Were the transmissions really that bad in the 03's? Does anyone know of any changes they made after 03?

 

Welcome. Excellent source for reliability. Remember Consumer Reports does not differentiate between automatic and manual transmission. So automatics are included in the data.

 

Oh yea, true.

So do you know if there was a huge difference in quality of the 6mt's after 03, or if the change was done on the 5at's? Because since that chart is really my only source of information on reliability i'm steering clear of any 03's.

 

can you explain what the dots mean?

 

My 03 has had ZERO issues.....it's a crap shoot, some have problems, others don't.

 

there were something like 9 revisions of the 6spd between the introduction and 04.5 model yrs.

Yes there is a difference,
Yes you are better off with an 04.5+ model year

that said, lots of 03's have had warranty replacement of their trans.... and those that haven't most likely have enough miles on them where the trans isn't an issue. Now having said that, if I were personally in the market for a used Z, get an 04.5+. Look for the knee pads on either side of the console

 

Agree. If the 2004 is with your budget go for it.

 

Well maybe the 350Z is not for you. Have you looked at the RSX?