I have been debating wether or not to trade in my wrx for a 350z. After reading this forum and on consumer report websites Im just too afraid of the problems that this car has (tranny, feathering, rear end, etc.). Is there any solution to these problems that would make the car possible to get along with? (i.e. a company that makes overbuilt transmission parts for this model)
I would only buy the car with the intention of driving it like a sports car. Not abusing it but not babying it. Or should I just look somewhere else? (Evo8, supra, others?)

I am confused!

 

only the 03's had a few bad trannies. 03 and some 04's have feathering, seems like 05's don't. 03's had a rear end clicking that was fixed by a tsb if that's what your talking about.

I Drive the hell out of the 05 everyday and haven't had one problem.

 

its under warr. if you look for a supra its going to 100k plus mile unless you want to pay 30k+ and still be beatin on. if you go with an evo you will have war. issues to i have done my homework for about 6months and for me the 350z is the best out of them all around evo have nice platform for power but look like *** compared to a 350z all in what you want though do your homework and take a look at the evo sites to you find just as many problems with noise tires clutches and transmition and windows.

 

feathering has been fixed and so has the clicking from the rear end. as for the transmission, they keep revising it, but I have had no issues with having it replaced with the latest version.

 

damn, k3silk... beat me to the post

 

I can only afford to buy a used 03. Is there an easy way to find out which transmission revision it has? Which part number is the best tranny? 008?

k3: I have done my homework too and there is not a single website for any other newer model import sports car that has as much talk of replacing transmissions more than twice than this site. I would think that maybe some of these people just don't know how to drive a manual trans but a few of them are senior members on this site, so I would assume they know something about revmatching and other practices.

 

Trust me, you'll love the Z...Just take it for a test drive and watch what happens. Don't worry about problems....TRY to get above 03 though in my opinion

 

I have an 03, drive the heck out of it and my tranny is fine. I had the rear axle clicking that was replaced under the tsb. Everything else is fine.

 

buy 06

 

You are correct. Reliability of the 350Z shows two areas of concern: transmission and suspension. Transmission reliability has improved considerably from 2003 to 2004(see above). It will be interesting to see how the 2005 works out after drivers have put 30,000 miles on their cars.

The suspension continues to confound 350Z drivers who apparently do not like the disadvantages (inside tire wear) of negative camber. The advantages of negative camber should be apparent to sports car enthusiasts.

Despite the predicted “average” reliability of the 350Z, I believe that the thrill of driving a 350Z outweighs any negative points.

 

Save up more $ for an '05 or '06....or Ask Mommy for a loan.

 

+1 on the Mommy thingy.

 

My mommy is poorer than me! As for the alignment: toe causes wear not camber. If you drive your car hard and have no camber you will wear on the sidewalls! Also in reference to the consumer reports tables: i wonder if the 04 Z is more reliable or simply has too few miles on them yet. Were there any mechanical changes from 03-04?

 

03' Touring w/ 48K miles... No tranny problems here.

BTW: negative camber = better handling, but not the best thing for wear... the feathering issue comes from improper toe setting which can be adjusted.

Its not exactly like WRX's are lacking in clutch and tranny issues jk.

 

heh yea despite alll that, it still gets consumer reports "best buy" and consumer guides recommended... for 03's

my 03 hasnt had any MAJOR probs. and what it did have was covered warranty including reiimbursement for tires that i bought $550

 

Well alright! I am sold on it. I will definately get one that is still under warranty though.

Jakes: I know wrx's have tranny trouble, including mine: hence the reason I am moving on.

 

Fk u man, my mom bought my 05 touring z !

 

“If the camber is too far negative, for instance, then the tire will wear on the inside of the tread.”

Reference: http://www.familycar.com/alignment.htm

 

The reliability surveys are “weighted” by year. Problems with the 2005 are given more weight than the 2003 so that the model years are comparable. Over time, you’ll see reliability data change as drivers put more miles on their cars, and report more or fewer problems.

 

but since nissan in their infinite wisdom choice to not provide camber adjustment it doesn't matter lol