lately i've been seeing a lot of Zs going on sale. and for someone who is considering getting a Z myself, it's kinda discouraging to see all these Z being sold.. could you guys tell me the reason why you guys are selling your Zs? if it is a private issue then its okay.. but i would like to know if there's something wrong with the vehicle that is making people change their minds... thanks

 

Good ?.I see a lot for sale in my area.Do not forget there are many people buying(nearly 30K in 10 months).

 

I think people doidn't understand what they were buying into.

Look at the complaints here, and you'll see what I mean. A lot of these people seem to have come from the European segment into the $30,000 Japanese market, and their expectations were a little high. In some cases it doesn't even seem like some of these morons knew they were buying a sports car.

Also, any time you buy a first year car you're going to have problems, so some people take it as the car being crappy.

Anyway, I think the car is about normal for any car in the price range.

 

Oh yeah, don't forget to look at unemployment rates going up too. Some people are surely selling their toy, but not by choice.

 

A lot more of the latter than the former. Shifter rattle, tire wear, rough ride. Wah, wah, wah. It is patently obvious most of the bitchers have never before owned a sports car.

joe

 

I don't really think there are that many people selling there cars.. but remember, the economy is soft, many are losing jobs, some are starting families and realize a 2 seater is not what they need.. Overall, almost everyone is satisfied with there "Z's".. I know I am.. I waited almost 20 years for a new sports car and after owning 1970 & 71 240Z's and a 1974 260Z, I'm very pleased and have no plans to sell my car..

Steve (k2we) Dobbs Ferry, NY 7541 miles since Sept 17th....

 

the thing that is worrying me is that.. it seems like these technical problems are very common and although i've never experienced any of it in real life (dont have a Z) the people who are suffering through it makes it sound like it's really bad and worth selling their car for... especillay the tranny problem i keep hearing about and the bose stereo system.. those are a few of the common problems..

 

A guy on here is selling his Z due to abnormal tire wear. ROFL.

 

what is that suppose to me? doesn't the rate of tire wear vary upon the condition the road you drive on? i duno... is there any other problems that people are facing?

 

As with any "hot" car, there will be a contingent of buyers that get caught up a the wave of hype and drive one home without much thought. Once that wave has subsided and they have to deal with the realities of owing a 2 seater sports car, many will bail on the car. Either to get the next "hot" car or to get something that is more to their actual needs.

 

My 350Z is for sale for one reason and one reason only. I lost my job last month and in an attempt to garnish my fixed monthly expenses I have decided to put it on the market. I have been very happy with the car so far and I am actively seeking employment so I can keep my beloved purchase.

As for the tire "feathering" issue, I am disappointed on many levels. I do concede that problems such as this are the risk you take buying a car in its first year of production. I find it hard to believe that Nissan didn't know about this before they started distributing 350Zs to US dealers and even harder to swallow the line that this is considered normal wear or that this type of wear is the price you pay for high performance.

News flash--its not normal or acceptable no matter how many people with vested interest in the matter try to say otherwise. My father has a 1983 944, which was hailed as the best handling production car at the time of its debut, and it doesn't have a feathering issue. Twenty years of design advancements and they can't figure out how to set-up a front end so the car has desirable handling characteristic without chewing up a tire in less than 5k miles--BS.

I'm sure the engineers at Nissan are working on a fix right now. For their sake, I hope they figure it out before they release the convertible. For current owners sake, i hope the fix can be retro-fitted to earlier 350Zs.

 

xw34x,

You are a smart man by doing this research. I wish I had before I bought my Z. If I had gone to this forum and did my homework like you, I NEVER would have bought this car. Maybe I'm a moron as one individual has suggested, but I knew I was buying a sports car. Which means I knew I was buying a two-seater; I knew I was buying a suspension that was stiff. But I didn't know I was buying a car where grease streaks plague both windows, where after 5,000 miles I need to get new tires (no, I'm not an aggressive driver), where rattles from the front and back of the car are about to drive me insane, where the fancy and highly respected Bose system sounds like a clock radio under a pillow, and where the paint chips if someone sneezes near the finish! I think I'm one of the lucky ones. I haven't had tranny problems, YET...knock on wood. And yes, this is a first year production model. But why does that mean owners should accept these design flaws? I'm looking to sell this car because I am completely disappointed in its reliability. Some on this forum would suggest that after spending $30,000.00 I should accept an inferior product. Bulls**t. Did I get a lemon? Yes! Along with a whole lot of other folks. Just look at the plethora of threads discussing problems with their Zs. Yeah, I'm sure I'm one of the whiners. GOOD! I'm not going to bend over while Nissan puts it to me! My advise: WAIT UNTIL THE 2004s COME OUT! Or, if you can live with the problems, I'm sure you'll be able to get a heck of a deal on a used 2003!

Don't get me wrong. The design of the car is impeccable. And the performance is impressive. But the problems are just too frustrating!

Thanks for listening!

Merely my 2¢

 

I have found almost any, what I call a character car, will have issues. By character car I mean something like the 350z. Distinctive looks, fast, heritage, cheap, but along with that comes rattles, quality issues, parts failures, etc. An inexpensive (well attainable) car with little to no competition that will basically sell itself will always have a trade offs I'm sure. SO if you're not willing to make the trade off, hey I agree sell it rather than be unhappy with your investment. It would be silly to keep it.

However, I would put up with it for a year or two rather than lose 4 or 5 thousand dollars! That's even more ridiculous!



*Well maybe this doesn't apply to Lexus. Almost everyone I know who owns one (mostly IS300's which is a cheap, good looking, hot selling, performance car), loves their car and the dealer, strange this day in age.

 

its such a cool looking car, and you expect a rough ride in a sportscar.

Its better they sell the car so a true enthusiast can enjoy it.

 

fotodad, thanks for the compliment and im sorry to hear about your problems, hope yourself out of the trouble ASAP. the true reason why i started this thread is because i saw the new Lexus RX330 commercial on TV. before i saw that, i was a true Z fan.. although i never had any Z in my life before, i've been following this car for almost a year now.. since the time when it was introduced at the Tokyo Auto Show? in 2002 i think.. after seeing that commercial, it made me wonder and started to think about the pros and cons about both cars. i decided to go down to the local lexus dealer on (stevens creek) and ask them about it. those salesman were very professional and showed me the new rx model.. it was VERY impressive.. "manual air suspension", (like hydraulics) back up video camera, DVD MOVIE player, to name a few. So this car definately has the luxury, the comfort, and the named brand reputation. so those are the pros for that car. then i went to the nissan dealer down the road and looked at the z. it was great, and very sexy =P and since i've never had a sports car and stick, i really want one. the speed, the good looks, the great aftermarket options.. but i didn't want to let my desire blind my logic so i started to research the cons for both cars... that's where you guys' imput are so important... because i really have no personal experience with problems concerning a sports car. as for the lexus, the car itself is superb.. but like the z advertisement said, it's not gonna "fuel my rebellious spirit" or (something like that).. yea thanks guys all of your opinions are very important to me. so far, my car decision has shifted more to the RX side.. i hope more people post their imput. thanks a lot

-woody

 

hey~ i didn't get all these problems~

 

you should consider the ratios of problems to no problems for the amount of z's sold....im sure the ratios of prob z are small. i have about 3000 miles now and not one prob. maybe the tire and trans problem are taken care of already by nissan??? anywayz...if ur gonna buy the z look for a high # vin...cuz most of the probs were occuring for preorders (low vin #s).

 

Go to any website about practically any vehicle, and you will see that there always seem to be TONS of problems. This is because no body posts about their car with no rattles. Nobody says, "Wow, I shifted 30 times on the way to work and never broke a gear tooth."

Go to any car dealer or mechanic and you will see that even the most reliable cars have problems.

With the Z, I have heard of only one serious problem that I recall: tranny failures.

I have 15,000 miles on my Z and drive very aggresively and am just reaching the point where new tires are required. Therefore, feathering is not an issue on every car (which means a couple things - it is not necessarily a design flaw inherent in the car, but that there is some reproducability problems in manufacturing that cause some cars to have problems while others do not). I recall one person who had feathering problems note that after getting new wheels, tires, and aftermarket shocks, the feathering was gone (and after several thousand miles on the new tires, did not return). I would count the feathering as the second most serious problem, but probably easier to fix than a potential transmission failure.

I would classify most of the Z's problems as annoyances. Things like grease on the windows (I have it on the drivers side, but never notice that it's there), rattles (my dash is a real problem), and a stiff suspension.

To me, the rattles are the most annoying, mainly because they take away from the solid feeling of the car. I see that TSB's have been released for some of the rattles, so maybe newer cars will not have the problem.

I think that many of the rattles are due to first year design and MFG issues, and that later versions will be quite a bit better.

IMO, it is up to each buyer to determine whether or not they can live with these problems. For some of us, they may detract from the car enough that we are willing to invest in something else. For others, the call of the Z is far too strong!

If you are interested, you may want to test drive a used one to see if you notice the rattles and grease streaks and get an idea of what a Z would be like in several thousand miles.

Personally, I love the car, and am willing to put up with the annoyances for several thousand dollars worth of savings (when compared with similar german cars) to use for track days and upgrades.

-D'oh!

 

Let me add my cents in to the discussion. Disclaimer: I think I am impartial, I do not own a Z nor a Lexus, but a Bimmer.

You really need to make sure you buy the Z for the right reasons. It is very normal to be attracted to a car like Z, such car was not available at its price point, it is truly amazing IMHO. It is also very normal that you have conflicting desires, many do and manufacturers' compromise sportiness with luxury for that very reason; I think BMW is a very good example. I do think BMW actually offers the best compromise, but probably the G35 comes very close (obviously this is a biased comment ).

If you buy the Z, you really should be looking for its sportiness and can live without luxuries. Porsche owners, for example, have been living in that world for a long time. But, they will never give up the sheer excitement and driving satisfaction that Porsches offer.

Granted it should not be an excuse, but a fact nevertheless, the Z is in its first year production. One thing Nissan promissed is the original character of the 240 and the 300. The 350 is very close, but due to some problems, it is not yet in the same class.

For example, the hopping of the rear end is inexcusable to me in a sports car. That is not because of a stiff suspension, but non-optimal bound/rebound settings of the shocks. Stiffness is due to springs, which has a good setting IMO. Paint issues are related to environmental compliance, but I am sure they will find a fix. The window grease, I am lost on that one, its just silly. Tranny problems, I personally expect it. It seems to be a very good tranny with short and precise throws, I would not change it, it seems like it is designed to handle many more hp; so problems in the first year are OK. A freind of mine just purchased a '03 Porsche C4S and in it carfax report he saw that the tranny was changed at 3000 mi. There are other similar engine replacements on 996, still; but Porsche enthusiats consider that normal.

What makes those issues in car that is in its 5th year of production and costs close to $100K "normal?" How Porsche handles warranty. No problems or grief is given to customer, they just replace the entire tranny or engine, give a Porsche loaner, and keep the customer happy.

If Nissan and its dealers step up to the plate with early problems, this Z will achieve legendary status, with of course a lot of thanks to aftermarket supporters as well.

 

thanks for the detailed feedback flyingtoaster. the truth of the matter is, im looking for a sports car that has luxury.. although that sounds weird but yea.. a luxurious, sporty car.. haha well.. the problem that is bothering me is that.. so far the luxury on the Z isn't satisfying me.. and i can understand that the reason is because it really is A TRUE SPORTS car.. although i can overlook that fact, i can't ignore the problems that many are facing.. i've decided to wait a little more to see what's up with nissan and their plans to fix these problems and to see how the lexus rx330 is doing and maybe see if i can get myself a cheapter deal since my family already has 3 lexus (rx300, 96 LS400, 02 IS300).. hope they will have mercy on me=P haha.. also... i am interested about the mazda rx-8. seems like the bose on that thing is way better than the Z and it looks pretty nice, still a 2 door 4 seater that looks very sporty.. by the way, does anyone know anything about the rx8?