Thanks of bringing some of the gripes I also have. I wouldn't say its "crap", it just lacks some luxary features you would expect. Having a recline that returns to the original position when tilting the seats forward should be mandentory. That is the most irritating thing about the car. It should have a power recline, power lumbar and memory for both seats(at least as an option). Where is the power tilt/teloscopic wheel the Infiniti NA rep was talking about 6 months ago? The metalized trim looks really out of place on the black(graphite) cars, but actually blends in extremely well on my Willow. They should have gone with a graphite/carbon trim to go with the graphite(color) interior. This was one of the major reasons why I didn't go Graphite. On the graphite cars, they get the lighter trim of the Willow interior above the window line(including the headliner) that also looks terribly out of place with Graphite. From this, they did better in the Z with all black. But how about the clock that looks good in the day time, but is impossible to read at night? Last, why do we need 8 cup holders in a 4 seat car? They sell beer in 6-packs, so I don't get it?

 

i have had my car since dec and i have only counted 2 cup holders. some investigation is sure to follow. they better not have jipped me out of 6 quality beverage stabilizers. and i dont mean to sound harsh as far as the interior, but sometimes it bothers me. of course my last car was a GS400, so i shouldnt expect the same level of luxury on a car costing 15 grr less. or should i?


Doc

 

My 04' has 8. There is 1 in each door. When I first picked up the car I didn't notice the ones in the doors. There are round indentations in the trim on both doors with a ledge underneath. These hold 20-oz water bottles or beer cans perfectly. There are 2 in the slide panel in the center console. There are 2 under the armrest. Last, there are 2 between the rear seats. 7 of them are easily accessable from the driver's seat.

 

Well, with all those places to store beverages, it almost needs a special porta-potty seat :P

 

The 03 model came with 6 cupholders. None of them useful for drinking and driving. Since the 03.5 revision, they now have 8. The previous six and now two pseudo cup holders.

 

The first time I saw my next-door neighbor's G in his driveway I thought it was ***-ugly. Of course, the only thing I could see well was the tail end. And of course, he has the plain-jane model.

It's grown on me, but the rear ends of both the G and the Z are pretty plain.

 

I haven't been to any dealers in about 2 1/2 months but here in Southern California (Los Angeles and Orange County-I can't speak for San Diego) fr0ng's original post is really not that far off. Back then, I talked to quite a few dealerships and generally, the G35 coupes were selling for significantly cheaper prices compared to Z33'S. Being quite puzzled by this, I asked many of the sales people at Nissan and Infiniti and the general consensus was that "the Z is just a hotter car"-they said that there was more of a buzz associated with the 350Z. That's not exactly a scientific answer but generally (here in Southern California), the G coupe just hasn't been subject to the same type of mark-up as the Z's. In fact, I've never seen the G35 sedan or coupe with any type of mark-up (even when it first came out...).

I'm sure there are those out there that got ripped off on their Skyline Coupes but I'm guessing far fewer than Z33 owners.

Unfortunately, every car buyer goes through a unique and random experience. Patience is key. Please hold on to your hard earned money until you've made contact with an honest and trustworthy human being.

A suggested retail price doesn't mean squat if you've got a sleazebag sitting accross from you.

 

First, you should not see ANY markup on Z33's or G35's. Nissan has stressed to their dealers to not mark up Z33s. 2 dealers did so, one in NY and one in CA, and both had their allocations pulled. If you know of a dealer that is price gauging, report it to Nissan NA or Infiniti NA and they will also lose their allocations. Nissan has a minimum price set on Z33's to force their dealers to sell at MSRP or they lose their holdback and possibly future allocaitons. In other words if they discount, they lose a lot more than just the discount. Infiniti is doing the same thing on G35 coupes. Infiniti has never had a policy on the FX35/45, so dealers were free to price since day 1. The FX is actually their "volume car," not the G35. They are now starting to relax a little on G35 sedans. They are also increasing production on G35 coupes and reduced the production on sedans so that they are now half of the G35 production, but that increase is in autos only. G35 6-MTs are still limited by transmission availability and believe it or not, Z33's get priority when transmissions are needed. There is now an issue at the dealer where I bought because I got a discount on mine(there were a couple extras on my car I didn't order). They may have to re-do the paperwork to shift the discount so that it is reported to Infiniti correctly or they may lose the entire dealer portion of the sale. I am working a deal for some other things out of them if I have to go in to re-sign paperwork. As of September 1, Infiniti reported that G35 coupes are only in inventory for an average of 4.5 days from delivery. I don't know what the time is on G35 sedans or Z33s by comparison.

 

Ummm...I just wanted to point out that the 4 times my Z has had to be in for service - they always got me a car. Granted - it wasnt a Z, but none the less, I never had to wait.Personaly, its prolly b/c they know I'm a doc as well.

However, my wife's fx35/awd/tech was in for svc and we got an I35 (eeewww) which was actually pretty decent.

The point is - when I'm taking on ramps at triple digits, the LAST thing I think about - is what kind of car my dealer gives me when I'm in for service.

Another point - It really cracks me up how comments made by automotive reviewers echo and ripple through the "bench racer" community. For example - the notion that the Z has a "cheap" interior...whatever! Go pay $112K for a C4 cab (with some options) sit in that cockpit and tell me who got jacked again.

The Zs interior is purposeful and simple...nee elegant.

the other comment is how "stable" the G is compared to the Z. I've never felt my Z was "unstable". Also, how many of you have driven both cars at illegal track speeds to truly comment on the issue? Stability comes at the expense of responsiveness...which do you want? make your choice? More stable or more responsive??

No the truth is that american car mags are in the biz of making money. They cant **** off the manufacturers (advertisers) too much - yet they still need to have fresh controversy. For an interesting read...check out eurpoean car mags - they are downright BRUTAL! in their reviews (espec the motorcycle mags).

just my $.02

cheers!

 

To me, it really boils down to whether you want a sports car or a "sporty" car. I wanted a sports car, so I got the Z.

fwiw,
WayneTN

 

What? Really? Then why do a majority of Bay Area dealers still put huge markups on Z's? Early on I believe a significant amount of people who bought Z's paid above MSRP. Later on once the volume of Z's increased and initial demand died off, a significant amount of dealers started selling Z's below MSRP. Far below. And they still are and are having no problems doing so. No way is Nissan putting limitations on what price dealers can sell their Z's or G's for.

 

this post cracked me up. using some sort of voodoo magic this guy's heavier, slightly less powerful G is faster than the Z. lol.

I've also seen plenty of G's with tranny problems...just like the Z....although i personally haven't had any problems with mine at all save the window streaks.

I'm also amazed how many in this thread are putting the G's interior on a pedestal above the Z. The Z's interior uses real metal for metal parts...the G's uses painted plastic...and the Z interior is much sportier and more modern looking than the G. For the money I spent on my loaded touring I could have bought the G but didn't. Ironically my biggest issue was with its interior. I thought it looked boring and kind of 80's looking. The Z with nav/burnt orange leather just looks so much better.

Also for the people saying the Z can't compete as far as luxury features go, I honestly didn't notice it having significantly more luxury features than my Z except for a moon roof and dual zone climate control. Both of which I didn't care much about having. Plus the Z has tire pressure sensors, and a digital speedometer...along with power heated seats,mirrors, etc. Don't forget drivetrain either..we have a carbon fiber driveshaft...G does not.

 

I received a quote today on a Super black 350, Touring, 6MT. It was 34670 +transportation and ttl...so 37434.90 total drive off.


This was from Baker-Jackson Nissan in Houston.

 

I don't believe that Nissan can legally do that anyway.

WayneTN

 

You're right...dealers are independent businesses, and any mfg.'s attempt to control pricing would be in violation of antitrust legislation. Dealers don't even need to report back to Nissan what they sell their cars for - it's none of Nissan's business.

I used to work in the oil business, and we had to be very careful not to influence our distributors' pricing from a legal perspective.

 

Well written.

Back to the topic, the Z and the G are still a tough choice to me.