Eastern-G

Hey guys, just some questions from a possible first time buyer. I've owned 2 G35 coupes in the past and am wondering if I should go with a G37 coupe (which I know will be awesome) or give the vert a shot. I've never owned or been inside of a convertible - hopefully you guys will be able to help.

I've been checking out the forum and have noticed issues with roof creaking, water leakage, and chassis flex - are these common issues with all hardtop verts or just Infiniti? Do the same issues occur with ragtops (i.e. Z roadster, A5)? Any major benefits to having a ragtop over a hardtop? I actually really like the 370Z and roadster, but feel the 4 seats in the G will be more versatile.

One of my big concerns is with stormy weather. Will water actually seep through the roof seal and drip onto me while I'm driving? I doubt this would happen, but someone mentioned that water had gotten on his leg during a storm. I can deal with a few drops, but rivulets would not be good. On a similar note, has anyone ever had problems with ice forming in the seal? I hate chipping ice off my car in the morning and it would really suck if ice somehow made its way into the hardtop mechanism.

That's all for now -- thanks in advance for your help. I'm planning on using this as my daily driver and taking the wife and baby along on weekends. I've seen quite a few in the Princeton area (or maybe just the same 1 or 2 guys driving around everywhere) and would love to get my hands on one!

cruzmisl

I can't speak for how reliable the roof is going to be. With other manufacturers this tends to be a weak point over time.

You mentioned chipping ice off the car in the morning. If you plan on parking the car outside, I'd get a coupe. However, if you are leasing and don't plan on keeping it afterwards (and outside the warranty period), by all means, go ahead.

ace72

The wife's 05 Mustang (6cyl 5spd) has some flex/cowl shake when going over various bumps. I think my other old Ford 'verts, a Torino GT and LTD also had this, but tbh I never noticed it or let it bother me. From all that I've read over the years, the greater majority of brands will have varying degrees of flex. The exceptions to this are BMW, some Audi's, and Benz, maybe even some other brands of super expensive brands.

As far as benefits of having a ragtop 'vert over hardtop 'vert, the pros & cons of each type are pretty straightforward.

Soft weighs less and takes up way less space leaving more available cargo area in the trunk. As with any significant weight savings, this helps performance.

Hard top weighs more, takes up much more space than a soft top (when down the G37 space is a mail slot of only 2 cubic feet, as you can see below), and hinders performance. You do however have the added security of the hard top, and are gaining the benefits of this design style - a coupe that transforms into a roadster. I'd have to say also that the sexier style of the hardtop 'vert is probably one of the main reasons buyers are willing to accept the other compromises of slightly lower performance & lack of storage.

http://s846.photobucket.com/albums/a...at111039AM.png

I can't speak to the other issues of leaks and creaks... All I can say is my Infiniti dealer treated me like gold and addressed any minor issues I had for my G35, and even got me a free under warranty replacement of my front grille. A shopping cart nailed it on windy day and chipped off the sprayed chrome on 2 of the blades. Service rep said there was a tech bullutin issued regarding some grilles just having the finish flake off and uh, wink wink, he could get me a new grille when I came in for my next oil change.

By all means go out for a test drive and see for yourself. I too considered the 370z, but with the need to occaisionally stuff my 2 younger kids in back, any kind of roadster is out.

As the previous poster said, if your ride is going to stored outside and get covered by snow and ice, you are asking for trouble with top. I lived in an apartment for 9 years before getting my house with a garage, now I can't ever see a day when I don't own a garage to store my 'vert.

Good luck on your quest.

-ace72

Shane D

iTrader: (1)

If you are going to leave the car outside in the winter I would get a coupe. With the 'vert the windows drop a bit every time you open and close the door. If they are frozen solid that has to be hard on the window motor.

On the leak front, my 'vert was pouring water on my leg in my first full day of ownership, in December. Service guy adjusted the rubber on the frame and it was fine until about a week ago. Guy made another adjustment and ordered a new piece.

No creaking or any unusual noise, but to be fair, I am ALWAYS jamming the music. There are two sets of train tracks by my store and I regularly take them at 40mph to 50mph and no bad/funny noises.

My first 'vert and the wind is VERY strong in the car especially if you are a tall guy. Feel like I will be developing a receding hairline by the force of mother nature.
Put up side windows and you still get a lot of turbulence. Will be nice when it gets hotter out.

Supposed to be real hot tomorrow and I spent HOURS shining up the car! Top down motoring tomorrow!!

Good luck on the decision.

Shane D

cereal2k

iTrader: (10)

Ragtops will begin to fade over time if not cared for meticulously, so that's one disadvantage. As Shane said if you do come across any leaking have the dealer address it. I've not come across it and we have mild snow in GA at best. You've got to really want an open top driving experience to go for it. I think the vert G offers the best , stylish hardtop out there. Creaking noises will be natural on bumpy roads, other than that no other body noises should be heard. There is a little shimmy when the top is opening or closing and other than the easily worn seats that's my only gripe.

I don't intend to have passengers in the back seat so consider that will be for luggage if you travel with the top down and I think it's 5ft 5in for any adults in the back to be "relatively" comfortable.

eljoker

Id like me a vert G too, but over time the more moving parts the more chances for problems. Go with what you want and check them out in person. If you want it get it. Just follow all the precuations to keep it maintined nicely and any signs of problems take it to the dealer while its under warrnty.

Shane D

iTrader: (1)

I should qualify my earlier post in regards to one fact: My car is a lease. I would be terrified of buying a 'vert and owning it after warranty. I love that roof but it has to break eventually and you know it will cost a FORTUNE to fix/replace. If I was buying a long term toy I would go for the coupe which I would also modify.
As the warranty on my 'vert is running out, I will be handing the keys back.

Just my opinion.

Shane D

pwlorraine

I've owned BMW's, Audi's and we now have two infinitis (plus the BMW vert I still have). Body flex happens to an extent with all convertibles - it has gotten much better across all brands over the last 10 years. My 98 BMW vert was about the best available from a flex standpoint but flex is still noticeable driven back-to-back against my old Audi. Saab's from the early 2000's were really flexy. The G37 vert is a reasonably stiff vert - comparable to the BMW 335 or the A5 that I drove before deciding. The g37 vert rear seat in my opinion was smaller (less headroom particularly) than either the BMW or Audi. I've had soft-tops and have the power hardtop now - with a vert my expectation is to need to replace a soft-top sometime around the 10 year mark. I would also expect maintenance on the hardtop at some point - it is a complicated mechanical system - and is why I bought an extended warantee. You should not have leaks over the first years with any of the brands.

Hardtop absolutely eliminates trunk space when the top is down - the Audi A5 still keeps a useable trunk with the top down. The hardtop is much quieter on the highway than the softtop on my BMW - I've heard the new A5 roof is quiet however.

There are a lot of compromises to driving a convertible. Maintenance on the long haul will be higher and performance is compromised over a coupe. But I've never regretted buying a convertible - the headaches are more than made up for by those great top down days.

If money is not a factor, the A5 is a beautiful convertible. G37 is probably the best value of the set.

Peter

blitzebill

+++++++

i recently read reviews and comparisons between the Audi, BMW and Infiniti verts, BMW came out the winner by a decent margin.

your thoughts?

pwlorraine

Cost being the same I would take the 335 over the G37 vert. Infiniti is better in my opinion in terms of the electronics integration - the g37 profile also looks better in my opinion. The BMW back seat is more useful as the roof doesn't slope in so sharply and my recollection was that there was more leg room as well. I like BMW interiors - some don't - its a wash. The g37 trunk with the top down can carry a bottle of wine or an umbrella or maybe a golf club, the BMW trunk can carry a *little* more than that.

Engine performance - the g37 engine is a pretty good match to the 335 twin turbo - not a lot between them. If I wanted to mod - and you *don't* if you are on a lease - the twin turbo has a lot of head room with modified software. Flipside is that turbos add a reliability issue to the engine and the 335 engine has had problems with overheating. This late in the model run bugs should have settled out. Unmodified I like both engines about the same.

Handling - the g37 with the sport suspension is good. Both the BMW 335 and g37 are heavier cars than my 98 BMW 3' vert and aren't quite as lively or fun to drive. Body flex is comparable and small with some creaking with the top up over bumps. BMW handling in corners and over twisty roads is usually the gold standard - the g37 is close but not quite the same. Audi handling is excellent but different in the way Audi's usually are.

The BMW 335 vert configured with nav was going to be about $53-55K after negotiation on a car that was just under $60K. The g37 with vpp and incentives was about 7-8k lower than this. That sealed the deal for me.

I would strongly suggest trying the g37, Audi A5, and BMW 335. The A5 has the smallest engine but is beautiful and surprisingly fast. With quattro, the A5 is a credible all-season car. A5 is the best looking of the bunch in my opinion. I wasn't interested in the new Lexus vert at all.

I was within a hair of buying the BMW 335 before Christmas but got a fantastic deal on the g37. I've not regretted buying it at all. Passenger's in my Infinti are usually not familiar with the brand and are pleasantly surprised - Infiniti does not have the cachet of BMW. Top up the car is a great highway cruiser. I've owned BMW's for years and know mechanics, how to work on them myself, quirks, etc. I honestly think if you are determined to get a vert, any of these three will leave you smiling. If I could find a 09 BMW 335 with 5k miles or so and could pick it up for low 40's or less - that would be a good deal in my opinion. g37 vert is not very common - I see lots of BMW verts around here but have yet to see another g37 vert.

Regarding the brand - Infiniti needs to keep working at this to drive their brand upscale. Lexus is broadly perceived as being in the same class as BMW, Mercedes, and Audi while Infiniti is not. Infiniti seems to be making an effort to upgrade the dealer experience and I've been pleased so far. My wife drives a new EX35 - the car is great but she came from a BMW X3. Her friends make lots of comments about trading down from a BMW which make me cringe. *I* don't care what other people think as long as I like my car but my wife is bothered and peer pressure does matter. Infiniti has straightened out their mission as producing performance oriented luxury cars that target BMW - in the 90's they waffled and made some pretty questionable cars. Infiniti global marketting seems to be more on message as well. But today, if a factor for you is impressing the neighbors, the BMW will do a better job.

Something that may vert owners will tell you is that they get a lot of friendly waves from other motorists - particularly other vert owners - and the car's start conversations at gas stations or the like. The g37 draws a *lot* of compliments and looks absolutely terrific top down.

Peter

djjperez

i just picked up my vert about two months ago and it is the best choice of car i made, however, do not buy the car because you never know what may start going wrong with it. i already had a problem that i opened the top with the car off, this car be done by pressing and holding the button on driver side door handle til roof opens. the roof takes up so much voltage though that the top screaped against metal in the truck as it came down and dented and scratched top, they had to resurface the whole top, thank go warranty covered that. im glad i didnt buy the car though because it is fresh and bound to have problems as they perfect the car.

other than that small problem, everything else works great, no other car can match luxurious interior than that of 2010 g vert. make sure you dont put top down with car off. infiniti cars tend to suck alot of power even leaving the radio on if you have navi will suck power out in 15 min and kill battery. other than that great car to have specially since they are in limited production and will not see many on the road.
it is a def eye catcher.

pwlorraine

For what its worth, I drop the top all the time using the door control with the car off and have not had a problem. I don't understand how running out the battery would cause the top to scrape - I can see it getting stuck but don't see how it would hit something.

Peter

Beer Magazine

I've just got out of a 335 and now have a g37 vert.

I'd like to comment on the engine. The 335 engine is MUCH stronger than the Infiniti. It makes really good power and revs smooth up to redline. The infiniti is powerful but doesn't have quiet the power delivery.

The ride is a wash. BMW comes with terrible RFTs..and they blow. I had some other wheels on my BMW and it made a world of difference. But with stock tires the G rides better.

The interior is similar, although the sport seats on the BMW are better. They are more comfortable and have better lumbar. For some reason they kept the little Japanese profile with the infiniti seats and they are too tight in bad places.


But I do like the G, it's nice.

Calgarywinger

Keep this in mind: The Vert is great fun but it is a commitment. For one thing, you shouldn't retract the roof if it, and/or the back window are dirty as this could cause scratching (as per the manual) which means that I make an effort to clean the car before retracting. One more thing you wouldn't have to worry about if you drive a coupe.

Eastern-G

Thanks for all the awesome feedback and info. After reading your suggestions and comments, I decided to go with a 2010 G37S coupe instead. I decided to wait until I have that elusive 3rd/4th garage space to pamper my future vert and not subject it to the cruel winters of the Northeast. I also think my 15 month old is a bit young to enjoy top down driving. Subjecting her to sun, wind, and bird poop would not make me World's Greatest Dad