Neither one. The 03 is bound to have tire feathering problems.. which may potentially eat up the $2000 in no time.

 

^ not neccessarily true. My '03 track had no feathering issues at all, niether does a buddy of mine's. That issue seems to be hit and miss and if you're buying one used, it;s generally pretty easy to tell by loking at the tires if the car suffers from it.

As for the arguments of getting the Track if you want to keep it stock..., well, that's fine, but it's also a good platform to mod as well, and picking one up cheaper gives you that much more money to play with. I've done ALOT with mine and the total money I've put in it is maybe $30k; heck of a deal for a well modded top-end model. You'll likely keep the Brembos and save the major cash of a BBK, and if you upgrade rims, the '03 Track rims will sell quite easily to offset some of the cost. Keep in mind as well, that the '03 had the most sporting suspension; the '06 is considerably softer.

 

Get the 03

 

Thanks to everyone for the help.

I'm leaning towards the 03 Track model....does the tire feathering affect every '03 car? is there a way to correct the issue?

Also, the oil consumption issue with the '06s would be a dealbreaker. Does this problem happen with every individual '06 350z?

 

No, the tire feathering does not affect every '03 car and no, not every '06 consumes oil.

 

I have an 03 Track that I got in December of 06. I paid 22.5k for an 03 track with 9000 miles. My cousin has an 06 base, so I drove both...
Here are my thoughts on both cars:
06 impressions
- is more confortable, softer suspension
- lower torque but a bit more top end
- steering feels a little lighter
- shifting is easyer
- interior changed - i personally dont care too much for it - i like 03 better
- headlights and tailights better
- no VDC, no limited slip,
- brakes are bigger for 06 base than the 03-05 base - don't think ur gonna feel much of a difference over the brembos on the street (they feel a bit softer than the brembos), on the track a diff story.

03 Track:
- stiffer suspension - ride a bit bumpy - I love the stiffer feel and I was happy that I dont have to change suspension for now. feels like a true sports car
- steering feel a bit heavier - more like muscle car - I like the 06 better
- shifting a bit notchy but ok - I like the 06 shifting better
- more torque down low - will add a spacer for top end
- brembo brakes
- I personally like the 03 interior better - so does my cousin
- VDC and limited slip
- rays forged wheels
- It had the tire feathering but the initial owner did the recall - no more issues

I chose the track mainly because i want to track the car and it allready comes with brembos. I wanna keep the car stock for a while and learn to drive it at the track, so it helped that it had the lighter wheels, brembos and limited slip. If i was to upgade to a bbk it would have costed me about $5k for stoptechs.
If you don't want to take ur car at the track, in the city you dont really take it to the limit to see the differences.
Get whatever feels better to you. You need to drive both and decide for yourself.
I choose 03 Track and I would do it again.

 

thats true that not all z's have that problem, but what if you happen to get one with problems? would you also want to live with the fact that you're car could have these specific problems? are you willing to live with these issues if your car happens to be faulty? of course this is the worst case scenario, chances are theres nothing wrong with either, but its a possibility.

 

Keep in mind that an 03 is a 4 year old car already. So if the car has any of the obvious problem, the previous owner most likely had done the recall already. And it's not like the 06 has absolutely no issue. We all heard about the oil consumption issue. I'd definitely get the 03 Track to save the money and get a better car.

 

Look, the main reason i got my 07 is that i didn't want a used sports car. Do you know the previous owner? Has he/she broke it in correctly? Has the previous owner stomped on it and floored it or hit anything? These are valid questions when buying a used car, especially a sports car that is designed to go fast and take corners. With the 06 you get a car that has been refined. You know that no one has messed with it. You can break it in properly without fear that some dumba$$ revved the pi$$ out of it when he/she first bought it. If you can afford it, buy the newer, better developed car.

 

^ The reason why new car dealerships are still making money.

PS: For your information, the so called "better developed" car could introduce new issue that the previous models did not have.

https://my350z.com/forum/engine-and-drivetrain/267434-help-clutch-stuck-to-the-floor.html

 

i love my 03 track. only reason to get rid of it would be to get an 08 g coupe or a gtr.

OP this is your first 350.. is it your first rwd? if so i'd say definitely get the track b/c the vdc. if you haven't owned a rwd car and you're starting off with a 350 then a base probably isn't your best bet.

 

Between these two selections....03 Track all the way if you plan to keep the car.

 

out of curiosity, how can you tell if a car 12k mile car has been broken in correctly? will it run less efficiently and result in poor gas mileage?

 

As an update, I just checked my tires today, and though it's still minor, I am going to have tire feathering. I have an 03 Base btw.

I'm looking at needing new fronts every 12,500 miles, though I might do better. I'm also looking into getting aftermarket suspension, but I need some more opinions on the effect that would have on the problem.

I'm still keeping this car. I'm addicted to it. Also, I can get Kumhos online for less than $100 a pop. Compared to my old smoking habit, that's nothing, and I could afford that when I was unemployed.

I would agree with everyone else that you need to be prepared to roll the dice a little when buying ANY used sports car. If you don't have the stomach for it, save up until you can buy new.

 

The only real thing you can do to see if a car has been properly maintained, would be if the vehicle had full records of all its maintanance done, and even that obviously wouldnt tell you the whole story. Buying a used car is like rolling the dice for the most part. You just need to look at it, drive it, and make sure it doesnt make any funny noises, or leaks anywhere.

 

Save a little and get 07 base

 

I've driven a FWD car (98 Taurus SE) for the last 7 years, so this Z will be a pretty big leap for me.

Is there anything with RWD car that I should watch out for, right off the bat?

 

Yes! In that case, DEFFINITELY get the '03 Track with VDC; it WILL save your @ss. I personally can't believe the number of threads I've seen recently of people coming from FWD cars and crashing their Zs; the last one had his car for three days before splitting it completely in half on a tree. Granted, he was being stupid, but coming from something FWD and without alot of power into the Z can be intoxicating and there IS a learning curve for the differences in how you handle a RWD car as opposed to FWD, especially one with enough power to toss the rear end out easily. VDC helps greatly here. Otherwise, take your time in getting the feel for the car and if you're going to explore the limits, do it someplace safe.

 

Rodeo,

Characteristics of RWD car are much different then FWD or AWD. Do some research on here or net. If you don't understand RWD I'll guarantee you will have your Z slide out from under you.