I was in the market for a used car recently and was just looking for a basic carolla civic type vehicle but I ran into an 03 Z at a large dealership lot. The Z was a trade-in. The dealership is very large and respected in this area.

I would like advice as to whether or not I should attempt to purchase this vehicle; I am worried about that early a model year.

Description:

2003 Z Enthusiast
54,000 miles on it
excellent exterior (maybe a few small rock chips)
nice interior (normal wear)
relatively new Goodyear Eagle tires
no scratches or damage to wheels
Pulled a CarFax report:
--car made in September 2002 so its one of the first batches of 03's
-3 previous owners, no reported mechanical work, no accidents
-1st owner put 14,000 or so miles on it in the first 5 months and traded it in to dealer right after, BUT he had it serviced regularly; good break in or bad?
-2nd owner kept it for 1.5 years and put 6500 miles on it or so, no service records, traded it in to dealer
-3rd owner kept it for 2 years and put 32,000 miles on it, no service records, traded it in to dealer.

I have not had an oppurtunity to test drive it yet but I will do so tomorrow! Can you point me to a list of what to look for (i.e. mechanical issues, tranny, feathering, etc) during my test drives? I plan on testing it yet again on Tuesday before making a decision.

I am not made of money and want the car to last for a few years. With that said does anyone recommend for or against this purchase? if so why?

 

 

all the normal 03 stuff, tire feathering (ask if the fenders were rolled), passenger side window motor (many of us have had to replace it more than once), window streaking (grease on the window when it goes up and down), tranny issues...03's had grinding issues a lot of people had to replace their tranny luckily mine was replaced before i got it., also lots of rattles in the dash.

p.s. finally got to 100 posts!

 

UPDATE!

Got a chance for my friend and I to test drive the vehicle today. Now let me say that my friend (really, friend) is a 47 yr old, gray-haired woman with experience driving different manuals. I brough her along to get her impression of the trannny.

She test drove it with the salesman for about 30 minutes doing all kinds of stuff to it. She approved and said she saw/heard/felt nothing irregular. She liked!

Next I had the salesman drive it with me in the passenger seat listening for anything unusual - raddles, front end noise and tire noise (feathering), window problems, etc. Nothing that I can detect at all. Oh, and I made sure I was paying attention rather than "enjoying" the ride and overlooking things

Next I drove and and paid particular attention to the clutch, shifter, gears, and front wheel alignment. All seemed just fine to me, the front end went perfectly straight.

When we parked it I tested the speakers, windows (looking for motor and streaking problems), a/c, etc and nothing was wrong. I did notice when the a/c came on under the hood though whereas I usually don't in some other cars. not bothersome but is this normal? If so, then thats quite fine.

Next the dealer was kind enough to provide me with info on the guy that traded the vehicle in to them. He was the last owner, had it for 2 years or so and was 44 years old. Apparently he enjoyed sports cars in his spare time and did most of the oil changes himself.

I called Nissan and did a VIN check to see if the car had been in to get any fuel recall stuff and and tire feathering issue takien care of. Neither has has been repaired yet BUT at 50000 miles or so wouldn't that have been needed if it were there?

At this point, I see no reason why I wouldn't get this car. BUT tomorrow before making the FINAL deal I will be looking at all of the fluids in the engine (looking for leaks), and testing all of the cars interior electronic functions. Funny enough neither I nor the salesman new how to get the rear speakers to work until one of the sewrvice men that owned a Nissan came over and showed us.

Any thoughts on this new info?

 

What price?

And I'd have it checked by a mechanic you pay. I never buy used cars w/o having a mechanic go thru it.

 

Which year did you decide is best for you?

 

 

i guess there's still a little bit of power train warranty left if under 60k miles. Bear in mind that the 03 oem suspension is very uncomfortable but any aftermarket replacement struts should take care of it. Good luck with your purchase.

 

So did you get the 350Z?

 

Guess not.