Hi guys, just hoping someone may have some insight/advice.

I bought my car a week ago. 49,000 miles on it. On test drive it seemed fine. Fuel tank was near empty, sales guy put in premium. I buy car. Runs fine for a few days. No stalls, no clutch burning etc. A few days later I start getting a hesitation when I hit the gas in 2nd/3rd gear- and soon realized all gears past first. I've only used premium gas, if it matters. I drove up to Cincinnati for the holiday weekend and noticed it every time I hit the gas somewhat aggressively (passing lane on 2 lane roads etc).

No engine codes have been thrown.

The hesitation is an RPM increase of 500-1000 before power kicks in. It doesn't do it when I baby the gas- but I also don't drive like a maniac either. I'm 33 and drive like I want my cars to be fun, but last long (would a clutch just go out "overnight" and have these symptoms from regular driving?)

Anyway, my fear is that it may need a new clutch, but I figured I would try the cheaper fixes first (out of possibilities I could think of) before I go the clutch route... It just so happens that this occurs on a very busy week for car shops and dealers, where I doubt I can get an appointment.

-I cleaned the MAF (it looked brand new anyway)- no difference
-Checked air intake filter- looks brand new. May replace tomorrow anyway.
-Added SeaFoam to fuel tank (fuel injectors causing problem?)- No difference (do I need to add directly to line, like I've been seeing some people do? I have no idea where to add)
-I may even have a shop change the spark plugs, just in case that is the problem.
-The dreaded clutch/transmission. Dont really want to drop $1000 right before Christmas after just buying the car and $1000 worth of stuff for it already.

Anyone have any insight or advice? This is my first used car in 10 years (I like the stability of new cars- go figure) and Ive never had transmission (or fuel/air line etc) issues before. I would just take it in, but I doubt anyone can give me an appt this week. I tried the dealer by my Cincy office but they are booked until Monday, which is when I drive back to Charlotte.

Anything you've got for me is much appreciated!

 

Plenty of How to diagnose a slipping clutch? threads here. Very informative.

 

Thats true, I've been reading through ones I can find on this and other sites, however... I also keep seeing the other causes listed above popping up as hesitation reasons as well.

I'm not a tech guy, And with owning the car for 6 days, I'm trying to figure this out the most economical way so I'm not just throwing money into the wind. Not very happy with buying a car and having a potentially $1000 fix pop up within the first week of owning it... guess you run the risk when buying used, but still...

If I can find an honest shop that can get my car in this week, I'll know whats going on for sure. Until then I'm just trying to get some advice on all of the above noted possibilities, and hear from people who really know what they are talking about if I should even bother with some of the less expensive fixes first.

 

Somehow managed to get an appointment at a local-ish dealer. Will update this when I find out the cause, so the next guy who searches can hopefully have some insight.

Although if it is the clutch (most likely) no insight will really help.

 

Go to your regional forum and ask for referrals to good, honest shops in your area. You're in larger city, so you're bound to get plenty of good recommendations. It sucks that you bought someone else's problems when you purchased your car used, but at least the Z isn't astronomically expensive to maintain.

 

Yeah I got an appointment, turns out it is a clutch.

Its a hazard of buying a used car, you just hope it doesnt happen right away and within a week of ownership you have to drop an additional $1000+. Hopefully the dealer takes some, or all of the responsibility to fix it.

I bought an extended warranty, this just so happens that the clutch is one of the few things not covered. Just my luck. I am glad that the Z is less expensive to maintain than so many other cars, thats for sure. Just hoping to avoid this kind of thing for the first year or so. We'll see...