I've been lurking here for the past 7 months that I've had my G37S Coupe, and figured I'd do a quick writeup to share a few thoughts on the car. I took over the last 7 months of a lease on an 08 BO/Graphite G37S Coupe w/ manual transmission, and it's due back to the dealer tomorrow.

To start, the lease swap thing was a great deal. The guy I took it over from had put $5k down so my payments were relatively low. Also I took it over in March after it stopped snowing here in Denver, and I'm giving it back now, so bad weather was never an issue. It gave me a chance to have a fun coupe without worrying about getting around in the winter. The takeover process was a little painful though, it took like 5 weeks. When I was ready to take it, I discovered that the clutch was shot (slipping bad), and the original owner ended up reluctantly having to replace it for $1200. Pretty sure he drove the hell out of it, it only had around 18k miles.

It's been a great car though, and I'll truly miss it. Very much a head turner, moreso than many cars costing more. Black on black with tinted windows, it's one of the best looking cars on the road I think. The manual transmission is so fun to drive coming from an auto (04 Maxima). The clutch took a while to get used to though, and letting anyone else drive it is always interesting. Seems the car just wants to be driven hard, and its almost challenging to drive it smooth and slow. I'm a little bummed I didn't have the chance to hit the top speed, as unfortunately I don't know any good places to do that safely around here. At first I thought it felt crazy fast, though as I got used to it and learned to drive it better I felt myself wanting more power, typical I'm sure. Also I really like the interior and all the options, ipod, etc. Wish it also charged my ipod touch though. Great stock stereo sound I thought. Only real downside aside from a unique clutch is the rattles and squeaks, I had a few of the ones that are well documented here by others in the dash and pillars. The ride is a bit harsh with the low profile tires, but that's expected so not really a downside.

I've had my new car for a few weeks now, but it's mostly stayed in the garage while I finish my G lease, partially to save miles and partially because it's so fun to drive. Did another lease swap and got an 09 BMW 535xi, white on black. It's quite a bit nicer car overall than the G, but nowhere near as fun. Evidently it's just as fast, but sure doesn't feel like it. It's overly smooth and quiet. Considering putting an aftermarket tuner in it to increase boost, $300 for an extra 70hp is hard to pass up. The stereo is inferior to the G, at least in the power category. Really lacks the bass and volume that the G has. Taking a while to get used to iDrive too, but it seems OK. Evidently it's the newer version.

Just thought I'd share with the forum since I've been reading your posts for quite a while. Might try to get some pics up. I've enjoyed reading this board.

 

Enjoy your new car.

Shot clutch in 18k miles?

 

I'll enjoy it, but I'll miss the G. It made me want an even faster car next.

That's what I thought - yikes. Though I can understand how someone who doesn't know how to properly drive a manual could quickly burn out the G clutch. Due to the high engagement point, a lot of people probably burn it on every shift, hitting the gas way too hard before the clutch is fully released. That's probably not worded correctly, but you get the point.

 

MileHiGolfer:

 

^^^^LMAOOOOO AT GAMEDOG POST

MileHiGolfer nice write-up, glad you enjoyed the G. Have fun with your BMW GL

 

Nicely done. What's up with the Homer-faced Bart though...

 

wow i didn't realize there are guys like you out there who just lease swap

sounds like a good way to drive a lot of different cars while not having to really spend any money on down payments or inceptions.

 

It never occurred to me but that seems like a really good idea (lease swap). If you get bored quickly and don't mind a slightly used but still new car then thats a great way to get behind the wheel of plenty of cars with little investment. Someone else pays the downpayment and you just finish off a year or less of monthlys.
I might look into that for something fun, I wonder how many porsches are up for lease swap

 

I have to admit I think I'm hooked on it now. It's nice to be able to drive a lot of different cars and not end up upside down at the end like owning them, nor have to commit to 36+ months of payments on a new lease.

The G was my first lease swap, and it was a little bit of a hassle, partly due to Infiniti taking a long time and partly due to the clutch. They don't charge anything to swap though which is nice. The BMW was a breeze, but they charge $500 to swap, so it better be. The original lessee paid for my first two payments as an incentive, so that made the payments attractive.

To answer your question about a Porsche, a 911 (gotta go for the real deal right) starts around $1000/mo. Cars like that with high MSRPs seem to have really high payments relative to what you could buy one for with some depreciation, unless someone is offering a good incentive. It would be pretty awesome to have one for a while though.

I'm starting to sound like a commercial, but swapalease.com and leasetrader.com are the two major sites to check out. Maybe by the time I'm ready again there will be an M37/56x available, as I wouldn't mind another Infiniti.

 

well if you pay lease swap fees then it might not be that great. plus you have to spend lots of time searching for the vehicle that's right for you (and most of the guys trading leases have horrible money factor and monthly payments.)

i think a 911 will run you at least $1250/mo since an m3 is around $1000/mo


i see guys here asking $500/mo for their g37s because they didn't negotiate. i pay $331/mo for my g coupe (base) so if i get tired of it in a year i don't think i'll have a hard time getting rid of it to a guy searching for lease swaps.

frankly i think having a car for 6 months is sort of a tease. you obviously loved the g37 and probably wished you could have driven it for at least a year or 18 months.

the average person keeps their car for 4.7 years before they get tired of it. so even a 39 mo lease is still just the right amount of time before it gets long in the tooth.

BUT must be nice to find some guy who would really bend over backwards for you to make you take over his lease. probably some sick deals out there if you're lucky.