forward to hanging around the forum and hopefully getting to know you folks, from what I've seen you seem to be a cool bunch of people!

 

hey chris welcome to the forums. you will find lots of information on this forum with helpful people. as for your questions:

1. i dont think there is much of a difference between 08 and 09 its like maybe just tsb things but u can always get those handled from the dealer.

2. since ur looking at a 08 the warranty will be fine. and if u plan to mod no point of getting extended unless u have a very mod friendly dealership and they wont void ur warranty for anything.

3. there is really no NEWB in luxury cars haha its just basic rules, this is my first rwd car and i wouldnt want to go back to fwd. i like the idea of push rather than pull. i think u might like it as well. as for winter alot of people here drive their Gs in the snow with snow tires so i wouldnt think that is a problem but i am not sure on that.

hope this helps

 

Go for it!! Good choice!

 

I bought a used 08 G37S 5AT in Blue Slate last spring from a Nissan dealership. It had just over 19k miles. I love it so far but It is not my DD during winter. With the right tires it would probably be fine in winter but the G37x (AWD) would be better. I know a guy who has a G37S as his DD and he puts snow tires on in the winter and has no problems. I am in the Denver area BTW.

 

go ahead and pick it up.. i went from a 10 year old carola that i drove for 3 years to a 2010G37S 6MT, just a couple of months ago... you wouldnt regret it... and with low milage like that just make sure you really look at the history.. service books would be where I would go first, then to a trusted mechanic...

and with a set of winters you wont have any problems... just remember though its all relative, there are alot of horses under the wheels, so if you give it too much gas it will try to get from under you or mayeb not they do have a VCD.. that i usually keep off...

good luck with your decision!

 

Original poster here. I just realized in my 1st post, I forgot to mention that the car was the 5 speed automatic with the sport package (rather than the 6 mt) - I added that info in the original post for folks just reading it. Not sure if this changes anyone's answer to my 1st question (about waiting for an 09) or not.

Thanks for the reply's so far, I appreciate the advice!

 

Biggest difference is transmission, 5AT vs 7AT with 09 worth 2MPG more according to stickers. Next would be scratch shield paint, it will repair light scratches on it's own, however there's downsides to that as well. Be aware the paddle shifting isn't fast, that's probably the biggest disappointment with the autos. If you had dreams of blipping through gears like a F1 car...look elseware.

If MPG isn't a major concern, there's no reason not to go with an 08, and in this owners eyes a few reasons to prefer it. Best thing to do however is test drive both years and make that call yourself.

 

I was in a similar situation as the poster (no previous experience with lux. or sport vehicle). I bought a '08 6MT coupe in dec and wouldnt go back. Great car, esp. considering i was coming from a honda CRV. I used it as a DD, and threw some blizzaks on it for winter (live in the NE). Didn't have any issues.

I did end up getting the CPO, but the price was right with the trade, and warranties have worked out for me in the past.

 

x2. Well said, sir.

 

Go for it! A 330hp RWD coupe with a brutal exhaust note for mid 20k? Where else will you find that, this car is perfect, plus you have peace of mind that this car was built by some of the best engineers in the world!!!

 

08 and 09 are basically the same.

I feel the certified ones are a little safer. It depends on how good you are with cars. I mean I have built cars so it would not bother me to replace a tranny but if you do not do your own maintenance you might want to go with a certified car.

I live in NJ and I have a AWD coupe and let me tell you, without the AWD there is no way I could have even attempted to drive some days this winter. The RWD might be a bad idea for a PA commuter.

 

Thanks all for your replies! I really appreciate no one shooting me down saying I should steer clear of an awesome sauce car like this, being as inexperienced as I am with lux sports cars :-) I am going to take a test drive on Saturday, really looking forward to it, every time I look at the pics of the car I get more excited, it really is a thing of beauty!

Unfortunately beyond the basics of changing oil and maybe the occasional O2 sensor, I am not good with cars. I am going to visit the dealer selling this car on Saturday, maybe I'll ask if they would allow me to take it to a local infiniti dealer and have it checked for admittance into the certification program, and if it cannot be certified, ask why not? This may give me ammo to bring the price down even more, and heck, if I can get another 2 grand or so off the price it becomes a pretty great deal financially.

I'll think about your point of driving in the snow for sure. I'm in Western PA, so, while we only get 10 - 15 solid snow days a year, we may have 3-5 inches or more on the ground during the morning commute. Still thinking if that is doable for me or not.

Then again, this is a very low mileage, relatively cheap, crazy fun daily toy, I could just throw on some winter tires and drive ultra carefully. I'd hate for the handful of days of snow to take away from that. Decisions, decisions...

 

This forum is definitely a lot better than g35driver and g35nyc just in terms of friendliness.

Anyways.. my G37 Non-Sport is horrendous. I almost crashed twice when I hit small patches of ice. One incident I was going like at least 20 MPH over this patch of ice and at first everything was okay and then all of a sudden my car fish-tailed and I ended up in a little snow bank in the other lane. Thank god no other cars were in that lane or I would probably be dead.... stupid car. I didn't go into school that day lol . I drove it when it was ACTUALLY snowing and it wasn't bad at all especially with the crap Dunlop's the dealer gives you. The only problem I have with the car is going over small patches of ice that my sister's stupid Mazda or Jetta can handle which upsets me ;( But that's because I have RWD and should probably be throwing some sand bags in the trunk.

Whatever you choose, good luck

 

I hear you, it was hard to make the decision to get an AWD for a couple snow days a year but you also need to think about rain as well. The RWD is bad in all weather conditions. I would have LOVED to get the RWD but since I only have one car I had to go with the AWD.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

 

Good choice. 09 is a 7AT, shich is a bit smoother and better fuel economy. I have one of those and I love it. it handles very well in dry and wet, but not intended for snow. Luckily we only got about few hours total worth of snow