Hey guys, im a noob here, so bare with me.
Im finally in the time of my life where im able to purchase my own car, and from day 1 i have fallen in love with a Z. im 19 and looking at several Z (Manual of course) i found 1 a 03 coupe with 75k Miles for $10k, any pros and cons i should know about, i really love this car(Type/Model) i dont see my self buying a honda, or acura, or bmw, or mercedes, so i cant be convinced on getting anything else. LMK what pros and cons that im getting my self into.

 

if you don't mind paying $10k for a 9yr old car then yeah sounds like a good idea.

 

i got my 03 with 98k miles for 10k O.o but it was with a new clutch and front bumper. hows the car fax looking?

 

if you like the car, go for it. I would suggest going for later hr model unless you're planning to go FI

 

For the price of HR's and buying a DE id rather save the thousands into a turbo for the DE. I got mine for a steal too. What you need to do is shift into every gear and try see if anything grinds, 03 is the year for the synchro issue.. 5th gear is the typical issue. Another is if it is a base 350z you wont have a limited slip differential. GL

 

Use the search function on here for your pros/cons related questions. There's endless information to be found.

As for the price and your plans with Z, that's something you need to decide beforehand.

 

Go for it!

I have not regretted a day owning the Z

 

3rd gear is IMO the most common gear with problems.
Not biased on that just because I actually have that synchro problem right now. but yes, Id save up man, least get an 06 if possible. Get out of the first years of 350 = get out of first year problems etc....
coming from an 03 owner.

 

agreed. I've driven a 2003 and the 2nd and 3rd gear were so crappy. it was awful. I have a 2006 and the 2nd gear feels a bit notchy but NOTHING like the 2003 I drove. to be fair that 03 was a piece.

 

I'm a youngin' with a Z too.

I got my base 2005 Z for around 11k out the door at 79k-ish miles.

In my opinion, unless you have a burning desire to have something that the other trims have, base is fine. If you plan on tracking it or doing any performance driving, the stuff you get stock will be replaced sooner or later anyway. If you just want it as an A->B car, some of the luxuries you might end up "needing".

But as for '03s, you mainly want to be wary of the tranny problems. A new CD009 tranny might be expensive and a hard swap for a newbie to tackle. If you got time, do more research and find the right fit for you (color and trim wise).

 

The 350Z is not for everyone. Have you looked at the RSX. You get performance AND reliability in a single package.

 

My '03 has been rockin' for 115K + miles now. No major problems, and only a couple of minor ones. Luck of the draw? And I thrash it on a pretty regular basis.