xydavid

OK I've been psyched about getting my 2k2 Maxima, but no one can find the colors & packages I want (said it might be another 1-2 months before they can locate one). In the meantime, I'm being charmed by the i35. It looks *kinda* aggressive in black on black with the sport package and spoiler... but still not as sporty & aggressive as the Max!! Now, I do have to say I like the leather in the i35, and the rear heated seats are certainly nice. And I do kinda like the way the nav system is motorized (but it's not touchscreen like the Maxima). But then again, the VDC on the i35 could come in handy! But then the i35 doesn't have titanium gauges. But then the i35 service is much, much, much, much better. And then free roadside assistance - I could probably throw my AAA card away. But then what's with the damned analog clock in the i35? analog? come on. And I haven't been able to find indiglo step plates for the Infiniti. But then I can probably get into the i35 this week vs. I dunno how long until I could get my max - maybe after all the specials are over.

The lease price will probably be almost the same for both cars with some special lease price Infiniti has right now.


I don't know what to do!

guverment

if i were you, i'd go with the i35 if the lease prices are the same, especially if you plan on getting your car serviced at the dealer. nissan dealership service just sucks and that seems almost as if it were a universal truth.

instead of the titanium gauges, you get the electroluminescent gauges which you usually only find on alot more expensive cars, standard HID, and you get better leather for the interior.

and, you get the car this week... instead of who knows when, but the biggest question I think would be whether you want to row it yourself through six gears or have a computer do it for you through four?

2001SE

Infiniti is more of an older people's car...if you have this young spirit then go with the maxima. The I35 could never beat the maxima in its sporty look. If you are not the type that mods and race and all then you can go with the I35 but if you mod and all then go with the maxima becasue it will look better on a maxima

tmds

xydavid,

Go with the I35. I ended up going with a 2001 I30t when I found that the lease prices for the 2001 SE/AE were the same as an I30t. Of course, at the time, the I30t offered a lot of features the Maxima did not.

With the 2002 Maxima, the features are more equivalent. However, I still think the styling of the I-series is more appealing than the Maxima, as long as you get the 17" wheels, spoiler, and tinted windows. I absolutely love the looks of my I30t.

I am surprised that you like the guages of the Maxima SE over the I-series. I really liked the Maxima SE guages, too, until I saw the blackened-out gauges of the I-series.

Ludacris

iTrader: (11)

Well if you're gonna want to differentiate your car costmetically from others, all you can do with the I35 is change wheels. Don't know if that matters.

I'd go for the I35 though, more or less the same car, just with a more elegant interior/exterior and Infiniti service! and if it's pretty much the same price...

mregenst

xydavid

Well... I did it. I got the i35. It's nice.. but I feel like I betrayed my Max. Was so hard to leave her like that at the dealership. Sadly they didn't give me d!ck for her either (as expected).

Although I had purchased a set of 2k2 xenons for the Maxima which I never got around to installing (along with the wiring harnesses). I'll be listing those on eBay soon (like before the credit card bill with the first car payment I made on it comes in!)

This i35 needs a little spirit... Need to get lower profile tires on this thing and get the dealer to put the spoiler on next weekend!

Blackgums100

on your new ride. You will be very happy with Infiniti's service, they treat you damn nice.

smokeybrnout

I would wait until this match (02) for the new I35. It will be rear wheel drive and much more sporting than current. Suppossed to compete with German sports sedans. Check out artice in autoweek.com under new Nissans.

imccasli

you mean G35(skyline in japan)

Ludacris

iTrader: (11)

Ludacris

iTrader: (11)

Oh and congrats on the car , what do you like most about it so far?

Robert_P

If I had the choice, I would go with the I35. See my post with the engine replacement problems on 2K SE and you will know why.
I don't know about the service, isn't it still Nissan? My Nissan dealer is adding on an Infinity outlet on the same lot. Who do you think will be servicing the cars? Are the lease payments that close? I am sorry I never looked into it.

xydavid

cost-wise it was a few more dollars, but not much. The value of the i35 was about $200-$300 more than the Max.

I love the new leather they've put into the i35... very plush. The electroluminescent gauges are hella cool too but they're really bright. Unfortunately the dimming doesn't appear to be in line with the radio controls, etc. so when you dim the gauges to a nice level the other lights are too dim.

So far the car is great. The only really thing that is kinda bugging is the turning radius. My 2k Max had a much better turning radius than the i35. I'm not sure why, considering they're virtually the same car. I did have 245/55's on my Max, but I don't think that would affect the turning radius.

tmds

Interesting. I don't find the display overwhelmingly bright, but I guess that's a matter of preference. I do think that it's super cool to be able to completely read the display during any lighting conditions.

Yeah, the turning radius sucks like hell.

Have you got the windows tinted yet? The I-series really looks sharp with tinted windows.

see5

I rather like the looks of the I35 compared to the Max. Classsy.
In my case it came down to 6 sp or no and 6sp was the only way. If I were going auto and had to spend a few extra k I would go with the I 35.

xydavid

No window tint yet. It looks as if the windows have been tinted from the factory (more so than the Max), so I'll wait and see how I like that. I need to get the spoiler put on next week and see if I can talk them into getting rid of the other brake light (I don't like two brake lights on a car!)

I also wonder if there's anything that can be done about the turning radius. If there's still room in the wheel well, it seems like maybe something could be adjusted?!? At least in my Max I could flip a b|tch to go the other direction on a 4-lane street. The i35 can't do it without a 3 point turn or going into the cross street!!!