get a camry, you will very few, if any problems.

 

Might I suggest an Acura TSX, or perhaps a Honda Accord, to suit your needs?

You know what, just be like every 1 in 10 cars on the road and go with a 3 series. You will be very happy with that.

 

in this case, ignoranus

 

I test drove the Audi TT, Porsche Carrera, and Boxster in Riverside - they're side-by-side in fact. Look up Walter's Porsche for the address. The next dealer over is the VW and then the Nissan dealer is right up against the light near the freeway.

I found the interior of the Audi to be as nice as the Nissan but I didn't like the view out of the TT - way too narrow - like looking out of a tank driver's slot. I'm not a tall guy at 5'11" and found that my head was resting on the roof and I was looking down from inside the bubble that is the TT. With it's shorter wheelbase the TT was also "jittery" and "nervous" over the same route I drove the other three cars over.

The Porsche Boxer S was another $20,000 then the 350Z, and $16,000 more than the Audi. The car was rather nice but the chair didn't fit me as well as the other German car or the Japanese Z. I did like the insulated convertible roof of the Porsche but came to the conclusion that even with that felt pad it didn't do enough to insulate me from the heat here of the Inland Empire or OPM (other people's music). There ought to be a law. The Boxster also felt slower from zero up to fifty.

So anyway I started looking at the Carerra coupe as it has a hard top - the Boxster can come with one but it looks just butt ugly. Once I put leather seats, air conditioning, ABS, climate control, and all the other stuff Porsche leaves off their machine to match what the Audi and Nissan come with stock I was looking at way too much money for a car I'm going to drive around the likes of Riverside, San Berdoo, and Mornon Valley - I don't want some fool to put a gun in my ear for a car.

Looking at used Carreras Walter's didn't have much of a selection so I drove down to Irvine and visited AutoHaus who had dozens of them. I found a number of them for around $60,000 to $70,000 that met the feel of the Audi and Nissan with low miles and in good condition. Twice the money to equal the performance.

It came down to how important the "name" on the car was worth compared to the performance and driving fit. I would be willing to throw a few thousand dollars around but not $30,000 for the name.

So I went back to look at the Audi and Nissan a second time. That long dash of the Audi just bothered me. The views out the rear quarter panels was even worse than the Nissan.

The Nissan 35th Anniversary had better/fast power on than the Audi TT. The Brembo brakes haven't the equal on the Audi - you'll pay $10,000 for an upgraded set of brakes on the Porsche.

So I pulled the trigger on the Z and got to finance it in 12 months vice the 36 it would take me to finance the same car with a Porsche name on the front of it.

As always, your mileage may vary.

If you want a fair dealer for the Nissan I can recommend Kevin at Raceway Nissan just south of the 60W/215S divide. If you buy let him know that Paul sent you ... I get a free tank of gas.

 

The 350Z is the Premium Sports Car with the best "Initial Quality Rating for 2005". Beating the Honda S2000 and the Porsche 911. Can't complain with that.

 

Source?

 

dude is just a lurker and spammer. 3 posts and no interaction on this thread. i call bs.

 

HAHAHAHA

 

Buy korean!

 

Paul350Z ...

I respect your opinion and well thought out responses but... The Carrera does not compare in performance nor quality of the Z. Not even close. My uncle's friend purchased a brand new 997 black / black loaded Carrera S a few months back. I lust for that car. It's soooooooo nice, from inside to out. The reason I love the 350Z so much is because it is the closest thing to the Carrera I could afford. But in no way is it anywhere near the Carrera. To say the $30,000 was just to add the Porsche name is a bit too far. You get A LOT more.

Also if you're talking about the NEW Boxster, I believe it is faster than the Z.

I think that the Z interior is decent at best, with its minimalist theme. Compared to some other sports cars, I think Nissan could have done way better.

 

Thx for all the replies. And yes, I have always considered imports to have very high quality. I have been researching the new mustang for some time now and as some of you may know, they have had problems the the speakers, gas tank, etc. This is all due to the fact that the car has been completely redesigned for their new model year. I know very little about the Z, but from what I understand, the 05' isn't a new design. So my concern was to find out if these problems were normal, or if the Z had some design flaws. I just started looking at them last week, abd so far I have very little information. I joined this site for the same reason I joined the mustang sites...To learn about the car from people who owned one. I have learned very much on the mustang and felt I should do the same for the Z. I do not know what Z BOY's problem is. I posted this thread late sunday night, and I have been out all day monday doing the 4th of july thing, and was very happy to see how many hits my post got. I do not know what sitting in my car at an idle for 3 hours listening to the radio thing means. But I'm sorry that you have a problem with helping out a guy who knows very little about your car. You can call me an "ignoranus" or whatever, I do not know you, and you do not know me. I am not bothered by your name calling, and no this is not a BS thread. Always have respect for the people you do not know. Or people will think very little of you.

 

before you shoulda posted this thread, u shoulda just search around the forum to learn more. i believe the reason why people are bashing u is because some of your questions were just asking for it.

 

well jimmy, if you are legit, i apologize. i think i became defensive when you came on our site and asked if our cars were "japanese junk". if you hang around, you will find that we z/g owners are very passionate about our cars. lots of spammers come here and talk shzit and pick fights for no good reason. if you are not one of them, welcome.

 

I find the interior on the Z to be very nice, I am basing it on the mustang whose interior is nothing other than hard plastic. AdrenalineFX51, thx for that short but sweet information, you're right I can't complain about that. Paul 350Z, I agree, I like the exterior of the TT ok, but the interior just doesn't do it for me. As far as the porsche goes, It's the exterior I have a problem with. I am not fond of Porsche's designs anymore. Besides, you can find a porsche on every street corner,( well almost). The 350Z looks good inside and out. But I also like the mustang's look and horsepower. I know it's my decision to make, but I appreciate everyone's help. Damn this is a hard decision...

 

Z BOY, Thx man I appreciate that. I didn't mean to sound like I thought Z's were crap or anything. As I already stated in the beginning of the post, I thought the Z seemed very nicely put together, I just was confused if some of the problems were like the new 05' mustang problems. It's cool to see that people can understand others misunderstandings and provide them with informative information. ( I think that makes sense ) On the mustang forums, we all feel like one giant family, and it's nice to see that here. : - I thought this was cool so I posted it three times in a strange part of my reply for no apparent reason.

 

"Japanese Junk"!!??.......Hello.......this 2005, not 1945. Are you living in a time warp or something? The American automotive dynasty ended about 35 years ago.

Honestly, the term "japanese junk" makes it sound like you have no clue whatsoever when it comes to reliability of automobiles. In fact, the most reliable automobiles in the world are always consistently Japanese, each year, every year. This also holds true for consumer electronics. They have much higher standards than our country, sorry to say.

You are going to get a lot of crap for what appears to be cluelessness, and incredibly "retro", narrow thinking. Be prepared for it, or maybe just stick with a 1970 'Stang.

 

Don't sweat it Jimmy, there are lots of people around here with hair triggers... I'm really not sure why. This unfortunately is the most hostile forum out of the several I frequent. I will admit, your question was strange... I had assumed it was common knowledge by now that Japanese vehicles are of far better quality than American vehicles. I wish it weren't so, I'd love to buy a vehicle designed and built here... but we're just not up to the task yet apparently. For $30-$35k you're not going to find a better deal in a "sports car" than the 350Z. A Mustang isn't in the same class. You're sacrificing handling and overall performance for a V8. Still, that's not a bad thing if it's what you want. The Shelby I keep seeing in the mags does look great. You'll find the overall quality of anything made by Ford to be subpar at best however. If raw performance is what you want, I'd go for the Subaru WRX STi. For about the same money as a 350Z, there's nothing else stock that comes close IMHO. Visually that car is an acquired taste though. I had a rather nice modified WRX that I sold to buy the Z instead. I was simply tired of cracking a 4-door weekend toy out of the garage and wanted more of a sports car. The WRX outperformed the Z in every area except braking since I have the Brembos, however I had a fair amount of money into her so that's not an apple to apples comparison. The only other car I'd say is comparable to the 350Z would be the RX-8. It's a great looking car I think but it's also very short on power and torque. I think it'd be an absolute blast in the canyons though and if you have kids and want to occasionally take them for a spin along with the significant other, it's an option. The interior was nice and the rotary sounds great at 9000rpm. I nearly bought one myself but in the end felt the 350Z was the better car of the two... and I didn't need the back seat. I still watch RX-8's as they pass though... they look damn sexy from the front.

 

Get a VolksWagon.......

 

All true...I have a friend with an Audi TT and he likes my interior better than his, .

 

I agree with you strangely enough, . I looked at the RX8 and it is sexy, but not as sexy as the FD was. And I think the 350 is sexier as well as a lot more fun to drive. The sound of the rotary and the suspension (not that the Z suspension is bad) is great though. After driving a Z though, I couldn't ever own an RX8 because I would feel like I was going too slow, .