Badges & Grills For The V35

[manc01]

I have a red 2004 V35 but I am not keen on the standard Nissan grill & badges (front & rear). I know that there are the Infiniti badges but I am not sure if I am that keen on them. A 350GT badge of some sort would be nice in the front grill if there was one similar to the GTR style badge but I have not seen one. There are also a few other grills but I am not sure of which one I like the best. I was wondering if you could share with some photos what you have on your car? I do like the billet grille but there may be something better. If I take off the Nissan rear badge & Skyline badges will the paint underneath be noticeable that it has been removed? I am getting the car cut & polished tomorrow so that may help if it is removed.

I also quite like some of the headlights available & wonder if anyone has changed them?

Edited December 17, 2011 by manc01

[Nightcrawler]

It is already painted under your rear badges - just remove them, get rid of the sticky stuff and give it a good polish - you will never know they were there ....

[sonicii]

If you remove the rear badges, it should just need a clean and polish, and you shouldn't notice where they were, unless your car has seen a lot of sun..

As for the headlights, I think iPEX is an american company, so these headlights may be desiged for a LHD car, which will make them illegal to use on a RHD car here.

Edited December 17, 2011 by sonicii

[Nightcrawler]

Problem with those (and any headlights you buy out of the USA) is that they are right direction biased - that is they were designed for driving on the right hand side of the road. They would blind oncoming motorists .... most likely the first cop going the other way at night would nab you - mind you there are some people on here who have been running them and haven't had any problems. you can adjust them so far to try and make them less blinding to oncoming cars, but the actual shape of the light spread is wrong for LHD cars.

[Nightcrawler]

LOL snap sonicii

[manc01]

Nice advice on the headlights, I hadn't though of that . I will probably take the Nissan Badge off on the rear. Would an Infiniti badge look better or something else or just leave bare? I guess it is just personal taste. Some pictures would be nice.

[sonicii]

Glad you went into a bit more detail.. as the next question is usually 'why are they illegal'..

[Stuart McK]

If I take off the Nissan rear badge & Skyline badges will the paint underneath be noticeable that it has been removed? I am getting the car cut & polished tomorrow so that may help if it is removed.

A hair dryer and dental floss. Heat up the badge and general area, and use the dental floss to separate the badge from the car when the glue is softened. Wax clean - done!

You should find heaps of photos of 'de-nuded' cars on g35driver.com.

Edited December 17, 2011 by Stuart McK

[gkzlah]

+1 for stuarts post.

I've actually removed my badges, I was just going to leave the "350GT" badge on the rear in the original position, but it just didn't look right.

changed my grille to the gialla style grille as well so no badges whatsoever I like making people think about what car it is lol

[sonicii]

Nice advice on the headlights, I hadn't though of that . I will probably take the Nissan Badge off on the rear. Would an Infiniti badge look better or something else or just leave bare? I guess it is just personal taste. Some pictures would be nice.

You are right, it really depends on personal taste. In my opinion, I don't really see the point of removing the Nissan badges and fitting Infiniti badges. I guess it reminds me too much of the people that think Chevrolet badges look good on their Australian built Commodores. But then again I don't like the look of debadged cars either.. The one advantage I can see with debadging is you don't need to worry about some loser with a screwdriver stealing you badges and damaging the panels.

Just do a google images search, there will be plenty of G35s on there with infiniti badges, and plenty of debadged G35s and V35s for you to check out, then just go with whatever you like the best.

[Stuart McK]

You are right, it really depends on personal taste. In my opinion, I don't really see the point of removing the Nissan badges and fitting Infiniti badges. I guess it reminds me too much of the people that think Chevrolet badges look good on their Australian built Commodores. But then again I don't like the look of debadged cars either..

Ordinarily I'd agree with you, but Nissan announced last year that they would be bringing the Infiniti into Australia by end 2012. The estimated cost I recall for a locally-released G37 would be ~$95-100K. Sometime around then, an Infiniti-badged Series 1 or 2 V35 would be looking pretty good for resale value IMHO.

[sonicii]

hmm.. I'm not convinced there will be too many buyers duped into paying extra by a few badges, it won't take much research to discover they are exactly the same as the V35 Skylines out there selling for less. You might get couple of buyers with more money than brains.. but they are going to be fairly rare.

I also don't think Nissan are going to do very well selling the G37 locally for that sort of money unless the import of the V36 is banned.. you can pick up a 1 year old V36 with less than 10,000km for less than half that figure

[Stuart McK]

hmm.. I'm not convinced there will be too many buyers duped into paying extra by a few badges, it won't take much research to discover they are exactly the same as the V35 Skylines out there selling for less. You might get couple of buyers with more money than brains.. but they are going to be fairly rare.

I also don't think Nissan are going to do very well selling the G37 locally for that sort of money unless the import of the V36 is banned.. you can pick up a 1 year old V36 with less than 10,000km for less than half that figure

I could write a thesis-sized paper for why you are so wrong, but I don't have time. You need to understand how the low volume import regulations work to understand why earlier models will not be banned once the current is available in 'unlimited plate numbers' in Australia. Anyway...

We pay that price because of the fact that they are Low Volume Imports. At the moment, the V35 is seen as an 'enthusiast import' with all the challenges that entails - some real (e.g. insurance, because they are imports), some perceived (e.g. parts, which are really no problem) - so the price reflects that. Should the Infiniti brand become mainstream, with a dealer network to support it, it will become less 'of a risk'. The cost will be set based on the local market it is targeted against (e.g. Lexus, BMW M3, etc) - hence the ~95K+ figure. Wannabe's *will* do their research, see the differential between, and our older imported vehicles (with still low Klms) for less than 1/3 of the price will seem attractive in comparison.

Of course, should Nissan change their mind again (not the first time following the first Infiniti release in Aust), all bets are off...

Edited December 17, 2011 by Stuart McK

[sonicii]

Which part am I wrong on? The sales figures of the Infiniti G37 (if it actualy goes on sale here), or the value of the current V35s?

I doubt the value of the V35 is going to change, especially if the import rules still allow them to be imported, because the import cost is not based on resale value here. We pay the current price based on the auction price in Japan, shipping, import duty, GST and compliance.

The other big 'if', are mainstream Infiniti dealers going to suport the V35, or will they only stock parts for the cars they actually sell here. my money is on the latter.

I think Infiniti is going to have a challenge ahead to take on Lexus, BMW, Merc, etc with a largly unknown brand in Australia. At the ~100K pricetag, they are going to be targeting buyers who aren't just interested in a good car, but also the status. If Infiniti doesn't give that status, they are likely to look elsewhere.

I'm happy to be proven wrong though..

[projectx]

Ordinarily I'd agree with you, but Nissan announced last year that they would be bringing the Infiniti into Australia by end 2012. The estimated cost I recall for a locally-released G37 would be ~$95-100K. Sometime around then, an Infiniti-badged Series 1 or 2 V35 would be looking pretty good for resale value IMHO.

I was thinking the same thing. When people see the crazy prices that infiniti's will go for in Australia, they will jump at the chance to own basically the same car in near new condition at much less $ even if its a private import. This demand should push prices up. Also when Infiniti finally gets released here, the advertising will begin and people will know what these cars are all about. At the moment, most people still dont have a clue.

If you gave me the choice of a 370Z or a 370GT, I would pick the 370GT any day. Even if they cost the same. Right now Its just lucky that they cost less. But not for long

All that said, the V36 may not even see the australian market because its nearly 5 years into production.

[projectx]

Which part am I wrong on? The sales figures of the Infiniti G37 (if it actualy goes on sale here), or the value of the current V35s?

I doubt the value of the V35 is going to change, especially if the import rules still allow them to be imported, because the import cost is not based on resale value here. We pay the current price based on the auction price in Japan, shipping, import duty, GST and compliance.

The other big 'if', are mainstream Infiniti dealers going to suport the V35, or will they only stock parts for the cars they actually sell here. my money is on the latter.

I think Infiniti is going to have a challenge ahead to take on Lexus, BMW, Merc, etc with a largly unknown brand in Australia. At the ~100K pricetag, they are going to be targeting buyers who aren't just interested in a good car, but also the status. If Infiniti doesn't give that status, they are likely to look elsewhere.

I'm happy to be proven wrong though..

I see what your saying, your right on the V35. It probably wont go up by much if anything. But the V36 has better chance to increarse in value. Depending on when infiniti gets there asses into gear open up shop. Also i think 100k will be pushing it. My guess is the starting price will be between 60 and 80k. People will realise that its just a luxo version of a 370z. No one would by it for $40k more just to get 2 extra seats and some electric gizmo's.

*edit* i think the dealers will be happy to work on imported cars and order parts etc.. Its obviously not going to be under warranty though..

Edited December 17, 2011 by projectx

[Stuart McK]

Which part am I wrong on? The sales figures of the Infiniti G37 (if it actualy goes on sale here), or the value of the current V35s?

I doubt the value of the V35 is going to change, especially if the import rules still allow them to be imported, because the import cost is not based on resale value here. We pay the current price based on the auction price in Japan, shipping, import duty, GST and compliance.

Again, you need to know how the RAWS Scheme works. If the Year/Brand/Model appears on the 'Specialist and Enthusiast Vehicle' Register and complied then it can be plated - either in limited numbers (low volume import) or unlimited (generally distribution). The Skyline V35 up to 2007 and V36 from 2006 are listed, and the Infiniti G37 is listed from 2007. So the rules *will* still allow them to be imported. Also, auction price is set by the bidders - if greater demand the price will rise. Anyway, I wasn't suggesting we could sell our cars for more, my point is that they will retain their value better once brand recognition with Wannabees builds. But who knows...

And it works the other way - models beyond 2012 (if that's when Nissan are approved to deal Infiniti locally) will not be able to be imported as low volume imports.

The other big 'if', are mainstream Infiniti dealers going to suport the V35, or will they only stock parts for the cars they actually sell here. my money is on the latter.

New vehicle dealers have to stock/distribute parts for the models they sell. However, this will give them (and us) access to the wider Nissan supply chain for other model parts, although admittedly at 'Genuine' prices. I suggest they would be driven to do this if more V35 owners take vehicles to Infiniti Service departments for regular maintenance. I'll only take 'big' work for my V35 to my local Nissan dealer myself now, for example.

I think Infiniti is going to have a challenge ahead to take on Lexus, BMW, Merc, etc with a largly unknown brand in Australia. At the ~100K pricetag, they are going to be targeting buyers who aren't just interested in a good car, but also the status. If Infiniti doesn't give that status, they are likely to look elsewhere.

This is the class the Infiniti brand already targets in the U.S. The targets here will be much the same, although the marketing strategy may be different. But you are right in that the challenge will be in building the brand locally. This is the same challenge that Toyota had a decade ago when they brought the Lexus in as their luxury brand - and look at it now! I read that Infiniti dealerships will be specially selected - one in each Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane - but these would grow in time. This implies to me that Nissan will be cautious in how they target the vehicles and build the brand here.

Regardless, only time will tell. And we are now off topic...

Edited December 17, 2011 by Stuart McK

[manc01]

Some interesting discussion, maybe worthy of another thread? But yes off topic, now can anyone post some pictures of modified grills & badges?

[Stuart McK]

Some interesting discussion, maybe worthy of another thread? But yes off topic, now can anyone post some pictures of modified grills & badges?

Yep - sorry about that. I've owned numerous imports over the years (all Skylines) and very passionate on the subject.

Seriously, go to g35driver.com and do a search on both subjects. For example, 'removing badges' returns many hits with before and after photos. The marketplace on the site also has numerous dealers able to ship after-market grills and Infiniti badging (if so inclined) over here too. I've bought items from a number myself.

Edited December 18, 2011 by Stuart McK

[sonicii]

Some interesting discussion, maybe worthy of another thread? But yes off topic, now can anyone post some pictures of modified grills & badges?

yeah, sorry about that. How did the google images search go? I just searched for 'G35 debadged' and there are heaps of examples on there, even that search turned up quite a few infiniti badged G35s. If you do a search on G35 Grille, you will also turn up a lot of different grill options too. I guess the hard part is knowing what type of grille it is. If you find something you like, maybe post it here and see if anyone can give you an idea of who makes it?

Off topic - Thanks for the input Stuart - lots of good information..