airahcaz

You, and I, have perfectly good GS's, think of the monthly payment and the insurance and worry, and the fact that your GS gets you not only what you need, but probably some looks and class at the same time. G37's are a dime a dozen (you said it yourself, they are "catching up", but are they really? And how will you feel if suddenly you can barely keep up with an M5? trade it back?

There mere fact you had to ask brings up this equation:

All things being equal, GS vs G37, the part that is NOT equal is those monthly payment$!

I think my dilemma, to be a little selfish, was more of a debate, cause I wanted to get into a GS350 awd for the northeast, but now I am perfectly fine changing my Blizzaks every winter, and smile on all the $ I saved.

GS4 forever.

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

THis would be a great thread to start.. I've thought about it many times about crossing over to infiniti but I'm more the M35/m45.. The G35/37 seems a little smaller and the M models are larger like the GS..

Yea the GS is in a class by itself.. Sure the new technology is great but the GS can't really be duplicated IMO.. Although we still have 11yr. old cars

jcat_350

honestly...price difference gets you the TT kit that TTurbopimp is selling right now...put another grand or two into a standalone and a tune, and you'll ***** every e55, g37 or anything on the road up real good

dsnowgs4

Its really funny because everything you guys have pointed out has run through my head already.

So I am thinking of the following list.


Here are the Pro's of the GS:
Styling (I still get compliments)
Size is perfect for me.
VIP(ness) if thats a word
Power Still on the upper end of saloons
Luxury
Exclusivity - GS400's are rare birds
Still a Lexus
For Me- No car pmt. Its a big one.
Low Low title lic reg costs.
I know the maint history.


Cons:
Equity decreasing quickly in the car
Rubber Seals & Gaskets 11+ years old (But no problems)
Suspension pieces need replacing. (LBJ Bushings tie rod ends done)
Original rotors at 135k (Need to be fixed)
Starter should go sometime here
Leaving this forum if I dont buy another lex this place kicks ****...
Outdated tech equipment
Slightly Low MPGs
Paying Dealerships costs on a 12 year old car.



You guys can add what I am missing to the 2 lists.

dsnowgs4

Then I think about my car and I am like if I paid 4-8k for this thing right now even with the repairs it would be one heck of a deal.

dsnowgs4

Well I think the G37 is a faster car. Not by much as I said before, but its quicker. I would love a GS350 awd but I dont see much of a jump for another 10k over the G37. Plus I cant get excited by dash rattles on a car that expensive.

I also do the 16inch snow tire dance in the winter.

But let me tell you- drifting around in the snow and blowing by SUV's with G35x is a whole other fun game.

airahcaz

Drive rent or borrow a G37, and state the facts, what is the additional monthly payment and insurance costs? Isn't it also smaller?

GS350 is another story, and a whole other thread...

vwynn

iTrader: (4)

get the G37 n keep the GS for a weekend car haha jk

dsnowgs4

The GS400 is a freakin anamoly.

Short Version: I am keeping my car

Long Version- The test read below.

Infiniti G37X:

Looks- This is a Beautiful car- almost has some of the lines of the 2nd Gen GS. It comes in some very pretty colors. The red is my fav. The X wheels also look very good in my opinion.

The 3.7 Engine is a beast 330hp but 270tq. Very strong and very quick to rev. This is the gem of this car. It is more peaky than I was expecting, and it felt almost V-Tech in nature. It is sweet, but I was hoping for more than 20 mpg on the highway and we did not see that. Although I will say this it was hovering at 20 according to the trip computer and that is pretty respectable for the way we drove it today.

Interior- It is nice but places like the doors and handles felt cheap for a car they want almost 50k for with some packages. They did a good job with the dash but the new faux nav control system screen was useless with the sun when we had the sunroof open. Steering wheel is very nice, and the controls on the steering wheel were well done. It had plenty of room in the front and back I would say it was 80% the size of my GS400. It fit plenty of gear in the trunk even though it does not look like it.

Bose Sound System- Pretty good BUT... I took a CD and played it back to back in each car and WOW. Even though my GS only has the stock Pioneer Deck (Non Nak) the GS sound system was an A and the BOSE system in the Infiniti was a B-. It was a very noticeable difference. This was when I began to not be so convinced about the G37.

Handling.- The car feels like its on rails, but it really is only enjoyable to drive when your at 7/10ths or higher. Anything below that this car feels uncomfortable and jittery like a race horse waiting for the gates to open up. The car just begs you to dart in and out of traffic, it feels as if everyone else was in slow motion. Great if your on a race track, but in real world Suburbia that will normally get you killed or arrested. It is more tuned for fun but not luxury. I was kind of taken back by this. I have driven a friends 335i coupe and I felt like that was not stiff enough and more luxury tuned, so I could not believe how stiff the G was.

The biggest problem with the chassis was when you wanted to drive like a sane human being (i.e. the speed limit) the car felt overly stiff and bucked and bounced needlessly over every little road imperfection. It just seemed like it could not relax. Even my GF who drives a 2006 G35 felt like it was too stiff.

(I think that is where my current L-tuned GS shines. It can doddle around town almost like the LS but can carve up the canyons with the best of them. All the time feeling like its not trying.)

Side by side. So my GF reluctantly agreed to "Race" my GS with the Infiniti. So i tried to get her to do some side by side full out highway pulls. I will say this; she did not quite feel comfortable with the G37s shifting and so she hit the rev limiter and short shifted on multiple runs. We did get one or two clean pulls and it was always a drivers race, it depended upon who hit the gas first. I won one and she got me on the other so it was a bit inconclusive. So referring magazine test #'s I am pretty sure the G37 is a tad faster, but it was more of a drivers race than i though it would be.

M35X
We got back to the dealership and I ended up driving a 2006 M35x with every possible option on it. It only had 10k miles . I was very impressed with this car. The engine was a bit weak for such a big car, it had the same engine as my GF's G35 the 280hp VQ engine.
It was Black on Camel leather. Beautiful!!! The Nav, Back up camera, voice command, DVD player, 5.1 surround sound system (speakers in each front seat next to your ears) was very impressive. Even the quality was above the 2nd gen GS. It did not handle as well as my car, I would say 8/10ths, but the suspension was way more dampened than the G37 it was closer to what I was looking for, but the gas mileage was way down 15-20mpg as it is a heavy car. I did not try the M45x bc I am not interested in living with a 10-15mpg average. I am sure this would have been a heck of a car, just very thursty.

RESULT: My conclusion is that the G37x or the M35x is not enough of an improvement for the price I would have to pay with everything everyone else pointed out. The G37 is a great sports sedan with some luxury mixed in, but the GS seems to be a luxury sedan first, and with mods it can be a very capable sports sedan.

If your looking at the G37x it will probably satisfy your performance needs, but not your luxury expectations.

If your looking at the M35x it can and will satisfy your Luxury/gadget needs, but its a bit bland on performance.

I just cant believe how great of a car the GS400 is! Its almost annoying because I need to find something eventually to move into.



I think I need to try a GS350 AWD.

Hopefully this writeup will help some folks out there who were thinking about doing the same switch.

DarrellGS4

I agree with the comments about the G35/G37. My wife drives a FX35 and we take it to the dealer for maintenance. I also have a good friend that drives a G35 (2007) and right after he bought it, all I heard was how much faster it was than mine, but would never race... typical if him. So earlier last year I took the Infiniti in and requested for the loaner to be the G35 or G37.

I was given a 2008 G35...I expected this thing to be a monster at 300 hp and 0-60 of 5.2. The car on the inside is nice, I could definitely tell the difference in my 1998 and this 2008 when it came to the gages and the panel. The leather was lesser quality than expected (even seemed different than our FX). Same as the door panels, dash board and even the carpet. Driving it was very different than the V8...it was very sensitive in that the power curve felt like you got all 300 hp or nothing, very peaky, just as stated above.

Suspension...well its not a luxury feel, and its not the sportiest either. Kind of somewhere in between, I pretty much disregarded that because the majority of us on CL would have that thing changed out on pretty much any car as one of the first mods.

My wife was very much against the G35, described her experience as "it felt like driving a go cart."

My opinion is... obviously its not a Lexus, but all in all, it would be a perfect car for someone who wants a fast four door but is not concerned with higher quality and driver friendly feel.

I do know that I had my friend throw the recent stats of Infiniti passing Lexus in reliability moving to number 1...but one thing I will point out is that he has had his car since 07 brand new off the lot and his steering wheel paint is already comming off, while my 1998, me being the second owner, leather wrapped steering wheel looks as ever, still holding a nice luster.


Just my take...

airahcaz

Then wait for a GS4x awd?

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

The M45 would have been a nice car to compare with the GS4..

dsnowgs4

I would love to see Lexus get around to building such a beast. I they might do the next 450h in AWD like the LS. But I am not holding my breath.

I could dig that type of car for sure.

dsnowgs4

Yeah the 08's 45x's they had on the lot were all like 40k+ so I was not really interesed in looking. Plus I know that an M with more power would have been exactly what am looking for.

The depreciation on these things was horrrible as well. They had a fully loaded 09 that they were asking like 37k for. I mean it was well over a 50k car new. That is huge. Good for buyers like me but when I go to resell. YIKES...

I must say that M35 was probably the nicest car I have driven in a LONG time. I was very suprised. I might dare to say that it was almost richer in build quality than even the current Lexus models.

I am not sure if you have gotten around to looking at one, but they are beautiful on the inside.

Have you driven a 45?