I own a black M45 too. It was delivered with 12 miles on it. Flawless, awesome car. You are not out of line at all. Although my M45 was delivered 3 months ago before they became the hot car to own. So likely your dealer is having a time getting a fresh car off the truck for you this time of year. Be patient
I understand your concerns. If the car otherwise is everything you want I wouldn't be too concerned as long as the mileage is under 200, which IMO would be negligible. The other concern is the color black. With close inspection most black cars will exhibit some disheartening flaws in the finish especially in direct sun. The only way to get around that is to have a firm commitment to it. Whether this involves professional maintenance and detailing to the personal time consumption and energy with use of something like Zaino. Therefore consider switching colors.
I bought a new Volvo back in 1997. It had to be driven ~100 miles from another dealer in early NE spring, so it got dirty on the road. The selling dealer washed it by hand working all the grit into the soft paint (Volvo is notorious for it and actually recommends not waxing for at least 6 months after purchase).
Complained to the dealer, after a long exchange drove down at noon and showed him swirls in bright sunlight. He offered to have a guy "compact the paint with a heavy buffer", I refused and demanded a replacement car. He called it a buyer's remorse and declined. I wrote a complaint to Volvo. Must have been similar complaints because Volvo took back his license 6 months later. I kept the car for 8 more years; so much for the buyer's remorse.
Swirls are still there, although Maguire's product works quite well in removing most of them. But the whole ordeal is still a sad experience for me. I do not think I will ever buy a Volvo again.
When buying a Mercedes several years later I was very up front with the sales guy to deliver it with less than 20 miles on the odo and not to scratch the paint during the prep. He obliged, although there were still swirls on the black plastic parts on the D pillars of the SUV upon delivery. And also a cracked taillight cover.
Swapped out the stock Goodyear RS-A's for Pirelli P Zero Nero M+S.
The P0's made the Goodyear feel like the tires on a car from the Flintstones. It was like riding on concrete donughts. The Pirelli's are firm yet supple and whisper quiet. A remarkable difference.
Got my car with 20 miles. The testing and QC certificate counted 8 miles and the rest were put on at the port and the dealer. No reason that any new car should have more than 20 unless it was a tester.
About the guy who didn't look at his car on delivery not once but twice--I say shame on you! Nobody is going to look out for your interests better than you! Take some personal responsibility for your lack of attention. This is a $50000 car, damnit. What's wrong with you? You have nobody to blame but yourself.
$2k off MSRP for the color you want is a very competitive deal. Don't expect to do better--especially for a car delivered this month.
My M35x has 800 miles on it and it is fabulous. I just wish the M45 had and AWD option...
"About the guy who didn't look at his car on delivery not once but twice--I say shame on you! Nobody is going to look out for your interests better than you! Take some personal responsibility for your lack of attention. This is a $50000 car, damnit. What's wrong with you? You have nobody to blame but yourself."
Yes & no.
The first car was purchased at night. Secondarily, it is rainy season here in Florida. Overcast & gray. Which is when the replacement was delivered. Until you get these vehicles under light or in the sun, you cannot see blemishes. Once you do they're impossible to miss. Especially on a black finish.
As for the mileage. You're correct. I should have checked it on the second vehicle. I made an assumption that because it was coming from the showroom floor that it would have less miles on it than the original car given I had complained about the miles on car #1. My bad. It had double the miles on it.
I don't understand why you guys are being so anal about a few miles on the odo. The M is a hot car. There are going to be alot of people that are going to test drive it. They may want to sample the M35, M35x, M35 Sport, M45, AND the M45 Sport. And when they decide on a car they may want a different color or trim level than the one they drove. What do you expect the dealer to do? Limit test drives to less than 2 miles? With your logic the dealer would end up with a few dozen cars on the lot that nobody wants because they have over 20 miles on them. Most new owners put several hundred miles on their new vehicles in the first week of ownership. Lighten up and be realistic! Can you honestly say that more than 20 miles on the odo means it's no longer new? Please. If you get a car with less than 100 miles on it consider yourself lucky. What makes you so special to demand a car with low miles? You are taking advantage of the dealer's commitment to make the customer happy.
Regarding "If you get a car with less than 100 miles consider yourself lucky". I couldn't disagree more. Last year I purchased a RX330 - 6 miles. This year a M45 Sport 11 miles (5 from my test drive).
It is part of the dealers cost of doing business to provide tester vehicles and later sell then at a discount.
The Infiniti 4.5 liter V8 engine is known to consume oil on some vehicles. This is almost always the result of improper break-in. The break-in period is particularly important during the first few hundred miles as the pistons and rings get to know each other for the first time.
Test drives almost always involve two things that are terrible to do to a near zero mileage engine. 1) Flooring it. 2) High revs.
If you buy a vehicle that has been used for test drives you should get a discount.
I have bought four new cars, all under 10 miles. What I did was to test drive the car, and get the one from dealer's back parking lot. Most cars there have never been test driven. some still has plastic covers on seats, hood, etc.
If it's a new model, hot car, things are different. I never want to buy a first year car no matter how good it is.
I know that resale value and residual are not the same. However, third party residual values can be taken as "one" indication where resale values may be. By definition, future resales values are conjecture.
At this point, I'll take third party residuals that show the M with higher residuals than the GS as a better indicator of resale, rather than a blanket statement saying that the GS will have higher resale. Lexus in general has good resale, yes. And Infiniti in the past has struggled with resale. But the G and the FX have slightly higher resale than their Lexus counterparts, and I see the new M continuing this trend.
Looking for a M45, one dealer called me last night, stating he has the right car with the colors & features I asked for. Great! I was on my way when I asked him the mileage. "200 miles". After repeatedly asking why: "the manager just started driving it, but it's perfectly new". IMHO, being used daily or whatever no longer makes this car new to me, even if they extend the warranty accordingly (a common practice).
This is perhaps an isolated case, but my point is that since this car is in tight supply, if it has to be traded from another dealer and they require you to sign up front or even leave a deposit, make sure to write down the expected condition of the vehicle (e.g. "max 25 mi.", "no interior nor exterior visible defect") in order to get your money back if these conditions are not met. That implies you will carefully inspect the car and look very closely because paint and window defects are very, very difficult to dispute once you left the dealer's lot.
But I'm sure the manager kept the RPM's under 4000 and didn't accelerate hard because he was sensitive to the fact he was driving someone else's new car - NOT. The finance manager (during the purchase of my M45s) told me he took a brand new M45 home a few nights ago and got in a race with a BMW on the interstate. Told me he "walked it" at over 100 mph.
Insist on low mileage or a big discount (below dealer cost with holdback).
Most dealer employees drive all their cars in a consequence free way.
Am I out of line here? This is a boatload of money and I feel I should have a beautiful unblemished vehicle with low single digit miles on it. I'm talking 12 miles, or something like that.
You'd be out of line NOT to complain and insist upon "shiny new". If the dealership doesn't do it for you, go to the regional manager and if he doesn't, I'd go up the chain of command and even so far as the BBB and whoever regulates vehicular sales in your state. I'd threaten them with a lawsuit and even write a letter to the editor of the local papers. You bought new ... and are entitled to unblemished. :mad:
Please. If you get a car with less than 100 miles on it consider yourself lucky. What makes you so special to demand a car with low miles? You are taking advantage of the dealer's commitment to make the customer happy.
You couldn't be more wrong. Dealers must have cars to demo, and the cost of doing business is putting a few miles on them and selling them for a grand or so less than shiny off the truck. If you want to save those bucks, take the demo. But as the buyer (and I don't care at what price level, even a Yugo) you're entitled to shiny & new off the truck with no miles. If you don't ask, you likely won't get ... so insist. Maybe you have to wait a bit for the color/trim to be delivered ... so be it. :shades:
I never want to buy a first year car no matter how good it is.
Conventional wisdom is on your side, and I agree. I would NEVER buy a first model year ... NEVER, until I drove the M and I wasn't going to wait. God made warrantees for a reason and I swallowed my bias and bit. From the first couple of months of experience on this board, no one's made a serious error with the acquisition of the new M-car. I'm waiting for a pin to drop, but thus far nothing and I would expect it to remain that way.
From the first couple of months of experience on this board, no one's made a serious error with the acquisition of the new M-car. I'm waiting for a pin to drop, but thus far nothing and I would expect it to remain that way
Yea I have been watching the M: Problems & Solutions Thread faithfully. So far it seems to be a remarkably trouble-free first year release. Still not ready to pull the trigger; so I'll still read and watch with "baited breath"
"Swirls are still there, although Maguire's product works quite well in removing most of them."
Funny you should mention swirls and Maguire's in the same sentence - for me anyway - and it's more 'painful' than funny actually.
M35x, blk. First black car. Now I know that mits, chamois, and/or terry cloth are sure things when hand washing, but I happened across this Maguire's **gasp** "Soft Brush", and figured, "what the hell"......such an idiot.
Needless to say, swirls and scratches, big and small, ALL OVER THE CAR. Most very subtle, still more than just spider swirls though, and some - 3 on the hood to be exact - are well into the clear coat (something must have gotten into the brush because I applied MINIMAL pressure.)
I know Zaino is probably my best bet at minimizing, though I doubt eliminating the blemishes is even possible. I'm "gun shy" now, and no detailers use Zaino. Will a professional grade buffing get most of these out?
I know I pulled a jackass move, but other than that, what do you guys think? Any hope here?
I believe the M was introduced in Japan about a year before arriving here in US under a different name. So perhaps the combination of Infiniti commitment to quality build (I also got the first G35 coupe sold in Houston on Halloween of 2002 and it too has been flawless as a first year car) and the Japan experience.
I had some bad experience with a first year GM car in the mid 1980's which is why I have bought nothing but Japanese since all with flawless quality.
The Japanese Fuga (Infiniti M) was released in October 2004. So the Japanese release preceded the US release by 4 months.
Also, there is no V8 Fuga in Japan. There are 2 engine choices for the Fuga. A 2.5 VQ V6 making 210 hp / 197 torque, and a 3.5 VQ V6 making 280 hp / 270 torque (same as M35).
Wow.. That really sux. At this point if I were you, I would seek professional help...I mean a good paint guy or auto restorer.
You could try Zaino. The Z5 is for dark colors with swirls. I swear by Zaino's and will use nothing else and I have used them all. Takes some time, but the results are incredible. I just spent 6 hours last weekend on my wife's new Envoy. It went like this:
wash/clay bar/wash/Z2 (zfx)/Z6/Z2/Z6/Z2/Z6....
If you use it, you will know what this means. Basically. Wash, clay bar, wash then 3 coats of "wax" with gloss enhancer applied after each coat. This left a shine so deep and wet looking...was hard to look @ for fear of going blind. Now dirt drops off the finish.
I have had 5 black vehicles and yes they take effort to keep clean but nothing IMHO even comes close to how good they look. My new M will be black. As my friends tell me, I am a glutton for punishment.
Based on my shopping experience that is a reasonable deal at this time, about what I got. Maybe later you could get a better deal, but do you really want to wait if they now have in that which you really want? I think it is a fair deal on a car in very high demand.
My tire pressure starts out at 33 and heats up to 35 while driving (it is reassuring to see all four tires within 1 psi of each other at all times). Why don’t they show the pressure of the spare and why does the car have to be moving before you get a read-out? The fill cap on my M is on the passenger side of the car – I don’t know yet whether this is OK.
I too have black paint and took it into our office building’s basement for a professional detailing after two weeks of driving. These guys see Porsches & Mercs day in and day out but made a point of telling me how great the paint quality was on the M when I picked it up.
Most of the time when I am driving the car, it puts me in a mode where I’m thinking of rocks and trees and smallish babbling streams but occasionally I will obsess over some perceived imperfection. There is a spot of leather the size of a half-dollar on the corner of the passenger seat that has deep creases and stands out against the near perfect finish of the rest of the seat. After glaring at the spot a few times I start wondering what part of the cow that piece of leather came from and whether the cow was happy and what type of surroundings it came from – whether or not there were rocks and trees and smallish babbling streams nearby
I too was concerned about the number of miles the car had when I purchased it. The salesman apparently had seen my type before and pulled out a document from the glove box which showed how many miles the car had when it was put on the ship. In my case the car had 11.5 miles documented but the odometer showed 12. The salesman explained that the extra half mile was from driving the car around the Port of Los Angeles after arrival. For those of you on the East Coast I would expect that you would be happy with anything less than 2,000 miles on the odometer.
I have to agree with others here. A new car like the M with more than 20-30 miles has probably been driven pretty hard. While the break-in is 1200 miles, those first few are the most critical.
Interestingly, if you search, you will find some reports that occasional very high rpms (not sustained) is actually good for engine break-in. I don't know who to believe.
Got my m35x in march. At exactly 3750 nav screen says car is due for oil and filter change. Got to dealer 3 days later with 4070 miles. Dealer had me in & out in 50 minutes @ $43.88 for oil change. No rattles or squeaks or need for any other adjustments. Asked tech if he could program door lock to automatically lock. He checked with his computer and say there is no way "at this time" to program. Dealership manager said that he thought it was a safety issue with infinity about automatic locks. He also said that they have yet to received a tech. bulletin on the moonroof squeak (thankfully I don't have it).
As a side note: who sells Zaino polish. I have several classic cars & would like to try the products.
As a follow-up to my earlier message and to the post of m45smay, I went to a dealer that had the car the fit my needs & preferences the best, with 17 mi. on it, and so bright I couldn't look at it under the sun. That's my expectation of a new car. At that dealership, I was told the "worst" new car you can get is the "manager's car", because boy does it get a beat-up...
Zaino products are sold online only (except I think you can buy it in some stores in NJ).. Not sure if I am allowed to post URL here so I would say to just Google Zaino and it's the first link that comes up.
It's fine to post the Zaino URL - anytime anyone has questions about what may or may not be posted, just check the Rules of the Road (link at the top of the page). I think they spell out everything very clearly and concisely. And you can always email a host if you have any questions.
Back to Zaino, that is a popular Forums topic - check out the Zaino discussion for all you wanted to know and waaay more about it.
I've had my M35x for two months now. It was supposed to come installed with Sirius. It didn't. I have received all kinds of excuses since. My salesman called me today and told me that the only way to get Sirius in the M is to have it factory installed (which I assumed mine would be). The salesman indicated that he spoke to the Sirius reps that came to the dealership (why would they even be there if there wasn't an ability to do a dealer install?) who didn't have a clue as to what was up. The salesman continues to push XM, stating "we can install it today". I'm pretty stuck on Sirius for a number of reasons, especially NFL and NCAA football.
Anyone else having similar experiences? Anyone have any input? What gives?
i can only speak from a nissan perspective, but almost any vehicle with the upgraded stereo is pre-wired for satellite radio (either xm or sirius) as a dealer install option. now i know we've had some issues regarding satellite in some of our vehicles (not being available either factory or dealer installed) due to supplier issues. i would think with the M, they should be able to dealer install it for you, however if there is a supplier issue regarding sirius, that could explain the problem. best way to find out - call another dealer posing as a potential customer and ask them about availability on satellite radio (particularly sirius) as a factory, or dealer installed option. see what they say!
Yes. There is an icon of a gas pump with an arrow pointing to the passenger side. This is next to the fuel gauge. Personally, I do not think it makes a bit of difference which side the gas tank filler is on as long as I can remember or have a icon to tell me.
that little arrow has saved me many a times when driving a car other than my own over to the gas station. i have a feeling that a lot of times, the fuel tank fits where it fits, and they dont consciously say "i want to mimic the european cars, so i will design the mechanics of the car around the fuel tank being on the drivers side" or whatever.
just my thought, i really dont know how they decide, if there even is a discussion on where to put the tank!
I agree with you fully and some. Each dealer should have designated "test cars" whereby the rest of the inventory is "look only". In buying a new vehicle, especially in this category and from this manufacturer, you should expect mint condition only. After a bit of research prior to ordering my 45 Sport, the cars from the port will have 6 to 12 miles on them. Anything over 15 has seen road time and who knows what type of abuse could have occurred respectively.
One condition I made on my sale was "no vehicle over 12 miles", basically do not bother calling me if the car does. With this said and with an ordered car , I am in the 60 to 90 day order window with 40 days down. The wait is tough but it will be worth the it. I also requested to not have any drilling performed for the front license plate bracket. You are the customer, expect the best and demand it accordingly !
I's guess most new car with relatively high miles on it has been abused to some degree. Most potential buyers will test drive the car hard to know its characters. If they all drive gently, then most good cars to me are about the same, which does not make a lot of sense to test drive them. I've seen people, including me, floor the gas pedal to check its acceleration, and brake it really hard to check its braking power, etc.
Punishing a new car is simply not good for it. However, as others have said, its the responsibility of the dealer to provide cars that can "take one for the team" and then offer these cars once their usable lives as testers have been exhausted to buyers at a reasonable discount. Its the same with any kind of expensive appliance. Sears doesnt throw HDTVs that have been sitting on the sales floor back in the box and then deliver them to customers as "new".
Rich, just as kits designed for the Supra worked on the IS and GS300, I dont see any reason why a 350Z supercharger or turbo kit wouldnt work on the M35.
Rich, just as kits designed for the Supra worked on the IS and GS300, I dont see any reason why a 350Z supercharger or turbo kit wouldnt work on the M35.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. But wouldn't that risk invalidating the warranty? :confuse:
If something is put on the car that can be determined to have caused a failure, then the waranty would be voided (that is the usual line). If the turbo is put on the car and the brakes poop out -- I think it would be a stretch to accuse the turbo or super charger of making the car so powerful the brakes couldn't stop it without undue wear and tear.
Now if a piston is damaged, well the argument they could make MIGHT hold water.
When I have had mods done to my Audis, I have always had the dealer make the mod -- from chipping, to suspension mods to aftermarket wheels and tires (and even aftermarket brakes) -- I get it all done from the dealer and then, subsequent claims are always taken care of under warranty.
Of course the dealer may charge more to "chip it" or swap out the rotors, than you could have done elsewhere -- but I call the difference in cost "peace of mind."
But, may I be so brash as to suggest that if you want to add an aftermarket supercharger it might have been less costly to just go for the V8 in the first place?
I see, you wanted it for the X version -- you're right SWEEEET.
It was noted in this forum a few weeks ago that Infiniti took down the vehicle locator/dealer inventory part of the M35 website. Now they appear to have taken down the flash portion of the website which let you look at colors and interiors and features full screen. Why are they disabling what was a very good and useful website?
Is anyone else having the problem on these Edmund forums that the Emotorcons have quit displaying?
Something's weird with the Emotorcon display where the preference to display them will turn itself off. The folks who can fix it are actively trying to track it down, but you can fix it yourself by going into your Preferences (link on the left) and ticking the appropriate radio button.
I had a car with the filler in the center (19'67 Mustang GT ) and this would appear to be ideal except that it necessitates a higher lift-over for the trunk and also means that the tank must be low and at the very rear of the car which is not good for safety reasons. (Remember the Pinto?)
I agree that in the U.S.A. is doesn't make a lot of difference once you know where it is. I was told that in Germany many of the pumps are placed so it is most convenient to pull up with the pumps on the right and this makes some sense since most of the German cars have the filler on the right. Maybe someone there can comment on that. If there is a preference in Europe and no real reason to be on the left in the U.S.A., cars intended for both markets might best have the filler on the right.
My question is why has some inventive manufacturer not placed a filler on both sides of the car? It doesn't seem like it would cost much more to do so and it would be a great convenience.
As far as fillers on both sides "not costing much to do," remember that Ford could have avoided the problems with the Pinto by simply spending an extra $10 per car on design modifications. Car companies cut costs--witness the limited passenger seat adjustments on the M.
Had a long check out process at the dealer. Was a killer since I was excited to play hookey and take a nice ride this afternoon. No such luck. Just enough time to get home, changed into my coaches uniform and scoop up my 6 yr old and head to practice before the game. Not sure if I will take the M to the game or my old Saab which I did not trade since the dealer was offering a low ball number. I will sell it privately.
Any way, does anyone find the radio to be out of balance? I did find the balance and it is in the middle however It seems to me that the driver lower door speaker is not operating as loud as the passenger side? Either its a setting or its broken?
Also, there were 2 green stickers the size of quarters on my door jam. I hate seeing them there so I asked what they were and why they were not removed during prep. Any idea what that was?. Now I have adhesive in the jam. Need to get some bug and tar remover to clean that up.
Car was delivered with 12 miles on it, so I was pleased.
Gas mileage, all in bumper to bumper is 11! I did reset it before leaving dealer, Yuck, i hope that gets better or I will need to add an auxilary gas tank in the trunk!
I vaguely remember that for certain cars one could purchase a computer chip that was programmed for more HP and all you had to do was to replace the one on-board.
Yes, this chip is called the ECU. Unfortunately, replacing it only does much of anything for Turbo or Supercharged vehicles. The engine computer controlls the amount of boost pressure, so you can replace it to get more boost, and thus more power. Replacement ECUs can also remove torque limiters on turbo charged FWD cars such as some Volvos and Saabs.
Sirius satellite radios, at the present, can only be installed in the factory in Japan. There is a problem with installation using Sirius's receivers and wiring in already built M vehicles. The parts are not yet available and I don't know when they will be available. It is Siruis's problem, not Infiniti's. When installed in the factory, a "shark fin" is placed on the rear of the roof, similar to BMW's fin, which is the receiver for the signal from the satellite.
XM receivers are compatible for installation on already built M's at the dealerships. Sirius receivers are not yet compatible and parts are just not available. If you have patience, and Sirius is your preferred provider, then you will have to wait. If not, have the XM installed.
Interestingly, if you search, you will find some reports that occasional very high rpms (not sustained) is actually good for engine break-in. I don't know who to believe.
I believe that you are supposed to vary the rpms to a great extent during breakin and avoid holding the rpms at a constant level for extended times during breakins; but I do not think you should redline it.
Comments
I bought a new Volvo back in 1997. It had to be driven ~100 miles from another dealer in early NE spring, so it got dirty on the road. The selling dealer washed it by hand working all the grit into the soft paint (Volvo is notorious for it and actually recommends not waxing for at least 6 months after purchase).
Complained to the dealer, after a long exchange drove down at noon and showed him swirls in bright sunlight. He offered to have a guy "compact the paint with a heavy buffer", I refused and demanded a replacement car. He called it a buyer's remorse and declined. I wrote a complaint to Volvo. Must have been similar complaints because Volvo took back his license 6 months later. I kept the car for 8 more years; so much for the buyer's remorse.
Swirls are still there, although Maguire's product works quite well in removing most of them. But the whole ordeal is still a sad experience for me. I do not think I will ever buy a Volvo again.
When buying a Mercedes several years later I was very up front with the sales guy to deliver it with less than 20 miles on the odo and not to scratch the paint during the prep. He obliged, although there were still swirls on the black plastic parts on the D pillars of the SUV upon delivery. And also a cracked taillight cover.
Wonder what the Infiniti experience will be.
The P0's made the Goodyear feel like the tires on a car from the Flintstones. It was like riding on concrete donughts. The Pirelli's are firm yet supple and whisper quiet. A remarkable difference.
Got my car with 20 miles. The testing and QC certificate counted 8 miles and the rest were put on at the port and the dealer. No reason that any new car should have more than 20 unless it was a tester.
About the guy who didn't look at his car on delivery not once but twice--I say shame on you! Nobody is going to look out for your interests better than you!
Take some personal responsibility for your lack of attention. This is a $50000 car, damnit. What's wrong with you? You have nobody to blame but yourself.
$2k off MSRP for the color you want is a very competitive deal. Don't expect to do better--especially for a car delivered this month.
My M35x has 800 miles on it and it is fabulous. I just wish the M45 had and AWD option...
Take some personal responsibility for your lack of attention. This is a $50000 car, damnit. What's wrong with you? You have nobody to blame but yourself."
Yes & no.
The first car was purchased at night. Secondarily, it is rainy season here in Florida. Overcast & gray. Which is when the replacement was delivered. Until you get these vehicles under light or in the sun, you cannot see blemishes. Once you do they're impossible to miss. Especially on a black finish.
As for the mileage. You're correct. I should have checked it on the second vehicle. I made an assumption that because it was coming from the showroom floor that it would have less miles on it than the original car given I had complained about the miles on car #1. My bad. It had double the miles on it.
Regardless. Fault is not the issue here.
It's going back.
It is part of the dealers cost of doing business to provide tester vehicles and later sell then at a discount.
The Infiniti 4.5 liter V8 engine is known to consume oil on some vehicles. This is almost always the result of improper break-in. The break-in period is particularly important during the first few hundred miles as the pistons and rings get to know each other for the first time.
Test drives almost always involve two things that are terrible to do to a near zero mileage engine. 1) Flooring it. 2) High revs.
If you buy a vehicle that has been used for test drives you should get a discount.
My 2 cents.
If it's a new model, hot car, things are different. I never want to buy a first year car no matter how good it is.
At this point, I'll take third party residuals that show the M with higher residuals than the GS as a better indicator of resale, rather than a blanket statement saying that the GS will have higher resale. Lexus in general has good resale, yes. And Infiniti in the past has struggled with resale. But the G and the FX have slightly higher resale than their Lexus counterparts, and I see the new M continuing this trend.
This is perhaps an isolated case, but my point is that since this car is in tight supply, if it has to be traded from another dealer and they require you to sign up front or even leave a deposit, make sure to write down the expected condition of the vehicle (e.g. "max 25 mi.", "no interior nor exterior visible defect") in order to get your money back if these conditions are not met. That implies you will carefully inspect the car and look very closely because paint and window defects are very, very difficult to dispute once you left the dealer's lot.
Insist on low mileage or a big discount (below dealer cost with holdback).
Most dealer employees drive all their cars in a consequence free way.
A mighty subtle woo, bill. MIGHTY subtle. More than likely just easier to set up than on the driver's side.
You'd be out of line NOT to complain and insist upon "shiny new". If the dealership doesn't do it for you, go to the regional manager and if he doesn't, I'd go up the chain of command and even so far as the BBB and whoever regulates vehicular sales in your state. I'd threaten them with a lawsuit and even write a letter to the editor of the local papers. You bought new ... and are entitled to unblemished. :mad:
You couldn't be more wrong. Dealers must have cars to demo, and the cost of doing business is putting a few miles on them and selling them for a grand or so less than shiny off the truck. If you want to save those bucks, take the demo. But as the buyer (and I don't care at what price level, even a Yugo) you're entitled to shiny & new off the truck with no miles. If you don't ask, you likely won't get ... so insist. Maybe you have to wait a bit for the color/trim to be delivered ... so be it. :shades:
Conventional wisdom is on your side, and I agree. I would NEVER buy a first model year ... NEVER, until I drove the M and I wasn't going to wait. God made warrantees for a reason and I swallowed my bias and bit. From the first couple of months of experience on this board, no one's made a serious error with the acquisition of the new M-car. I'm waiting for a pin to drop, but thus far nothing and I would expect it to remain that way.
Yea I have been watching the M: Problems & Solutions Thread faithfully. So far it seems to be a remarkably trouble-free first year release. Still not ready to pull the trigger; so I'll still read and watch with "baited breath"
Funny you should mention swirls and Maguire's in the same sentence - for me anyway - and it's more 'painful' than funny actually.
M35x, blk. First black car.
Now I know that mits, chamois, and/or terry cloth are sure things when hand washing, but I happened across this Maguire's **gasp** "Soft Brush", and figured, "what the hell"......such an idiot.
Needless to say, swirls and scratches, big and small, ALL OVER THE CAR. Most very subtle, still more than just spider swirls though, and some - 3 on the hood to be exact - are well into the clear coat (something must have gotten into the brush because I applied MINIMAL pressure.)
I know Zaino is probably my best bet at minimizing, though I doubt eliminating the blemishes is even possible. I'm "gun shy" now, and no detailers use Zaino. Will a professional grade buffing get most of these out?
I know I pulled a jackass move, but other than that, what do you guys think? Any hope here?
I'm absolutely sick to my stomach.
I had some bad experience with a first year GM car in the mid 1980's which is why I have bought nothing but Japanese since all with flawless quality.
Also, there is no V8 Fuga in Japan. There are 2 engine choices for the Fuga. A 2.5 VQ V6 making 210 hp / 197 torque, and a 3.5 VQ V6 making 280 hp / 270 torque (same as M35).
You could try Zaino. The Z5 is for dark colors with swirls. I swear by Zaino's and will use nothing else and I have used them all. Takes some time, but the results are incredible. I just spent 6 hours last weekend on my wife's new Envoy. It went like this:
wash/clay bar/wash/Z2 (zfx)/Z6/Z2/Z6/Z2/Z6....
If you use it, you will know what this means. Basically. Wash, clay bar, wash then 3 coats of "wax" with gloss enhancer applied after each coat. This left a shine so deep and wet looking...was hard to look @ for fear of going blind. Now dirt drops off the finish.
I have had 5 black vehicles and yes they take effort to keep clean but nothing IMHO even comes close to how good they look. My new M will be black. As my friends tell me, I am a glutton for punishment.
I too have black paint and took it into our office building’s basement for a professional detailing after two weeks of driving. These guys see Porsches & Mercs day in and day out but made a point of telling me how great the paint quality was on the M when I picked it up.
Most of the time when I am driving the car, it puts me in a mode where I’m thinking of rocks and trees and smallish babbling streams but occasionally I will obsess over some perceived imperfection. There is a spot of leather the size of a half-dollar on the corner of the passenger seat that has deep creases and stands out against the near perfect finish of the rest of the seat. After glaring at the spot a few times I start wondering what part of the cow that piece of leather came from and whether the cow was happy and what type of surroundings it came from – whether or not there were rocks and trees and smallish babbling streams nearby
I too was concerned about the number of miles the car had when I purchased it. The salesman apparently had seen my type before and pulled out a document from the glove box which showed how many miles the car had when it was put on the ship. In my case the car had 11.5 miles documented but the odometer showed 12. The salesman explained that the extra half mile was from driving the car around the Port of Los Angeles after arrival. For those of you on the East Coast I would expect that you would be happy with anything less than 2,000 miles on the odometer.
I have to agree with others here. A new car like the M with more than 20-30 miles has probably been driven pretty hard. While the break-in is 1200 miles, those first few are the most critical.
Interestingly, if you search, you will find some reports that occasional very high rpms (not sustained) is actually good for engine break-in. I don't know who to believe.
As a side note: who sells Zaino polish. I have several classic cars & would like to try the products.
Back to Zaino, that is a popular Forums topic - check out the Zaino discussion for all you wanted to know and waaay more about it.
Anyone else having similar experiences? Anyone have any input? What gives?
good luck!
-thene
just my thought, i really dont know how they decide, if there even is a discussion on where to put the tank!
-thene
One condition I made on my sale was "no vehicle over 12 miles", basically do not bother calling me if the car does. With this said and with an ordered car , I am in the 60 to 90 day order window with 40 days down. The wait is tough but it will be worth the it. I also requested to not have any drilling performed for the front license plate bracket. You are the customer, expect the best and demand it accordingly !
Supposed to add 60hp....
Assuming it could be used with the 3.5, is there any reason why this couldn't be mated with the x model? 340hp + AWD would be sweeeet.
Rich, just as kits designed for the Supra worked on the IS and GS300, I dont see any reason why a 350Z supercharger or turbo kit wouldnt work on the M35.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. But wouldn't that risk invalidating the warranty? :confuse:
If something is put on the car that can be determined to have caused a failure, then the waranty would be voided (that is the usual line). If the turbo is put on the car and the brakes poop out -- I think it would be a stretch to accuse the turbo or super charger of making the car so powerful the brakes couldn't stop it without undue wear and tear.
Now if a piston is damaged, well the argument they could make MIGHT hold water.
When I have had mods done to my Audis, I have always had the dealer make the mod -- from chipping, to suspension mods to aftermarket wheels and tires (and even aftermarket brakes) -- I get it all done from the dealer and then, subsequent claims are always taken care of under warranty.
Of course the dealer may charge more to "chip it" or swap out the rotors, than you could have done elsewhere -- but I call the difference in cost "peace of mind."
But, may I be so brash as to suggest that if you want to add an aftermarket supercharger it might have been less costly to just go for the V8 in the first place?
I see, you wanted it for the X version -- you're right SWEEEET.
Is anyone else having the problem on these Edmund forums that the Emotorcons have quit displaying?
I work in that part of the industry - so I am always updated on the working of what the aftermarket world has going on.
I also know that Greddy has a turbo kit for the G35 same motor - and will probably do something for this car as well.
Just some thoughts,
Ohh...
There will be no problem with your car being AWD.
The Super Charger kit will fit just fine - and will rip all 4 tires in smoke as you smash the gas....
I agree that in the U.S.A. is doesn't make a lot of difference once you know where it is. I was told that in Germany many of the pumps are placed so it is most convenient to pull up with the pumps on the right and this makes some sense since most of the German cars have the filler on the right. Maybe someone there can comment on that. If there is a preference in Europe and no real reason to be on the left in the U.S.A., cars intended for both markets might best have the filler on the right.
My question is why has some inventive manufacturer not placed a filler on both sides of the car? It doesn't seem like it would cost much more to do so and it would be a great convenience.
Any way, does anyone find the radio to be out of balance? I did find the balance and it is in the middle however It seems to me that the driver lower door speaker is not operating as loud as the passenger side? Either its a setting or its broken?
Also, there were 2 green stickers the size of quarters on my door jam. I hate seeing them there so I asked what they were and why they were not removed during prep. Any idea what that was?. Now I have adhesive in the jam. Need to get some bug and tar remover to clean that up.
Car was delivered with 12 miles on it, so I was pleased.
Gas mileage, all in bumper to bumper is 11! I did reset it before leaving dealer, Yuck, i hope that gets better or I will need to add an auxilary gas tank in the trunk!
Anyone have any ideas?
XM receivers are compatible for installation on already built M's at the dealerships. Sirius receivers are not yet compatible and parts are just not available. If you have patience, and Sirius is your preferred provider, then you will have to wait. If not, have the XM installed.
I believe that you are supposed to vary the rpms to a great extent during breakin and avoid holding the rpms at a constant level for extended times during breakins; but I do not think you should redline it.