The Z stays in the garage for the winter. I'm not a crazy clean freak who needs to clay bar the thing every month. I drive it in the rain and clean/wax once or twice a month during the good seasons. I don't care about dirt and the usual road gunk. I draw the line when it snows and the roads become salted because the experience isn't enjoyable knowing that my Z is getting rusty. I'm keeping the Z for the long haul. If I knew I'd be getting something different in 2 years it wouldn't matter to me.

 

Get a car cover or put this in your garage!!!

 

I think people are misinterpreting the guy that said the 30k thing...

While I agree with his comment, I think 30k is a lot of money, this is the reason I bought mine used for less than half that. The way I read into his comment was basically that people should not be afraid to drive their Z, some people seem to really act like these things can't see a raindrop. My reason for agreeing was basically that an Altima costs in the same range as most of our Z's and it's not a Lamborghini, in other words 30k relatively speaking for the "sports car" category is inexpensive. If I had a Gt-R or a 911 Turbo I'd freak out about keeping it mint and panicking about bad weather, but these cars are affordable enough to drive and enjoy.

It's like someone with a new I-pod, and they don't want a scratch on it, and they baby the heck out of it and always examine it but it always ends up with that first, and second, and third scratch. It's only when it's a little scratched up that you can take it off that "new product not a scratch on it" pedestal finally enjoy it for the durable little music player it is. Now I'm not saying treat the Z badly or go scratch it up, but I think worrying about something too much takes the fun out of it. Sure it would be cool to drive a Lamborghini, but imagine the anxiety if parallel parking in a city? Or parking at a shopping mall? My point is the Z is affordable enough to park and not have a heart attack about walking away from it for a few. These are great cars, 30k is nothing to sneeze at, but I do think these cars are reasonably priced to the point where they can be treated as daily driver cars. I bought mine used, and I plan to use it, with that said I have and will garage mine when the weather is terrible, but when the roads are cleared of snow I will drive year round in between the snowstorms, were this a hugely expensive sports car I would never drive in the winter at all.

 

^ Nicely put. I definitely agree there.

 

As for the OP's original question, which was not how much his car costs and whether he should be careful and fastidious in his maintenance, your car should be fine but there are a few things to remember: (1) Do NOT scrape ice off of the paint. Windshield fine...we all have to do it but NOT off of the paint. Just let it melt on its own. (2) As soon as the weather clears, clean the car or at least rinse it off. City streets and highways, especially in places where it snows a lot, are almost immediately covered in some sort of de-icer, usually chemicals but sometimes salt. These are corrosive agents and WILL damage paint if left on too long, so make sure that doesn't happen. (3) Car covers, as everyone else is saying, can help a lot.

We are getting plenty of snow here in CO. I understand what you are going through!

 

 

Hmmmm....To me personally it is not the fact of how much i paid or my Z or any car is worth. I simply love any car that i own weather it be a sh1tbox or an expensive vehicle. As a car enthusiast im simply a car lover, and it makes me feel good to take care of any car that i own as if it were a family member, or a child. As my other friends bust the bank to buy newer and fancier vehicles im content with my Z and all of its beauty still shining out due to the great care that i give toward it. Makes me feel good knowing my car looks its best as well.

I had a 1987 bmw 325 is 4 door in white. Car was stunning i kept it in such great shape that you could eat off of it. In my younger years i was all about washing it and cleaning it and yada yada due to the fact that i always drove it. As the Z goes and now that i am older im pretty much to busy and lazy afterward to clean it up all the damn time as well. So by storing it for the winter, or during bad weather like rain storms im just keeping it nice for when the sun comes out its ready to go rather then have to be washed and waste that beautiful day doing so.

Sheeeeit i even keep the GF's EVO clean and garaged!

 

Best thing to do if outside i would agree with the car cover.

After the storm though, especially with ice storm, go find an empty parking lot and have some fun with the traction control off.

 

Totally agree. I had an '88 Z31 that was mint when I bought it used, and still looked great in 2003 when I sold it and bought the 350. It was a total DD, as is my 350. Did not have a hint of rust anywhere after 15 years and every option on it worked flawlessly. After 5 years the 350 is off to the same start. I take it to the self serve car wash after snow/salt on the roads, park it maybe 5 days total in the winter until the roads get cleared, and enjoy the sunny, if cold, days in between. I could afford a beater, but have no real disre for one, unless maybe a stripped down Jeep that I could thrash and enjoy. Keep a good coat of wax on it, touch up any and all paint chips, and rust will be the last thing you need to worry about.

 

This post has been way over-analyzed

But I do agree with everyone that says who cares how much the car costs, It's all about enthusiasm. I know I love my Z and I'm sure most of you would say the same, as this forum is my350z.com not myenzoferrari.com

Anbody who can just brush off 20k and up needs a better perception of money. Not all of us 35-50 at our mid-life crisis and cant just fork out for the price of a Z. I myself am 21 years old and bought my 03 Z without the help of Mommy and Daddy and like to keep it in the best shape possible.

Anywho now that I have over-analyzed this post myself, I think a simple answer like Car cover, lay on the wax, or garage it would have sufficed.

 

Contrary to popular belief snow and ice will not harm a parked car. Unless you're driving it on the salted roads it's not going to hurt anything.

 

snuggle time.