Hello I seriously considered some of the same cars as you and I will tell you what I think:

99 M3: I drove several of these as I used to work at a dealer, lots of fun but the 99 doesn't have the power of the new M3's, the Z looks better, handles better and has more power.

3rd Gen RX7: Ok I love these. They just look great. I spent so much time considering this one. The problem is they are extremely finicky. Rotary engines are very sensitive and if you ever run into a boost spike or situation where your engine runs lean and it knocks it will destroy your apex seals. The car is also getting old. If I had lots of money and didn't need to drive it on a regular basis I might still pick one up.

I don't have any experience with the 3000gt.

I hope to buy my Z at the end of the month or early next month. I've currently had a 2002 Suzuki GSXR 600 as my daily driver for over a year now since my last car starting burning oil and I dumped it on Carmax. Its starting to get cold however and riding the bike on the freeway in traffic constantly isn't all that fun.

I hope to break the Z in and maybe get a little road course time in and then do the Turbonetics single turbo. I crave power

 

None. Dude, buy my 04 Tiburon. Good gas mileage, font wheel drive, cheaper insurance... C'mon... buy it... you know you want it...
Oh, wait, you said you wanted power 'n' torque... Whatever. Buy it anyway.

 

There is no discussion. Buy the 350z.

the end.

 

“my RX8 that I spent $5k into it”

Was that for motor oil?

 

Some things you will notice when you drive a Z.

Interior quality is definately a step down for your 8, sure its styled great, but some of the materials are quite questionable, especially if you get cloth seats.

Transmission is rough, its a great tranny thats fun to drive, but you have to accept that its not a buttery smooth tranny and you will have to exert some force to get it to do what you want, but once you master it, you will love it.

I felt the car was kinda bulky at first when i first got it (coming from a light and nimble 7th gen celica) but once you learn the way the car handles, it really is an amazingly capable car, just again, like the tranny it takes some work to get it to do what you want.

 

350Z interior isnt the greatest but its not the worst either. It looks alot better when you have a 6.5" touchscreen headunit also...You'll get over the interior pretty quickly

 

good one lol.

Hopefully with the insurance money, I'll be able to pickup another Eclipse AVN5435 unit that I had in my 8 and put it into a Z or whatever car I get. I should get a Z without navigation if I'm going to pickup an aftermarket unit right?

I don't understand why I couldn't just go pickup my screen in my 8, it is in perfect and working condition, I feel as if it's going to waste, or someone is just going to see that it still works and take it out and keep it. Even though insurance has claimed the car totalled, is there a way that I can go back and get things that are still in good condition (high flow cat, exhaust, eclipse unit, etc) cause I know that they are not going to give me any money back for performance parts and probably not even close to what I had to pay for my unit and install.

Another question, when going with the Z, which trim should I be looking for, I know grand touring is the top of the line, then track?, and then touring? below all that, and then there are two more models but they do not have leather correct? I want a trim that atleast has leather and I think the leather starts with the touring model and up right? Whats the big differences between trims?

 

check nissanusa.com. It will go over in detail what is included in each trim.

 

Leather is a big difference in models, and the Touring has leather. You can find the amenities of all models at nissanusa.com.

 

How is insurance going to be in comparison to the 8? The 8 was considered a 4 door sedan, so with the Z, am I likely going to see a big jump in price (other than it going up because of totalling my 8)

 

your best bet would be to call your agent and find out. When I was pricing insurance, the 350z was about 15-20 more a month than the rx-8. And this was also through Progressive (its convenient and quick), which has higher rates than my current company. So, it might be even less of a difference.

 

Intersting numbers.... I got onto Progressive.com and these are the quotes I am a 19 year old male, with good grades and no tickets, now with an accident though.

These quotes were given when the car is for personal use(school, work, etc), 20 miles travel one way to work, 15000 annual miles a year a lot less most likely unless I take road trips and it will be own and make no payments.

Violations:
Traffic Incident #1: Accident - At fault/Not at fault
Estimated total bodily injury to yourself and other parties: 0
Estimated total property damage to all vehicles and other property: $25000 (I put the amount of my car right?)

These are all under the "recommended" type quotes.

Bodily Injury and Property Damage $100,000 person / $300,000 accident / $100,000 property
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist $100,000 person / $300,000 accident
Uninsured Motorist Property Damage $3,500 property no deductable
Medical Payments $5,000 each person

Vehicle:
Comprehensive $500 deductible
Collision $500 deductible
Rental $30/day ($900 max)
Roadside Assistance Selected

ALL QUOTES ARE BASED ON A 6 MONTH PAYMENT POLICY
2004 Mazda RX-8:
Pay in full - $2,468.90
Pay monthly - $412.32 per month

2003 Nissan 350Z:
Pay in full - $2,452.90
Pay monthly - $409.65 per month

2005 Pontiac GTO:
Pay in full - $2,044.90
Pay monthly - $341.64 per month

2003 Ford Mustang GT:
Pay in full - $2,173.90
Pay monthly - $363.14 per month

2003 Ford Mustang Cobra SVT:
Pay in full - $2,332.90
Pay monthly - $389.65 per month

I truley do not understand... how can the V8, high HP cars such as the GTO, GT, and Cobra be less expensive than the smaller V6 and 1.3L Rotary engines? I would of thought that the V8's would be a lot higher than the 350Z and RX-8, even more of a surprise, it says that the 350Z is cheaper than the RX-8 when the 8 is considered a 1.3L 4 door sedan, and the 350Z is a 2 door coupe.

 

Get a $1,000 deductable and bump your coverage down to 50/100. Try some more insurance companies, progressive didn't give me the best rate. Also you are 19, its gonna be expensive regardless :/ Perhaps with the higher deductable and lower coverage you can get 350z insurance for $300/month.

 

See I don't understand progressive, because you can pay monthly, but it's over a 6 month period of time, not over the 12 months of the year, so I am guessing they just double the insurance so it's the payment of 2 months in one? Read what I said above the Mazda RX-8 Quotes in all caps.

 

wow, thats really odd. IIRC, the rx-8 was the cheapest out of all the cars I looked into. The 350z and the GTO were both about $20 more a month than the 8. I think the GTO was slightly higher than the 350z.

 

Funny, I was in a similar boat not too long ago. I had ordered an RX-8 last summer, and in April, it was totalled by a dumbass who ran a stop sign. I loved that car. It had all the options, handled like a dream, was quick (but not FAST, like marsupials), and I loved the lines and engine note. Unfortunately, gas mileage was INCREDIBLY BAD. I live about a mile from I-540 here in Raleigh, and I work off I-40, so I only drove highway miles (approximately 25 miles each way). My mileage was a paltry 17-18 mpg. That's truly pathetic, especially when you consider I don't drive hard at all. As much as I loved the 8, I just couldn't justify getting another one, not with gas prices as they are. I test drove lots of cars, and I finally decided on a 2005 Z Roadster. The Z is definitely faster straight line, but that doesn't really concern me - there's always somebody faster. I think the 8 handles better and looks better (interior AND exterior). In the past, I had owned a Mitsubishi Eclipse GST Spider (a '99, not that last generation crap) and a Jaguar XK8 convertible, so I decided to get another vert. I was starting to miss being able to drop the top on nice days. The Z came in vert, has better gas mileage than the 8, and was actually less expensive than my 8 was. For the record, I average about 24 mpg in the Z, getting over 400 miles/tank, whereas in the 8, I didn't even get 300 miles/tank. I've only got about 1200 miles on the car, so I'm hoping that gets even better.

So, to look at your list, I'd go with the Z. The Z is comfortable inside, as long as you're not a wide person (those bolsters tend to bother big people). The interior's not bad, it's just not quite as sharp as the 8. Power is better than the 8, but handling is not as good as the 8. My insurance didn't change much at all between the 8 and the Z. Finally, MPG goes to the Z, hands down. If you could afford the 8, you can afford the Z, especially if you try to get an '05. My local dealer gave me a great deal as he was trying to get rid of all of his '05s. I think you should dismiss the other cars on your list. One of my best friends has a '93 RX-7, and while it's fantastic to drive, it's hard to drive it when it's broken all the time. Unless the 3000GT is a VR-4, I think you're better off with the Z. I don't have much experience with the M3, but it's a BMW, so it's probably a nice car. However, given the choice between a 6 or 7 year old car and a new one, I'll take the new one.

-djb <-- Just my $.02

 

Thanks for the advice, yeah I was in the same problem with my 8. Driving like a grandma, I was getting 16-17MPG if lucky, basically barelly breaking 300mi a tank, that' is a big reason why I am not getting another 8. 24mpg with the Z is really something I'm liking. What do you guys think now.. I don't know if I can get a V8, but I'm looking at GTO, Mustang GT, or a 2003 Cobra vs the 350Z. Yeah the GTO is big, heavy, and isn't that attractive looking as the 350z but can hold 4 people. Same with GT/Cobra, has the power and can seat 4-5 people, but gas with v8's are going to be equal or worse than the 8 probably

 

If you're looking for an 8 cylinder with good gas mileage, take a look at the Dodge Charger. It has MDS, which shuts off a bank of cylinders when they're not needed. 340 HP and 4 doors....

-djb

 

You can also check out the Subaru Legacy GT, it has 4 doors, AWD and is great in terms of power and comfort. It uses the same engine as the STi, albeit 50 hp less. You can get most of that HP with a $650 AccessPORT flash. You can get more than that back if you go with a full Stage II setup, which will cost maybe a total of $2000 with the AccessPORT. Currently I am getting 18 MPG all city (i think the cold has to do with it) and i have gotten 28 on an entirely highway trip.

Oh yeah, stock for stock, its faster than the Z in the 1/4 (sorry I just had to put that in there )

And DoomCue, your gas mileage probably resulted from the HORRIBLE traffic on the way home on I-40 into Raleigh

 

I just returned from a Nissan Dealership. I looked and sat in a Z. It definatly felt different than my 8, but I didn't really have all the time sitting in it.

The one thing with my 8 was that the blind spot was huge because of how short the door was and the pillar blocked out a lot of view. When I went to look over my shoulder in the Z, it seemed as though there was very small blind spot at all in comparison to my 8, I think it is because the Z's door seems A LOT longer than the 8, and the Z's front window is a lot bigger than the 8's front window. I don't know, DoomCue, do you notice the same things I'm noticing?

I wasn't able to take it out for a test drive cause I was just looking and harassed by car saleman, plus it was automatic. I'm sort of excited to feel the difference in performance in the Z and the 8, is there a big noticable difference?