thanks guys.. lots of good feedback here. (just like on www.g35driver.com) It's great to see that some of you had the issue and it's not affecting you anymore. 1 question... after toe adjustment and replaced tires, does the feathering go away completely or will it simply come back? The class action law suit I was reading made it sound like this is something that has yet to have a solution. In my area right now lots of 03's (and some pretty sweet ones I might add) are up for sale, but just a few 04's & above. Many of you suggest an 04.5 What indicates the .5? Is that simply manufactured after a certain date? Sorry if I'm asking simple questons, but I really don't want to screw this up.

 

now correct me if i'm wrong, but an 04.5 is a 2005 year 350z that was manufactured in late 2004 as an '05 model.

Gav.

 

In my case, that still remains to be seen. My car also had "two brand new front tires" and an "alignment" done.

But as I said earlier, after 3K miles, so far so good. After hanging around here long enough, I now know what to keep an eye out for.

You are NOT asking simple questions, either! Ask them BEFORE you get the car, not after.


Good luck,
Joe

 

30 minutes? It takes that long or more just to get the door panel off

 

03' here. As others have said, an alignment using the new specs from Nissan will fix the feathering problem. I've got over 10k miles on Michlin pilot sports and they look fine. The window motor is an issue but that seems to be a fairly easy fix if you do the work yourself. I'm going to tackle it as soon as the temp in my garage drops to a resonable level.

 

[QUOTE=cwerdna]If I were you, I'd get an 04+. The 03 received a terrible reliability rating in Consumer Reports and well, I've seen all the 1st model year probs 03 people have been complaining about before I got mine.


consumer reports is not entirely accurate as far as i'm concerned. They rated the Mazda 3 very very high, so i went and bought one in May and found out the 3 is mediocre at best and their quality control is questionable to say the least. Their customer service suck big time as rated by JD powers.
My point is....don't rely on consumer report too much, they could be dead wrong.

 

What!

 

My 03 had only minor feathering issue. Adjustment & new tires seems to have solved.

There were a variety of issues with SOME 03s.

Preference would be, imo, to buy 04 or later.

But if 03;
-Get carfax
-look at service records of car
-ask if tsbs were done.
-look at front tires for feathering
-HAVE CAR LOOKED AT BY COMPETENT MECHANIC.

If all checks out, gooooooooooooooooo for it.

 

I've found Consumer Reports reliability ratings to be reasonably accurate for all the cars I and my parents have owned. Unfortunately my April 06 auto issue is loaned out but I recall many of the trouble spots coinciding w/the common probs we've heard of on 03s (and above): transmission, feathering [likely reflected in its terrible suspension reliablity rating] and power window failures [I believe this is covered by body hardware or electrical and I remember a bad spot for one of those].

When it comes to any car you buy, it's all an odds game. CR is just reporting how frequently people reported a serious problem in the systems they list in the past 12 months. They also ask for the make, model, year and mileage.

 

I think the term 04.5 refers to 04 models built after a certain date that had some changes made (e.g., the knee-pads on the sides of the center console, upgraded tops on the roadsters, etc.). On one of the threads here I think someone gave an April 04 date, but I can't vouch if that's correct.

Edit: Check here for additional information on 2004.5 builds:

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....ghlight=2004.5

 

Besides the knee pads, you can also tell 04.5s by the VIN range. See http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/nissa...p?dept%5Fid=45.

 

RE: Vin link for 04.5

Perfect!!! Thank you!

 

I dont think that any of the issues with the 03's affect the reliability. I mean you have the tire issues. But its a sports car, if your not prepared to buy tires frequently wrong type of car. Window, big deal let the dealer fix it. Tranny some are good some are bad, if its under warranty they will fix it. Other then that it's not as though cars are having issues actually running, and operating properly. Every car has issues. I had an Audi 05 s4 and i had this reocurring problem. every time i would roll up the window it would roll half way down. went to the dealer time after time and it kept happening. All the issues plaguing the Z's are pretty easy fixes. my .02

 

I'm pretty sure this guy is kidding, because he hasn't given any further information on this.

 

thanks for all the info guys.
i too am looking into buying a used Z.

can't afford a brand new one right now, but in my searching
the price ranges of '03s and some '04s are right for me.

one question i did want to ask is where can i find specs/standard equipment on the diferent models (base, enth., track, etc...).
basically i wanted to know if they all had LSDs o the '03/'04.

anyway, keep the info coming