Infiniti Dealers Really Need To Just Shut Up And Sell Their Own Product

Was in an Infiniti dealership today, to get some information on the G35 sedan. It's a vehicle I've had my eye on for a bit now, and I wanted some comprehensive stuff on packages, features, and most importantly, pricing. It's all going fine at first. I appear to have a salesman who knows his vehicle very well, is very polite and courteous, and seems to have a grasp of the competition out there.

And then he started going kooky.

The first issue was that he wouldn't shut up about the most recent Motor Trend mag comparo that gave a victory to the G37 coupe over the BMW 330i coupe (mostly because the BMW was too expensive and needs an oil cooler badly). Umm excuse me, I'm not looking at a G37 coupe- I'm looking at the G35 sedan remember?

The second issue was that he kept bringing up residuals on the G35. The residual on a 2007 G35 Sport on a 48 month lease with no money down works out to be about 21k CDN. His argument was that most G35 sedans from 2003 (4 years ago) retail for around 28k CDN, making the G35 residual a great thing. But... he's wrong. A 4 year old G35 in good condition with about 100,000 kilometers runs, wait for it, about 21-22k. And he wouldn't shut up about this, heaping scorn upon BMW in particular for having such high residual values. I mean, who would want a vehicle that has a lot of value when you want to sell it.... right? Please note my sarcasm there.

Third, he tells me that the 2007 G35 uses the same VQ as the Altima et al. I even gave him a chance to backtrack on this, and he insisted (okay, so this is more me being a know it all bastard, but I digress).

And then this happens.

Him: So one of the other vehicles you're looking at is the Lexus IS?
Me: Yeah, it seems to be the Lexus most closely aligned with what the G35 is.
Him: Oh yes, but it's quite a bit more expensive.
Me: I understand that.
Him: It's also smaller.
Me: I understand that.
Him: Did you know that the IS250 is based on the Toyota Corolla, and the IS350 is based on the Toyota Camry? Why pay a premium for that?
Me: Huh?

He kept insisting this. In a way, I can understand the Camry thing- after all, the ES is on the Camry platform. But the IS? A rear wheel drive car? And bringing the Corolla into the picture? For the exact same vehicle but with a smaller engine?

At this point, I realized I was working with an idiot, and mentioned that I wouldn't want a luxury sedan so closely associated with the 350Z. And he flipped out, saying that the Z was on a completely different platform from the G35. And then I threw the Altima and Maxima out there just for shits and giggles to get him really riled up.

Needless to say, the domestic manufacturers are not alone in employing idiotic sales people.