Scoe11

Funny you said that. I said the same exact thing when I had my 2011. After seeing the wood at the dealership in a coupe prior to getting the 2013, I was sold. In a sport model I'd say not.

ilyas

I also prefer paddles on the column instead of the wheel. I love ALWAYS knowing where UP is and where DOWN is.

Scoe11

Make that two! Paddle shifters plain suck anyway so guess it doesn't matter. But at of the two options, this pretty much sums up why the steering wheel paddles are the lesser of the two evils:

"Given the choice (and I base some of this opinion on my experience with the controls and columns I once used when flying airplanes), I'd probably rather have the wheel-mounted paddles. No matter what position the wheel is in, even if upside-down or sharply angled, if the paddle you want is next to a certain spoke (or your right/left hand) when the wheel is centered, it will also be right there when the wheel rotates.....that will not change. And it will probably not be hidden by the wheel either. That may (?) not be the case with column-mounted paddles......and you may have to take your hand off the wheel, as, of course, you will have to do with the bump-shift lever on the console."

socketz67

Thanks for the tip. Although, I'm sorta confused as to where a broker fits in the gently used resale market as I typically think of them more as a high mileage/tarnished (i.e. collision victims a dealer cannot CPO/Clean Carfax) outlet for cars the dealer can not sell on their own lot. For example, if I am a dealer and someone returns a really clean lease with low miles, I want to CPO that return (CPO process costs them a fraction of what they can get as a CPO resale) and roll it out on my used car lot and attract buyers that can not/do not want to buy something brand new right (letting someone else pay for 2-3 years of depreciation is enticing to many)?

If brokers were buying these clean/low mileage lease returns, it seems they would struggle to command the premiums they deserve because they would then be competing with Infiniti dealers - and most consumers are going to trust a dealer over a broker. Let me know if I am missing something as I would love to explore this option as I have overlooked it to this point based on many of the assumptions made above.

Mike

socketz67

The jury is out on paddle shifters. I personally would probably never use them, but I would also love to have them in my next car since I consider myself an enthusiast. My friends with 335s all feel the same way. It's one of those little less practical items that makes you feel like less of a conformer to the 'practicalities' of life :-)

As for wood trim, I have to say I felt the same way till I saw it in person. IMHO, it really does scale the interior look and feel up a notch. Combined with 4-piston front calipers and all the other sport related more aggressive options, it too creates a sense of balance between of luxury/performance. But if I found the right car without wood, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Nice to have.

monytx

iTrader: (2)

The brakes are alright, but the infamous squeeeak. However, if you like the more aggressive look, then go for it. I personally love mine.

KatyMelrose

I don't know a whole lot about how lease returns work at a corporate level, just that Infiniti and probably every other car manufacturer put a lot of off-lease cars into dealer auctions. The auctions have inspectors who go through the car pretty thoroughly and assess the condition of the cars in some standard way (on a scale from 1.0-5.0). There can be thousands of cars at these auctions which are held all over the country. Millions of cars go through these auctions every year and that's where a lot of the cars you see at your local dealerships come from. The auctions have both freshly off-lease (meaning that it's corporate Infiniti selling the car at auction) and dealer-to-dealer sales.

AFAIK, anyone with a dealer license can buy from these auctions, which is where brokers come in. I've even heard of mechanics that maintain a dealer license just so they can do this stuff for their customers. I'm not sure that the guy I wound up not working with would call himself a broker (I think he calls himself a lot-less dealer), but functionally, that's what he does. Since they don't have to maintain a lot, their overhead is lower than a dealership's. Hence the flat fee versus dealer markup.

As for individual brokers, I think it's just up to them as to the quality of vehicles they buy for their customers. It's definitely possible to find people who will go out and find what you're looking for if you think that dealer pricing is out of whack in your local area.

There are a lot of really appealing things about shopping this way - it's cost-effective (you pay what the dealerships pay for cars, not what they sell them for and this is where they get their cars); you can look at the inspection reports before the auction (you know what dealers know about the cars), nationwide shopping instead of local. However, there are also some downsides to it because the broker is probably going to do the shopping for you - you and the broker have to be on the same page about what you're looking for because otherwise he's going to send you info about cars you don't want (which is what happened to me); and the shopping is fun, so having someone else do it kinda sucks.

It didn't work out for me because I wanted to be looking at '08's and '09's and the specific guy I was talking to specializes in off-lease, so he was trying to put me in a '10. That's great and all, but he wanted my budget to be ~30k, and I wasn't driving out over 25k. He was trying to find the best quality car he could (and all of he ones he sent me were really nice cars) and didn't really care all that much that I didn't even want to look at it if it didn't have the Sport package a/o had Navi (navi is great, but I didn't want to pay for it). So, we decided to part ways. The experience was pretty good though because I know that my ideal way to buy a car in the future would be to find a broker who will let me sit in front of his computer and do the shopping while I pay him just to make the bids at the actual auction. That would be incredibly awesome...sorry. I got carried away.

socketz67

No apologies necessary Katy as this information is very helpful. I guess I had always thought that the lease returns and used cars on a dealers lot were returns they contracted locally and/or local trade-ins. I had not realized that they too were buying from auctions (I know they auction off their own used cars that become stale).

How did you hook up with one of these brokers? Are these the guys I see on AutoTrader under names like "ABC Cars" or "Performance Cars" ? I had always thought their prices were too good to be true and figured they were selling salvaged title cars.

KEG97

iTrader: (2)

Many dealers get their cars from lease. The G that I picked up was from an auction. It was purchased and always serviced at Catena Infiniti in NJ and I bought it at Barker Infiniti in VB, VA.

I've got a broker contact, but he's in Alabama. I've never used him but I'm on his email distribution list and know many friends who have used him and love him. I've been dying to be able to use him but that opportunity has never been there since we typically buy brand new. In fact the G is the first "newer" preowned car I've ever purchased.

I'm sure if you started asking around, you'd find some broker contacts in short order. I also was put into touch with one in Richmond, VA but was still going to use the AL guy to add to the "adventure" in buying a new car. That and he only goes to the auctions in FL, AL, and GA. Nothing like a good southern belle of a car!!!!

KatyMelrose

I got a recommendation from a friend who had recently gotten a car through him.

Some of these brokers might occasionally get a car that isn't for a specific client and throw it up on AutoTrader, but I think the ones you're probably talking about actually maintain lots. There can be some good cars found at those places, and their prices may be lower than the more typical dealers because they can get away lower overhead by having smaller lots. Of course, some of the cars are cheaper because they are Lemon Laws that have been fixed or are not in great condition...whatever. I wouldn't write those dealers off en masse, but make sure you do your due diligence checking out the cars - CarFax/AutoCheck and take it to a mechanic you trust before you get attached.

If you have a mechanic that is not your dealer, you could probably ask them if they know of anyone who will buy from dealer auctions for clients.

One of my dad's friends even got his bank to do the dealer auction by telling them what he wanted and that he'd do financing through them.

You could also google auto brokers in your area and then call them and ask if they buy from dealer auctions.

All sorts of ways to find the car you want.

Tazicon

iTrader: (1)

I went car shopping, well mainly looking, this weekend and here is what I found, GTR's, Bentleys, Aston Martins and Ferrari's all do not have the paddles on the wheel either....... I didn't make it to the Lamborghini dealership but I have a feeling they are the same. Unless you have a very close ratio steering set up like an F1 car it doesn't work having them on the wheel.

Scoe11

So wrong. Both hands are supposed to stay on wheel and so are the paddles designed that way to follow. Ferreri states that you shouldn't shift when turning- hence their reason for placing them on the column even though wheel mounted is still easier to maneuver whilst straight. Go figure.

ViperG37s

Well worth it. Go 37S !

rmfnla

Great debate on the paddle shifters! We got the sport (actually an S; I agree that's the best way to get an upgraded model) and the paddle shifters are probably the only part of the package I don't care about one way or another; I almost never use them.

The rest of the upgrades I love, however, especially when I read about all the time spent trying to make aftermarket wheels, brakes, and bumper kits work.

Get the options you want up front; they ALWAYS cost more as an aftermarket add-on and there's no guarantee they will work as well.

G37jeff

Had a sport sedan a couple years ago. Did not like not being able to rotate tires. Liked the looks with bigger tires but ride comfort is more important to me at this point (43)