Just traded my tranny woed CL-S in for a...

2003 G35 Sedan
Black Obsidian - Willow Leather
-Winter Package
-Sunroof
-Premium Package
-Wood Package
-Xenon Headlights


As soon as my tranny died a got the ball rolling on a new car, getting quotes from various dealers. I got my CL-S back last week and now it's gone again. Only this time for good!! It's too bad. The CL-S is a great car except for the stupid tranny problem.

It's been nice visiting this forum for the last 2+ years. I'll probably stop by from time to time to see how things are going.

Later

 

Congrats on the new car. Shame about the CLS. Post a review after a couple of thousand miles.

 

yo congrats on that new car... how much did you end up paying pre TTL?

 

congrats

 

Did you get 2003 or 2003.5?

 

great dude! good luck. JUST thought you should know though.......there's already a recall on the G35 sedan! apparently somethings wrong with the car's fuel line, that cause it to shut down while your driving!

http://www.safetyalerts.com/recall/a/02/v00358.htm

 

Sell out!!!!!!!

PS - What did you do with those Type-S floormats Dave?

 

MSRP: $34,185
Selling Price: $32,785.00
Out the door: $33,745.60
2001 CL-S Trade with 27403 miles: $19,000

When all was said and done I financed: $23,255.84

Loan is with PeopleFirst.com for 60 months: 5.24%

 

I got the 2003 (not 2003.5). I didn't order it but it literally just arrived today because I was waiting for one with the options and color I wanted. I was fully aware of the 2003.5 but none of the changes make that much of a difference to me. In fact, I prefer the old trunk design better. The new trunk looks the same as the CL/TL trunks (with the letters spread across the middle of the trunk). Not that there is anything wrong with that, but the old G35 trunk is more unique.

 

Yes, I'm aware of it. In fact, I meant to ask them to check it before I drove off and totally forgot!! Anyway, I'm thinking that I'm not affected by the recall because it's for around 20,000 vehicles in the US and Canada and my car is # 24007. I guess I will either take it back and have them check it or just wait and see if I get a recall letter when they get sent out in October.

The problem is that some G35s shipped with the fuel line connection from the gas tank not fully connected. If it were to disconnect obviously the engine would quit. The government I believe mandated the recall because of the potential for an accident or fire. However, it's really just a minor problem. No major mechnical problem. It's supposed to take 5 minutes for them to check it and fix it if necessary.

 

HAHA! So, how's your tranny holding up? Hopefully you won't have any problems. But, you know my opinion on that.

Anyway, I traded the car in with the Type S floor mats. I was going to put the original floor mats back in but they were kind of dirty. So, I left the Type S floor mats in and put the original floor mats in the trunk. I had no use for them.

But I still have a black Type S t-shirt that I bought from autocarparts.com.

 

aw no 35coupe

 

Funny you should say that. Because, the G35 coupe is the first of G35s that I took notice to (even though it's not even out yet). But, in the end I decided I wanted a more practical car. But, I really didn't give up performance getting the sedan. The G35 sedan (even without the sport package) still handles better than a CL-S or TL-S. This is where RWD and near 50/50 weight distribution really shines. The G35 coupe has 20 more HP but it also weighs a little more than the sedan (not sure why). Also, the G35 coupe is WAY small. It's a lot smaller than the CL-S.

I have typically owned sedans. The CL-S was a departure for me.

 

congrats, make sure to pop in and tell us how it is

 

BTW, I figure I will comment on the interior of the G35 since it's such a heavily debated topic here. While, I thought the interior looked great in pictures (unlike some others) I have to say it looks REALLY NICE in person. Of course this is partly biased since I just got the car and of course I want to say good things about it. However, I woudn't have bought it if I thought it was a downgrade from the CL-S. The interior is just as luxurious as CL-S. The materials feel high grade. And the orange/amber instrumentation is much better looking in person. The orange/amber instrumentation was the one thing I was concerned with before I saw it in person. But, it looks good and is a nice change since all my previous cars have been some shade of blue/green for the instrumentation.

I do not have the sport package. Because, I don't think the titanium-tint center console looks all that great. In fact, I would agree with anyone that said that the titanium-tint console looked cheap. It's the biggest reason I didn't get the sport package.

 

how much did you get for your Cl?

 

Congratulation on the new G35. My parent also has one, it's Twilight Blue, willow Leather, premium, winter, sunroof, xenon, navigation, full-sized spare tire. I love the everything about this car except that it's a bit loud when you stand outside of the car. Oh by the way, do you know there is a recall about the possibility of loose fuel line fo any G35 manufactured from 01/02-07/02? Just want to let you know. The notification will be sent out by Oct 7th. I wonder why took so long to let us know if the problem is so serious.

 

$19,000 with 27,403 miles.

 

Yes, I was aware of the recall (I commented on it in an earlier message in this thread).

Thanks

 

Good Luck with it man!
Ill stop by next week when you are at work to check it out!

 

19k for a 2001?! Ouch you got ripped!

23-24k for a 2002 trade in recently. 2001 I think it should be 210-22k.

 

I'm confused here. If you got $19,000 for the CL and the new car was $33,745, how could you have financed $23,255.84? Or does that amount include what you still owe on the CL?

 

TakeFlight, maybe now you'll make it to one of our meets. :P
You know, since you dont have the CL anymore, time to show off the G35.

Nitin: Yes, he prolly owned on the CLS

SilberBullet: The trade amount is about right if you dont negotiate much. I was quoted that amount as well.

 

Please post a review when you get the chance...how it compares to the CL-S! My bro is looking at getting the G soon and I can't wait. I think it's a nice car, but I had to get the CL-S 6 speed. I hope I will have a comparo between mine and the G soon!

 

Hey, congrats on the new car. I hope you have better luck with it, than u did w/ the CLS...I really would like to see pics of your interior. I wasn't a big fan of the G35's interior, but I never saw it w/ the optional wood. Maybe the wood will help me like it. Pleas post pics of the wood! thanks!

 

Not hardly. Kelley Blue Book for a 2001 Acura CL Type S with 27,500 miles (without NAV and with spoiler) in "good" condition is around $18,700. You might be able to sell it at retail for $21-$23 but it's not worth that in trade. Most cars lose about 40-50% of their value over the first two years. Acura retains value better but still...

 

Sorry, I didn't give all the details. I also put $5000 down and I owed about $13,500 on the CL. So, that was about $10,500 off the final price.

 

I never did make a meet. I had thought about it several times. Hmmm, crash (not literally ) the CL meet with my G35. Maybe.

 

You will have to wait until after the break-in period before I'll be able to give an accurate comparison. However, I can already tell you that the car feels more confident (including driver) making turns. You don't feel the weight shifting like you do with a FWD car. Much more balanced. As for the power, it's hard to say at this point because I really haven't stepped on it yet. Granted, I only have 50-60 miles so far because I just got it last night and haven't had a chance to drive it much yet.

The one thing I will say is that the CL's engine sound and exhaust note do sound better. But, I figured this would be the case. You gotta love the VTECH and dual exhaust on the CL. I'll be curious what the G35's engine/exhaust sounds like at WOT. However, I won't be finding that out for a while yet.

 

Baby that car thru the breakin and then let us know how it performs! Also, if you get the chance, do post some pics of the interior. My brother is debating the sport package (titanium interior and 5 spoke alloys), but he's unsure of the titanium...maybe some good pics of the interior w/ wood might suit him better. The titanium w/ wood looks a little cheesy...for myself, I like the titanium trim.

 

Actually, you can't get the wood package when you get the sport package due to the titanium-tint center console. You would have to go aftermarket. But like you said, it would look cheesy with wood and titanium-tint trim.

The main reason I didn't get the sport package was because of the titanium-tint center console. I don't like the look at all. However, the 5-spoke 17" wheels in the sport package are nice. The 6-spoke 17" wheels are also pretty nice, however.

I will get some pics in the next few days. I didn't leave the dealer until it was dark yesterday and it's been raining all day today. I probably won't get pics until Saturday or Sunday.

 

As requested, here are some pics of my new G35. I'll take more pics at a later time.







please disregard the clear plastic floormats on top of the factory mats. They don't look that great but I like to protect the factory floormats. When I take more pics I'll have to remember to take them out.

 

Nice choice I almost bought one , but bought a 99 GS 400 instead. It was a tough decission to make. The G 35 was the best deal @ the time & last month the ACURA tranny issue scared me away from the TLs.

 

Wow, I think the wood makes hella difference to the g35's bad interior. Infiniti should put wood somewhere eles in the center console.

 

I agree the wood looks good, that's why I got it. And it's "real" wood too. Obviously everybody has their own opinions, but sitting in my G35 I feel like I'm in a more luxurious car than the CL-S. IMO, pictures don't do it justice. But hey, if you like your CL interior, that's fine. But I get the feeling that many people just like to talk trash about other cars to make themselves feel better about their car. However, I'm not saying you are, just making a point based on the many negative comments on other G35 threads on this forum. Both the CL-S and G35 interiors are luxurious and sporty in their own ways. And I have the qualifications to say that since I've owned both.

 

Time for the first update...

I've had the car for 5+ days now and have about 340 miles on it. No where near the 1200 miles needed for break-in. So, of course I haven't floored it yet and generally I've been taking it easy. However, with each passing mile and as I get more familar with the car I've been pushing it a little harder. The one thing that is immediately noticeable is the balance and neutral handling in turns. Turns that I used to take with my CL-S that would feel uneasy and you would feel the body roll and the "FWD plow" are now such a joy. There is zero evident body roll and the car heads into and heads out of the turn with the same neutral balanced feel. It's hard to put into words but it is just a very confident feel when taking turns at moderate speed in the G35.

One thing I've noticed (again not even coming close to flooring it) is that there seems to be slightly less power right off the line compared to the CL-S, but at around 25-30MPH there is a huge surge of power that just continues all the way up to highway speeds. I can only imagine what this will feel like when I start to drive with a heavy foot again after the break-in period.

And the best thing of all.... silky smooth transmission shifts!! If you've read any of my recent posts over the last month you will know how important this is to me. If you haven't, then I'll get you up to speed... I joined the "Dead Tranny Club" about a month ago. This fact, and reading about the (unexpected 2nd gear shift at highway speed) is what set me down the path for purchasing a new car.