is there anything i should watch out for as far as known problems with the car or any recalls? it is a 03. car is 19k miles on it

btw the vins JN1AZ34E83T007981 if thats of any help determining anything

 

Depends on COST! what is the asking price? Bc, 19k is a lot miles for a one year old car. There are better deals out there for less miles or NEW! And plus the "VIN" indicates an earlier model, which tells me, there could be many many little problems to deal with.

 

Many members may tell you that "tire feathering" was/is an issue with 03's but many more people have not had a problem like me.

The only problem I had was the window streaking and car pulling to the right.

Pulling to the right solution--new control arm bushing and realignment

Window streaking--new roller

As a previous bmw owner the z has been a lot more reliable, my bmws always had small glitches and I was in the shop every 2-3 months, eg window regulator, Gas guage, automatic climate control

But I do still miss the bmw german engineering quality but the z compensentates by being the car that is absolutely a fun fast reliable car.
1987 325is
1996 328ic
2000 328is
2003 350z

 

well he had the car for about 2 years so 19k isn't too bad, 8500 a year doesn't seem too much to me. as far as price its touring package and he wants 25 for it. its DB. as far as the tire feathering problem, i'll be changing the wheels anyways so that shouldn't be a issue for me, i'm just worried about the big issues like the tranny and things of that nature

 

If you are worried now, that should tell you something! If u r sure you want the car, make every attempt to get car checked out! bc once you buy it, it yours, with all the problems! ADD a few more K's To the 25K and buy a NEW!

I bought (USED) Touring fully equip., (NAV.....ETC...) only 7K miles for 30K, best deal I made, NOT one problem to date.

 

well i'm not really worried about the buyer as he seems to take care of the car, i'm just worried about everyone on this forum complaining about the 03's. also he never got his tranny replaced, he said he had no problems with it to date. i dunno if thats a good thing or bad

 

19k miles is not bad at all, most people average 16-18k per year, 19k is very good for a 2 year old car.

 

I bought an 03 Performance with 11k miles back in May for $26k. Came with leather...and all the other performance goodies.

I have a lower vin # than you...haven't had many problems....just had the tires replaced for the feathering thing and nissan re-aligned my car/did the toe in/whatever.

I do have window streaking, but I'm too scared to bring it in to be fixed...I can live with cleaning the windows once in awhile...at least they work right.

The car has been a blast...you won't regret it.

 

thats great to hear, with all the horror stories, i'm glad to hear someone happy with their 03. i'm most likely taking this car, hopefully if things go well by the end of the week, then let the modding begin! lolz. when you got your car did the previous owner have the tranny replaced?

 

I have no idea...Actually, I think I was looking for vin #'s when I was putting my test pipes on (I was looking for a solid engine vin to see if it was the original engine - long story) Anyhow, I think I remember finding a vin on the tranny and it matched up.

The tranny really hasn'y been giving me too much trouble...for a little while I was have trouble speed shifting into 3rd from a stop (rowing throught the gears) but that seems to have gotten better
Can always go to Nissan and they'll replace it as long as it hasn't been 3 years or 30k miles...the drivetrain might even be more like 50k miles.

Just remember, you're going from an '02 build date (most likely)
so once Oct 2005 or so rolls around, you may be out of luck...

 

Get Nissan dealer in your area to inspect tranny and trust that they know what there're doing, if everything works out, then go for it, they are nice vehicles. Like I said, I bought used, been smiling since. Try not to let the people on the board scare you, not everyone are having the problems, but the problems are real!

 

And if you're worried about paying too much, just compare it to Carmax's pricing. They're selling brand new roadsters below MSRP, while my local dealer still has coupes marked up $1500 for "Current Market Value"!

Good luck!

 

I bought an '03 Track used in April. The only problem I have had so far is the window streaking (which I've been to lazy to have fixed). It seems like the '03 Z's are hit or miss regarding the problems. Based on my experience I'd so go for it, you'll love it!