Help me decide what car to look for next!
 

so i'm hoping to scrounge up some money this year and hopefully by the end of the year be able to put a sizable down payment on a 2nd vehicle. my truck has been fantastic and i still love it just as much as the day i bought it almost 6 year ago now. however, there isn't a whole lot of room inside the back to carry all my photography gear and/or extra passengers when people come to visit me. i just have a few requirements which limits my list pretty considerably. i want leather (preferably heated) power seats, four doors, mid size, and manual transmission. this will mostly be a highway car going to meets and photo gigs so highway fuel mileage important tho i'm getting 22mpg in the truck and as long as it's not worse than that, i'll be happy. i've basically narrowed it down to the three vehicles in the poll above. what i'm looking for is people who've owned the vehicles or had good friends who had them that are familiar with the ins and outs of each car. as for the infiniti, i'm hoping the G37s will come down in price into the bracket they are affordable to me (trying to stick to $20k-ish or less if possible) by the end of the year. so you tell me, out of the three above, which one should i focus my search on when the time comes and why?

s4 ;-)

i know they are awesome, my friend's mom had one that i did a photoshoot of (the car, not the mom :rolleyes:) and i was duly impressed. i had almost completely ruled against getting german cars. i definitely do not want a BMW or Mercedes. what i like about the S4 is the awesome seats, the v8-in-the-smallest-car-we-make packaging and the awesome AWD which will be nice in inclement weather. did you own one? if so, what were your experiences with it?

Hands down G37!!!

If AWD is important to you, have you considered the G37x S? Not familiar with all the trims available in the US, but in Canada, an AWD S version is available (though you'd lose the 6MT).

Is the interior and trunk room of the S4 enough for you? Mind you, I've brought photo gear including small assembled softboxes to photoshoots with my Z...but there wouldn't necessarily be enough room for a passenger in some cases. So, either S4 or G37 should be enough for photo gear...I guess it depends on how much stretching room you want for your passengers. BTW, doesn't the current S4 have a supercharged 3.0L V6...or are you looking at a pre-2009?

Between the two, I would choose the G37. :tup:

Good luck with your decision.

the AWD G37 is only available in the US in non-sports and only in automatic. i'd rather have manual if i can. just a person preference. if i can get a 37, i wouldn't mind the 7AT trans, but if it's a 35, it'll have to be a manual. i hate that older 5AT, it's crap... AWD is not a priority, but it definitely is a plus in the other two's category and really the only negative about the infiniti tho it makes it up a little bit with a mechanical LSD in the sport models (i believe, someone correct me if i'm wrong).

that's the big negative for the audi imo is the cramped back seat. the trunk isn't bad tho it's not as big as the subaru and the infiniti. yea i would not be able to afford a v6 s/c'd S4, those are too new. also, if i'm going to get one, i'd want a v8 one. i realize the v6 is slightly more powerful, vastly more efficient but it's also drastically more expensive. i've seen decent S4's going for the low 20's

Infiniti:tup:

I had an infiniti g35 in a previous life. Loved it. In fact, should have just kept it.

g35/37 for sure. Best mpg of the bunch, sporty and meets all your practicality/luxury needs. Will also be cheaper on maintenance than the S4. And you don't need the awd of the subie (i'm assuming here).

(also, if you feel like modding it a bit, Z1 and Forged are close by are ready to help you out. :tup:)

Oh, and it keeps you in the ol Nissan family. (hugs)

that's pretty much been my plan phil all along but i was opening it up for discussion amongst the community just to see where experiences were

The pole makes it obvious.

Yeah. You want me to just delete the other options? :roflpuke2:

Be a man and buy a Z, ya big fluffy jerk.

The G has better MPG and the Subaru is a very nice car too, fast, quiet and stable.

Forget about the Audi unless you have reserve funds for repairs.

$0.02

Definitely!!! :icon18:

Juno said get the G35/37 as well.

/\ she also said that too. :p

:shakes head: you people... :rolleyes:

Just a thought. I was going to get rid of my titan and bought a G37. Had it for like 3 months and realized I was "settling". I really wanted a 370Z. The issue was room and the fact that it was only a 2 seater. My wife suggested, "why don't you just keep your truck?". Not sure if yours is paid off but my titan is. It was the best decision I made. There is no substitute for a truck! I would suggest getting a bed cover that locks and that gives you PLENTY of protected storage. With all my sports stuff going on, I drive it every weekend and it's pretty nice not to care about a bunch of inconsiderate teenagers spilling their soda's and junk on my carpet and seats. I just know from experience, once you've had a truck, you'll eventually go back to one. Don't get me wrong, the g37 is a nice ride but it's one of those "in between" cars. In between a true sports car and a sedan/transporter. A truck is in a totally different category! It will be hard to replace that when you need to haul a bunch of equipment or do some work in the backyard. If there is anyway, especially since your truck has been so good to you, KEEP THE TRUCK!

That said.....with all the choices you listed, I'd pick the G37s. Good luck!

I'd recommend you look at a B5 S4, as well. If your budget is 20 grand, you can buy one & have plenty of money left to maintain it.
It kind of sounds like you'd prefer a Japanese car, so i vote G37

Join the Subaru army already, Patrick. We have cookies.

Dude, I know I have said this before but, "don't get a VW!" My brother-in-law went to the special VW tech school outside of Chicago. He worked on them for 2 years and couldn't take all the stupid engineering and electrical problems. And that only starts some of my stories about how awful VWs are. They look cool but it's not worth the headache. Definitely stick with the G35/G37.

I have to say that when I first saw your avatar it looked like the offspring of an acura ti and 370z!! Love it!

http://www.the370z.com/members/roadz...00302487-s.jpg

oh i'm planning to keep the truck, it's been paid off for well over 2 years now. the frontier is great but it's really cramped inside. it doesn't have that space the titan has (my friend has a KC titan and i swear it's got more room inside than a CC frontier). that makes a big difference. also, i'm planning to get a roll up cover but that's not a high priority. i'm also thinking of the future, if i buy this car, i plan to keep it 10+ years and hopefully by then i'll be starting a family. having the Z would be fun, no doubt, but it's not practical for my side job (photography) or as a family car in any way shape or form. i do like to drive athletically but i'm not going to be tracking it at all, i just want something nice for the highway.

appreciate all the feedback guys, keep it coming!

i know, trust me, i'm an ordained minister in the "never buy a VW" church but the S4 is really a "cut above the rest". that's a good thing and a bad thing. the reliability overall seems to be pretty good based on what i've heard and read but yea i'd prefer to stick with japanese. it was just an option and i was willing to listen if we had a bunch of guys come in here and say "yea i had an S4 for x years and it was awesome, never had any problems" etc.

B6 (v8 S4s) have the DI v8 motor right? Carbon buildup on the heads requiring cleaning every 20K miles or so (not cheap). These cars are nice, but not worth the headache imo.

the S4 does not, it has the 340hp v8 from the A8 sedan, the RS4 has the DI 420hp motor

What do you mean "you people"?!

http://www.steadyburn.net/wp-content...cthunder15.jpg

I consider my Z a family car! I treat her like one of kids! lol

Seriously though, I really did think that the g37 was going to be it for me. I really liked it. Really tough to do anything together as a family unless we have a back seat. There were many times that my wife would be running around town and call me to pick up one of the little ones. I felt like I really needed something that had 4 doors or at least a back seat. Enter the Cadillac SRX. I enjoyed that car but then it felt like we had 2 family cars. I couldn't get rid of my truck because I constantly needed it for the weekends. Traded the SRX for the G37s. I loved that car for about a month. Then one of my co-workers bought a 40th Z. I looked at it parked next to my G37s and felt like I had settled. Not sure if thats the midlife crisis but I felt like the Z is what I really wanted and I settled for the G because I felt like it was "necessary". Maybe I'm just getting old but I didn't want to settle for what was ok for me and great for everyone else.

I had to really think about it before I bought the Z. Talked it over with my wife and she said..."You deserve it, buy your Z, we'll make it work". That's all I needed to hear.

I say all of this because so far I've read every reason why you NEED one of the three TYPES of cars in your poll but not sure if you prefer them over a Z. If you say "I really like these 3 cars over the Z" then I guess none of this really matters. That said, if you really like the Z, but feel like it's not the right car for you because of your current situation, that's cool too. I know how difficult it is to make a decision for yourself when others are depending on you. At the end of the day though, is it just a car or is it something you are passionate about? Weird but when I'm driving my Z I just feel better. I can't explain it. I feel like it's my time away even for just 5 minutes down the street. My wife laughs and says it's my "Z time". She is happy because I'm happy. My kids love my Z, they even help wash and take care of it. Isn't that the true definition of a "family car"?

Good luck on your decision brother!

i completely see your point of view on that^ but i'm in that frame of mind where i like the z a lot (though i'd be hard pressed not to buy a 5.0 instead if i'm honest :stirthepot: ) but i really do want 4 doors. 4 door Z = G35/37 sedan. i'm more concerned with this purchase for the extra space, the better ride, the more luxury features, etc. not a damn thing wrong with the Z, just not what i want right now. i'll own one at some point in my life but first i need a good travel car

side note: if the new maxima offered a manual transmission, that'd be a no brainer. i'd buy one in a heartbeat. i love the way the new maxi looks. too bad it only comes in CVT :wtf:

LOL i have a g37 6mt, its not as sporty as you want it to be... i also test drove the s4 last week and that car is just amazing....

Alright you convinced me! Go for the G37s. Really a great car for your purposes. I think in terms of reliability and service, Infiniti is a safer bet. I test drove a mercedes, lexus, audi and cadillac sts before buying the G37s (coming from an SRX). It was by far my favorite in all categories except power. You'll be happy with it. Sorry for the preaching! Sometimes hard to control the father in me! Good luck!

i don't want it to be sporty... i want it to be quiet and comfortable but not a buick either

Honestly Patrick I can't picture you in anything but a truck.

G35 is nice too. Basically the same body as G37. I don't think it comes with Navi if I remember correctly.

I very very sure that v8 in the S4 suffers from the carbon buildup as well and actually looses hp unless it's cleaned frequently. (trying ot remember all the details from when I had my R32 and was active on some of the VAG boards).


bottom line: stay the hell away from any German cars unless you like spending money unnecessarily for "extra" maintenance.

I agree about the German cars. We would be homeless if we didn't get the maintenance contract on wife's benz. It is really insane what they charge for basic maintenance let alone if anything ever goes out on it. We already agreed to trade it in once the contract is up. If you go with the audi, be ready for a lot of "extra" maintenance!

nah phil, trust me, this is the engine bay in the B6 S4 i took pics of:

http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/...4_Jo4FY-XL.jpg

i think you are correct because none of the manual G35s' i've seen have nav and some of the 37's i've seen do. nav isn't a must as i usually use my android phone anyway but it would be nice to have in the car. for me i could take it or leave it, it's not a deal breaker either way

scooby-doooooo

/\ looks like the pic of an engine that suffers from carbon buildup.:stirthepot:

:facepalm: :shakes head: :rolleyes: don't start with me phil... you will LOOSE! :bowrofl: