Kevin3

As we probably all know, almost everyone with a Z experiences the same problems...tires feathering, alignment, trans... (which should indicate there is a REAL problem)

A few weeks ago I went to a Nissan dealership and was talking to the sales manager and a guy that works in the parts and services dept. First I wanted to know what was going on with my horribly disfigured tires. They parts guy told me that it was MY fault. "I should have alignment jobs done more often", " I was taking corners too fast", " I was apparently driving the car too rough",..the list goes on and on! But anyway, it was basically "Its all your fault, Nissan has nothing to do with it!"

As I was about to leave the dealership, I stopped to check out the new Maximas. They had one with "demo, save $$$" written on the window. I actually considered trading my car in for a Maxima if I could get a good deal because the loud noise from my tires were driving me insane!

When I started talking prices with the sales manager, he would hardly give me anything at all for the Z. Infact, he told me that I would be much better off by selling the Z and then putting cash down on a Maxima. He said, "We dont really like to take in used Zs here at this lot because all of the Nissan's problems with them."

It came clear to me then that the story of the Z problems are completely different depending which side of the table you are sitting! Its all my fault when Im buying and owning, but it all Nissan's fault when selling or trading in!

BigMike

Which dealership did you go to?

Kevin3

Chatt, Tn

Kevin3

The Z is supposed to have great resale value, but im wondering as these problems become more and more known, will there be any hope for trading or selling mine in a year or two?

03FIDDYZ

Nissan pisses me off how the wont cover anything...not even an intake. Or atleast where i live. Im planning on getting new tires i think im jsut going to go to les schwab and get tires and an alignment so when they do start to feather again ill say its there fault and hopefully get new tires

Zexy

iTrader: (55)

I have the perfect solution for you my friend: Sell the car. Get a Honda.

I'm sick of people whining about this feathering thing. Face it. These cars come with negative camber stock and some FAST wearing tires. Go ahead and "correct" your camber and end up with shittier handling. Or just replace your tires with some better ones. This feathering bull needs to come to an end!! UGH!!

MannishBoy

iTrader: (1)

That's a bit harsh. Lots of sports cars don't feather tires and have as much negative camber (or more). Nissan screwed up. I could even see wear on the inside without having feathered blocks like we see.

tacomaboy

HAHA I am selling mine next week, just need to take out the stereo. Third time was the charm for me and the transmission. Not to mention the other *quirks*.

Keep yours if you want, but I forsee a pretty sharp decline in resale value when buyers start hearing about grinds and clicks and roars.

Guess what I am going to test drive tomorrow? S2000.

Are they perfect? No, are they built better than my Z? yes.

tacomaboy

ORRrrrr.... Nissan could actually FIX the problem so people could quit whining about it!

Heaven forbid someone expect a 30-40k dollar car to actually be built and designed well!

Zexy

iTrader: (55)

S2000 bulit better than Z? I'm not saying this is false BUT don't go saying the 350z is horrible car overall just because YOU ended up with a POS one that everything broke on it..Hahaha. What ignorance....

tacomaboy

What ignorance, do a quick search on transmissions right here.

You will find 2 to 1 results saying "oh my trannys grinding" or "oh they replaced my tranny"

Do it at the s2k forums. you get 10 to 1 results saying "what gear should I be in for this or tha" or "what rpm do I launch"

Its not just me, its easy, do a quick search! I did. And after my second transmission, and after seeing maybe 20 different people on this board with MULTIPLE tranny changes, and after HUNDREDS of people with tire feathering, and dozens of axle clicks, etc, I decided I am getting out.

Thats not ignorance, thats intelligence. Ignorance is blindly following Nissan while they trail you along saying "this transmissions guaranteed to work THIS time" and defending a company for no other reason that you think your car is the prettiest.

S2000 IS built better than the Z. Go look at the interior on a Z with 20k miles, how WORN the fabric is and scratched the plastic is. Now go look at an S2000 with 60K miles, and it looks FAR BETTER!

I just calls em how I sees em, I certainly dont work for Honda or anything. Hell I was crazy enough to spend 30k on a Z, so I must have at one point thought they were good.

Chad68

iTrader: (1)

Wow, that's a good idea. Now why didn't I think of that.

If Schwab does it and says it's good by their standards and they put it in writting, then they should replace them.

But they will probably say oh that's not our fault. But ohhhhh here you guys said it was good and in writting too.

If Schwab gives you problems you can put them and Nissan together in a fight to the death cage match:-P Nissan vs The Old dude with the cowboy hat.

No seriously good idea, though they might just say you didn't keep up on your tire PSI's or some kind of BS?? Dunno, give it a shot.

Zexy

iTrader: (55)

You're entitled to your own opinion...

tacomaboy

As are you. Its a free country. But you gotta understand I am not a happy camper here, and being called ignorant is likely to get a nasty response.

I honestly believe the S2000 is a better built car. I dont mean its faster, dont mean its prettier, dont mean its better, just built better.

Jason

A hate to ruin your day or anything but... it's always greener on the other side of the fence. I can't keep my eyes off S2000s either, so I'm not just biased to the Z here.

I have several friends with S2000s, they aren't perfect cars either. As a matter of fact, the #1 complaint I hear about S2000s is their transmission. Specifically the inability to put the car in gear under certain conditions.

By the way, the one time that the dealership found something wrong with my allignment they fixed and replaced all 4 tires, and I've had no problems with it since then.

I can understand your frustration with an always broken car - my MR2 Spyder was in the shop for months on end (summertime too), went through four engines, 3 sets of cats, and dozens of other problems including random CELs, grinding/squealing noises from the engine BLOCK, incredible valve tick, etc. Toyota was zero help what-so-ever, unwilling to do anything to elevate the issue or please me as a customer in spite of their absolutely lemon car and horrible service.

tacomaboy

Heck though man, for me, if the grass were dead and burning it would probably look a little better right now.

Im on my third transmission
my tires are feathering and Nissan just told me oh well
my axles just got replaced
after two tries they STILL can fix my damned seat shifting
my rear nozzle leaks
my idle speed jumps up and down
my paint chips like watercolor
my gas tank only likes to fill half way
my interior cloth is fading like no tomorrow
my interior plastic is cheap and scratches with a thumbnail

and i have 15,300 miles.

I would expect this from a Kia, but not a 30,000 dollar flagship Nissan.

Fletch69z

iTrader: (50)

Everyone will have different experiences with different cars. I'm sure that with all of these people having similar problems that there is obviously a higher amount of problems with certain parts of the Z. I'm sure that there are people who bought an S2000 and have had tons of problems. I know people that have had Kias for years and never had a problem and I know people that have had Hondas and had 4 problems in the first year that they owned the car. It all comes down to what's more important to you and your personal experience with the car. I personally have loved every Nissan I've owned and my 03 Z has experienced no problems of any kind. I wish that Nissan would step up and take care of these problems, but I'm sure it would be the same with any other car company. Just my 2 cents.

tacomaboy

Sure sure, but my neigbor down the street with an 03 has had sever feathering twice, and though he wont admit it to anyone else, he has grinding going into 2nd. I think he is mad at me now for dumping the Z, but when his grinding gets worse he will see.

And ask him how his paint looks.

I have had a 98 Accord and a 99 Civic, and they were not perfect cars, and I certainly never claimed the S2000 was perfect, but I have never heard of an S2000 with 3 transmission replacements, much less have I heard of 10 (as if you search you will find at least that many on this board).

Guys, please, dont bother defending the Z to me, you cant win this one. I am driving a damned Kia Sedona while my Z is in the shop AGAIN. I am sick of it, and out of all the cars I have had, the Z has had more problems then all of them combined! (Toyota Tacoma, Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Toyota 4Runner).

You cannot convince me the Z is a solid car. Its just not. However, fool me once shame on.. uh you cant get fooled again, so... believe me I am doing research and checking up on reliability of S2000s.

Yes I have found at high RPMs when the tranny is cold some of them can grind a bit when going into 2nd.. at least the <03s. Also there is clutch chatter on the <03s as well. But its few and far between, and a fix is a fix in this case, you dont go on and on getting stuff replaced.

And so far, no feathering, no grease stains, no seat shifts, no multiple transmissions. Heck I think MAYBE I have seen ONE transmission replacement. Actually it was only the pressure plate.

Jason

I'm definately not calling you a liar or saying you are wrong but, wow, it sounds like we are driving completely different cars.

Transmission, mine is a bit noisy when I turn off the engine or when the transmission is hot from a good workout

Tire feathering, Nissan took care of the issue 100% for me no problem before I even knew what it was.

Axles, mine are clicking too... but there is a TSB on this. As long as the replace the faulty part quickly and professionally, I don't see what the problem is?

Seat shifting? Nozzle leak? Idle? Paint chips? (Seriously, my Super Black Z has chipped less than any other car I've owned) Gas tank issues? Fading cloth? Plastic scratching?

I've never seen any of these things on my Z. Sounds like you got the shaft.

Fletch69z

iTrader: (50)

Yep, if you aren't happy it sounds like getting an S2000 is a good idea for you.