Infiniti

And then there were three (maybe four)

Published by G

I’ve been putting a lot of thought into the final 5 cars on my list and decided to scratch out the Acura TL. The car is a fairly common ride in SoCal. I like them like prime rib, medium-RARE, the TL is more like medium-well around these parts. Another reason is the rate hike, making the lease less attractive than it was back in March. So long, farewell, Auf wiedersehen Good Night!

Here are the remaining candidates in order of preference:

Infiniti G37 base – I’m working on perhaps getting this at $200 under invoice price…still waiting on some quotes. I’m shooting for around $1350 drive-off (1st payment, tags, bank fee, doc fee, etc…) and $414 a month. This car is stock though, so i don’t get all the fancy technology stuff the Journey offers. Its not to say that this comes poorly equipped, the standard list of features isn’t too bad actually. My main reason for lusting after this ride? the styling and the 330hp V-6 engine, which by the way, gets slightly better MPG than the Mazda CX7’s 4cyl Turbo.

Infiniti G35 Journey – Same as the G37 in terms of pricing. Working on $200 under invoice for ideal price. It should be around the same drive-off, but about $2 less per month (wooo-freaking-hoo), $412.

Mazda CX-7 GT – I like this car so far because its got potential to become a better deal. I know I can probably work it some more and get it under $400 a month with no more than $1000 drive-off. Plus this puppy is fully loaded, with the exception of RES (rear entertainment system), which is fine since I don’t have kids…yet. But everything else is there, including the poor gas mileage.

Afterthoughts

I’m keeping the Accord V6 coupe in the back burner right now…the money factor kills me, but I think if they are willing to sell for invoice it would really help offset the bad rate. This is more like the worst, worst, worst case scenario. It’s a long shot, but it’s still a shot since I really like the overall aspects of this car.

How do they drive you ask? No freaking clue, I haven’t even taken the time to go test drive them, but I am planning to go this coming weekend. It would be a good opportunity to get a feel for what I can get for my trade-in as well. I could probably wait another month to see if the rates improve too, but I’m getting rather antsy…which is not a good thing.

May 2008 Lease Rate for 08 Infiniti G35/G37

Published by G

2008 Infiniti G35 Journey Sedan
24 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 70% of MSRP – .00126 Base Rate
36 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 60% of MSRP – .00150 Base Rate

2008 Infiniti G35 Sport Sedan
24 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 69% of MSRP – .00126 Base Rate
36 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 59% of MSRP – .00150 Base Rate

2008 Infiniti G35 X Sedan
24 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 71% of MSRP – .00131 Base Rate
36 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 61% of MSRP – .00150 Base Rate

2008 Infiniti G37 Coupe
24 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 74% of MSRP – .00184 Base Rate
36 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 63% of MSRP – .00192 Base Rate

2008 Infiniti G37 Journey Coupe
24 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 72% of MSRP – .00184 Base Rate
36 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 62% of MSRP – .00192 Base Rate

2008 Infiniti G37 Sport Coupe
24 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 74% of MSRP – .00184 Base Rate
36 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 63% of MSRP – .00192 Base Rate

Here are more rates (added 5/12/08):

G37 Base
39mo/15k – money factor 0.00190 – residual 61% .Base Rate

You should be able to estimate the residuals for the G35/G37 journey and sport (+/- 1% or 2%) by looking at the other numbers posted.

My Thoughts: The rates have dropped a tiny bit compared to last month. The problem is that the residuals have dropped some as well. Overall, payments should be around $10 less than last month. So things are definitely getting cheaper, the question is, is it going to get cheaper next month?

Infiniti FX50, faster than a speeding…Mustang GT? Wow.

Published by G

It may seem like I’m constantly pimping Infiniti on my site. I’m not. Sure, I do have my eyes set on a G37, after all, you ARE RIDING with G, right? 🙂 In any case, I spent some time reading about the latest and greatest FX50 and this snip-it from C&C about the new 2009 FX really caught my eye:

“We saw 60 mph flash past in 5.0 seconds in our FX50S, with the quarter-mile dispatched in 13.6 seconds at 104 mph. That’s quicker than a Mustang GT through the quarter-mile, and within 0.1 second of our quickest BMW 335i.”

One word: WOW. That’s freakishly insane fast, for a SUV. Its like having a sports car with massive cargo space. Word to the fellas out there, this is YOUR ride, specially if you got kids. Now if this thing will run on sea water, then we’ll be all set.

Here are the specs for you speed freaks:

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
ESTIMATED PRICE AS TESTED: $61,900 (estimated base price: $54,000)
ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection
Displacement: 307 cu in, 5026cc
Power (SAE net): 390 bhp @ 6500 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 369 lb-ft @ 4400 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 7-speed automatic with manumatic shifting