Hey guys, I just joined the forum because I am picking up a daytona blue 2003 enthusiast 350Z tomorrow and have the following questions.

The place where I am buying it (carsense) offers a 3 year/36,000 mile bumper to bumper extended warranty from the date of purchase. The car is a 2003 with 50,000 miles on it currently, so that will be good for quite some time. A side note (important) is that all repairs are covered with NO deductible paid. AKA repairs that are not regular maintenance (tires, brakes, oil change) are FREE.

With that said, the warranty costs $1,500. I'm new the to the Z and would like to know if this warranty is a good idea or not. I'm basically trying to figure out how reliable the Z's engine/drivetrain/transmission and electrical systems are, and if I am going to be replacing expensive parts before I hit 86,000 miles or by 2012. I will be continuously researching this above mentioned stuff, but I figured I'd start here because some of you guys seem to be really knowledgeable about pretty much everything. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

If it's an 03 I'd make sure the car doesn't have tire feathering issues, if so, don't buy it. If it doesn't which it's not easy to tell, I still say get the warranty, the 03 had some tranny issues t0o. Also all warranties are negotiable, I got the extended warranty from Nissan for $900.

 

I'm guessing the tire feathering means that the inner/outer tread of the tires wears faster than the other? What is the remedy for this? Doesn't sound like rotating them will fix anything. Thanks for the info.

 

As I understand it the tire feathering problem was a combination of mis-alignment from the factory and the OEM Bridgestone tires. From what I read a new alignment fixed it. I am guessing that with the age and mileage of your car the issue was addressed..if it was an issue at all.
Also, some '03s had transmission issues so the warranty may justify it.
Re. the extended warranty, it's only as good as the company issuing it. Try to research them as far as complaints filed with the BBB, etc.

 

If you buy the warranty you will have 100,000 problem free miles.
If you pass on the warranty the motor will fall apart tomorrow.

 

not a bad idea... if you can afford it, go for it.

Have them pull ur 6th spark plug, drivers side clostest to the firewall and check for oil... valve covers are about 250 + labor and it will prob def leak a little oil before 86k which would entitle you to a new one... Also as others have mentioned 2003s have tranny issues where the syncros start grinding... check your cars history to see if the tranny was swapped... I have a 2003 g35 which is the same tranny and motor and i purchased my car with 28k miles WITH a grinding 5th gear, they swapped it out for me no questions asked, been fine ever since but its you have 50k on ur 03 with the og tranny id be more likely to get the warranty.... Bost cd players are known to eat cds, window motors and power seat motors also are known to go sometimes ( mine have been fine but a lot of ohers report problems) .... theres a ton of crap , will it add up to 1500 who knows,, try to get them down to 1200....

also cam position sensors and other things like that may go as well...

its def not a bad idea at all....

 

Does the "grinding" in fifth gear just refer to a grinding noise that I would be able to hear? When I test drove the car I don't recall anything like that, but then again I wasn't exactly looking for it. If I start to notice this, what should my first move be towards having them fix it?

 

Be very careful with used car ext.wtys.A new car wty. will cover things like weak syncros,slow window motors etc. but most used car wtys.only cover complete failures.ie weak syncros-wear and tear,not covered till it fails completely and then they will call it abuse.Slow P/W motor-wear and tear.Only covered if it quits.Trust me,I am a service manager for a large import dealer and I handle this crap every day of the week.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'll be sure to inquire as to if they cover replacement parts ONLY in the case of failure, or if the part is just worn. Any specific areas or parts of the car I should mention to the the guy I talk with?

 

Don't ask anybody.They will tell you what you want to here.There are huge commisions on ext.wtys.READ the contract word for word so you know what you are getting.It is a binding contract so what it says will be covered,will be.It will explain wear and tear etc.BUT IT WILL NOT COVER ANYTHING NOT SPECIFICALLY LISTED.Take a copy of the contract,go to Starbucks and read it completely.

 

Sounds like a plan, I definitely need to look more closely at that. Good to hear from someone with such expertise in the warranty area.

 

Lehigh... Methinks you are asking if we have special insight about the likelihood of a 2003 Z to need major repairs unknown to the sellers of the extended warranty. Special insight would include problems with crankcase sensors, convertible top repairs, tire feathering, bad synchros, keys deprogramming etc. I suspect that the sellers of the extended warranty have a lot of data, cold hard numbers, about the expected costs of repairing a 2003 Z over the period of the extended warranty and have priced it accordingly, including both a profit margin and a margin for commissions.

If you have a positive cash flow, meaning you spend less than you earn, and if you have a financial cushion, say 3-6 months of living expenses in cash savings, you could consider taking the 1500 dollars and adding it to an emergency repair fund for things that break randomly over time (cars/washers/dryers/heat pumps etc.).

 

That's an interesting way to think about it, thanks.