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Time for a new DD

A

AtlantaSteve

Active Member
Hey everyone. Long time, little posting. Work has been chaotic and family time is a rare and treasured commodity that now takes my attention when I'm away from the office.

But my 99 V6-5Speed Camry is making me weary. I recently had to replace part of the clutch hydraulics, and while doing so I got to thinking I was sorta sick of the car. I think I'm gonna let it go.

So I've started looking around for the next car. Now I don't buy new. I am a ridiculous tight-wad, I hate debt and have enough of it, and so I like to buy cars that were a lot more money a few years ago.

I've really started liking the Infiniti I35s. let me rephrase that. I REALLY like the Infiniti G35s, but they are outside my range, so I've started liking the I35s.

I've never had a Datsun. All the press I've read on these Infinitis is that they're very reliable, nice cars, but I thought I'd ask some of the guys here what they think of them.

And since this is a mustang board, Yeah yeah I know, Japanese cars. Don't need to hear that anymore, thank you.

Hope everyone is doing well. Miss hanging out here like I used to.
 
I've only bought one car that was "new" as in from the dealer in my entire life when I let the wife talk me into it about 10 years ago. A year or so later the twins were on the way and a double stroller and two car seats would not fit in the car so we had to sell it and lost our bleep. I'll never buy a new car again.

We've picked up our last several DD's at Carmax with no complaints. Picked up my Explorer from there when it had 3k miles on it and it smelled like a new car but I got if for a lot cheaper than a "new" one. Have about 35k (after roughly 3 years) on it now and have never done a thing to it minus oil changes and it is starting to need some new brake pads.

I don't pay any mind to cars like the Infiniti so can't help you there since I have no clue about them and barely recognize the brand name but if you have a CarMax in your area it's worth looking into if they have any in stock.
 
there are a couple of CarMaxes around Atlanta. I'll check their websites. Thanks!

Yeah, I've never bought a new car, and while there's a part of me that thinks it'd be nice...but I have a hard time when I start comparing new car prices to used car prices. I can certainly understand the desire/temptation to do so.
 
We were looking for a Nissan Rogue last year, test drove a few but once I checked on-line owner-reviews, we soured on them. What it boiled down to was that Nissan's had some reputation as being "unnecessarily complicated." Just an FYI as Nissan is the parent of Inifinity.

I've bought one car from Carmax approx 5 hears ago, (99 Camry, lol), and it's been great. Last year, we visited our local carmax to shop and found prices a bit too high. No haggling is their policy, FYI.
 
You will pay more at carmax for the peace of mind that there won't be any surprises in what you're buying.
 
We bought a brand new Nissan Quest in 2000 (At the time they were using Mercury Villager bodies) ... had good luck with so we got a 2003 Nissan Maxima SE... 255 HP. The transmission started showing signs of trouble around 70K and finally blew at around 75K miles... Front sway bar links last about two years, getting ready to put the 4th set of tires on it with just over 105K miles. Cosmetically, it still looks pretty good for a car we've had for 8 years, but I don't think I would buy another Nissan product.
 
Steve, I've owned MANY a Nissan/Datsun over the years and they have been pretty much bulletproof. I have heard some stories of late model problems and my Dad bought a Frontier in '03 that had to be bought back under the lemon law. Defect in wp design that the stealership wouldn't correct. With that being said, I would not hesitate to go the route of Nissan/Datsun. Between my immediate family members we have owned probably 10 over the years and the only instance was the Frontier issue. No manufacturer is gonna be perfect though.
 
Because the I35 is just a premium rebadged Maxima, you might also consider looking at those. The Maxima SE is sportier than the I35, but still available with most the bells and whistles. I sure wish you could get a G35; they are just a class above and a blast to drive. Let me know if you need any local peer pressure.
 
In '08 I bought an '06 M35 as a DD. It was a lease turn in car that the stealership had bought at auction. I've had no issues with it thus far other than the tire pressure monitor things. The stealership reset them for me when I brought it in and didnt charge me. My GF has an '03 Frontier and LOVES it. The down side to both of them is they are a small PIA to do an oil change, they both have skid plates underneath, I think the M has about a dozen 12MM bolts to pull out to drop the pan, the Frontier only has about 8..... Nissan gas mileage is not the greatest....I get about 20 in the M and she gets less in the truck...
 
Thanks all for the thoughts! Anyone else has some, keep them coming!

I'll tell you what, Ryan...I've been scouring the autotrader/CL/eBay/etc world, and am really getting to the point where I'm about convinced to get the G35. I'm going to end up paying more than I'd laid out in my head when I started this, but I buy a car once every 8-9 years (well, buy one for myself, that is) and I figure I might as well get something I want, *IF* I can find it in the right price range.
 
What's wrong with a PT Cruiser? It's been well demonstrated that they are faster than Mustangs on the track, and are relatively inexpensive.
 
As a parts guy, my recommendation is to either get the G35, or get a Maxima. Infinitis are kind of notorious for having lots of parts that are only available through the dealership. Yes, it's essentially a Maxima, but everything that's not taken directly from the Maxima is going to be harder to replace.

The G35 makes up for any potential expenses by being flat awesome:D
 
I have wanted a g35 every since they came out. But no convertible so I waited. Now that I have a baby, now they make a vert.
They are amazing cars, I have driven several and I loved them.

sent from my HTC Droid using tapatalk.
 
"Gigantopithecus" said:
Whatever. I passed 2 today. In a crew cab truck no less. If my phone had video, I would have shown you how it's done.
Click to expand...

Must have been base models and not GT models....
 
Never drove the G35 sedan, but I have had some time in a coupe. Like a slightly more comfortable 350z. If I didn't have to haul around a bunch of crap for work, I would have bought a coupe instead of my truck.
 
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