Alterscape

I just started looking seriously into buying a 350Z after several years of admiring the cars and saving money. I'm not a very aggressive driver, but I love the styling. I commute about 30 miles per day, and usually make one or two weekend trips (300+ miles) per month. I'm still learning the ins and outs of the cars and trying to figure out what model year/trim is best for me. What I've seen so far:

- '03s tend to chew up front tires, so probably aren't great buys.
- '06s (or is it '05s?) tend to burn oil. Nissan will repair them (under warranty?) but it's not a fun process.
- '07+ has the new engine, more hp but lower torque.
- '05+ got side curtain airbags? (I don't really care, but my insurer gives a discount so it's nice to know)

I don't currently drive manual, but I'd like to learn (a friend of mine races autox and is willing to teach me). I've read a few posts around here saying that the automatic transmissions are far more reliable than the 6spd manual, though.

I'm pretty sure I want Base or Enthusiast trim. Track and Grand Touring are too rare/rich for my blood. Touring might be neat, but I don't really need all the extras. Any thoughts?

Is there anything else I should be googling at this point? I've read the "distinguishing the trim levels" thread.

So on to the "should I buy this" questions. All are private-party sellers I've located through local classifieds. Seems like this is a good time to have been saving money for years to buy a fun car. *g*

-'05 Base. 27k miles. Manual. Asking $16.9k. Need to look at this one in person and figure out exactly what options are included.I think I'd try to talk the seller down a bit. I like the look of this one, though. Newer model year + low milage seems like a win, assuming it hasn't already sold.

-'03 Enthusiast. 41k miles. Auto. Asking 15k. "Driven by a grandmother," but has lots of NISMO mods. I'm worried it might've been raced/tuned/otherwise abused. Lots of nice options tho (Bose, keyless entry, power everything, etc). Any ideas how to determine how likely it is that the car was abused? (aside from CarFax, etc). It's a private-party seller, so in theory I get to meet this grandmother, at least. I'm concerned about the reliability/tire feathering issues, too..

-'03 Enthusiast. 56k miles. Manual. Asking $12.5k. Has an aftermarket spoiler (kinda nifty) and grill (meh, how hard would it be to swap back to stock?). My concern with this one is the first-year reliability issues, tendency to eat tires (the seller noted that he'd just had to replace the tires), etc.

-'06 Enthusiast. 15k miles, "7k since engine and xmission replaced due to recall." Manual. Asking $19k. What's the story with the recall? I know carfax will have some answers, but I'm curious because I can't find any recall on '06 engines by googling. Anyway, he's asking close to the KBB "Excellent" value for the vehicle. Assuming the recall business is legit, how far down could I reasonably expect the price to come?

Any thoughts for me?

davidv

iTrader: (2)

I recommend that you shop by mileage not model year. In other words a 2004 with 40,000 miles is a better deal than a 2006 with 80,000 miles.

AlvinHuyN

iTrader: (73)

You should try looking at the cars for sale classifieds here on the board. Although most of the cars are modded, they are most likely taken care of by enthusiasts and people who actually cares about their rides. It will be a good buy for you I picked up my first Z from a dealership but this time around, I picked up an 03 from a member in California and the car is just flawless and as mint as can be. It looks like it came out of a time capsule or the showroom floor as a 2010 model!

Also, contrary to popular belief, I'm on my second Z and both has been 03s. They're really awesome because you get more for your money and aside of the small issue of getting an alignment ($70) to fix the tire wear issue, and maybe a passenger side window motor going out ($50) you're set! It's a solid car bro!

Alterscape

Follow-up question: Is the '03 front-end re-alignment a one-time thing or is it required with some frequency? My cursory googling seems to suggest it's required semi-frequently, but I want to make sure I'm not misunderstanding.

Thank you for the tip re: the for-sale boards here. I'll take a look!

Entaille

iTrader: (16)

this may not be to your taste but I think is one of the better buys on the forum right now. if I was in the market I would travel to buy that one.

https://my350z.com/forum/cars-for-sa...-16-750-a.html

I can see that clashing with most folks' taste in cars. you may not be interested in flying to pick a car up either, but the right car can be found that way

everyone always says that it was a mature adult driving it and highway miles blah blah .. have a mechanic inspect it, best 100$ you can spend to protect yourself.

buying used is always a gamble, if it makes you uncomfortable..

davidv

iTrader: (2)

You mean front tire feathering? See: https://my350z.com/forum/maintenance...ering-fyi.html

Alterscape

I've read several of the first and last pages of that thread, but there's a lot of content in there. Would someone mind critiquing my interpretation?

-'03 and '04 vehicles had a defective front-end that caused excessive toe-in over time, leading to feathering/extremely uneven front tire wear and rendered the tires unusable at ~6k miles wear. NNA's response was to swap tires front-to-back, and then re-align. A class-action suit was filed, and Nissan extended the warranty to cover a repair (replacing significant portions of the front end). If the repair was performed, the car should no longer feather. If the repair was not performed, the only solution is to regularly have the front-end alignment corrected and rotate the tires. Looking at the end of that thread, it seems that the warranty repair is no longer available, so if one were to buy a car with the feathering problem, one would also need to purchase and install a camber kit and replacement springs/struts/sway bars, potentially other bits too?

Is that remotely correct? I apologize for restating what's already been said, I just want to make sure I'm not missing some crucial detail that makes an '03 more or less desirable.

AlvinHuyN

iTrader: (73)

All you need is a $75 alignment at firestone = done!

Alterscape

Is that a one-time thing, or does the alignment need to be repeated? If so, how often?

davidv

iTrader: (2)

I think you have the idea. There is no simple fix for everyone. 70,000 miles and I have learned to live with feathered front tires.

savvy

iTrader: (1)

If you are worried about issues, try to stay with an 05, or an 07+ if it is in your price range. The 05 with the DE engine had no issues, also had no feathering issues, the 06 had a revised engine that produced more hp but less tq however many people had oil consumption issues with the 06 Rev up engines. The 07+ with the HR engine I have not heard anything bad about and gets a bump in both hp and tq. If you don't abuse your car the manual tranny will last you a very long time. Good luck with whatever road you go down.

Alterscape

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I'm looking at an '03 and an '05 this weekend; will report back on how it goes! I think '07s are out of my price-range, sadly.

billsrcursed

I have an '03 Touring, approaching 50,000 miles.

Purchased tires once, about 10-12 thousand miles ago. Other than that, no issues whatsoever.

Like stated above, shop based on mileage/price as opposed to year/model.

Look for the best overall deal, there are plenty to be had, and there really aren't any issues with the Z that would warrant "avoiding" a particular year. It's hit or miss with a lot of the issues anyway, it's not like EVERY '03 has major tire issues.... Good luck!

Alterscape

Okay, one more question. I talked with one of the '03 owners. He says the car has had three sets of tires in 56k miles, and that it needs the compression rods replaced ($500) to fix the feathering. Is this reasonable? Or would more parts be required? My gut says "avoid," especially since there are lower-milage, better-equipped vehicles around for not much more money..

joaks

Like davidv says in all the posts in the buying forums, low miles. If you can get lower mileage for not much more, I would definitely go with your gut.

gus738

I dont mean to hijack your thread but im also in the process of buying a 06 350z with
50k miles, its from my friends dealership. and i never had nissans so i dont know what to expect, i want to deal for $16k OTD.

i know that the car is a auto with has 50k miles it also has brembo brakes and most importantly it has a vortech supercharger.

so with all that being said $16k good deal? and what should/can i expect or if any issues from this 06 350z with a supercharger/brembo breakes and leather.

Oh and i've never had a supercharged/turbo'd car.

AlvinHuyN

iTrader: (73)

16 otd would be a steal for an 06. However that sounds too good to be true for a clean title, zero accident 06 Z. I would also be VERY concerned with the car already being supercharged. I would never buy an aftermarket supercharged or turbo'ed car unless I either know the owner personally or it's someone respectable on the board. 16k is a lot of money to put towards something that might not have an engine after you start driving it home.

gus738

well its listed for $16k + fees and my 3rd cousin buys cars from that used dealership alot, the used car dealership is a family operated (not related to me) and they get cars from a auction in hayward. they sell alot of cars, are known for lower price clean title and not crashed cars.

As far as the SC well he cant help me because he bought it. and what you mean by "$16k alot to put into that the car might not make it?

I left the car on for more then 10 mins and he said i can take the car drive it see as i like.....

What im wondering is

since its a Auto

how would of the SC been tuned for it? does vortech adjust it beforehand ?

and last maybe dumb question but if INproperly tuned/or no tune would the car HP or performance be worse then factory?

Also i dont know if its the rev up 300hp or 287hp non rev up? it has leather brembo brakes

*Boose*

iTrader: (3)

Not really. My 06 base with 31k miles in pristine condition only would go for 16k. 17k on a good day.

*Boose*

iTrader: (3)

1) No Vortech sells you their kit and you either install it yourself or have a tuner install it. Then they will tune it. Like every other tune goes, strap it to a dyno and move on.

2) Um no.

3) Simple way to tell. Look at the tachometer. The redline either starts at 6500 or 7000. If its 6500 287hp if its 7000 you got the best damn Nissan engine ever made baby. The Revup.