I went to the dealership and asked the guy about what used Z's he had in stock and he goes "well, the used ones start at around 26k, and the new ones start at around 28, so there's really no point in buying used. Plus, this is a sports car, and you don't know how hard some people may have driven them. Definitely buy new."

I didn't really agree with him, but he was a typical car salesman so what was I going to do? Here's my situation- I don't really want to take a loan out for more than 20k from the bank. I estimate my trade in is worth about 3.5k (2001 Grand Am with no payments) and with my tax return and other money, I can scrap together about another 4k. That puts me at a car for 27.5k. I was hoping to get a used '04 and put in my own navigation system...is this a realistic price?

Also, I just moved so I don't really know a ton of people around here. If I sell my car privately, I'll literally have no way to get to the dealership or to a private seller. There's no way to take a loan out and then sell my car and just immediately pay that money back on the loan, is there?

 

I would go to a few dealers that have used z's and test them out. you should easily be able to tell beat on ones apart from clean ones. take your time and dont jump at he first one, UNLESS it is some kind of diamond in the rough

 

I'm pretty sure dealerships are encouraged to move new iventory vs used...but I'm not sure.

If the used are listed at 26, you can probably have more room to work the price down....As soon as you buy a new one and drive it off the lot, it'll be worth 26, so I always say let someone else take the first big hit of depreciation on a new car.

The flip side of that is that because this is a performace car, there's a good chance someone beat it up bad. So like the other post said, search for that diamond...because you're gonna have to sift thru a lot of crap.

You may want to check the classified section here...you'll get a much better deal going thru private party if you can get a bank to loan you the $$.
(You may also get some cool mods!!!)

 

Yea, they usually have a larger spread (more profit) on new vs used. I'm not sure if thats the case with the Z though. It seems to be holding it's retail value fairly well.

 

I bought mine used from a dealer for 24k.
it's an 04 base model with 22k miles.Just make sure u look at the contract and read.The like to charge with tons of fees which doesn't really make any sense

 

 

i myself am about to pick one up from a used car lot, its an 03 with 24k on the odometer. he was asking 22k but got him all the way down to $19.5k, it has all base model features and traction control, color is CS. only flaw is a scratch mark on headlight and minor scratches on the front and rear bumpers (NYC is not forgiving to parked cars), anyway it doesnt bother since i will be putting the car on a diet with some carbon parts anyway. good luck with the search and let us know what you come up with. and also makes sure CARFAX is clean and definitely test drive it!

 

That's a good deal u got there fairlady...

 

i paid 26k for my used 04. New 05 invoiced at 29k with the same options. Since it was an 04 and I bought it in 04 my bank gave me the new car intrest rate and with the 3k I plan to put some mods into it. Started with $725 for the 75k warranty. So yes for 3k more I could have gotten new but so far I have a car in great shape with a longer warranty. So you just have to find the right one to make it worthwhile.

Also remember the banks will charge a higher interest rate on a used car normally so 2k less for a used may not be a great deal once you see what the rate for it is.

 

I paid $26,500 for my brand new 2003 Enthusiast model.
You should be able to get an 04 Enthusiast at less than that!

 

just checked edmunds with my options its 28777 invoice... So I paid almost 3k under invoice.... and I don't know about getting invoice at the shaddy dealerships in my area.

 

Nice....the more and more I talk to people about this car, I'm realizing that new might be the way to go....financed over 5 years, 2k or 3k really isn't that much more per month. Plus, I like the peace of mind of knowing that the car hasn't been driven too hard.

 

I just picked up an '04 Touring with 9K miles for $26K. Wasn't from a Nissan dealer, though.

While I was shopping, I saw prices all over the board. For instance, one dealer wanted $27K for an '03 Touring w/Nav with 11K miles and said that was his bottom-line price and there was no negotiation. I laughed as I walked away, of course. Then there was another with an '03 Touring with 20K miles asking only $22K. I missed that one by 15 minutes, supposedly.

What model are you looking for? As you've seen from other folks' postings, the price can vary a great deal depending on model. But you should easily be able to come within your pricerange. You just gotta be patient.

OH, by the way, there is $1K rebate and 3% financing on any leftover '04s. I found one dealer in Jersey that had 8 leftover '04s on their lot (or so they said over the phone).

 

If I buy new, I'll go with an enthusiast. I didn't want to pay more than 27.5k for it, so I imagine I could get a pretty solid used model for that. That's pretty interesting about the '04's....definitely something to look into. Hmmmm...

 

I say test drive any Z you're interested in, whether new or old. The salesman is sorta right, you gotta be careful with used ones. Some people rag the **** out of them, but as jackie chan said, you can tell which ones are beat up and which are ok.

I got my '04 Perf 350Z for $27K. You should *definitely* get a Z for less that $27K, especially used.

 

Interest rate is another thing to consider. New cars normally have lower interest rates than used. So the final price may end up the same on a new one as the used one that is a couple thousand cheaper to start.

 

I was going to say the same thing. I think you have an honest salesman for a change.

Do what Faluzure said and test drive several cars before deciding. Remember one thing though, you have the money and you have the last say, so walk if you don't get your price!

One more thought before I hit the submit button. Nissan's on a mission to sell it's 1 million new vehicle this year and they are making some great deals on new cars. Some folks on this site have bought their new 05's for less than I paid and I got the VPP price on my 04 Enthusiast.

Food for thought.

 

I found plenty of good-condition 350z's 2003 and 2004 for like $21-$24000 with like 15000 to 25000 mileage on them. And they included base models and up. Just go to cars.com or any site. There is a lot of them. You just gota look. What you found was probably a Z with little mileage and it was a 2004 or 05. So, yeah.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Qbrozen
[B]I just picked up an '04 Touring with 9K miles for $26K. Wasn't from a Nissan dealer, though.


Wow, some of you guys got amazing deals. You got that thing 4K below KBB, Congrats. http://kbb.com/kb/ki.dll/kw.kc.ur?kb...50Z&2;NI;X2&&&
Hustla. I should of went lower when I bought mine.

 

You mean get a loan to buy a Z while still owning your current car? Then sell your current car to pay down that loan? Sure you can do that. It all depends on getting approval for the loan.

And I agree that you shouldn't worry about a used Z. After a test drive you can tell what kind of driver had the car before you.

FWIW, a few months ago I got an 03 Track w/ 8k miles and some accessories as well as aftermarket rims/tires for $26k. And I'm in a higher-priced market.