Just wondering, what does it take to own a 350z in terms of maintaining the car and such?
I'm coming from a civic and also a student with a part time job.

 

insurance will jump up. mine is 180$ maintenance dosent take much more than a well maintained civic, ( i myself came from hondas. i still have my intagra gsr) if your low on cash and are a student im assuming you will be driving to school, so the gas is whats going to be a ding in your wallet. it take like 70$ to fill my tank. and it drains quick ha

 

if you have to ask you cant afford it im a full time student and i work full time gas is about $70-80 a week. oil changes about $60 for good oil and a filter tires depending on were you live im in ny so the crappy roads and constant road construction eats my tires. stick with your civic

 

if he keeps his civic for long drives he dosent have to worry about gas

 

Oh man. I got my first ticket today... My insurance was $1080 a year... Now I'm scared

 

Damn! It sucks to live where you guys live. Here its like $45 to fill up your tank. Then an oil change is usually $35 if you get a sale on the oil like it is every week at Auto Zone. They usually change the brands up, but when my choice of oil pops up I stock up on some filters and oil. And get your tires online. Cheapness.

 

"insurance will jump up. mine is 180$"

$180 for how long? I hope you're not talking about per month.

I pay $40 for an oil change with synthetic oil. Haven't had any other expenses other than taxes, insurance, and gas.

 

Well, welcome....but an 03 vs an 09 is going to have an entirely different maintenance schedule. As a student you might want to consider that...but who am I to advise. You're parent ought to be doing that. I'm assuming your mom is a single parent.

 

Welcome. Doubt you will find anything definitive on the subject. Performance sports cars are more expensive than, say, a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry just by its nature. Consider mileage. A Z with 100,000 miles will be more expensive to maintain than one with 25,000 miles.

BTW I sit aside $100/month for tires, routine maintence and repairs.

 

Well sir, I'm in a unique position to offer you what may possibly be valuable information. I had a well paying job and I owned a 2008 350z touring until I decided to go back to school so as to hopefully buy more desirable cars in the future. My 350z cost about $220/month for gas (about 1100 miles per month), $120 for insurance (I was 27 with perfect driving record), and the f*ckin tires were around $1000 every 1.5 to 2 years to replace. Scheduled maintenance such as oil changes were costing me about $300 a year. The 350z is significantly more expensive to maintain than a civic. I now own a 2006 civic and I pay $150 or less a year for maintenance (I do it myself), I have tires that will last 6 years, and I get 31mpg city (with AMSOIL 0w-20 synthetic oil). My civic costs me a max of $180 a month to own and operate (no ****!) including insurance. It is dirt cheap. Don't get a 350z... don't ever get a 350z. Be smart and wait until you finish school and get a ballerish sexy 370z or whatever else you want. If you buy a 350z now, chances are you'll sacrifice a great deal of future wealth in doing so. If you plan on still being alive in 5 years... you'll thank yourself for keeping the civic when you're rich and prosperous. I could have afforded to keep my Z but I didn't and it's given me a lot of peace of mind knowing how cheap my car is to own.

 

holy crap $70 that is ridiculous what r u paying a gallon? i pay 50'ish dollars to fill mine up from dead empty at 3.25 a gallon

 

If you're in the situation of being concerned about the Cost Of Ownership, then you really don't need a sports car. Stick with your Honda until you graduate and get a real job then you can afford a high maintenance item like a sports car. Insurance, tires, gas and note will all hit you hard. If you get bit by the mod bug, you'll really be screwed.

We see posts on here all the time by guys being squeezed financially who are looking for ways to reduce their insurance, get better gas mileage to save on gas costs or look to get the cheapest parts and mods. Don't do it.

 

you should shop for insurance first i only pay 120 a month for full coverage on my Z.

 

You should be shopping, too. I pay $265 every six (6) months for full coverage on my '08. I've got a clean driving record, and I get some discounts, too.

 

I've lost count of the number of younger people who just had to buy the 350 when it came out - many had them for about 2 years or so until they decided being car-poor was not all that. Advice from an older guy - wait until you graduate. It's not like time is passing you by or something, lol.

 

yup 180 a month, and that was the cheapest i found. for me, im 21 with a couple tickets and i just got the z 3 months ago so im sure it will go down. dont get tickes

 

Our '07 has costs about 260 dollars over the last year. One new v-belt and 4 oil changes. (Do oil changes yourself and save most of that.)

Then there's the love affair aspect .... New paint just to freshen her up 2600, powder coated wheels 720, Potenzas 1050 ......

And don't forget that you have to ask yourself, Civic or Z. Hmmm

 

Look up the cost of tires... then see if you can still afford the z. Tires are the single biggest expense on my car as far as maintenance goes. I go through rears every 9 months or so, and fronts every 14 months or so.

Synthetic oil changes can be done for less than $30 if you shop adds and DIY.

 

Not much more than other cars, as long as its normally driven. My 05 (wifes car) normal oil change, tires last 40k+ and normal maintenance schedule. Then my 03 is a daily driven track car, that one cost a lot. Then again the mods cost a lot and keeping its reliable as a daily driver/track vehicle i take really freaking good care of it.

 

You don't *have* to spent $250 per tire when you swap. There are plenty of decent alternatives around $150. Oil changes don't have to be synthetic, which can save another $30 or so per change (depending on how you do it). I get 27-30 mpg highway(17 city x.x); it's not 37mpg like my 88 accord, but that's more than decent for a sports car imo.

You can own a Z, just gotta be smart about it. If you're short on cash, I would recommend avoiding it but anything is possible if you value it highly enough.