I was looking at RSX's and Civics so I can get out of my big Hemi into something smaller for my commute since I don't need a truck anymore.

Then I figured instead of going dirt cheap I'd look into some other cars and the 350Z caught my attention.

Anyway, what is the differences between the models, I'm looking at the base model with 18 inch wheels on edmunds.

The car is gonna get about 90K on it in 4 years then I'll sell it. It will be maintained ok but will mainly be my commuter beater.

How is maintenance? Are they reliable? How is MPG? How is resale compared to similar cars.

Gonna go test drive tonight. Would like to have some info so I know what to look for.


Thanks

 

get a civic or rsx, their better

 

Dont buy a Z for Econ, it realistically gets about 21mpg avg and is Expensive as hell for tires and maint.

Expect to spend about $600-$1200 on Tires every Year or so with that milage.

It takes Premium Fuel Only, so you will spend $.20-$.30 Cents more per gallon when you fill up over 87 octane.

Reliability is good, but it is a sports car.

 

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If you don't want all the bells and whistles, then the base will be just fine. I'm not sure what to tell you to look out for, since the '06 models have most of the bugs worked out already. Just enjoy the ride... you will be addicted, i promise!

 

The "Z" is expensive to maintain unless you do the work yourself.

They have a number of issues with reliability. If you read through the pinned links at the top of the 350Z forum, you'll see what I mean.

I can get 27-28 mpg all-around commuting on I-95. You could get more on a long trip, but don't forget these cars also need premium gas.

The resale value of these cars is reportedly good.

Good luck!

 

So you are getting 21 mpg. That is about 6 mpg better than my truck. I was hoping for around 25 avg.

As far as maintenance goes what is required besides oil changes?

Also my friend owns a G35, I know the cars are similar, but can I expect the same reliability. I'll ask him how his is, he's owned it 6 months and put 10K on it. I know it needs new rear tires and he said they cost $350 a piece. But I can go with cheaper tires, I've got 2 toy cars I put my money into.

I think I also read somewhere that they had alignment issues when they first came out. I think it was in Motor Trend, dam I have a good memory.

 

Only Major issue was the 03' transmission which probably only affected like 5% of all 03' owners... The Tire Feathering issue has been pretty much fixed...

Is your driving mostly highway or city? City your going to average around 17-19 MPG, if its going to be mostly highway then you can figure around 25 MPG...

I would probably go with 17"/18" rims so tire replacement will be cheaper and the tires will last longer then if you had 19" rims

Also the Z is a sports car so the ride is on the firm side... Not sure how great a commuter car it will be unless your in your early 20's, then your body can handle the abuse better.. But if your older then 30 and your commute is long you might want something with a softer ride...

 

Welcome. This forum is all about the 350Z. An excellent study guide for anyone interested in driving a 350Z. Read. Learn.

 

I get nearly 30mpg highway if I'm just taking it easy w/ cc on. City is about half that so the average is usually around 23mpg.

I got my 03 with 6k miles on it 2 years ago. The only maintainence cost for me has been oil changes. Nissan did have to take care of some warranty work but everything was super minor and wasn't reliability-related.

However, you're talking about 20k+ miles a year? That seems a bit much for the ol' Z. I think an RSX or something would be better for that kind of use.

 

Everyone pretty much hit the big ones. Resale value isnt that great at all IMO, in fact its pretty bad. I took a bigger hit on my Z than my Altima (which had no wheels btw ). MPG is excellent IF you are good with it. I averaged about 28 or a little more when nice, if you get on it, it will drop to less than 20 easily! Most of the things have been fixed, even the annoying issues have been made better. I changed the oil with syth every 7500 and thats it for maint, but tires will come up sooner or later. If your driving on highways Id recommend getting either a bra/nosemask or doing a clearbra type thing because your front will get chipped to hell.

 

24 y/o, make good enough money so that is why I'm gonna avoid the econo cars. Can't see myself driving an econo beater 3 years from now.

Don't they have 18 inch rims all around. I understand the first set will wear out quickly but then I can go to a harder compound that will last me awhile, right?

I still have the original 20 inch tires on my 04 ram with 45K on it, but they are gonna need replacing soon. What I'm trying to say is I can take care of tires and won't be doing burnouts etc..

What I liked about them is that on Ebay I was looking at used ones and they were freaking high dollar for a used car. I guess I'm used to american cars that depreciate out the ***. I'm figuring if I put 90K on it and sell it I won't be taking bottom dollar like I would in a Mustang or Camaro.

 

Just guessing here but a 4 year old base Z with 90k miles on it should net you around $12k-$15k if you keep it lookin like new..

 

Yeah the alignment issue is technically fixed but that was never the fix to feathering problem. I believe all Z's will have some sort of feathering problem, in fact I dont even want to call it feathering, simply put, all Z's chew through tires. You have to be very pro-active and flip your tires in order to get anywhere near normal sports mileage out of them, and by that I mean 25k miles per set of tires.

also if you are putting that kind of mileage on your car I am going to make the safe assumption and say that you will be doing a lot of highway/straight driving. Well then you can definately bank on having the tire problem with the Z. Simply put the Z and the Z's alignment setup is set for one main thing...turning. The car and the tires hate to go in a straight line.

Finally, and you can trust me on this cause I just sold my Z (I do miss her despite what it may sound like), the Z is not holding its resale value. All the local Nissan dealers here did not want any piece of it, they already had 4-5 used Z's on their lot each. I had to do a lot of bargaining to get even "blue book" value on my 03 in a trade in.

for what you are looking for I would stay away from the Z. (never thought I would give that advice)

 

Yeah, I figure 350 miles a week to work and I go out of town most weekends. I have a place in the country 100 miles away plus driving around on the weekends. Although i'll probably cut back on my driving out of town so much once I get settled down in my new town.

I'm looking for a car that won't wear me out in traffic, my truck rides like a bucking bronco and isn't steady on washboard pavement. I can drive 100 miles from Galveston Island to Conroe and be in heavy traffic the whole way I have to negotiate through... It just wears me out in my truck that is one of the main reasons why I'm getting back into a car.

 

If you run over an ant you feel it in the Z!!!!

 

The stock tires are not very good. Once you replace them you'll be good for a while.

I wouldn't use ebay for checking values...that place is notorious for people paying way more for things than they should. KBB.com is the most realistic. Selling a 4-year old sportscar w/ almost 100k miles is a tough sell. Even if you didn't drive it hard, people kinda assume that you did.

I disagree. When I got my car 16k miles ago it had my tires (Nitto 555's) already on it. They're still in fantastic shape, have lots of tread left, and I haven't rotated them once.

 

I'd be lucky to get 70% of Blue Book value out of my truck. I've had it in auto trader for over a month at NADA price and no calls. I just lowered the price $1000 today, I want to avoid trading it in.

Cars are a bad investment.

I'm doing a 35 mile one way commute to work so that is 70 miles daily, plus I might do some car pulling. BUT... I do go somewhere every weekend, I can't sit at home, that is where the miles come from.

Decisions decisions................

 

I have 75,000 miles on my 350z. I get an average of 25mpg, with 27.5mpg on the highway. I log about 20-25k miles a year and other than tires it's been maintenance free.

Biggest expenses with the car are:
1) Tires at $800 a year
2) Premium Fuel at 3-3.50 a gallon
3) Oil changes with Mobil 1

Nothing that would prevent me from buying one and using it for a daily commute. The commute will be much more fun than a Civic. Go for it!

 

Gotta wait 30 more mins then i'm gonna go test drive.

 

Go with the Enthusiast model, otherwise you won't get the limited slip or cruise control.

Not sure what these guys are talking about saying maintenance costs being high. I get my oil changes every six months since I use synthetic, any other issue was covered under warranty. As long as you get your vehicle balanced regularly, should be fine with tires. Firestone has a lifetime balancing for $120.00.

Reliability is good as far as I know. I have not had an issue with mine.

MPG is anywhere from 15mpg - 30mpg.

Resale value is holding strong.

I myself don't mind the harshness of the ride at all, even though a lot of people think it is too harsh. The seats are fantastic.

We might have another 350z member tonight.