6MT.net Infiniti G35/G37/GTR Forums - View Single Post

spritleman · 09-09-2004, 12:51 PM

I also bought my G35C from Grubbs. I am going to give a semi-detailed summary of the situation here.

The original vehicle I wanted was Grubbs stock # 14469 (VIN# JNKCV54EX4M813053 which was a diamond graphite / graphite 6MT coupe with the trunk mat, 4-piece body color splash guards, premium package, and aero package R01. I emailed Ralph Kinchen to purchase the vehicle and when he called me back I was told that the vehicle was available but has been a driven demo, which was currently being used by their finance manager, and had about 1800 miles on it. I was not thrilled about the idea of buying a car that was driven by people who knew didn’t own it and might not care for it as if they did so I asked if they had any other cars configured the same way. They didn’t but had Grubbs stock # 14674 (VIN# JNKCV54E84M817876), which was the same but didn’t have the factory aero. I told Ralph that having the factory rear spoiler was important to me and was told that they could install it before delivering the car for $699 ($549 for the spoiler and $150 for labor).

I was buying the car under the 6mt.net discounted VPP deal so there would have been no "better deal" should I have gone with the used demo coupe versus a new one so I decided to pay what in the end was more money to have the new coupe with the dealer installed aero - inventory # 14674. There was never any discussion of aftermarket spoilers as I had been very clear that I wanted the OEM rear spoiler but didn’t care about the underbody diffusers, as my interest was purely aesthetic. I had looked at the Grubbs website and knew they sold the OEM Infiniti spoiler for $499 and the aftermarket unit for $229 so I figured they just charged a little more for the OEM unit when it wasn’t purchased via the web site. I as ok with this as I was getting the car equipped exactly the way I wanted it which I couldn’t find locally.

When Ralph FedEx’ed all the paperwork there was no detailed breakdown on the bill of sale to explain the $529 spoiler, $150 labor, $700 autowrap and trucking fee – there was simple one line item that said PRICE - $34500.

When the coupe arrived I had a slew of problems with water getting into the rear spoiler which you can read about on the following threads:

http://www.6mt.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6537

http://www.6mt.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7002

Well, since then I have found a few things out. I definitely have a non-OEM aftermarket spoiler while I paid for a OEM unit. There is a hole drilled in the vertical surface behind the LED assembly (there is no separate lens/led – its all one sealed piece on this unit) and a hole drilled on the horizontal bottom of the spoiler for the power wires to enter the trunk. There is no sealant, gasketing, etc applied to these holes whatsoever so if you are able to put enough water on the trunk deck, the water will begin to flow under the spoiler and try and drain through the two breaks in the spoiler gasket but ends up taking the path of least resistance which ends up being the horizontal hole in bottom of the spoiler. It really surprises me that the installers at Grubbs and the installer that my local dealer subcontracted the spoiler replacement to didn’t think that any type of sealant or gasketinig was necessary to seal the hole in the base of the spoiler.

Others may not have experienced this problem as I wash the car on a driveway that is on an incline using a nozzle that is made for watering plants. Its all volume and no pressure so basically its able to put a heck of a lot of water down at once without splashing all over the place. The combination of the incline and water volume was able to make the water pool up on the trunk lid.

To finally be rid of this problem I removed the spoiler once again as it still leaked after my repair in topic 7002, and injected expanding foam insulation into the core of the spoiler to seal it for good. This seems to have worked as I water tested it yesterday during a rainstorm with the same hose and nozzle in the same driveway. Its worth noting that the foam sealant, although shaved where it came out of the hole, didn’t allow the spoiler to sit as flush on the trunk lid as it did previously so although there is nothing cosmetic you can see the water is able to take a more direct path under the spoiler and out the back. I am sure this accelerated drainage would have helped even if the spoiler still had the open hole.

The bottom line is had Grubbs installed the OEM spoiler I paid for I am confident that I would not have had this problem. Furthermore, if the LED ever goes out in the spoiler I must now purchase a new spoiler as the wiring is now sealed in there forever. Unlike Robb411’s spoiler, the paint on my unit seems to be nice and matches the paint well but that doesn’t discount the fact that it seems Grubbs has been pulling a fast one on its customers that didn’t know better until it was too late.

Thoughts?

2004.5 G35 Coupe / 6MT / Diamond Graphite / Graphite / Premium / Rear Aero / 4PC Splash Guards
STOCK - AND STAYING THAT WAY!

09-09-2004, 12:51 PM	#12 (permalink)
spritleman Over 100 Posts Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: USA Posts: 157	I also bought my G35C from Grubbs. I am going to give a semi-detailed summary of the situation here. The original vehicle I wanted was Grubbs stock # 14469 (VIN# JNKCV54EX4M813053 which was a diamond graphite / graphite 6MT coupe with the trunk mat, 4-piece body color splash guards, premium package, and aero package R01. I emailed Ralph Kinchen to purchase the vehicle and when he called me back I was told that the vehicle was available but has been a driven demo, which was currently being used by their finance manager, and had about 1800 miles on it. I was not thrilled about the idea of buying a car that was driven by people who knew didn’t own it and might not care for it as if they did so I asked if they had any other cars configured the same way. They didn’t but had Grubbs stock # 14674 (VIN# JNKCV54E84M817876), which was the same but didn’t have the factory aero. I told Ralph that having the factory rear spoiler was important to me and was told that they could install it before delivering the car for $699 ($549 for the spoiler and $150 for labor). I was buying the car under the 6mt.net discounted VPP deal so there would have been no "better deal" should I have gone with the used demo coupe versus a new one so I decided to pay what in the end was more money to have the new coupe with the dealer installed aero - inventory # 14674. There was never any discussion of aftermarket spoilers as I had been very clear that I wanted the OEM rear spoiler but didn’t care about the underbody diffusers, as my interest was purely aesthetic. I had looked at the Grubbs website and knew they sold the OEM Infiniti spoiler for $499 and the aftermarket unit for $229 so I figured they just charged a little more for the OEM unit when it wasn’t purchased via the web site. I as ok with this as I was getting the car equipped exactly the way I wanted it which I couldn’t find locally. When Ralph FedEx’ed all the paperwork there was no detailed breakdown on the bill of sale to explain the $529 spoiler, $150 labor, $700 autowrap and trucking fee – there was simple one line item that said PRICE - $34500. When the coupe arrived I had a slew of problems with water getting into the rear spoiler which you can read about on the following threads: http://www.6mt.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6537 http://www.6mt.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7002 Well, since then I have found a few things out. I definitely have a non-OEM aftermarket spoiler while I paid for a OEM unit. There is a hole drilled in the vertical surface behind the LED assembly (there is no separate lens/led – its all one sealed piece on this unit) and a hole drilled on the horizontal bottom of the spoiler for the power wires to enter the trunk. There is no sealant, gasketing, etc applied to these holes whatsoever so if you are able to put enough water on the trunk deck, the water will begin to flow under the spoiler and try and drain through the two breaks in the spoiler gasket but ends up taking the path of least resistance which ends up being the horizontal hole in bottom of the spoiler. It really surprises me that the installers at Grubbs and the installer that my local dealer subcontracted the spoiler replacement to didn’t think that any type of sealant or gasketinig was necessary to seal the hole in the base of the spoiler. Others may not have experienced this problem as I wash the car on a driveway that is on an incline using a nozzle that is made for watering plants. Its all volume and no pressure so basically its able to put a heck of a lot of water down at once without splashing all over the place. The combination of the incline and water volume was able to make the water pool up on the trunk lid. To finally be rid of this problem I removed the spoiler once again as it still leaked after my repair in topic 7002, and injected expanding foam insulation into the core of the spoiler to seal it for good. This seems to have worked as I water tested it yesterday during a rainstorm with the same hose and nozzle in the same driveway. Its worth noting that the foam sealant, although shaved where it came out of the hole, didn’t allow the spoiler to sit as flush on the trunk lid as it did previously so although there is nothing cosmetic you can see the water is able to take a more direct path under the spoiler and out the back. I am sure this accelerated drainage would have helped even if the spoiler still had the open hole. The bottom line is had Grubbs installed the OEM spoiler I paid for I am confident that I would not have had this problem. Furthermore, if the LED ever goes out in the spoiler I must now purchase a new spoiler as the wiring is now sealed in there forever. Unlike Robb411’s spoiler, the paint on my unit seems to be nice and matches the paint well but that doesn’t discount the fact that it seems Grubbs has been pulling a fast one on its customers that didn’t know better until it was too late. Thoughts? 2004.5 G35 Coupe / 6MT / Diamond Graphite / Graphite / Premium / Rear Aero / 4PC Splash Guards STOCK - AND STAYING THAT WAY!