by "Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
Published 06/06/2017 at 15:49
by "Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
Published 06/06/2017 at 15:49
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STARS: 2
My girlfriend and I rented this Infiniti Q40 from Turo for our trip to Lake Tahoe. This involved a drive from LA to Napa Valley, then on to Sacramento for dinner, and the Tahoe area for the weekend. Then of course the return drive. Overall 1000+ miles.
After I figured out how to adjust the seat properly, this was quite the fun car to drive actually. The 3.7L V6 had some serious punch and it handled decently for a big sedan. Plenty of room for the skiis and baggage for the trip. It even got around 29mpg doing 85mph for hours on end. The 15 gallon tank made it nearly 500 miles before being empty!
I was there in Tahoe to ski and this car worked out great as a good weather ski vehicle. I imagine the RWD and regular A/S tires would have not fared well with any actual winter.
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Overall, this car was great except for being an automatic. Sure it was convenient to just not worry about shifting but any time I wanted to pass cars or have fun in the twisties, it was just a struggle to play with the auto shifter or floor the gas to get it to downshift. It wasn’t a bad automatic though so I wasn’t too unhappy with it.
I’d definitely consider an older G37 coupe with a manual for a daily driver. It would also have to handle ski duty for me too.
"For Sweden" (rallybeetle)
06/06/2017 at 16:00, STARS: 1
I rented a Q50 recently. It was also good.
http://oppositelock.kinja.com/i-rented-a-datsun-1794985014
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
06/06/2017 at 16:27, STARS: 0
Your dirty camera lens is making my OCD twitch, unless the camera on your phone really is that bad all on its own.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
06/06/2017 at 16:31, STARS: 0
Yeah I’m really not quite sure. This phone has been through some rough treatment so who knows lol
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
06/06/2017 at 16:35, STARS: 0
Have you at least tried fogging it up with your breath and wiping it with your shirt? My OCD can’t take this.
"fintail" (fintail)
06/06/2017 at 17:04, STARS: 0
Which company still has these in the fleet? Any options?
I was offered a (paid) upgrade to an absolute zero option Q50 2.0 for $25/day by Hertz, I passed.
"ZHP Sparky, the 5th" (e30s2k)
06/06/2017 at 18:10, STARS: 0
You went with the Infiniti after all, nice. Did it have the ski pass-thru as expected?
I’m tempted by first get G35s too...a bit plasticky, but form a distance they have that weird clean square design going on the interior. And they pack some serious punch for a car at that price point. But at the end of the day I’d probably be swayed by something German instead for the same money.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
06/07/2017 at 08:14, STARS: 0
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
06/07/2017 at 08:21, STARS: 0
I can’t imagine being swayed by something German at the same price point. Since of course maintenance would end up making it cost significantly more. The interior was quite nice really, a very comfortable place to be for 8+ hours of driving.
It did have the pass through so that worked out perfectly. Just barely able to fit my skis in the carry bag along with some clothing stuffed in there. I doubt it would be easy to fit more than one pair of skis through that thing.
Definitely the best option as far as car choice went. It was definitely fast as hell, got great gas mileage, and actually went around turns. The oddest thing at first was the seat positioning. People seem to like sitting high and gangsta leaning so it was set up all weird. Once I figured out how to lower the seat to the floor and make it upright enough and put the steering wheel all the way down, the car felt similar enough to my Miata but with more head room. I’m glad the car’s weight wasnt too apparent either so overall it was great.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
06/07/2017 at 08:23, STARS: 0
This was from Turo of course. I have all but given up on traditional rentals when visiting LA. I can usually find a manual or at least something with more character than a damn Malibu or Altima (cue the jokes about how the G35/G37/Q40 are just a tarted up Altima).
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
06/07/2017 at 08:25, STARS: 0
Ahh, that last image is really just bad. The other ones arent great either but the bottom image is REALLY awful. That one was just a poor choice to use due to unsteady hands and lighting. But yeah I will actually try cleaning it anyways.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
06/07/2017 at 08:28, STARS: 0
I dont understand all of the different Q40/Q50/Q60 crap now. It used to just be the G37 in either sedan or coupe. I have no comprehension on what the Q stuff means lol.
"fintail" (fintail)
06/07/2017 at 09:22, STARS: 1
What was the rate? Most Turo I have seen in my area are kind of silly, no I am not paying $300/day for your 2009 CLS550 with rattlecan black wheels :)
Maybe the next time I go to LA I will look at that.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
06/07/2017 at 10:14, STARS: 0
Oh yeah LA has some affordable stuff. It was a total cost of $312.50 for 5 days (works out to $62.50 a day ALL taxes, fees, unlimited mileage, and insurance included). So it was certainly no more than your standard premium rental from the traditional places. The upside is of course picking the exact car.
The renter was more of a small company renting through Turo. They had a multi-person operation and a few different cars. Pickup/dropoff locations were kinda sketchy and all of the people seemed to be Eastern European or Russian. Everything worked out perfectly but I was worried at first. Only odd thing was the car had no license plates. Just the dealer plate on the back, but that seems to be a general California problem.
"ZHP Sparky, the 5th" (e30s2k)
06/07/2017 at 11:16, STARS: 1
Good examples of first gen G35s go for surprising amounts…close to $10k, if not higher IIRC. At which point – agreed it is more expensive to maintain most likely, and is an older car – but an E36 M3 is a tempting option for me (and likely at the bottom of their value before they start going upwards). Also, an old coworker had a G35 that just kept having all sorts of problems…he loved driving it but sold it because it was a money pit. Not sure that’s the standard experience with these things but probably swaying my opinion to some extent.
And yeah, I don’t know why people always try to get their seats as high up as possible…I guess that explains the whole crossover movement. I’d much rather feel cocooned in a car too than feeling like I’m sitting on top of it.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
06/07/2017 at 14:11, STARS: 1
Where the seat was at first, I had less headroom than I do in my Miata! I thought that was just always the case and was ready to say this car was stupid. And while I could no longer see much of the speedometer with the steering wheel down, it just makes it so much easier to control around turns that way.
And yeah I guess that arent all that cheap. But like you were saying, the older BMW, while at the same price, likely is a lot more expensive to maintain. I am looking for a car to commute lots of miles daily in and not have to worry much about maintenance. It needs to be more interesting than a damn Camry and I cant imagine an M3 surviving that sort of duty without major problems.
"fintail" (fintail)
06/07/2017 at 21:43, STARS: 0
Not bad, is the insurance with no deductible? I will have to take a look for sure. I seem to rent in Europe almost as much as I do in the US anymore (not too often) - there, Sixt has always been my choice, as they have some nice cars in the fleet.
I think the CA no plates thing is a way to dodge taxes, there’s a way to keep it without plates for some time.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
06/08/2017 at 07:44, STARS: 0
I have no idea what the insurance really is, havent read the fine print. I imagine it has some sort of $500-$1000 deductible like most insurances. It is better than no insurance I imagine but of course I prefer to avoid any sort of problems entirely.
Turo has very much convinced me how much I hate the regular rental places and their “fleets”. Its always a fleet of beige and they charge out the ass for “beige+”. Different in Europe though since at least then you can get a manual. Even the shitty Opel diesel and Smart for four I rented last year over there were inifnitely more interesting just becaause manual.
"fintail" (fintail)
06/08/2017 at 09:33, STARS: 0
I suppose that isn’t bad compared to the $30/day US fleet operators charge for full cover.
Manual doesn’t warm my cold little heart so much as the more interesting and better equipped fleets in Europe. My last rentals in Germany have been: E200 diesel with cloth interior (charming in its simplicity, felt like an old MB in a good way), loaded F01 7er, loaded F11 5er Touring, loaded A8, loaded X5. My last rentals in the US have been: zero options Charger, zero options 300. Even the E and X5 I’ve rented from Sixt in FL have been nice enough, but basic spec. And cars like AMG/M/S-RS are common in German fleets, and much cheaper than similar rentals here.