Hello, I'm looking to purchase an 04 350Z touring model with an automatic transmission. Everything checks out and functions right except I hear a loud droning sound coming from the rear-end.
I put it in neutral and gave it a quick rev, no odd sounds.
It seems to be prominent at any speed really, the faster I went it didn't seem to get much louder.
It was about 55F today, the car was fully warmed up as well.
Overall I'd say it was the same sound level as the stock exhaust at ~2k rpm.

I can't quite tell if it's just a wheel bearing or perhaps the differential. The car drives as straight as an arrow, though.
The owner has had it for 3 years and said he's never noticed the car making the noise, it may have been making the same noise since the day he got it, but there's no way to know. I also had my friend drive it, he said he also noticed it.

Any thoughts before I try to coax the owner into taking to a shop before I make my decision?

The sound is tolerable, I just want to make sure it's nothing serious. The last thing I need is a $1k repair bill in a month.

 

Happened to my car recently it's the differential flange rubbing up against the differential case... You can get a new diff for around 200-300 bucks with vlsd for an automatic it's not necessarily a big deal but it's up to you.

 

Don't hesitate- take it to a qualified tech who knows Zs before you put down any money. The owner should be happy to get a mechanical evaluation out of it.

 

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to call around a bit and get some quotes and try to work with the owner to get it fixed and or have the price adjusted so I can have it fixed on my own.
I'll report what the outcome is soon.
I'm going to assume he won't care and just want to sell it as is to an oblivious buyer for a few more bucks, but we'll see.