Should I Get A V36?

[manc01]

I have been really happy with my V35 but I now will be getting a car allowance for work. I presume that I will have to spend some money in the process & can't really find anything that I am happy with & I still love my V35. About the only thing that I would be interested in is a V36 or the new Infiniti Coupe but that is probably going to be around the 100k mark which I don't want to spend.

So for the money the only car that I am remotely interested in is the V36. I do have a few reservations though. What could be the impact of the new Infiniti on this model if I sell it in a couple of years from now? Are there any other factors that I should consider if I do look at getting one?

I don't know a great deal about them as I always thought that they were a bit out of my price range. I also do not know a great deal about the various models on offer. Is the Japanese instrumentation & entertainment system a pain to operate? There are not a lot of them available on carsales.com.au. Are there some other places that I should be looking?

I have a manual V35 but may consider an auto. I do not think that there are a lot of manuals available. I would also like either black or red preferably with a sunroof. Again that may be a hard ask. Any discussion would be appreciated :-)

[Seano350GT]

Predicting the market in the future once the V36's have properly launched and begun selling is so hard to tell. People will tell you they will appreciate and people will tell you they will depreciate (V35).

If Infiniti have a hard time selling them at around the 100k mark as it appears that's what they're going to start at, they will reduce the prices. I still think you'd be crazy to jump in and buy one the second they are launched. It's like with game consoles, you don't buy one the day they launch instead you wait a few months. At least that's what i would do..

But yeah at the moment it's difficult to tell.

[The Max]

So for the money the only car that I am remotely interested in is the V36. I do have a few reservations though. What could be the impact of the new Infiniti on this model if I sell it in a couple of years from now? Are there any other factors that I should consider if I do look at getting one?

Harder to pick than a broken nose and I definitely don't have crystal balls. Other factors would be the unusable navigation system, the Japanese menus, the lack of cruise control on most of them (though I never used it much in the past). Those would potentially hurt your ability to resell the vehicle when there's an Aussie version available with the right languages and navigation, albeit more expensive.

I don't know a great deal about them as I always thought that they were a bit out of my price range. I also do not know a great deal about the various models on offer.

http://www.j-spec.com.au/wiki/Nissan/Skyline/V36/id-509

Is the Japanese instrumentation & entertainment system a pain to operate?

Not really. Once you start memorising symbols and/or menu layouts, you can comfortably navigate your way around the essentials. Then there is also this great manual which can be found right here: http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/332357-v36-skyline-japanese-translation-document-work-in-progress/

There are not a lot of them available on carsales.com.au. Are there some other places that I should be looking?

Have you considered going to the effort of importing one from Japan yourself? That's how I got mine. I wasn't inclined to buy one from a local dealership because of my lack of faith in car salesmen. It was all fine when I bought my '03 BA wagon a couple years ago but not for a car of this value. Then to buy privately, again, you're at the mercy of someone who will hopefully be honest enough to tell you if it was purchased from a dealership and if there were any issues with it, given that there are dealerships out there with a reputation for getting in cars that are less than grade 5A and not doing much to fix them up for minimal fuss as opposed to just fixing them for sale.

Caveat emptor dude.

I have a manual V35 but may consider an auto. I do not think that there are a lot of manuals available. I would also like either black or red preferably with a sunroof. Again that may be a hard ask. Any discussion would be appreciated :-)

There are plenty V36s available in black and red. At least, there were plenty of them when I was waiting for the right one to come along last year. It took me 7 months of patiently waiting but finally the one I was after surfaced at an auction and I had my agent deal with it right away. Oh and it is pearl white. I don't like black because it's a difficult colour to keep clean and hide scratches. I avoid red because that colour does tend to show visible signs of fading easily. And I definitely avoided the sunroof because despite it adding value, it really is a useless feature for me and it's just another weak point where water can leak through. Each to their own though. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Keep in mind that a good V36SP (i.e. with all the bells, whistles and luxuries) with say less than 25,000km will still set you back around $55k on road, if you decide to import yourself as I did. That will save you around $5k compared to getting one of comparable quality in from a dealership. It's still a fair amount cheaper than the V37 that Infiniti Australia will be flogging.

The ultimate question is, how long are you willing to wait? Do you want to get rid of your V35 before it loses any more value? Would you be prepared to drive around in a nugget before settling on your nice car?

If the money is burning a hole in your pocket, cautiously look around for a locally available vehicle. If you can give it a few months at least, import from Japan. If you can wait a near eternity until the right one comes along, either import from Japan or buy from Infiniti Australia if they decide they were too overzealous on the pricing and ultimately reduce it to something that can be deemed reasonable. It's all up to you.

[t5iv]

^best. Advice. Ever.

[manc01]

Thanks for the great advice. I guess first up I should probably have a look at one & take if for a drive. I don't know of any available in Adelaide. Infiniti really could do well with this IF they were to sell it at a reasonable price say about the 70K mark. At 100K + I think that they are going to struggle. The other alternative & probably the sensible one may be to wait for a year to see how things pan out. There is not a great deal of information available on the new one that is going to be released locally from what I can see. If anyone has any info please post some links

[Alkatraz]

Keep in mind that a good V36SP (i.e. with all the bells, whistles and luxuries) with say less than 25,000km will still set you back around $55k on road, if you decide to import yourself as I did. That will save you around $5k compared to getting one of comparable quality in from a dealership. It's still a fair amount cheaper than the V37 that Infiniti Australia will be flogging.

Agreed with the great comments by Max, except for the one above. My 08SP cost me just over $40k on the road around 16 months ago. I did get lucky and got a great deal but now that the 3year Shakan on many 09 models is due, if you look hard enough i think you could get something for well under $50k. Add a few grand ontop if you want a black one with a sunroof, but if u are patient you'll get something.

[The Max]

I should have noted that mine is an '09 model (with the 7-speed auto) which I won in the auction in November 2011. Having checked on a few of the import agents' sites, including the guy I dealt with, they seem to have plateued at $52k but I still say allow yourself $55k.

[ChrisB]

Paul, you could just buy mine and be done with it!

[t5iv]

I should have noted that mine is an '09 model (with the 7-speed auto) which I won in the auction in November 2011. Having checked on a few of the import agents' sites, including the guy I dealt with, they seem to have plateued at $52k but I still say allow yourself $55k.

Better to find out that you've saved a few dollars as opposed to being out of pocket.

[The Max]

Better to find out that you've saved a few dollars as opposed to being out of pocket.

Absolutely. While I did the math, I still budgeted for $60k for anything unforeseen. Better to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

[Seano350GT]

Hopefully in the next 1-2 years the V36's have dropped a little bit in price and you can still buy a 2011 with very low km's at a good price, might possibly be my next car. Love the features and power/looks

[J.C.]

Hi

Im a new member/owner, V36 sedan SP lots of exrta's;- dissappointing about the gps, and could someone tell me what the "carwings" do' sounds spectacular

Dont know if my input is worth anything but ...here it is -I have just bought a '07 sedan from a Sydney dealer (auto not drug..maybe)and drove her back home to Qld central coast WOW, the speedo showed 11500km hope it was close to the mark, Having driven a couple of new vehicles it feels new(tight) all leather is excellent.

Don't expect she will hold value once the Infiniti rears it's head simply because of the language/gps thing and the grey "unknown" past.

So buy one if you want the 'special comfort performance' thing, the electronics are excellent the side mirror camera the seats that auto adjust to your key and slid back when you turn off the ignition and open the door etc etc etc....as far as I know the only people who make money out of cars are salesman worry about the Infiniti when it shows and besides maybe the electronics (gps etc) will slot straight in (LOL) :-0

J.C.

P.S. Any hints as to how/who to see to service my "GIRL"

[t5iv]

New car sounds great mate. You said that you're in QLD central coast. Where's that?

[manc01]

ChrisB what are the details of your car?

[NORBY]

ChrisB what are the details of your car?

i dont know the specifics but he brought it to the melb meet and its super clean!

[ChrisB]

Just check carsales.com

search by rego

rego is GTS370

ie. 370 GT Type S