BacktotheZ

I'm in St. Louis. There are at least 5 Z's advertised for sale at prices ranging from $27-28 thousand. Most are Touring models with all add-ons and low mileage. I've had my car for a year and a half and already lost 8-9 thousand, when I include sales tax. I imagine if I trade my car to a dealer, I would loose another 1-2 thousand.

When I bought this car, I thought I would be able to drive it for a few years and only take a small hit on it. What went wrong here?There seems to be a lot of Z inventory for sale. Perhaps they made too many of them.

Phatmitzu

iTrader: (34)

What went wong? Nothing. Its the mass production. Sooner or later 350zs will be very common on the street, but that does not mean its not a nice car. Z is a very nice car at its price range IMO.

ViZion

i've forced to look at selling my z (long story, but my ins is trying to screw me)

anywho, when looking at different cars, the best trade-in offer i've gotten has been 28k. that's after i bitçhed and ripped em a new one. btw, i have an 03 track that is in stellar cond. with 16k miles.

most trade in offers were around 25-26k.
i'm pretty disappointed with the depreciation as well. my previous 4 cars were hondas, so i guess i got spoiled.

still a beautiful car. i'm doing what i can to hold on to mine.

bixby

iTrader: (2)

Poor planning on your part I'd say. My guess is that you'll still take less of a hit than most other cars on the market. Kelly blue book for my area (Retail, Private Party) is still $33,500. Which is exactly what I paid for it (minus tax & license). Granted It's just a guide & I'd probably be waiting a while for a buyer (maybe not since brick was discontinued) but I'm sure I could get over 30k for it.

Maybe the market in your area is weaker.

bixby

iTrader: (2)

Geez! What do you guys want? 26k on a trade in? Thats pretty good in my book. And you've got 16k miles on it! The dealer's going to sell it for over 30k I'm sure.

ViZion

i payed 31 after tt&l on mine. i bought it in october. and i bought it used. so yes, i'd expect that trade in would be a bit closer to what i paid for it.

i'd live with 28k. kbb puts trade in at 29,125 in my area. again, i think that's what i'm reacting to as well. the trade-in numbers being 4k off of what kbb is saying it should be. 4k is a lot to me.

anywho, like i said, i'm trying to hold on to my z...but it might be hard to do.

ranger5oh

Im in STL too...

Anyway, we were rated as the best (least) depreciating sports car. Look it up on MSN. So stop complaining. I bet that F-body took a HUGE hit compared to this Z.

ranger5oh

Nevermind that F body comment.... my mind was on a previous post.

BacktotheZ

Who rated it, Nissan?

A 20%-25% depreciation in a year and a half on a car with 5,000 miles is significant, MSN or no MSN. And that's to a private party. A sale to a dealer would involved a bigger hit.

DiRN

Basic rule of thumb, sports cars depreciate quicker than most everything else. That's why the lease payments are usually higher on a sports car than a more expensive sedan.

ganjamon69

Dealers don't go by Kelly Blue Book. If you really want to know what your car is worth, try Edmunds.com. That's about the most accurate you're gonna get on the true value of your car.

zillinois

iTrader: (6)

Not flaming, but you should not have paid 35-37,000 (w/o tax) unless you pre-ordered. And if you pre-ordered then you knew what you were getting into.

My .02

DrVolkl

Ahhhh...the price of a new car!

Come on guys, you all know you're gonna take a hit when you drive her off the lot. Sure, we're all hoping it won't be a big hit, but lets face it, we're driving Nissan's, not Toyotas.

You can thank Nissan for depreciation...people won't pay top dollar for a car that has a few issues. I think in time, you'll all be very happy with the car as an investment...but the initial market has to stabilize. Remember when PT's first came out? Or Prowlers? Yeah, how do those people feel now?


I bought my 03 Performance Model with Leather installed for $26,999 on managers special. It had 10,850miles on it. (23 miles on the motor)

It was such a good deal because the previous owner blew the engine, so it had a new engine from Nissan put into it. The dealership bought the car back and I'm sure still made a nice profit on me.

Bottom line, it's always a better deal to wait a year. If you buy new, plan on keeping the car 10 years or it is not a good investment. Those of you looking to unload in 2-3 years should have leased or not bought at all.

dcwilson

You think that is bad? Buy youself a Dodge Truck. I put 10k down and got 7k off sticker and my 01 4x4 is still 5k in the red!

srmd22

Hell, going by that reasoning, my Mercury Mountaineer is a BIG loser. But I like driving it (and my LS roadster-- well I like that more) and I felt the price was fair enough, so I really don't give a crap

Ronny

Guys, usually when I respond to a post, I spout mostly ********. However, you've finally hit upon a subject I know something about.

I'm 65. I (and my wife since I've been married) have owned 54 cars (34 were new) that I can remember (and my memory ain't that great). I know depreciation.

If you want a car that doesn't depreciate, buy a Deusenberg (SP). I can't tell you how many times I've looked back and said to myself - self, why didn't you buy that Shelby Mustang, Bricklin, Panterra, etc. Well, it just doesn't work that way, unless you're Jay Leno.

We, the masses, buy cars we drive every day. We don't buy them as financial investments. Or, if we do, we're financial fools.

They Z will hold it's value relatively well. The downside is out there if we flame it too much ourselves. On the other hand, there are probably very few people out there, other than us, who have ever heard of feathering on a 350Z.

RitchieZ

Kudos OLMNNTS

dnguyent

iTrader: (5)

There is a glut of used cars out there, and the Z is no exception. I see a lot of used Z's in the lots here in Sacramento. I like buying used cars because of the awesome deals you can get, but with the Z, I couldn't bear buying one used because it's just one of those cars that people flog. If I had to get another daily driver right now, I'd buy a 1-2 year old car because it has depreciated at least 25%.

I had planned to keep the Z for at least 10 years, and that's the only way I could justify buying a brand new car, and not lose my *** in the "investment".

azjimbo

Stop the whining.Use the car and enjoy.What car does not depreciate?