haha that is so trueeee.

 

[/QUOTE] I could care less if you are 17 or 57. What I dislike is posers without a dime hoping mommy and daddy will buy them a car. Dreams are good. Misleading forum members is dishonest. 9 out of 10 Thinking about buying a 350Z members are gone in 30 days never to be heard from again.[/QUOTE]

hmmmmm this statement slightly sounds like you do care about age. Sure I must say I agree about the poser part, but if someones' parents are willing to hep out thats fine too. I got my Z at 18 and went halves with my father. Or in his case it sounds like his grandparents are willing to help.
As far as advice goes.... search long and hard. try autotrader. But if you look at craigslist, be careful.

 

the 05 is good the 06 has an oil consumption problem the 07 n 08 have the hr engine which produce more power also once you go 06+ you get bi-xenon headlights a big upgrade from the 03-05 models i'd look at 05 07 n 08 imo n like mentioned under 50k miles i rather under 25k

 

Cars.com, Kelley Blue Book, and a few others. I like Yahoo autos though because it usually returns the most results and it's very easy to search quickly.

 

Just kidding...Good luck, I wish I had a Z at 17...I was rocking an 87 Cavalier (the year I owned it was NOT 1987)



I guess you could say I got Owned by the Cavalier, lol.

 

My advice would be to do something more productive with your grandparents money. Save for college and drive a beater. You have to prioritize.

Besides, you'll enjoy the Z more after you have more than 1 year of driving experience under your belt. Why not look at something reliable like an old used Honda (I'm not kidding, I had a Prelude and I wouldn't change that for anything)?

I don't know the circumstances under which your grandparents are giving you money ($20K?!) but you might consider being more responsible with it than blowing it on a car. And keep in mind that the car is not going to cost $20k in the long run. Insurance will eat you alive.

 

The piece of advice you'll get from this old man: 1. at worst, speed kills; at best, it'll get you a juicy ticket. Always obey the law, and stay out of trouble. Good "Z" hunting, dude!

 

Hmmm remember there is a LOT more to a car than just getting it.

Cost of gas - may not seem like much but as a college student or for me when I was starting out in the military the extra couple bucks for premium meant choosing something else I wasn't going to do.

Tires - Haven't had to replace mine yet but i will bet on 1k+ when I do and you will be doing that often if you drive it a lot. Performance tires don't last forever.

Insurance - 17 year old in a two seat 300 hp sports coupe. Make some calls and see how much that is going to cost you. To go with this a 17 year old in a Z is going to be a cop magnet even if you drive carefully.

If you can afford it and it is what you want then by all means enjoy. But don't tie yourself down with a car you can't afford to pay for/keep running then expect your parents or grandparents to keep you in something that isn't practical.

 

For those people talking about how much it takes to maintain a Z or how the money should be spent on college, I am going to go out on a limb and say this kid and his family are not broke. If you are in a position to just drop 20 large on a grandchild, there is probably more where that came from.

Now if this is his college money and he is blowing it on a car, then yes that is stupid.

 

Autotrader.com cut down the search. Check everything before ya buy and make sure it has oil in it thats not black. I got mine with 4,000 miles on it the oil was very low and black. Good Luck

 

I'm jealous, man. You are gonna get wicked girly action. I got my Z after I got the girl and after the teen years... I'll always wonder the what if's. Best of luck to you. I constantly find 2004-2006 Z's (nicely equipt) 20 grand and under here in Missouri. You should wait it out and make sure you find YOUR Z and not just the first one that fits into your budget. I made that mistake. I wanted white with frost interior and I got it but I also wanted a manual, nav and a newer model... Fail.

 

Don't worry about what some of these guys say on here. They're either jealous that they didn't have a Z at seventeen or they're just immature 20 somethings. There's always a surplus of hatin' on this site and it sucks, cause we're all on the same team.

 

DO YOUR RESEARCH. I used everything from KBB to Consuimer Reports. The down and dirty is that the 2005 had the least issues for model years between 2003 - 2006. The 2008 was better than the 2007 but both are better than the 2003 -2006. Good luck, respect the car and its' power, and make good decisions.

 

It's car money

 

Thanks again to everyone who helped. I've learned some things and a mod can close this thread if they'd like. I will be back when I get the money and meanwhile I'll research. After all that's done I will definitely post pics!

 

Then good for you! My suggestion is decide on exactly what you want; the year, color, options, etc. Then be patient and do not settle on anything less because you just want one the second you get that check.

A few weeks ago I drove 5 hours to DC to pick up a G35 for my DD. It was a pain, but I ended up getting a one owner '04 with only 37k miles on it for $13,450.

As stated, Yahoo, Autotrader are great. Also look at Craigslist, eBay, Vehix and the local papers. Good luck with the purchase. Keep us in the loop when you finally get it.

 

I'm hoping to find an '06 or '08 in Magnetic Black 6MT but as for other options.. I don't really know.

 

dont crash, beware of insurance, and dont try to show off in the streets

 

It's not going to be nearly as rewarding or gratifying since you didn't save for the money yourself, your (grand) parents are just buying you the car. I'm 20 and I saved since I was 18 for mine, and it's been an experience I will never forget the feeling of, my own perserverance.

And I'm not flaming you, but being a 20 year old, everybody is so jelous of me being able to save 2 years for my car, but they know I bought it myself. Being 17, and having somebody buy you the car is going to be 100 times worse, people are going to hate you where ever you go....seriously.

And the other thing, I know exactly what it's like being 17, and I know from hindsight having a car with that much power is dangerous...because you've only been driving for a year.

If it were me I'd say its a much smarter decision to get a Civic Si, or a RSX, or Saturn SKY, something along those lines. Plus you never want to leave yourself with nothing to look forwards to, because it kills the fun.

IMO, buy something like on the list above, and then when you're 20 trade it in for a 350Z, you'll be much happier in the long run when you look back on it.

 

I think I already have my mind set on purchasing a Z. Just have to research more on buying an used one and if I'm going to save money, I'd save it for college but like I said, this is car money.