Hello z owners. I am a prospective who will probably be making the switch to a z car from a bmw 540i sport. The reason is because I have always had a little thing for the z cars and after driving a friend's Ive decided its time to make the move. I am in college I think it will be more practical than a bmw in terms of maintainance ect...

My question stems from me coming accross a 2003 Z touring with 2 tone grey and black leather and navi, brembo, all the bells. The exterrior is silver. Here is the kicker....its a one owner and has only 16800 MILES!!!! now Im not rocket scientist..but that means the cars was driven on average 2k miles a year!!!! the price is 15,900 with some wiggle room...GOOD BUY??? or for that money should I get an 05 or 06 with 50-70k miles?

 

I looked on bluebook and it says it can sell for almost 20k. the resale value according to them is almost 16k 12-13k would be a steal and you can get an 03 for 11k now but dont you think this is a rare find? considering its a track with 6mt and navi?

 

That is a nice find but it is a little much for a 2003.

You have to use everything you have at your disposal to come up with what is a fair number for any car you might buy.

Go to cars.com, autotrader.com, kbb.com, nada.com, and whatever else you can get your hands on to research the value of the Z. You will then have a better idea of what is a good deal for the particular car you're looking at.

 

thats cheap as hell, id jump on it but i wanted an 08 and i got an 08

 

That is about 46 miles/month. Sounds like a roll back. Run a CarFax on this one.

 

ok i went and saw it today. clean car fax and its at a dealer. the story that the dealer says is that it was brought in 2007 and the owner was arrested and served 3 years while his gf paid for the car. She could no longer afford the payments and sold it to the dealer...it was sitting for 3 years and it was his second car to being with...idk how believable it is but it was a nice Z.

 

So why not buy it?

 

Soo the previous owner served three years hmmm…I would consider taking a closer look at this car and check to see if maybe the previous owner left/hid anything behind that might make this car an even better deal, perhaps it might pay for itself?

 

I PLAN TO. the my only thing is I wanted to drive other years. say like an 06? is there a big difference between years as far as you actually feeling the power and or a different driving experenice? I have only driven 03's but i feel like i can afford up to an 06 with low miles

 

Buy this low mileage 03 or put up a little more $$$ and get a 2007 with the HR engine. Just my .02

 

thanks for the good advice. so basically the 03-06 are similar and the 07-08 are different beasts?

 

A lot of upgrades to the 07's in general. But, mainly the engine is what sets it apart. Just watch it because the base models don't have cruise control and run an open dif. I learned those two things after I bought my 07 base model.

Go out and test drive a few different model years, do a lot of research, and buy you a 350Z. they all have their own issues lol.

The only real advice I can give you is don't spend your whole budget on the car. Save a nice chunk for repairs/maintenance.

 

For 2006 the Z gets the 300 HP VQ35DE motor. Try it and see if you like it.

 

Outstanding gonnaget thread!