Interesting mine has the knee pads, the two DC ports, newer suspension yet the number would say it's a '04. Maybe it's the prototype .... Lol !!! The MSRP even mentioned the ripple shocks. Weird ....
Build date 10/03 with a D14T153471.

 

Mine says '05 though on all the documents I have. The 11th letter in my VIN number is 'M' like mentioned above and I have the kneepads, etc. Is there any other way to distinguish an '05 from a '04.5 other than the documents?

edit: I just called 1-800-NISSAN-1 with my VIN# and they confirmed it is an '05 model.

 

my VIN has the T and it's an 11/03 build date... has the knee pads and so far no feathering... 6k miles so far...

had the fuel tank filling tsb, the rear hatch stays replaced (they're nice and strong now) and free alignment for road noise concerns...

 

Probably not. Any other cosmetic or part differences may not be noticable, and you have to deal with the case where somebody adds or upgrades an older one with the newer parts. For example, you could replace the tail lights with the LED ones for the 2006 models. That could lead some semi-knowledgable person to believe it was an 2006. The title to the vehicle is probably the only thing you can trust, that and a VIN # check.

 

[QUOTE=DavesZ#3]I originally found the official distinction between the two on the nissan-tech.com site. You can tell in the VIN numbers:

2004 Nissan 350Z Coupe/Roadster (Coupe VINs up to D*4T160000,E*4T060000) (Roadster VINs from D*4T102001 to D*4T110000 & from A*4T002001 to A*4T010000)

2004.5 Nissan 350Z Coupe/Roadster (Coupe VINs from D*4T160001, E*4T060001) ( Roadster VINs from D*4T110001, A*4T010001)

QUOTE]

Dave, I have one that doesn't seem to fit in the VIN ranges above, unless I've had too many beers and I'm not reading right....
Roadster -VIN 4T100035 Build 06/03

Can you help clarify?
Also, do you know where I can get any documentation as to the "run" order. Specifically, DB's?

 

Based on your build date, I'd definitely say you have a 2004, but you're right in that the VIN # doesn't fall into either classification. Hmmm.....

There has never been any official Nissan published breakdown of cars by trim (track, perf, base, etc), by color or even Coupe vs Roadster. The best you can do is get monthly sales figures from NNA for all Zs combined.

 

Do you know if Nissan has any kind of historical site? I keep running into dead ends when researching the authenticity of my car. I would like to get documentation regarding the production.....i.e. "first DB AT5" etc.
Obviously, if I can document it, it would bring the value way up, when it comes time to remarket it.

 

Dave? Any help?

 

Nope, not aware of any site like that. The closest thing that's official is http://www.nissannews.com/

A dealer can tell you the exact production date but that probably won't be of much help either.

I seriously doubt that Nissan publishes (publicly) detailed production information (by color, trim, transmission, options like navi, side air bags, etc.) They have that for internal use, but they probably don't track individual cars in that detail. All that info is useful for their marketing guys, but they don't want to share it with the competitor's marketing guys.