I've been wondering... what's so "limited edition" about the 2011 Limited Edition?

It has no badging proclaiming such. It has no trim level that you can't get on any other sedan, as far as I know.

I think the only thing that makes it stand out are the malbec black exterior color and the red leather seats. Otherwise... what the heck is different about it?

I HAD to have the red seats. I thought they looked so damn sweet... and they just wouldn't go with any other color but black, IMO. Not a fan of black, otherwise, I guess. It's a bee-atch to keep clean.

 

It also come in graphite shadow and red sets if you didn't like the black color. But that's if you can find an anniversary edition still floating around the market. Anniversary edition are the only one that comes with red seat and graphite shadow exterior.

 

yup the anniversary edition sedan started it all

but it's not fully loaded since it does not have the technology package. the 2010 anniversary sedans in RWD did have the rear active steer in it, the 2011 limited editions don't

 

Its true, its not really REALLY unique, but the red seats and Malbec black pretty much set it apart. It truly was a limited run, I believe they made 350 total: 175 RWD and 175 AWD.

The interesting thing I found about it is that its barely mentioned in the 2011 G dealer catalog, and there is NO mention of it on Infiniti's website.

The 2011 version ("Limited Edition" not "Anniversary Edition") is only avail in black on red. The 2010 ("Anniversary Edition") was only avail. in graphite shadow. Honestly, I like the black better than the graphite shadow.

 

None of the dealers I asked could give me specifics on what the LE had besides the malbec paint and red seats. Best I could figure, it breaks down like this (prices are MSRP, before the recent increase, but I think all LE's were delivered before the increase):

Base Journey $35050
Nav $1850
Premium $2150
Sport $2150
Aero pkg $980
Illum. kick plates $350
Midnight blk grill $420
W92 9 spoke wheels $1600
destination chg $875
TOTAL: $45425
compared to asking MSRP of $44275
So it seems you get about an $1100 discount on all the options.

One other thing to consider is the LE has its own model number, and in some states the annual license fees are based on that. It can also affect insurance costs which are sometimes derived from base model number. Point being, if your license fees and/or insurance are based on the LE's $44275, it can be a couple grand (over say 5 years ownership) more than a comparably optioned Journey, where those fees are based on $35050.

 

I didnt get an insurance quote on the LE vs anything else.

I dont think the LE has the illuminated kickplates standard, btw. Mine didnt come with them, if they changed part way I might have to take it up with Infiniti corporate.

 

Perry Infiniti in Escondido, CA is where I bought my car. They actually had 2 of the LE sedans and 2 of the IPL Coupe's. If only 350 of the sedans were made, they gotta have some juice to have 2 of them on the lot, no?

The Infiniti site DID have the LE advertisement for quite some time, then they took it down for whatever reason. I know, because I posted the link and said I wanted it for my birthday or Christmas. I bought it the day after Christmas.

If $44,275 was the MSRP on her... I got a great deal. Best price I could find during my research was $39,301 and that's what I paid for it.

I've never been much of a fan of Nav, since a $250 Garmin can do the same thing (or so I thought)... but holy crap is the Nav on this thing awesome. When I plug in the iPod, it shows artist, title, album and album cover artwork. Ridiculously cool.

 

Looking again at the info I gathered, and considering you actually have one, whereas I just pulled together what I could find on the internet (i.e. a non-owner on another forum said they came with IKP), I'd go with your answer. No IKP standard on the 2011 LE.

 

Oh yeah.. I have USAA as my insurance provider and when I switched from an 04 G35 to the 11 G37 LE, my insurance went up $70 for 6 months. Not even $12 a month.

 

Nice! I actually paid 40K even (+ tax, title, etc), so mine wasnt quite as nice as yours but still a good deal. I did go 400 miles from home to get it though Most of the dealers local to me take the "we'll sell it for whatever we want" approach, so I passed. My parents were local to where I bought the car, so I made a nice trip out of it.

One of the local dealers had 2 LEs. The dealer I bought mine from said it was supposed to be a "1 to each dealer" kinda thing....the only explanation I have for the dealer that had 2 is that one other local dealer never had one, so maybe it was based on sales or something, kinda like how Chevy distributes Corvettes.

I hear ya. I actually stumbled on the LE sedan by accident since I didnt see any info online about it until I hit Edmunds to do some price research. Then saw it in person at a local dealer to verify it was what I wanted (the red interior was the big question mark, and honestly I think thats the best feature on the LE vs all other models)

I *almost* pulled the trigger on an anniversary edition coupe last year, but since I had never seen the red in person I shyed away from it. The coupe just wasnt big enough for me, but the red seats in the sedan pushed me over the edge into buying a new car now.

 

no every dealership got 2...


we were able to actually get 3 this year b/c of some dealerships closing down and sold all 3 right away in less than a month

 

Can you break down the math for me? If they made 350 LE Sedans "worldwide" (which I have to assume means USA and Canada), are there only 175 dealerships in the US and Canada?

There are 10 within 75 miles of me.

 

Interesting, didnt know that. I was surprised that I was able to find a few still in stock, actually.

I did a VIN check on the car I bought before I picked it up and it looked like it arrived at the dealer the first week of December and I bought it the second week of January, so it only stayed with them for about a month.

 

imo, limited edition is not worth the money, period

 

I just want the red seats.