OK cool so lets see it.

 

Wrong - the struts are to hold the hatch up, not pop it open. There are two springs under the black plastic caps that actually pop the hatch - take them out, drop a couple of pennies in each one and put them back in. That trick has been around for about 8 years now....

 

2003 touring 116,000 miles, runs like new. Been on premium
maintenance since I got it. Oil was black when I first got it,
looks like previous owner didnt change it often. No problems
very reliable. I think you found a good deal with those low
miles.

 

my experience with my 03 that I love:

purchased with 58k and some change in May of 2011. Clean title with one previous owner. It had a brand new OEM clutch installed and brand new Federal tires(pretty loud). Great exterior shape with just some minor damage to the front bumper cover. Interior was okay with the exception of the infamous drivers seat side tear.

Got it for $12,995 before tax and tags at 3.99%

Problems since:
-Bank sensor went bad. Replaced
-Coilpack 1&3 have gone out. Had 1 replaced which went out less than 500 miles down the road. Replaced 1 again(free warranty) and it went out again with a lil over 1k. Replaced again(free warranty) but this time they found the #3 was bad. Had to pay for that one...dammit.
-passenger side window sticks(known problem). Doesn;t bother me all that much and I will get around to fixing it eventually.

Mods done at 62k yesterday:
-Invidia Gemini full exhaust
-5/16 Plenum spacer
-K&N drop in replacement filter
-Invidia Non-resonated test pipes(waiting to install after I find out what county I fall under for emissions)

I hope this helps out in some way.

 

At least now I know I'm not the only that's had this happen.

 

Nothing happening here folks. Move along.

 

Just got mines yesterday 2/24/2012. My fairlady is a 2003 enthusiast. Only issues I have is the ugly bra the last owner had on it, the almost rusty plenum, and this weird rattling noise coming from the shift ****

 

Oh yeah I got her with 76,890 miles

 

My 03 I bought 2.5 yrs ago with 60,xxx km on it. I just rolled 100,xxx a few days ago. My experience with it has been great. Only issues experienced was the transmission needing rebuilt. Bought a brand new CD009 revision from nissan and no other major issues. Only small things is that the oem subwoofer just kicked out the other day, and the front hood paint seems to like to chip. Although thats prob from living in alberta and all the aholes with their rig rockets spitting rocks. Been running boosted for a year now 0 other issues at all.

 

This is why I love my350z: I have this problem, replaced the hatch struts and still have this problem, then while reading an unrelated thread I find a fix.

I have a 2003 with 75,xxx miles I purchased it almost 1 year ago for 12000 OTD (paid for in full with cash money, it has an effect on final price). I have had all the usual problems: CD player jammed, hatch struts won't support hatch, center console in dash is broken(previous owner used that cubby for satellite radio unit, he used it every day, it broke), indash cup holder jammed, dash rattles, rubber seals around side mirrors are cracking and at high speeds water will drip through my speaker grill on to my leg(very rarely happens but it has happened, stressed out I took door panel off and there is no rust). I knew of almost all these problems before buying the car. Mechanically the car is perfect, I would bring some form of a ramp to look under the car, when I looked at mine plastic pieces were missing with signs of being ripped off, Exhaust had dings in it, all thing to bring down value!!! What ever you do LOOK at the car, not for five min. Look at it for 50 min, check to make sure the hatch is sitting right, the lights front and rear are not pushed back or sitting awkward, panels have no large gaps or weird bends.
When I went to find mine I looked at 7-10 different Z's: one was from car max same condition as mine with a $18000 price, one had one brand new headlight and obvious repair damage, one had every light (front & rear) pushed in a 1/4 inch and not flush with body along with almost finger sized gaps between panels, one the rear hatch was sitting a 1/2 inch back from the factory location and showed signs of being painted, then what I thought was the best one was in such good condition outside and under the hood I was going to buy it, I opened the door and my heart sunk "rebuilt title" sticker near the manufacture sticker on inside of door.

Good luck and be aware that most are in bad shape, and that's why they are for sale, be selective because it can cost a lot of money to fix something you missed.

 

03 with 150k on it
2 pass side window motors
1 drivers window motor
hatch struts
Cam sensor
trans replaced at 40k
Pinion bearing replaced at 130k
2 rear wheel bearings
Power steering rack has a slight leak
Both LCA bushings failed
rear diff bushing failed.

My can has been beat to hell on the track since i bought it with 37k on it. I'm thinking it is doing pretty dam well. The rest fo my stuff was done to make the car faster.

 

2003 Z here as well and owned since new (9 years now). 38k miles, which isn't much, but the hatch struts and driver window are the only issues I've run into. No other problems and routine maintenance otherwise.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q9sBi-LSfQ

100k mile dyno. my car has been ran like a scaulded dog ever since the day i bought it.

btw the "blue smoke" is actually black. the way the light from the window hits it makes the camera change its color.



replaced parts
rear diff busshing
2 window motors

and thats it lol. tranny needs replaced but it does not bother me till it explodes