I think I have made up my mind in regards to what car I am going to want, I leave for basic training on the 30th and I will be back some time in October, I will have about $5,000 to put down on a car. I have gone over and over and over in my head about what car to buy, my friend has gone from a Type S to an SRT-4 and now wants a Type S again. When it comes down to it, I think I overhyped modification, sure it is nice to have a car that responds well to mods however it is no longer a reason to buy a certain car over another, or a significant reason anyway. I loved the SRT-4, swore I was going to buy one but after hanging out with my friend and his for a while, driving it and so forth... I came to realize how important the build and reliability of a car was worth to me... it has brought me to non domestics. I was very concerned with being faster than others, having lots of potential with the car I bought and so forth... now I realize that when a car is not running, or when modded... finicky and often not running right etc it is not worth it. I want to have a car that looks nice, handles well, some punch 14.5 sec or less... however the Honda/Acura motors are NOT for me, no torque I can't do.

I have set my budget at a low $19,000-$21,000 or so... it is firm, I was wondering if it would be hard for me to find a nice lower mileage (50k ish or less) 350z for that price, probobly a 2003 I'd think, maybe an 04 if I got lucky. However with any early year car I was wondering if all the years of this 350z were good and reliable, well built and not a car that I'd have to worry about being a pain to keep up with and maintain. I intially wanted an EVO or STi however they have a handfull of issues I don't want to deal with... I want to spend more time driving, get up, get ready go out and drive the car. Is the 350z a good car for that? I do live in Maine however the bad weather here is no longer really that bad, I plan to have a beater as well but I am confident I will get alot of drive time out of this car. I'd love to have a black, daytona blue but mostly a white one. My main concern is this car having issues, should an 03 350z be a good car I shouldn't have to worry about being a maintinence *****? I have to keep the car cost low so I am predicting the 2003 being my only option.

 

People will tell you 03's have this problem and this problem, but its all little bull **** problems, like a grease streak on the window. We all lkove the z, and I couldnt think of anything else to drive for the m,oney. Just get yuourself a warranty, dont beat the *** out of the tranny, and youll be fine, best decision youll ever make. Just make sure u have a winter car.

 

Only big issue with the 2003 is the manual transmission... If you go with an automatic you should be ok, but If you want a manual I would go with the 04' models...

 

You should be able to pick up an 03' Base with ease in your budget. I'm new to the Z so I don't know about the 03' tranny issues. It got an 04 anyway. The Z does match your car criteria very well. I was also looking for a super powerful easily modded car (MKIV Supra, C5, 03-04 Cobra) and kinda overlooked the Z. Then one day I found one for sale, test drove it and fell in love. It has a very nice powerband, nice feel, and looks sweet. To me, it feels very well balanced. Good luck with your search. Good luck with basic.... I read in the Army Times it is a lot easier (assuming you are going into the army). Hopefully, not the Marines If your are crossing into the blue, then welcome to the family! Lackland is just lovely this time of year.


Rob

 

I'm army, tranny issues with the 03? Do you think I could find an 04 in my range? I won't be buying til October. I can't do the automatic thing

 

Automatic? Did someone just reccomend an automatic Z?

WTF?!

 

Automatic = No Problems.

 

No automatics, what kind of transmission issues? Big ones? ones that were fixed under recall or warrantee? Or???

 

Automatic = NO FUN!


Anyway...
I've not heard of any problems w/ the manual transmissions. Sure, if you don't know how to drive one it's going to break but if you're not a spaz it will be fine.