Dear good people,

I plan on joining your fine ranks as a 350Z owner sometime next week, but have some concerns about the car I'm looking at.

Consumer Reports says the 2003 had POOR "Suspension" reliability (which improved to EXCELLENT in 2004!). This, along with a FAIR rating for the "Power equipment" earned the 2003 model a "be wary of" for reliability.

Does anyone know what they might be referring to? I'm also looking at a 2004 model, but it doesn't have the Brembo brakes and other features I was hoping for. Would I be better off avoiding the 2003?

Consumer Reports also says, "The ride is harsh and uncomfortable. Tire and road noise is pronounced. Rear visibility is poor. Interior fit and finish is disappointing." Can anyone comment on these accusations? I have yet to test drive it and judge for myself.

Thank a ton for any advice!

-Michael

P.S. For anyone interested, I live in N. California and am looking at a "Track" edition with 27,375 miles on it. It comes with a nav system and the dealer is asking $27K.

 

They are referering to the couple hundred of Z's that a complete lemons...

 

Keep looking you could get a 04 TRACK w/ that mileage for same price or a bit less.

 

Totally agreed. $27k seems a wee bit too high for a 3 year old car that pretty much started out at that price in '03... I know not exactly $27k start, but close enough.

 

There is a track edition (w/o nav) listed in our local paper for $23,500. Something like 25k miles on it. Of course I'm on the east coast but still....I'd keep looking. As for the reliability issues, I wouldn't worry too much. Chances are anything that was wrong with any 03' (tires/tranny) has most likely already been fixed under warranty.

 

I got my brand new '05 Enthusiast 4 months ago for $28,800... you're over paying for that '03 track

 

I agree with all of the above. Get an 04 or later just to lower probability of issues.
And the $27 K price is too high.

My 03 has been great with only minor feathering. I'm a life long (age 63) subscriber of CR & consult it for any purchase over 5 bucks. But that 03 Zzz review was WAY off the mark.

 

I've had my 03 track for some time and so does a friend of mine on the site and so far I have had no problems what so ever with mine, nor him with his. It's a great car, sadly I have to sell mine but don't hesitate on a good priced 03 Track.

 

2003 "Suspension" : This rating is because of uneven front tire wear.

2003 "Power equipment" has me fooled a bit. Maybe the complaint is inoperative electric windows?

The other comments are arbitrary. I suggest that you drive the 350Z. Some people enjoy a hardcore performance sports car, others do not.

Best wishes.

 

I suspect the power equipment has to do with window grease streaks/alignment and/or the bose radio. Suspension is tire feathering...if the 04's hadn't benefitted from the new alignment they would be black dotted as well.

I believe an 03 will be just as reliable as an 04 in the end. The major problems (tranny, tire feathering, crappy window motors, rattles) are going to be the same. The only difference will be the 1-2 weeks your car sits at the dealer getting TSBs done.
NzZ

 

Thanks a lot for all this great advice! I took a test drive this weekend and had to agree with just about everything I've read about the 350Z. The Track edition was bumpy and road noise was pronounced, but it's a race car and I kind of enjoyed that. I had to agree with Consumer Reports in saying the interior fit and finish was "disppointing." It was all rinky-dink plastic, but I can live with that. The engineers at Nissan obviously said, "we have this much money to put together a kick-*** sports car" and spent the money on the engine and suspension, not the interior. The last sticking point is the price. Thanks for the encouragement that I can get it cheaper (despite CR saying it's worth $27.8!). I'm going to offer $24K and work up from there, to a top offer of maybe $25,500. This will happen later in the week. Wish me luck!

 

This goes for all Z's, not just the 03, not just the Track. They're exagerating a bit, but for a sportscar, it's going to be loud and bumpy.

You can do better on the price. The nav is like a $2k feature if I'm not mistaken but with the 06's just coming out, they are asking too much for an 03 w/ that mileage. If you love THAT car then go for it and you won't be disappointed. But if you're looking for ANY Z at a good deal then keep looking. There's plenty out there.

 

Did you make an offer for the 350Z? What happened?

 

I am now a proud ower of a 2003 350Z Track!! Woohooo!
Thank you guys for all your great advice. I t really helped me make my decision (possibly the biggestone of my life so far! ).

As you may recall, I had set aside $30K in the bank for this. I had told myself I wanted to get out of there for $28K total, which meant I didn't want to pay more than $25K (maybe $25.5K tops). I wound up going in with $3K cash to see what kind of financing we might do (with my TERRIBLE credit). I figure as long as there's no penalty for early pay-off, I might as well see what kind of rate they'll give me and maybe try to re-establish some credit. Plus, as you fine people had pointed out, they like financing a lot more than cash. He got me credit at a surprising 11% (I expected more like 20%). I may just pay it off tomorrow or might let the balance ride for a year or something to build up my credit rating.

Oh, and the car comes with a 6-year bumper-to-bumper no-deductible warranty. They said if something breaks, they'll fix it for free. The guy even told me to drive it like it's a rental. Ha.

So then came a couple hours of excruciating doubletalk. I have to admit, I think he wore me down. I was telling myself I could go as high as $35,500 but wound up paying $35,750. As I'm signing the papers they tried to slip in Lojack ($800) and "laser etching" a serial number on all the glass. I said thanks but no thanks. In the end, the total came to $30,163.43.

It's $2K more than I wanted, but screw it. I HAVE A Z!!!! And I am having a frickin' BALL with it. I've never had a car that was so fast or beautiful, and doubt I ever will again. The nav system is awesome. I had no idea they were so good these days. Goodbye Mapquest, Yahoo maps and Google maps...don't need you anymore!

And setting my rear-view mirror to open the garage door is a cool trick too!

So far, the only things I've found to complain about are the sunglass holder in the roof is too small to hold anything but granny's reading glasses and the passenger-side seat belt knocks against the door while I'm driving.

So once again, thank you all for all the great advice, if you have any comments on my purchase I'd like to hear them. I'll have to check out the other forums now that I actually HAVE a Z. Take care!

-Michael

 

There should be a little clip on the wall behind the passenger seat. You can slide the metal prong of the passenger seatbelt into it to keep it from rattling.

Fun stuff: hold down the unlock button on the key remote to roll down the windows.

Oh yeah, congrats on the car! 03 Tracks are the best.

 

Thanks Maxim. I found the key-rolling-down-the-windows-thing in the manual. I love it! The clip for the seat belt I didn't know, so many thanks!

 

You post questions about buying a 350Z on 10/13, and have the keys in your hand on 10/24. I like your no BS style. Congratulations.

 

LOL...once you make up you're mind, there's nuthin' to it but to do it!!

P.S. I just took it in and got the window grease problem and the hatch not popping open problem (both TSBs) taken care of for free 2 weeks before the free-ness would have expired! (I feel pretty good about that.)

I love these forums, thanks again for all the help and advice all!

 

Hey, are your rims chrome? Or just showing up shiny in the pic?

 

Certainly look like 19" OEM Infiniti Wheels. I likey.