I noticed the rev matching right away in my M34 sport. I think the M has the best of the low-end auto-sticks that I've driven. Defintely better than the last BMW steptronic I drove. It's as agressive as I have seen.
I'm curious to hear from anyone that has gone from a G35 to a M35, and what your impressions are in regards to power (does M35 feel the same, faster, slower, etc).
I currently have a G35 coupe, but am needing something bigger (atleast that's my current excuse for a new car bug)...and will most likely be getting a M35. I would love to get the M45, but not quite sold on the price premium knowing the V6 is a great engine. I drove both the M35 & M45 a few months back just for kicks, but wanted to get opinions from any of you before I go back to "drive to buy". Thanks!
We have both a 2004 G35 Coupe and a new M35 Sport and there is a considerable difference in the driving experience. The G35 is much faster especially at lower speeds; you just touch the accelerator and you fly. The M's accelerator is much less touchy. I normally drive the M and my wife drives the G, but we switch occasionally. It takes some “readjustment” after switching cars. I get whiplash the first few minutes I drive the G before I get use to it again. Do not misunderstand me, I love the M and the way it drives, but there is a considerable difference between the two cars.
The G35 is .4-.7 seconds quicker to 60 over the M35. The M45 is .4-.7 seconds quicker than the G35, except the 05+ 6MT Coupe would almost close that gap if driven by an expert driver.
Dpending on the various tests you read, which is why I gave ranges.
I have recently driven the G35 coupe and an M35x on extended test drives, had a G35x as an overnight loaner, and now own the M45. My very subjective opinion is that the 45 is much faster than any of the others, with the coupe in second. Both the 45 and the coupe are capable of amazingly fast acceleration, the G and M35 are satisfying, but not as fast. I did drive "x" models of these, which may be not as fast as the RWD cars, but they do handle well.
I do not dispute the published speed comparisons between the G & M models. Believe me, my wife and I do not push these cars since all our driving is around the Houston area. Maybe the perceived difference that my wife and I both feel is that the accelerator on our G35 Coupe is much “lighter” than our M35. In any case, both of us can tell a big difference when we switch between cars.
There is a scientific reason why the G will outperform in terms of acceleration over the new M. The G weighs about 3500 pounds while the M is nearly 3900 pounds. Thus, horsepower to weight performance is on the side of the G. The engines used in both vehicles is the Aluminum V-6, 280 horsepower.
So, if you are looking for acceleration and speed, the G has it over the M35, so you will have to go to the M45 to outperform the G35.
Up until this past Sunday, I had a 2003 G35 Coupe 6MT. Picked up my M45 Sport yesterday.
I think the other posters have said it well. If you're looking for acceleration, you'll need to move to M45 to better your G35 Coupe's figures. Same engine pushing a heavier car (M35) will equate to slower acceleration all things equal.
I can tell you already with very few miles on my new M45 odometer, this car will give you that "whiplash" you're looking for.
Palm released a TREO 650 update several weeks ago for Sprint and several other carriers, but not Cingular. Noticed today that they now have an update for Cingular - which I'm hoping will fix some of the compatibility issues with the M bluetooth system. Anyone else tried this update for Cingular?
Will try tonight and post results later this week.
Tuesday, August 9, 2005 12:40 p.m. Pacific Coast Time
Hi Janssen,
Commenting on your Aug 3 and more recent e-mails re Infinity in Marin, etc. . . . . .
Could you clarify what your M45 Sport equipment packages (if any) and any single options (such as slash guards) were and what you actually paid for your M45 Sport in Marin? I'm trying to compare apples with apples.
What I want: M45 Sport Technology Package with XM radio; Journey Package for the Sport; Wood Trim; Splash Guards; Trunk mat with standard space saving sapre tire. [Don't ask me why I bothered including the trunk mat, as it's a minor item.]
What Edmonds recently reported for an M45 Sport w/ above equipment: MSRP: $57,060 Invoice: $52,074 "What Others are Paying in my area": $57,060 [Note: there's so much Silicon Valley money around here that it wouldn't surprise me at all if half the people in San Mateo County and Santa Clara county who buy Infinities don't negotiate. How else to explain such a high figure when I didn't have any trouble getting a quote less than that and another dealer to match it right away?]
Infinity's Website's MSRP for above (but without the trunk mat): $56,980.
MSRP and price quoted by the new Infinity dealership in Oakland, California (across the Bay from San Francisco) [new dealership but owned by a very well established auto group]: MSRP: $56,640; "can sell it for $1,800 off the MSRP plus tax and fees." (That would be a selling price of $54,840 and $2,766 over what Edmonds reports as the invoice.)
Infinity dealership in Northern San Mateo County (just south of San Francisco, near the Serramonte shopping center): says they'll match Oakland.
Availability is questionable (again, due to the wood trim in the Sport, which I think looks good because it's appropriate for a "luxury" sports sedan). I would not mind ordering it and waiting the 90 days to get what I want. Only issue then is whether I can "lock" in the price in light of anticipated price increase due soon from Infinity/Japan for the M45 and M45 Sport. Infinity/Serramonte says ability to "lock" the price in depends on whether the price increase is announced before or after production of the car would begin. (Yet, of course, I have no way of knowing when production of the car would begin, so would have no control of it.) Price increase sounds like it could be maybe $350 or so; not sure, but if in that ballpark and if I conclude I have to order it, then the best I guess anyone can do is deal with a dealer offering the lowest price (combined with good sales and service) in the first place and to insist on a "not to exceed" price increase.
Appreciate your comments re Marin and will contact them.
Most of the new crop of LPS cars come with UHP tires, some come with Max Performance tires (see TireRack for an explanation of these types of tires.)
Some of the LPS cars come with all season tires (some call them no season tires) and they are usually UHP although sometimes they are HP (high-performance) tires.
The "profile" of the tires is often 50 or lower (the number 50 means that the tire is 50% as tall as it is wide) -- often 45 or 40 series tires seem to be the norm these days.
While there are 40 series all-season HP tires (usually with fairly long tread wear expectations), usually, 45 and 40 series tires will be a "speed rating" higher than "H" (also see www.tirerack.com for an explanation of what the various speed ratings mean.)
My new Audi A6 3.2 with the highest performance "size" A/S tires and wheels came with 245 x 40 x 18" HP tires. They are quiet, they have a treadwear rating of 400 (which is high -- the higher the number, generally, the longer the tire's tread will last.)
They perform at the lowest level of adequate I can imagine. Thank god I didn't get the sport suspension with A/S tires if these tires would have been the standard equipment.
I do not like buying tires frequently for obvious reasons (cost) and for less than obvious reasons (wheel damage, balancing issues and time.) Who does?
Yet, at this stage of my car buying "career," 20,000 miles seems on the high side of "normal" mileage in context with my performance expectations. My salesrep, who knows I would rather have had UHP A/S tires (the highest performance all season rating available), attempted to make me feel better by saying that the HP A/S's tires ought to outlast the UHP A/S tires of the same size by perhaps 50% (which would mean to 30,000 miles -- this, in my recent experience is FOREVER.)
These cars -- and M's are certainly no exception -- are designed to shine on UHP or Max performance "summer only" (which probably means 3 seasons and at least 2 1/2 seasons at the minimum.)
It is probably possible to find a sufficiently "dumbed down" tire for the M -- one that will have much a higher UTQG rating. If you would rather have long tread life, you will probably have to find the lowest performing tire of the size (perhaps a second tier brand -- Cooper, Dayton, Falken, for example) and buy that.
Falken GR Beta FK-451 -- $193, e.g.
I would, personally, rather have the ultra high performance tire for 18 - 20K miles than the 30K tire that was lower in performance.
I just posted a reply on the other board. Please read that also.
I got almost exactly what you want. I originally bought the EXACT same car, then decided there wasn't much need for splash guards here in the city or its environs, and have decided to pay a bit extra and put on the spoiler instead.
Otherwise, exact same car.
Don't get sucked into that "off the MSRP" stuff. Just figure the invoice (easy to do), spend the $12 on a CR report, available instantly over the web (to get their current dealer holdback), and offer them a fair profit. I don't remember my exact price (I am at work), but it was under $54K, and with the holdback gave them a reasonable percentage profit.
But the sales manager tried to play those games with the MSRP as the starting point, then shifted all around by 'forgetting' which car I wanted (I guess trying to unload another vehicle, or trying to make me pull the trigger lest I lose the one I wanted). I told them I would wait for the one coming in by ship, which had the satellite provider I preferred, and that I would keep looking until that one came in. Given that I knew that was going to a different dealer, and that they would have had to trade and ship the car, and that they would much rather close the deal, and would prefer to sell from the lot, it was significantly easier to make a fair deal for both of us.
The sales people were nice, followed up so far very nicely, and I am happy to this point.
I leased (very good deal right now, with the car being a 2006, meaning high residual and lower depreciation component of each payment, with a very reasonable MF), and can deduct more for my business use. I can provide those numbers if you are looking to lease.
imagine that. The new CR ratings are off the charts for the M35, and prompted the reviewer to state that the M35 rates "highest in its class" among all luxury sedans, edging oout the Lexu LS 430.
The M35 is the perfect luxury sedan - take the extra $6K that is burning a hole in your pocket and buy some high performance driving lessons if you want to expand on your enjoyment of this vehicle...
Week 3 of owning my M45 black on black Infiniti, and still loving it over the Lexus and prior Mercedes I owned.
My one complaint is the amount of heat coming from the center console. Has anyone else noticed this? The cup holder and areas surrounding the armrest put off major heat, coming up from the transmission I guess.
I've found both the seat coolers and seat heaters to be fairly anemic.
Quite to the contrary, and I live w/ 100+ degree desert heat. While I wouldn't want to have to chill a beverage on the seat, it is quite comfortable and very pleasant feature.
While on the subject of seats, I just got my first taste of highway driving since taking delivery the first of April. The cruise control sensor that slowed me down when approaching a slower car ahead startled me when it first kicked in ... I'd forgotten there was such a gizmo. Then I said to myself: "Self; why did Infiniti spend that money on something I really don't want/need instead of much less on a properly adjustable passenger's seat?" Add to that the LDW system and I just don't understand putting the money where it's least useful and skimping on passenger comfort. And doors that lock automatically.
That aside I still love my ride. Haven't crushed my aero dam or scraped my wheels yet ... waiting for that shoe to drop.
I'm 2+ weeks into my M45 and it's been fine, though I can't wait for the break-in period to be done. I agree about the LDW and the Cruise Control. Self latching trunks have been around for years...I can't get used to having to slam it. I miss that and the self-closing doors from my 2000 S500 that I traded in more than anything. I DON'T miss the fact that I haven't had to go back to the dealer to repair things that don't work.
Since I had an FX before, and knew the laser cruise and LDW systems were more gimick than useful, I didn't buy them. A carry over from the FX also is anemic seat heaters (and now coolers). The coolers (at least) are still nice, but Max setting is about what I would expect of setting 2, settings 1 and 2 might as well not be there. To me, MAX should blow hard enough to cause ripples in my pant's fabric, 2 should be about what MAX is now, and 1 should be just enough to prevent seat sweating AFTER the car is cooled by the A/C.
On the subject of wheel scrapes, even though I am extremely careful about where and how I park, I did hit a curb with my front wheel I did not know was there while backing up very slowly. I immediately got out to inspect any possible damage to my Sport's alloy wheels and there was none...whew! The Potenza REO50's have a wheel saving protective rubber bumper on them and I can confirm, at least at very low speed and in my situation, they worked!
Considering an M35x with the premium package. I've heard there is a slight difference in passenger space.
Dealer does not have any car on the lot with this package, and I wanted to know how much space is actually lost. Is it just the rear passengers? Do the front seats lose space as well?
I bought that combination. There might be an inch less space because the rear seats are power with the premium package. The DVD on the ceiling makes it look lower as well. And when the DVD is down, most of the rear window is blocked from the driver. I still love the premium package. I'm one of the few that like the lane departure feature and don't see it as a gimick. And the laser cruise is absolutely a joy to use. It works much better than laser cruise in my previous Lexus. It also prevents the console from having "blanks" for buttons missing because it's not a premium.
While the seat cooling and heating is anemic, I find it's a lot stronger than the same feature in Lexus. Personally, I'd rather have smoother leather and resistence heat. Forget about the air cooling.
Things I miss from my Lexus LS Ultra that I hope to find in a future M
Power trunk closer Power door closers rain sensing wipers water repellant windshield rear side window shades 6 speed tranny (MPG on 35x is 17 at best) make it quieter at cruising speeds
And people wonder why these things get a couple of hundred pounds heavier every iteration! Power closers, more sound insulation, more gizmos....sound more for the next generation Q than the Sport oriented M.
Hopefully, imho, if they add these things in, they leave them off the Sport model, except the 6 speed tranny!
I absolutely love this feature. I've been doing a lot of highway driving this week, and I find the intelligent cruise is a total pleasure. The ability to stretch out my legs, with my feet off the pedals means that I'm always driving the highways in the most comfortable possible position. I find the feature is implemented with near perfection. It slows down and speeds up very naturally and in a way that truly inspires confidence. On long drives I can leave my feet off those pedals for 30 or 40 minutes at a time, and never feel surprised or uncomfortable with the systems acceleration/deceleration. In the extremely rare case where I'd need to intervene, I find I can respond quickly and with no safety risk. It's the best implementation I've ever seen, and I'd never buy another car without it. Also, I've never been so comfortable with any car on long highway drives. This includes a great deal of driving with an S500 and many years of experience with a variety of Lexus LS's
On LDW:
While not as essential as intelligent cruise, I'm really happy to have it, and find that It's helping me refine my driving skills. I'm surprised to notice that I've had a tendency to drift in my lanes a bit and to occasionally change lanes without using my blinker: Usually when I subconsciously concluded that there's no one around. I'm really pleased to see that LDW is beginning to cure me of those habits.
On chilled seats: I think this works great. No, it will not blow you away, but I feel it even on the lowest setting. On low, it keeps me comfortable once the car is cooled. I turn it to high to start when I get in on reallly warm days.
On intelligent cruise: I find that the distance settings are too long. I have set it to the minimum in most cases. It works well, but at the minimum setting, it can be somewhat startling when coming up behind someone moving significantly slower than I am. I would guess that it is much more gradual with the longer distance thresholds. When there is only a few mph difference, it works very well even at the minimum setting.
On LDW: I could take it or leave it. I rarely forget to signal a lane change, so it doesn't work as a reminder or teacher. I have found that I tend to stay a little more centered than before I owned this car. It would probably be a great way to reinforce turn signal use for neglectful drivers.
I think you hit one of the most useful reasons to have LDW: getting people to start using their turn signals again. This IS a serious issue. Almost no one signals a right turn anymore, and many are not even signaling left turns. Few use their signals to indicate changing lanes on the expressway, all of which mean that their fellow motorists get to find out that they are coming over once they cross the line. BAD driving, period. If LDW gets even a few people to remember to use their signals it will have done more to improve driving than all the cops around who never seem to ticket anyone for failing to signal a turn.
The only problem is that it won't tell you when you forget to signal a turn...only a lane change. The intent was to minimize accidents from unintended lane changes. Apparently, this is a major cause of accidents (sleepy drivers?).
However, you are right. If it forces you to remember lane changes, it may reinforce signal usage for turns.
I picked up my new M35x last night. The car has the Journey and Tech packages. I had spent the last few weeks driving all cars in its class (except the Acura). Most of the cars I've driven over the last 15 years have been german. I also own a Mini Cooper S (for fun).
I love everything about the interior in the car. The sound system is the best I've ever heard and the technology in the car is fantastic.
I'm not so happy about the way it drives. When driving around town in automatic, the transmission seems to shift through the gears in a hurry at low rpms. The shifts are anything but smooth. The gas pedal is also quite stiff and requires way too much effort. I'm hoping both of these are break-in issues.
Before buying, I read just about all recent posts in this forum. Almost all rave about the car. And, many buyers came from similar past autos (BMWs, Benz).
I'm curious to know if you think this is a break in issue.
Does it drive differently than the M you test-drove? I did not notice this on my break-in. If anything, I had to be careful about it shifting at >4000 rpms. It shifted smoothly in any case. My accelerator was not stiff (not sloppy, either).
Take it in and test a different M35x. Also try the manual shift mode.
The M is hot because people who like luxury and people who like sport are both excited. I see people buying the car for luxury or sport, but not both equally. For example, my attraction to the M was for the luxury and toys and I wanted a little bit of sport. Others are attracted to the handling and power and don't mind having some toys to go with that.
I wonder attributes the 07 Q will have. I would expect it to be a bigger M with more toys and less sport.
I forgot to ask the dealer, but does anybody know whether the side mirrors fold or not? In audi, you can push a switch to fold the mirrors. Is it same in M35?
My M45 is also in a rush to shift at low RPM while driving in traffic or accelerating moderately. At least lower than I expected when I got the car. But it does shift pretty good while driving/accelerating more agressively. And after 2000 mi, I found that the low-shift RPM makes the tranny smoother, and I got very much used to it as it keeps the car very quiet.
Gas pedal is ok. I would have to try yours to tell. You may go back to the dealer and ask to try their demo cars for comparison. (That's what I had to do to convince them my seat's rails were loose, and they finally changed them).
I owned BMW for many years before switching to the M45 (and I test-drove a 545i). Overall I'm very pleased and would definitely buy it again w/o hesitating a second, but only because BMW's quality is down to the floor and I'm not thrilled with BMW's actual Bangle cars design. But I think that the materials used by Infiniti are one notch below (and one notch only) what one would find in BMW or MB, as I read (or experience myself) issues about paint, doors rubber seals, rims, head lights, etc. Granted, this is a first-year model, but Nissan/Infiniti turns out to have an history of making great cars, albeit using relatively cheaper materials compared to the competition. Otherwise, everything else IMHO is absolutely top-of-the-line. Hope I didn't make too many ennemies here :P
While your entitled to your opinion. mine is just the opposite. I traded an '03 540ia for an '06 M45, and the materials on my Infiniti are much superior to those on the BMW. Granted the Infinti is a new model, but the original mrsp on the BMW was $6000 higher. The newer Bangelized BMW's materials while different don't seem any higher quality to me.
The interior vinyl and leather on the Bimmer were durable but the interior doors felt hollow, for example. The dash similarly lacked the solidity of my Infiniti M. While the first years of the G35 interiors especially seemed to cut corners on interior materials, those of the M are comparable to Lexus, which I consider the Japanese gold standard. Again, opinion.
I believe LDW is activated after your car reaches 45 mph so as docnukem says, it will not help on turn signals. Either way, I agree it does help me with my driving skills.
Yes, I understand that LDW does nothing to help people remember to signal their turns - I was just making a comment - however, people are just as bad about no-signal lane changes. I hope that before they turn their LDW off, at least a few new M buyers are reminded that that stalk in front of their left hand is there for a purpose, as their state driver's regs require, and as their fellow motorists will appreciate!
After reading many of the posts on these forums, I finally went out and test drove an M35x today. All I can say is WOW! This is a driver's car. Solid as a rock, Great low end torque, steering was tight and responsive! I know that this car will give me everything I love about my SC300. BUT....
I tested the car with the Journey Package (that is what they had) and I was really surprised with the poor sound quality from the Bose stereo. I brought a couple of CDs that I am familiar with and they really sounded flat - it had no range. After a while, I realized that there was virtually no bass. I found the audio settings and fooled around with them to no avail.
Of course, the salesman saw this as an opportunity and we got into an M45 with the Tech package and he played the surround sound demo DVD - WOW - big difference. Then I put in my CDs and it was much better - not as good as the surround sound DVD - but still much better than the Journey stereo.
So - whats the deal?? I thought the the tech package added a few speakers ( the four in the seats do very little) but I thought the 8 speakers from the journey stereo were still in the tech stereo. Do they add a sub-woofer in the tech stereo that is not on the Journey stereo. I have looked around and can not find any solid doc on this.
I really dont want the tech package because I am not interested in the LDW or the intelligent cruise - Ill probably get the Nav either way.
It's not yet clear that infiniti is going to have an 07 Q. My guess is that, if they do, it would be intended to compete with the BMW 750. In other words, a real drivers car with great handling; both sporty and luxurious, and have significantly more passenger and cargo room than the already spacious M.
Of course being an infiniti, it would have the ultimate combination of tech features with the best possible interface (somehow surpassing the incredible tech on the M), and would beat Mercedes and BMW by a wide margin in reliability. JMHO.
Took my m35x in for the 7500 mile maint., oil change & rotate. I told them that I felt that the car was pulling to the left, so they did an alinement per factory spec.
I also told them that with the seat coolers on max., that there wasn't much air coming out. Service advisor took a single sheet of paper and placed it on the seat bottom with the system on high, he said that the seat cooler should push the piece of paper off the seat. It didn't. He say he'd have the tech ck it out. Tech came back and said that the system was operating properly. He say that the cooling system for the seat doesn't blow out air, but it has a cooling grid just like the seat heaters, and that's why you don't feel the air coming up, it just cools.
The m35 I drove on my test drive in march felt a lot cooler, but that was the month of march in michigan.
Very good point. I completely agree. I just hope they keep the lux/toy level of both the M and Q equal. With BMW, lux and toy counts are higher in the 7 than in the 5. I don't want to compromise lux/toys which has always forced me to buy bigger cars than I wanted - until the M came along.
On LDW: I'm really happy to have it, and find that It's helping me refine my driving skills. I'm surprised to notice that I've had a tendency to drift in my lanes a bit and to occasionally change lanes without using my blinker.
Thanks for the write-up
Question: I've read reviews and comments that say the warning chime is too quiet to be useful; I guess you don't find that a problem? How loud is the warning chime when you drift lanes? Can you hear it with the radio going?
I've read reviews and comments that say the warning chime is too quiet to be useful; I guess you don't find that a problem? How loud is the warning chime when you drift lanes? Can you hear it with the radio going?
For my needs the chimes are perfect. I always have the music on at a good volume, and I always hear the chimes. I wouldn't want them any louder or any softer.
The key distinction is probably music volume, which is hard to quantify. I don't have the music blasting so loud that it would really bother you in a car traveling two lanes away from me (even if all of our windows were open.)
While my seat coolers don't push a huge volume of air through the seats, they do cool down the seats very quickly. I almost always have to turn down the cooling after a minute or two.
I just placed my order on the M45 Sport I've been wanting for months! Twilight Blue, loaded except for the MES... I can't wait for December when it will probably arrive here in Arizona! I had a great expreience with Infiniti of Scottsdale, and test drove the car 3 or 4 times, including back to back drives with 545 and GS430 (my other finalists). The E class was off my list early, and the A6 and RL were too slow for my taste. The M simply outperformed the 545 and GS 430 (as well) in the test drives. Although the 545 had nice acceleration and handling, it felt longer and heavier to me (although I don't believe it is) and not as quick or nimble, while the GS had too much body roll and isn't a true driver's car IMHO. Now I just have to wait about 3 months for my car to be built and shipped over here
On a side note, does anyone know of a good place in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area for 3M "clear-bra" installation?
Quick question.. I've notice, when driving on a highway, that the car always (down)shifts to 4th gear when switching from automatic to manual. None of the other cars I've owned have done this. I have an M35x.
On any gear but 1st, shifting into manual mode brings you down a gear. Infiniti's engineers figured that if you switch to manual, you want to push it, so it downshifts for you right away.
Comments
I currently have a G35 coupe, but am needing something bigger (atleast that's my current excuse for a new car bug)...and will most likely be getting a M35. I would love to get the M45, but not quite sold on the price premium knowing the V6 is a great engine. I drove both the M35 & M45 a few months back just for kicks, but wanted to get opinions from any of you before I go back to "drive to buy". Thanks!
Did you end up buying? Any good experiences at Infiniti Marin?
The M45 is .4-.7 seconds quicker than the G35, except the 05+ 6MT Coupe would almost close that gap if driven by an expert driver.
Dpending on the various tests you read, which is why I gave ranges.
So, if you are looking for acceleration and speed, the G has it over the M35, so you will have to go to the M45 to outperform the G35.
Hope this helped.
I think the other posters have said it well. If you're looking for acceleration, you'll need to move to M45 to better your G35 Coupe's figures. Same engine pushing a heavier car (M35) will equate to slower acceleration all things equal.
I can tell you already with very few miles on my new M45 odometer, this car will give you that "whiplash" you're looking for.
Will try tonight and post results later this week.
12:40 p.m. Pacific Coast Time
Hi Janssen,
Commenting on your Aug 3 and more recent e-mails re Infinity in Marin, etc. . . . . .
Could you clarify what your M45 Sport equipment packages (if any) and any single options (such as slash guards) were and what you actually paid for your M45 Sport in Marin? I'm trying to compare apples with apples.
What I want:
M45 Sport
Technology Package with XM radio;
Journey Package for the Sport;
Wood Trim;
Splash Guards;
Trunk mat with standard space saving sapre tire.
[Don't ask me why I bothered including the trunk mat, as it's a minor item.]
What Edmonds recently reported for an M45 Sport w/ above equipment:
MSRP: $57,060
Invoice: $52,074
"What Others are Paying in my area": $57,060
[Note: there's so much Silicon Valley money around here that it wouldn't surprise me at all if half the people in San Mateo County and Santa Clara county who buy Infinities don't negotiate. How else to explain such a high figure when I didn't have any trouble getting a quote less than that and another dealer to match it right away?]
Infinity's Website's MSRP for above (but without the trunk mat): $56,980.
MSRP and price quoted by the new Infinity dealership in Oakland, California (across the Bay from San Francisco) [new dealership but owned by a very well established auto group]: MSRP: $56,640; "can sell it for $1,800 off the MSRP plus tax and fees." (That would be a selling price of $54,840 and $2,766 over what Edmonds reports as the invoice.)
Infinity dealership in Northern San Mateo County (just south of San Francisco, near the Serramonte shopping center): says they'll match Oakland.
Availability is questionable (again, due to the wood trim in the Sport, which I think looks good because it's appropriate for a "luxury" sports sedan). I would not mind ordering it and waiting the 90 days to get what I want. Only issue then is whether I can "lock" in the price in light of anticipated price increase due soon from Infinity/Japan for the M45 and M45 Sport. Infinity/Serramonte says ability to "lock" the price in depends on whether the price increase is announced before or after production of the car would begin. (Yet, of course, I have no way of knowing when production of the car would begin, so would have no control of it.) Price increase sounds like it could be maybe $350 or so; not sure, but if in that ballpark and if I conclude I have to order it, then the best I guess anyone can do is deal with a dealer offering the lowest price (combined with good sales and service) in the first place and to insist on a "not to exceed" price increase.
Appreciate your comments re Marin and will contact them.
Best regards,
RangeRover
Some of the LPS cars come with all season tires (some call them no season tires) and they are usually UHP although sometimes they are HP (high-performance) tires.
The "profile" of the tires is often 50 or lower (the number 50 means that the tire is 50% as tall as it is wide) -- often 45 or 40 series tires seem to be the norm these days.
While there are 40 series all-season HP tires (usually with fairly long tread wear expectations), usually, 45 and 40 series tires will be a "speed rating" higher than "H" (also see www.tirerack.com for an explanation of what the various speed ratings mean.)
My new Audi A6 3.2 with the highest performance "size" A/S tires and wheels came with 245 x 40 x 18" HP tires. They are quiet, they have a treadwear rating of 400 (which is high -- the higher the number, generally, the longer the tire's tread will last.)
They perform at the lowest level of adequate I can imagine. Thank god I didn't get the sport suspension with A/S tires if these tires would have been the standard equipment.
I do not like buying tires frequently for obvious reasons (cost) and for less than obvious reasons (wheel damage, balancing issues and time.) Who does?
Yet, at this stage of my car buying "career," 20,000 miles seems on the high side of "normal" mileage in context with my performance expectations. My salesrep, who knows I would rather have had UHP A/S tires (the highest performance all season rating available), attempted to make me feel better by saying that the HP A/S's tires ought to outlast the UHP A/S tires of the same size by perhaps 50% (which would mean to 30,000 miles -- this, in my recent experience is FOREVER.)
These cars -- and M's are certainly no exception -- are designed to shine on UHP or Max performance "summer only" (which probably means 3 seasons and at least 2 1/2 seasons at the minimum.)
It is probably possible to find a sufficiently "dumbed down" tire for the M -- one that will have much a higher UTQG rating. If you would rather have long tread life, you will probably have to find the lowest performing tire of the size (perhaps a second tier brand -- Cooper, Dayton, Falken, for example) and buy that.
Falken GR Beta FK-451 -- $193, e.g.
I would, personally, rather have the ultra high performance tire for 18 - 20K miles than the 30K tire that was lower in performance.
But, I've been wrong before.
:shades:
I just posted a reply on the other board. Please read that also.
I got almost exactly what you want. I originally bought the EXACT same car, then decided there wasn't much need for splash guards here in the city or its environs, and have decided to pay a bit extra and put on the spoiler instead.
Otherwise, exact same car.
Don't get sucked into that "off the MSRP" stuff. Just figure the invoice (easy to do), spend the $12 on a CR report, available instantly over the web (to get their current dealer holdback), and offer them a fair profit. I don't remember my exact price (I am at work), but it was under $54K, and with the holdback gave them a reasonable percentage profit.
But the sales manager tried to play those games with the MSRP as the starting point, then shifted all around by 'forgetting' which car I wanted (I guess trying to unload another vehicle, or trying to make me pull the trigger lest I lose the one I wanted). I told them I would wait for the one coming in by ship, which had the satellite provider I preferred, and that I would keep looking until that one came in. Given that I knew that was going to a different dealer, and that they would have had to trade and ship the car, and that they would much rather close the deal, and would prefer to sell from the lot, it was significantly easier to make a fair deal for both of us.
The sales people were nice, followed up so far very nicely, and I am happy to this point.
I leased (very good deal right now, with the car being a 2006, meaning high residual and lower depreciation component of each payment, with a very reasonable MF), and can deduct more for my business use. I can provide those numbers if you are looking to lease.
Need more? Happy to oblige!
Good luck!
The M35 is the perfect luxury sedan - take the extra $6K that is burning a hole in your pocket and buy some high performance driving lessons if you want to expand on your enjoyment of this vehicle...
My one complaint is the amount of heat coming from the center console. Has anyone else noticed this? The cup holder and areas surrounding the armrest put off major heat, coming up from the transmission I guess.
Quite to the contrary, and I live w/ 100+ degree desert heat. While I wouldn't want to have to chill a beverage on the seat, it is quite comfortable and very pleasant feature.
While on the subject of seats, I just got my first taste of highway driving since taking delivery the first of April. The cruise control sensor that slowed me down when approaching a slower car ahead startled me when it first kicked in ... I'd forgotten there was such a gizmo. Then I said to myself: "Self; why did Infiniti spend that money on something I really don't want/need instead of much less on a properly adjustable passenger's seat?" Add to that the LDW system and I just don't understand putting the money where it's least useful and skimping on passenger comfort. And doors that lock automatically.
That aside I still love my ride. Haven't crushed my aero dam or scraped my wheels yet ... waiting for that shoe to drop.
Bart
On the subject of wheel scrapes, even though I am extremely careful about where and how I park, I did hit a curb with my front wheel I did not know was there while backing up very slowly. I immediately got out to inspect any possible damage to my Sport's alloy wheels and there was none...whew! The Potenza REO50's have a wheel saving protective rubber bumper on them and I can confirm, at least at very low speed and in my situation, they worked!
Dealer does not have any car on the lot with this package, and I wanted to know how much space is actually lost. Is it just the rear passengers? Do the front seats lose space as well?
When not reclining, is there still a loss?
Anyone with this package, please help!
While the seat cooling and heating is anemic, I find it's a lot stronger than the same feature in Lexus. Personally, I'd rather have smoother leather and resistence heat. Forget about the air cooling.
Things I miss from my Lexus LS Ultra that I hope to find in a future M
Power trunk closer
Power door closers
rain sensing wipers
water repellant windshield
rear side window shades
6 speed tranny (MPG on 35x is 17 at best)
make it quieter at cruising speeds
Hopefully, imho, if they add these things in, they leave them off the Sport model, except the 6 speed tranny!
I absolutely love this feature. I've been doing a lot of highway driving this week, and I find the intelligent cruise is a total pleasure. The ability to stretch out my legs, with my feet off the pedals means that I'm always driving the highways in the most comfortable possible position. I find the feature is implemented with near perfection. It slows down and speeds up very naturally and in a way that truly inspires confidence. On long drives I can leave my feet off those pedals for 30 or 40 minutes at a time, and never feel surprised or uncomfortable with the systems acceleration/deceleration. In the extremely rare case where I'd need to intervene, I find I can respond quickly and with no safety risk. It's the best implementation I've ever seen, and I'd never buy another car without it. Also, I've never been so comfortable with any car on long highway drives. This includes a great deal of driving with an S500 and many years of experience with a variety of Lexus LS's
On LDW:
While not as essential as intelligent cruise, I'm really happy to have it, and find that It's helping me refine my driving skills. I'm surprised to notice that I've had a tendency to drift in my lanes a bit and to occasionally change lanes without using my blinker: Usually when I subconsciously concluded that there's no one around. I'm really pleased to see that LDW is beginning to cure me of those habits.
Pete
I think this works great. No, it will not blow you away, but I feel it even on the lowest setting. On low, it keeps me comfortable once the car is cooled. I turn it to high to start when I get in on reallly warm days.
On intelligent cruise:
I find that the distance settings are too long. I have set it to the minimum in most cases. It works well, but at the minimum setting, it can be somewhat startling when coming up behind someone moving significantly slower than I am. I would guess that it is much more gradual with the longer distance thresholds. When there is only a few mph difference, it works very well even at the minimum setting.
On LDW:
I could take it or leave it. I rarely forget to signal a lane change, so it doesn't work as a reminder or teacher. I have found that I tend to stay a little more centered than before I owned this car. It would probably be a great way to reinforce turn signal use for neglectful drivers.
However, you are right. If it forces you to remember lane changes, it may reinforce signal usage for turns.
I love everything about the interior in the car. The sound system is the best I've ever heard and the technology in the car is fantastic.
I'm not so happy about the way it drives. When driving around town in automatic, the transmission seems to shift through the gears in a hurry at low rpms. The shifts are anything but smooth. The gas pedal is also quite stiff and requires way too much effort. I'm hoping both of these are break-in issues.
Before buying, I read just about all recent posts in this forum. Almost all rave about the car. And, many buyers came from similar past autos (BMWs, Benz).
I'm curious to know if you think this is a break in issue.
Thanks
Take it in and test a different M35x. Also try the manual shift mode.
I wonder attributes the 07 Q will have. I would expect it to be a bigger M with more toys and less sport.
Gas pedal is ok. I would have to try yours to tell. You may go back to the dealer and ask to try their demo cars for comparison. (That's what I had to do to convince them my seat's rails were loose, and they finally changed them).
I owned BMW for many years before switching to the M45 (and I test-drove a 545i). Overall I'm very pleased and would definitely buy it again w/o hesitating a second, but only because BMW's quality is down to the floor and I'm not thrilled with BMW's actual Bangle cars design. But I think that the materials used by Infiniti are one notch below (and one notch only) what one would find in BMW or MB, as I read (or experience myself) issues about paint, doors rubber seals, rims, head lights, etc. Granted, this is a first-year model, but Nissan/Infiniti turns out to have an history of making great cars, albeit using relatively cheaper materials compared to the competition. Otherwise, everything else IMHO is absolutely top-of-the-line. Hope I didn't make too many ennemies here :P
The interior vinyl and leather on the Bimmer were durable but the interior doors felt hollow, for example. The dash similarly lacked the solidity of my Infiniti M. While the first years of the G35 interiors especially seemed to cut corners on interior materials, those of the M are comparable to Lexus, which I consider the Japanese gold standard. Again, opinion.
I tested the car with the Journey Package (that is what they had) and I was really surprised with the poor sound quality from the Bose stereo. I brought a couple of CDs that I am familiar with and they really sounded flat - it had no range. After a while, I realized that there was virtually no bass. I found the audio settings and fooled around with them to no avail.
Of course, the salesman saw this as an opportunity and we got into an M45 with the Tech package and he played the surround sound demo DVD - WOW - big difference. Then I put in my CDs and it was much better - not as good as the surround sound DVD - but still much better than the Journey stereo.
So - whats the deal?? I thought the the tech package added a few speakers ( the four in the seats do very little) but I thought the 8 speakers from the journey stereo were still in the tech stereo. Do they add a sub-woofer in the tech stereo that is not on the Journey stereo. I have looked around and can not find any solid doc on this.
I really dont want the tech package because I am not interested in the LDW or the intelligent cruise - Ill probably get the Nav either way.
Of course being an infiniti, it would have the ultimate combination of tech features with the best possible interface (somehow surpassing the incredible tech on the M), and would beat Mercedes and BMW by a wide margin in reliability. JMHO.
Pete
I also told them that with the seat coolers on max., that there wasn't much air coming out. Service advisor took a single sheet of paper and placed it on the seat bottom with the system on high, he said that the seat cooler should push the piece of paper off the seat. It didn't. He say he'd have the tech ck it out. Tech came back and said that the system was operating properly. He say that the cooling system for the seat doesn't blow out air, but it has a cooling grid just like the seat heaters, and that's why you don't feel the air coming up, it just cools.
The m35 I drove on my test drive in march felt a lot cooler, but that was the month of march in michigan.
Thanks for the write-up
Question: I've read reviews and comments that say the warning chime is too quiet to be useful; I guess you don't find that a problem? How loud is the warning chime when you drift lanes? Can you hear it with the radio going?
For my needs the chimes are perfect. I always have the music on at a good volume, and I always hear the chimes. I wouldn't want them any louder or any softer.
The key distinction is probably music volume, which is hard to quantify. I don't have the music blasting so loud that it would really bother you in a car traveling two lanes away from me (even if all of our windows were open.)
Pete
While my seat coolers don't push a huge volume of air through the seats, they do cool down the seats very quickly. I almost always have to turn down the cooling after a minute or two.
Pete
The E class was off my list early, and the A6 and RL were too slow for my taste. The M simply outperformed the 545 and GS 430 (as well) in the test drives. Although the 545 had nice acceleration and handling, it felt longer and heavier to me (although I don't believe it is) and not as quick or nimble, while the GS had too much body roll and isn't a true driver's car IMHO.
Now I just have to wait about 3 months for my car to be built and shipped over here
On a side note, does anyone know of a good place in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area for 3M "clear-bra" installation?
Thanks