Alright so I have finally saved enough money for a down payment and I plan on buying a 350z within a a couple weeks once a find the right one. I have found a few options on craigslist and would love to know what you guys would buy or wouldn't buy. I live in New Hampshire so rust is an issue. Im looking for a car that has been garaged during the winter. I dont mind miles around 80K-100K because this is only going to be a summer car so I will not put a lot of miles on it. Anyways here is what I have been looking at:

http://boston.craigslist.org/sob/cto/5047749139.html

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/cto/5011815075.html

http://boston.craigslist.org/nwb/cto/5011028922.html


Any advice is greatly appreciated. I have read that the 2003 350z's have had problems with the clutch. Is this such a serious problem that I should not buy a 2003?

Thanks,
Dan Smith

 

I would go with the white one. One owner, appears to be unmolested.

 

That is the one I was thinking too. Just got an email from the seller saying he sold it ha. Damn...

 

next choice is the silver '03. Stay away from the silver '04. Megan stuff is crap. The black one has an aftermarket steering wheel(no airbag).

 

I have a 2003 95k now haven't changed the clutch still running fine

 

Expand your search area it might be worth the extra drive to pick up a better car for a lower price"http://https://westernmass.craigslist.org/cto/5037656310.html

 

https://westernmass.craigslist.org/cto/5037656310.html

 

Thanks for the suggestion. This is pretty much what I am looking for. I emailed him asking if there was rust. He said there was some rust which worries me. I am waiting for some pics of the rust and frame. If it turns out that the rust is minimal then I will go check it out. I had to get rid of my eclipse gsx due to rust so this does concern me because I want a 350z that will last a while.

 

You should really ask yourself what do you want in the Z. Are you wanting a base model? Are you wanting leather? Are you wanting Brembo Brakes? Are you wanting Navigation? Do you want the slower 03-05 engines, or the quicker 06-08? Make a list of what your wanting in the stock car and go from there. Theres plenty of differences in each model trim

 

On this note, you should know that the base model Z's have open differentials. I was unaware of this for a large portion of my search for a used Z and came way too close to buying a base model that fortunately sold the day before I went to buy it.

In case you are unaware of what this implies, when a base model Z is pushed to the point that the rear tires lose traction, only ONE wheel will continue to be driven by the motor and spin. This can drastically reduce the amount of fun that can be had if you like to break it lose in the rear. Think burnouts and drifting.

Every other model besides the base has VDC (traction control) and a VLSD (viscous limited slip differential) which quickly locks the rear differential when traction is lost sending equal power to both wheels simultaneously.

With all that being said the viscous LSD provided by Nissan is not as good as traditional aftermarket LSD's that utilize clutch plates instead of fluid (hence "viscous") to lock the rear differential. However, it gets the job done just fine.

Aftermarket clutch style LSD's cost around $1000 and can be installed in any model Z.

Probably more information than you wanted but for me, this is the most critical difference between the varying models of Z's and the guys at the dealerships have absolutely no clue about it.


TL;DR - base model has open diff, other models have vlsd, aftermarket lsd around $1000 and can be installed in any model

 

I don't know what you're looking to spend but I have a white 08 MT base with 62,2XX miles(with VLSD swapped in) and some suspension goodies that is a California car and has only seen snow once and it was on a trailer going to Iowa where it is currently garaged 99.8% of it's dam life and only taken out on sunny days (which is mother effin NEVER in the area I live).. PM your email address if you'd like to see pictures.

 

This just happened to be one that showed up when I searched my local craigslist. Ive come to the conclusion that daily driven cars from vermont have noticeably more rust then Massachusetts cars. I dont know if its because you use harshed Ice melt or just need more of it more often because it snows so often. I can tell you my car (04 touring) has 70k miles on it and besides the exhaust rusting at the bracket and the boomerang looking body brace and heat shields their is not a lot of rust. Half the car is aluminum thankfully so as long as it's not a basket case with a salvage title and you give it a good inspection I wouldnt worry that much. Also I would try to find a non modified one. Aftermarket wheels tend to not have sensors in them. And aftermarket performance parts without a tune or reflash don't do the car any favors.

Just realized your in new hampshire not vermont haha.. Dont know about New Hampshire but I know most vermont cars are extra rusty.

 

http://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/5057488421.html

Perfect for garage detail.