Tag: Infiniti

XM vs FM

So, ever since I bought the G35, I’ve had a free subscription to XM radio with Traffic Nav.

At first, I didn’t really like it. I liked having my road updates every now and then when listening to the radio and I liked hearing the local news on the hour. But then I started playing with it more and more and I am in love with XM now. So many listening options that I can almost always find a song that fits my mood.

Traffic is a nice to have, but for some reason the G never seems to re-route me if there’s an accident or bad traffic ahead. It seems a lot of other people are having the same issues. So I’m not sure it’s worth paying for each month to get the traffic. Though, I do like being able to get in my car when I leave the office, hit “Go Home” and then have it tell me if I can expect any traffic. That way on the few occasions when there’s a bad accident, I can just re-route myself.

Its very annoying though that it can’t re-route you automatically via side streets, etc. It’s an expensive option! It should be able to do it.

Anyways, on Friday, my free subscription ran out. And I am DYING over here now. I cannot stand listening to FM radio any more. The constant annoying jabbering by the Djs, the stupid callers, etc. I just want to cut my ears out. And they are still playing music from 2 years ago and calling it. “New music from…. Snow Patrol!” blah blah blah. It’s NOT NEW any more!

I want my XM back! I’m very surprised that I did not get anything in the mail warning me that it would expire…

What a Beaut! The EX35

So, everyone knows by now that I bought an Infiniti G35 a couple months ago. It’s been a love/hate relationship so far because well, we all know I’m fucking cheap and this is an expensive car to own. Once you add up for Insurance, repairs, maint, gas and then actually paying for the car. It’s HUGE!

Anyways, I do LOVE the car itself. It’s so beautiful, it runs great, it drives great, it has all these nerdy things that I love, etc etc.

Well Infiniti just came out with a new vehicle. The EX35. This thing is just adorable and packed with fun features!

For a full overview check out the In the AutoBlog Garage article.

But basically this is just the G35 on steroids! I love that it’s got a huge trunk space, the seats fold down and it’s got a higher clearance, but it’s still pretty low and sleek looking.

My car was in for maint the other day and I sat in one and played with it. If only I had $45k to throw away on a car!

Go out and give one a test drive…. You’ll love it!

I’m the Biggest Asshole Ever

It’s ok. You can tell me.. I’m the biggest asshole ever.

I did get the G35… It was just such a great deal. I talked it over with Constantine before hand and gave him plenty of chances to say. “No don’t do it.” And if he had, I wouldn’t have done it.

Anyways, I ended up getting one from a different dealer. Which I’m glad I did look around because I found an even better deal then the one I talked about.

So the one I got is…
2007 Infiniti G35 Sedan
2,281 Miles
U01 – Navigation Pkg
– DVD-Based Voice Activated Navigation System w/Touch Screen and 9Gig Hard drive
– Plus XM Radio Feature.
P01 – Premium Pkg
– All Models Include Dual-Zone Automatic Air Conditioning
– Bluetooth Wireless Connectivity
– Garage Door Opener
– Driver’s Seat & Steering Wheel Memory
– Inside Automatic Day/Night Mirror
– Power Glass Moon Roof
– Bose Radio System.
– Power Tilt & Telescoping Steering Wheel.
– Heated O/S Mirrors w/Memory
– “Studio on Wheels” Radio System
– Power Driver’s Lumbar Seat Adjuster
– Heated Front Seats.
F01 – Technology Pkg
– Includes Brake Assist
– Adaptive Front Lighting System
– Reverse Backup Monitor
– Intelligent Speed Control.

It’s technically used, as it was a demo car at the Infiniti Headquarters here in SoCal, but it’s never been registered or anything, so get the full warranty and I got a GREAT deal on it!

I am having a little bit of buyers remorse and freaking out about the money, especially the gas money!! I kinda wish I had just gone with the Lexus IS250 which would have cost me a little bit more so that then I wouldn’t have this horrible feeling of taking Constantine’s car and I could probably enjoy it a little more.

I was sitting at the dealer and called him and talked for like 10 minutes making sure it was 100% ok with him. He did say that it’d be kinda cute, which I suppose it is. But I’m just getting Soooo much shit from everyone else. Which I suppose is well deserved.

The Adaptive front lighting system is really cool, when you go around corners it turns the headlights so you can see what’s there. But the Intelligent Speed control is a million times better.

This morning on my way into the office I got on the freeway and set it at 75, and then didn’t do anything the rest of the ride except for steer. Some guy at one point cut infront of me and then slowed down. My car, began braking and slowed down as well! It was fucking cooool! I had my foot ready and posed incase it didn’t do anything, but it did. Then as soon as that guy got out of the way, it was back up to 75. When we caught up to the cars in front of us, it slowed down again! Sooo neat!

The navigation on the other hand is dumber then bricks. I put in my destination this morning and instead of routing me directly to the freeway, it told me to take PCH all the way to long beach and then get on the 22 to the 405. Had I followed it, it would have taken me about 1.5 hours to get to work, instead of the 45 minutes it normally takes! I checked it to make sure it was set to use freeways and it was. So I’m not sure what’s up with that.

I’m also wishing that there would have been an option for a smaller engine. 306 HP is just too much, it would have been just fine with 200ish HP or so and would get much better gas milage.

List of reviews and awards

Anyways. Here’s a few media release pics:



Car Shopping

Sooo, everyone knows I’ve been car shopping. I have been doing that for like the last 2-3 years! Well I’ve been at it again. It seems that everyone I know has either already gotten a new car, or is looking at getting one. And they all have WAY newer cars then mine already! So I feel left out. Plus my car has been acting up lately. The Check engine light keeps coming on and then going off, and it’s been making really funny sounds after I get off the freeway.

Anyways, I also talked to my mom about buying one and she was like. “Just do it already. One of these days your car is just going to die on the freeway”. Another big factor is that this is the last year you can write off the sales tax on a new car purchase, plus I _think_ that the laws this year still allow me to write off the 50% depreciation as a business expense. (I can’t remember if it was this year or last year that the laws changed on that) This year I could really use all the write offs I can get.

Well I’ve been out test driving basically anything and everything that catches my fancy, here’s the list:

1) Honda Civic Hybrid – It’s a great car, don’t get my wrong. But I don’t think it’s what I want any more. A year ago, I would have bought it. But after driving it a few times, there’s just to many little things that would annoy me. The same as with my current Saturn. There’s these wierd little bumps and cubbies that make no sense and the seats just aren’t comfortable enough for me since I spend 2 hours a day in my car.

2) Saab 9-3 – Don’t get in this car… As long as you stand on the outside, it’s great. Great looking, Great warranty, great options and free maintenance for 3 years.. Just so fucking ugly once you get in. It’s like most great looking things… Nice on the outside and ugly on the inside. And plus why did they link the ONLY way to connect your phone to the car to be that you HAVE to have verizon wireless? WTF is up with that. So once I switch away from Verizon, there’s no point in having the OnStar shit. Though they did make me a great offer. A 2007 9-3 with 4,000 miles for only $23k. A demo car that is still basically new, never even been registered.

3) Saturn Aura Hybrid – Yes. I looked at another Saturn. I thought I’d give it a try and see how they’ve done in the last 7 years since I bought my car. The Aura is pretty nice overall. But it just still feels SO CHEAP still. And I’m not sure I could trust Saturn (aka GM) to build a hybrid that will last. Plus, for the price you’re paying for a “hybrid” you really don’t get THAT much better gas mileage.

4) Toyota Camry Hybrid – Another great car. I really like this one, however, I’m just not sure I could see myself driving it. It’s so big and feels very “old man”. Also, for the premium you pay for the hybrid, it’s really not worth it. I thought I had found a GREAT deal on a slightly used one, but the dealer… HUTCH wouldn’t fucking budge on the price. So I walked away.

5) BMW 3 series – The ultimate driving experience. That’s exactly what it is, but it’s just too much for me. Plus it seems like everyone here has a BMW. I want something at least a little different

6) IS 250 – I’ve loved this car since it came out in 2006. Back then, I was nearly ready to walk into a dealer and get one. But I just couldn’t bring myself to buy one at that point because I was making a lot less back then. I went in and talked to my local Lexus dealer and got them to come down $6,000 on a fully loaded IS 250 with navigation. Which would bring it into my price range that I’ve set and at 4.9% interest. I just can’t bring myself to spend that much money even though I could easily afford it.

7) Infiniti G35 – Yes, even though I gave Constantine sooo much shit for this car. It’s amazing. I went and test drove one the other day, just to see it and play with it for myself. I have to admit, I love this car now as well. I was never planning on even seriously looking at one after everything I said to Constantine. But my local Infiniti Dealer had an IS250 listed for sale on Cars.com or one of those sites. So I called him about it. We got to talking and he was like. “We also have a brand new G35 with navigation”. The deal is though that it’s anothe demo car, 3,000-4,000 miles on it and it’s a 2007. The final price he quoted me was under $30k which is exactly what I was looking for a year ago for a price range. 2.9% interest…. It’s the exact same color as Constantine’s too. I just can’t do that, I would be the biggest asshole ever. But it’s SUCH a fucking deal too.

8) Audi A3/A4 – I’ve loved the A3 since it came out, and the A4 is just a great car. However, I have a few friends who have A4’s and they say that once they hit 50k miles they just eat money in Maint. Which ever car I’ll buy, I’m going to keep for another 7-10 years. And the more money I spend on it, the longer I will probably keep it. Plus other friends are telling me that they are coming out with a new more fuel efficient engine “soon”. So I’m not sure how I feel about these.

9) Toyota Prius – Another great car and again, I probably would have bought one a year ago. But now they are just getting so old, they are in need of a major redesign.

10) BMW 1 series, A1, etc. – Oh! they aren’t out yet! But they both look like GREAT cars!

Edit:// Sorry forgot one:
11) Volvo C30 – It’s a great little cute car.. But really? It gets the SAME MPG as the Lexus or BMW, it’s smaller, and it costs about the same with fewer options… Are you serious Volvo? Comon! I know you _think_ you can compete, but you really can’t.

12) VW Jetta – This is another car I’ve heard lots of mixed reviews about. So I’m a little leary. Though I really did like it when I drove it.

13) Acura TSX – Another great car that is tops on my list. I don’t know how I forgot it! Really nothing wrong with it!

Ugh. Ultimately, I’ll probably keep the car I have for a while longer now… I’m just too indecisive about this, I need someone to just go out and buy it for me!!

So don’t be surprised when a blog post comes out about how I’m really pissed that I was stuck on the side of the I-405 for 2 hours waiting for someone to come pick me and my busted ass car up! 🙂

Halloween Night

So Wed night I went out to West Hollywood for all the crazyness that was going on there. I was in a pretty annoyed mood about a lot of different stuff which I’ll go into later.

Const and I got to Steve’s place about 5 and then we had to wait around for him to get there. We (including Jason) walked over to Trader Joe’s and bought some stuff.

Steve finally showed up after a long time of us thinking he was dead. And then the crazyness started. They were having a party at the house and lots of people were there all dressed up crazy and what not.

Headed down the street to the huge fair. It was SOO packed you had to shove your way through. I have NEVER seen that many people in one place! Insanity. We walked around and took pics. Not the best night ever, but it was alright considering how pissy I was.

West Hollywood Halloween 2007 pics are here.

Sooo, about the reason I was so pissy…. Monday, Constantine bought a new Infinity G35 car. He’s been talking about it since I met him. I’ve always thought he was just joking cause he keeps saying he’s going too and then he says, “I’ll wait till my car gets to 100,000 miles” or “I’ll wait another year” or something like that. So I didn’t think he’d randomly go out and buy one on what seems like a whim.

I know it shouldn’t bother me. We’ve only been dating about 3 months now, it’s not my money, it’s his. The right thing to do would have been to just act happy and congratulate him about his purchase. However, as we all know, I don’t hide my emotions very well. As Jason says, I’m as easy to read as a children’s book. So he of course knew I was unhappy. Wed on the way to Steve’s he brought it up and we got into an argument over it.

Honestly, I’m over-reacting a lot. There was just so much going between that and some other stuff at the office and in my personal life that I just couldn’t let it go.

I have these very high expectations for my life and my future partner’s life. I want to eventually own a Maserati. I want to have a nice life, with a condo in Europe and a cottage in Montana and the house we live in day-to-day. I want to be able to pay for Kiera’s college, I want to be partially retired by the time I’m 40. And at this point in my life, I don’t think that spending $33k on a car is really needed, or a very wise financial thing to do.

Between now and next year (when he would have purchased the same car), it will cost him about $10,000 extra. In additional payments, insurance, gas, maint etc over the life of the car. To me, that’s not just $10,000 that’s $33,000 over 15 years, or over the next 50 years that’s $538,782!! Without making an additional contributions.

Honestly, if he had waited a year, I would have felt better about it, I would have voiced my opinion more. Or if he had just bought one that was a year or two old now that would have been fine as well.

I want to eventually lead a nice life and be able to buy a nice car without even having to think about it. But like I said, at this point I don’t think it’s the thing to do.

So anyways, I was annoyed about that, we got into it about that. Then during the party we are standing outside waiting for Jason and Steve to come out. I’m trying to lighten things up and I just say. “Hey, What’s up?”. It’s something I’ve been doing since the day I met him. I always do it jokingly and as a cute little thing. I thought between us it was one of those little couply cute things. But then replies with “Don’t say that to me, I don’t like it”. Which was just like punching me in the chest. Seriously, if he didn’t like it he should have said something about it 3 months ago and told me to stop.

AND to make the night even worse, I had bought him a present, this really cute white shirt. So I buy it and have the lady wrap it up and everything. When I gave it to him wed night, there’s this huge yellow stain on the sleeve! UGH!

Things appear better now, he came over last night and everything was good. However, I’m still going to be a little upset every time we talk about the car, ride in the car, etc. It’ll take me a little bit to get over it. Not just about buying the car, if we hadn’t gotten into it, I’m sure it’d be fine by this weekend, but now it’s going to be on my mind as our first fight for as long as we are together.

Yesterday, I bought our train tickets for Europe and I accidentally purchased return tickets from Vienna to Prague on 11/27. Our flight back to the US is on 11/26! Opps! We’ll have to figure that out, hopefully I can change the date on the tickets.