Is a Z for me?
 

Currently, I do not own a 350z, I have an 8th gen Honda civic. It's good on gas and all that, but it's just not fun to drive.
If I own a z, honestly I'll do considerably bad things to it like drift it some, race some, but not 24/7 or anything obviously, if I'm cruisin' I'm just cruisin'. How do they hold up? Do they take a romping well? Do they break a lot? Are they notorious for being expensive to fix like beamers? What has owning a 350z been like in your experience? Horror stories? Fun stories? Friend's stories?

I want something that'll be fun, something that can take a bit of a beating without exploding, do I want a 350z?

its not like the car just came out, its been out for 15 years, and all the topics imaginable are covered on this website... how about you take the spoon out of your mouth and do some research

Mine hasn't broke since I hit a curb drifting at 100+mph in 2nd gear. Was cheap to fix tho

If you reached "100+ mph in 2nd gear", you weren't driving a 350Z unless you drove it off a cliff. LOL :icon18:

I can hit 60 in first gear in my Z








06

I figured I'd give him a dumb answer for a dumb question

Probably not the car for your tbh.

Gas mileage isn't great - when you factor in throttle lashes

some parts are stupid inexpensive and/or and OEM replacement is fine, other/most can be expensive.

plan on your insurance going significantly higher, especially if you're prone to tickets/accidents/caught being stupid by the poe-poe

you can drive them hard but you'll take life from the engine and most of the VQ engines are prone to consuming oil and requiring a bunch of work to pass emissions

The cooling system isn't that great either ... they are incredibly hard to bleed air out of and typically lead to warping the block, needing new head gaskets.

the transmissions in most models have bad syncos, so plan on a new transmission at some point (unless the seller already put a new trans in).

the interiors are junk - essentially cheap plastic that ages bad and cracks over time

theyre pretty heavy compared to a civic ... I think mine was close to 3500lbs and made 250hp with basic bolt ons. horrible power:weight ratio!

the exterior body panels are very thin and are susceptible to dings/dents - especially in hail.

wear parts like tires, fluids, brakes are all pretty expensive ...

There are some good aftermarket bolt on products but anything that is going to make a difference is going to be expensive and will require an expensive tune...so you can spend $2500 on upgrades but they wont do much with out a $1000 tune

the intake is horribly inefficient, the front two cylinders don't get enough air flow, while the passenger side gets too much and run lean

If it was me, I'd save up for an STi or Evo or a C5 corvette...

8th generation civic no ****?

No offense, but it seems to me the Z33 is best suited to mature enthusiasts who appreciate and can take care of their RWD sportscar. It's very durable, but read the posts here and you'll find plenty of stories from new owners who've screwed the pooch by modding their Zs. As far as gas mileage, you'll find it's true to it's rating of around 16 MPG in town using premium unleaded. That gets better on the highway, as the ECM reads out a constant load and I usually get 30-35 MPH at 70 MPH with my DE-powered pre-order track model.

Parts are consistently cheaper than any BMW, but as with any car, beat on it and you'll incur some heavy wear. Owning a 350Z in my case has been nothing but positives, with some priceless stories from when the Z33 was first introduced until now. While some might decry the Spartan interior, I like the fact that Nissan put most of the R&D into the chassis and engine. It's a car that's meant to focus on DRIVING and it continues to bring a smile to my face every time I light it up.

The Z is a true sports car, with all that that entails. It's a far cry from a mainstream car like a civic, so you need to be prepared to throw some money and labor at it now and then. That's the sports car owner's life, and we all love it. If you want a daily driver that's practical and economical, then you had better keep looking. Perhaps you might consider doing some performance mods to your existing car, and you would retain the reliability yet improve handling, etc. Just a thought.

On the other hand, if you get a Z, there's plenty of help in this forum and tons of YouTube vids to help you along the way. Issues with various model years are pretty well published in these forums, so step 1 is to determine budget and that will guide you to the model year(s) to consider. From there, do diligent research to figure out the issues known for that year, then see if you can afford it.

Good luck on your hunt!

Fun would depend on what you compare the 350z to. I actually do not find my 350z all that fun to drive after owning/own: 2x Miata, 2x s2000, Civic Si turbo, Evo X and various other cars considered "fun." It is more fun than my wife's 2015 Odyssey.

Not so sure I would agree with Gs and call the 350z a "true sports car" either. I think Jay Leno puts it best when he says, the 350z is more of a "cruiser, GT car." Drive feel is subjective and if you want a "fun" car test drive one and see for yourself. More power doesn't always mean more fun.

I agree that the 350z is much more costly to maintain with larger wheels, tires, than a Civic but compared to my Evo X maintenance, it is cheap.

A 350Z can handle an aggressive driver's daily demands.

It is:

Durable

Responsive

Engaging

Fun

Torquey

Loud

and most of all... A lot bang for the buck compared to most other "sports cars" out there

I thought about selling my Z. Then I realized to get into a car like it, I would have to spend more except for like a g37 if I wanted practicality. I wouldn't own the Z if it was my only car though. lol.