Hello All!
After an almost 5 year wait I'm extremely pleased to once again be the Proud owner of an Infiniti FX35.
My name is Rick Gage, I live in Key West, FL. This will be my 4th Infiniti and my 3rd FX35. Yes, my 3rd. It's a heartbreaking story with a happy ending.
Living in the Florida Keys we have to deal with our fair share of Hurricanes. Some years are worse than others and the 2004/2005 Atlantic Hurricane season was one of the worst on record. Most will recall hurricane Katrina and the damage she caused that same year.
However, just a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina hit LA. South Florida and more so the Lower Florida Keys were hit by Hurricane Wilma and unless you we here for it, the majority of the country never heard of it as most of the news was focused on Katrina and the aftermath of it.
By October of 2005 we had already endured 4 hurricanes passing within 150 miles of Key West. Each one is a major PITA! The preparation and clean up after is bad enough with just one storm every few season let alone 4 in one season. So, by the time Wilma had us in her sights we already knew our route for prepping and I was personally a bit lax on this storm as they were forecasting her to pass well north of our area.
Now, one week before Hurricane Wilma made her Grand entrance my wife & I had just finished our previous lease and taken possession of a Spankin New 2005 FX35 in Diamond Graphite with Black leather. As the hurricane grew closer I asked my neighbor if I could park it in his garage to mostly keep the leaves from his Black Olive trees from getting all over the paint. He gave me the OK and the day before and the two of us pulled the cars in and closed the doors.
Throughout the night we got winds up in the 70 to 90MPH range and lost power. One thing about this storm which was different from all the others we had seen was that it was a very large Cat. 3 hurricane and would pass to the north of the islands where the water is shallow as opposed to all the other which passed to the south of the islands where the water is very deep.
I didn’t sleep all that night as I always stay up to make sure I can deal with any small issues which might arise before they turn into Big Problems. I had just dosed off at about 6:45am as the sun started to creep into the openings in the storm shutters. A few minutes I was awoken by my 1 year old crying. After attending to her I walked to the front door and looked out the peep hole. I could see across the bay an immediately noticed a Major Issue. I could see that the water was very high and getting ready to breach the seawall. Now, in all other storms which push in from the south the water is basically drained from our area. But, with this storm and its North Easterly passing it was actually pushing water into our area. By this time the eye of the hurricane was almost due north of the lower keys and because of its massive size and strength it was pushing and pulling a huge amount of water with it. (Storm Surge) With the waters on the north side of the keys being so shallow it didn’t have anywhere to go but on top of itself when it starting interacting with the islands.
So, by now I am running down the stairs with my video camera to film what I thought would be just a small surge of water, something that we had never witnessed in all of the storms before this.
As the water started rising over the next few minutes I found myself joking on camera about the tiny surge of water that was now pushing across my yard. I made my stupid little remarks on camera all the way out to the street. As I looked up the street through the viewfinder I said, “OH SH%T!!!” because I could now see that the surge had complete covered the road with over a foot of water! I looked back at my seawall and the water was already pouring over it at an unbelievable rate and there was no sign that it was letting up any time soon. As fast as I could I ran to cut the ropes of my boat on the trailer which was secured under my house on stilts and had literally 1 chance to back my old Ford Bronco to the hitch to get it out of there.
By chance 2 days before a friend had told me that his dad’s boat which was tied up under his house during a storm surge had actually floated up and went through the floor from that surge! With that fresh in my mind I knew what would happen if I didn’t get mine out. I backed it in perfectly, cranked it down and got it out as it was already floating on the trailer by now. I ran it all up in my neighbor’s yard to the highest spot I could find.
By then the water was pushing 2.5 to 3 feet deep and moving faster. I watched most of the stuff which was under my house, get washed away right before my very eyes in the matter of moments. It was like God himself was standing there with a giant fire hose spraying everything away. I saved what I could and almost got washed away myself as I quickly tired from not sleeping for at least the past 48 hours and the mad rush to save what stuff I could. After a whole bunch of craziness I remembered the FX. By now the water was a solid 4 feet deep. I waded over to the garage to see my brand new FX and his Ford F-150 bouncing off each other from the waves pushing in the open back door. The salt water was sloshing up the windshield & windows outside and over the Steering wheel inside L
Now for the Happy Ending…
In the aftermath of the Storm Surge literally every car in the lower keys was flooded and dead not to mention every ground level house was trashed as well. Some cars shorted out, caught fire and even burned a few houses down they were parked under as the fire trucks couldn’t forge the flood waters during the height of the surge. It was pretty sad to watch hundreds of car carriers shuttling out everything from the crappiest beaters to Vipers, Porsche, Ferraris, Lambo’s and more over the next few months. The bicycle was once again the main means of transportation in Key West. I got lucky because the way I parked the Bronco kept the engine from being completely flooded. So, I was one of the few with a working vehicle.
By the end of the first day we had cellphone service reconnected and I was able to call the Insurance company as well as South Motors Infiniti. My salesman Richard Lever spoke with his Boss and by the next day had driven not 1 but 2 brand new FX 35’s all the way down to Key West and directly to my front door! They brought the same color combo I had just gotten, Dark Grey & Black leather as well as a Diamond Graphite with the Brick interior. It only took a single look to take the Brick interior one.
In just a few minutes the papers were signed and they were headed north again. We ended up having one of the first new cars on the island and sent South Motors a ton of referrals thereafter. It really worked out well for us after so much heartache from that storm.
In the time after I truly fell in love with that car. It was the most perfect blend of Style, Performance & usefulness I’d ever come across in all my years of driving. I had a wonderful time with it and enjoyed every drive.
Before I knew it our lease was up and it was time to think about the next car. I looked at the newest FX after the style change but by this time they were just outside our price range. We ended up with an M-35S which was an awesome car in its own right. But, nowhere near the FX to me.
I gave that FX up in late 2008. Ever since I’ve told myself I would own another. Since then I’ve looked at thousands of them for sale online. I always search for a Diamond Graphite with Brick interior. In every search only a small number would come up in the color combo I wanted. Sometimes only 1 or 2 and never more than about 10.
My daughter who was 6 at the time of the Hurricane is now getting ready to turn 16 and can you guess what car she will be getting??
You’re correct! A Beautiful 2007 Graphite / Brick FX35. Just the car she’s always wanted…
Like I said I had looked at these cars since giving mine up and knew a good deal when I saw it. I found this FX in Minooka, IL. It had 56,000 miles, the Car Fax checked out good and it came with an extended 4 year warrantee. I got the $ together and booked a one-way flight the Chicago.
When I go there it was Cold to say the least. The 20’s to be exact and I needed to move fast as an Ice Storm was forecast for later that evening. When I go to the dealership my salesman had a Cheeseburger there for me and after a solid test drive and some tire kicking I was eating a burger and signing papers. It was about 5:00pm and we could see the leading edge of the storm coming in from the west. In all, I was in & out in less than an hour.
I got on I-80 and headed east to Gary, IN then south on I-60. I was by myself and figured if something was going to break on it I’d like to find out now. I drove 1,675 miles in 22 hours driving time to get back to Key West. I have to say, it was the most fun I’ve ever had driving! Other than finding out the washer fluid motor didn’t work the car performed flawlessly. Hands Down the coolest road I’ve ever driven was Tennessee’s I-40 between the Douglas Lake Bridge and Clyde. It was Insane! Ironically the only vehicle to pass me on that entire stretch of highway was a white Honda Odyssey minivan. He left me in the dust. I couldn’t believe it!
I made it home about 2:00AM Sunday night / Monday morning and it took me almost a week to recover… But, here I am. Back in an Awesome FX35 and ready to start getting it in Tip Top shape.
I’m sure I’ve driven a few of you crazy already, At least the ones who stuck with it and read it all the way through to this point.
But, I hope to gain the knowledge here to do anything I need to it and Most importantly gain some new friends.
Thanks Again!
Rick Gage
After an almost 5 year wait I'm extremely pleased to once again be the Proud owner of an Infiniti FX35.
My name is Rick Gage, I live in Key West, FL. This will be my 4th Infiniti and my 3rd FX35. Yes, my 3rd. It's a heartbreaking story with a happy ending.
Living in the Florida Keys we have to deal with our fair share of Hurricanes. Some years are worse than others and the 2004/2005 Atlantic Hurricane season was one of the worst on record. Most will recall hurricane Katrina and the damage she caused that same year.
However, just a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina hit LA. South Florida and more so the Lower Florida Keys were hit by Hurricane Wilma and unless you we here for it, the majority of the country never heard of it as most of the news was focused on Katrina and the aftermath of it.
By October of 2005 we had already endured 4 hurricanes passing within 150 miles of Key West. Each one is a major PITA! The preparation and clean up after is bad enough with just one storm every few season let alone 4 in one season. So, by the time Wilma had us in her sights we already knew our route for prepping and I was personally a bit lax on this storm as they were forecasting her to pass well north of our area.
Now, one week before Hurricane Wilma made her Grand entrance my wife & I had just finished our previous lease and taken possession of a Spankin New 2005 FX35 in Diamond Graphite with Black leather. As the hurricane grew closer I asked my neighbor if I could park it in his garage to mostly keep the leaves from his Black Olive trees from getting all over the paint. He gave me the OK and the day before and the two of us pulled the cars in and closed the doors.
Throughout the night we got winds up in the 70 to 90MPH range and lost power. One thing about this storm which was different from all the others we had seen was that it was a very large Cat. 3 hurricane and would pass to the north of the islands where the water is shallow as opposed to all the other which passed to the south of the islands where the water is very deep.
I didn’t sleep all that night as I always stay up to make sure I can deal with any small issues which might arise before they turn into Big Problems. I had just dosed off at about 6:45am as the sun started to creep into the openings in the storm shutters. A few minutes I was awoken by my 1 year old crying. After attending to her I walked to the front door and looked out the peep hole. I could see across the bay an immediately noticed a Major Issue. I could see that the water was very high and getting ready to breach the seawall. Now, in all other storms which push in from the south the water is basically drained from our area. But, with this storm and its North Easterly passing it was actually pushing water into our area. By this time the eye of the hurricane was almost due north of the lower keys and because of its massive size and strength it was pushing and pulling a huge amount of water with it. (Storm Surge) With the waters on the north side of the keys being so shallow it didn’t have anywhere to go but on top of itself when it starting interacting with the islands.
So, by now I am running down the stairs with my video camera to film what I thought would be just a small surge of water, something that we had never witnessed in all of the storms before this.
As the water started rising over the next few minutes I found myself joking on camera about the tiny surge of water that was now pushing across my yard. I made my stupid little remarks on camera all the way out to the street. As I looked up the street through the viewfinder I said, “OH SH%T!!!” because I could now see that the surge had complete covered the road with over a foot of water! I looked back at my seawall and the water was already pouring over it at an unbelievable rate and there was no sign that it was letting up any time soon. As fast as I could I ran to cut the ropes of my boat on the trailer which was secured under my house on stilts and had literally 1 chance to back my old Ford Bronco to the hitch to get it out of there.
By chance 2 days before a friend had told me that his dad’s boat which was tied up under his house during a storm surge had actually floated up and went through the floor from that surge! With that fresh in my mind I knew what would happen if I didn’t get mine out. I backed it in perfectly, cranked it down and got it out as it was already floating on the trailer by now. I ran it all up in my neighbor’s yard to the highest spot I could find.
By then the water was pushing 2.5 to 3 feet deep and moving faster. I watched most of the stuff which was under my house, get washed away right before my very eyes in the matter of moments. It was like God himself was standing there with a giant fire hose spraying everything away. I saved what I could and almost got washed away myself as I quickly tired from not sleeping for at least the past 48 hours and the mad rush to save what stuff I could. After a whole bunch of craziness I remembered the FX. By now the water was a solid 4 feet deep. I waded over to the garage to see my brand new FX and his Ford F-150 bouncing off each other from the waves pushing in the open back door. The salt water was sloshing up the windshield & windows outside and over the Steering wheel inside L
Now for the Happy Ending…
In the aftermath of the Storm Surge literally every car in the lower keys was flooded and dead not to mention every ground level house was trashed as well. Some cars shorted out, caught fire and even burned a few houses down they were parked under as the fire trucks couldn’t forge the flood waters during the height of the surge. It was pretty sad to watch hundreds of car carriers shuttling out everything from the crappiest beaters to Vipers, Porsche, Ferraris, Lambo’s and more over the next few months. The bicycle was once again the main means of transportation in Key West. I got lucky because the way I parked the Bronco kept the engine from being completely flooded. So, I was one of the few with a working vehicle.
By the end of the first day we had cellphone service reconnected and I was able to call the Insurance company as well as South Motors Infiniti. My salesman Richard Lever spoke with his Boss and by the next day had driven not 1 but 2 brand new FX 35’s all the way down to Key West and directly to my front door! They brought the same color combo I had just gotten, Dark Grey & Black leather as well as a Diamond Graphite with the Brick interior. It only took a single look to take the Brick interior one.
In just a few minutes the papers were signed and they were headed north again. We ended up having one of the first new cars on the island and sent South Motors a ton of referrals thereafter. It really worked out well for us after so much heartache from that storm.
In the time after I truly fell in love with that car. It was the most perfect blend of Style, Performance & usefulness I’d ever come across in all my years of driving. I had a wonderful time with it and enjoyed every drive.
Before I knew it our lease was up and it was time to think about the next car. I looked at the newest FX after the style change but by this time they were just outside our price range. We ended up with an M-35S which was an awesome car in its own right. But, nowhere near the FX to me.
I gave that FX up in late 2008. Ever since I’ve told myself I would own another. Since then I’ve looked at thousands of them for sale online. I always search for a Diamond Graphite with Brick interior. In every search only a small number would come up in the color combo I wanted. Sometimes only 1 or 2 and never more than about 10.
My daughter who was 6 at the time of the Hurricane is now getting ready to turn 16 and can you guess what car she will be getting??
You’re correct! A Beautiful 2007 Graphite / Brick FX35. Just the car she’s always wanted…
Like I said I had looked at these cars since giving mine up and knew a good deal when I saw it. I found this FX in Minooka, IL. It had 56,000 miles, the Car Fax checked out good and it came with an extended 4 year warrantee. I got the $ together and booked a one-way flight the Chicago.
When I go there it was Cold to say the least. The 20’s to be exact and I needed to move fast as an Ice Storm was forecast for later that evening. When I go to the dealership my salesman had a Cheeseburger there for me and after a solid test drive and some tire kicking I was eating a burger and signing papers. It was about 5:00pm and we could see the leading edge of the storm coming in from the west. In all, I was in & out in less than an hour.
I got on I-80 and headed east to Gary, IN then south on I-60. I was by myself and figured if something was going to break on it I’d like to find out now. I drove 1,675 miles in 22 hours driving time to get back to Key West. I have to say, it was the most fun I’ve ever had driving! Other than finding out the washer fluid motor didn’t work the car performed flawlessly. Hands Down the coolest road I’ve ever driven was Tennessee’s I-40 between the Douglas Lake Bridge and Clyde. It was Insane! Ironically the only vehicle to pass me on that entire stretch of highway was a white Honda Odyssey minivan. He left me in the dust. I couldn’t believe it!
I made it home about 2:00AM Sunday night / Monday morning and it took me almost a week to recover… But, here I am. Back in an Awesome FX35 and ready to start getting it in Tip Top shape.
I’m sure I’ve driven a few of you crazy already, At least the ones who stuck with it and read it all the way through to this point.
But, I hope to gain the knowledge here to do anything I need to it and Most importantly gain some new friends.
Thanks Again!
Rick Gage
