frocker93

iTrader: (2)

03 with 165,000 miles of everyday driving. Owned since 130k and a little over a year.

My rear brakes have wanted to stick twice now, so they have been replaced. New rotors, pads and calipers.
Rear tires twice and fronts once.
And one of my taillights wants to burn out bulbs quicker than it should, still need to look into that.

That's it (knock on wood) Shes been great for me and now will be more of a weekend cruiser/show.

radiocrash

iTrader: (3)

30.5k miles, purchased at 21k. Replaced a serpentine belt.

Clutch is starting to be a real sh*tbag. Just waiting till I have some money saved before I install my JWT clutch/fly and slave/master.

HK350 Z

2008 Z - Bought at 24K, now at 120K

Clutch/Flywheel/Cylinders - 105K
Rotors and Pads (upgrade due to noisy factory rotors) - 106K
Serpentine Belt - 115K
Plugs - 115K
Both Valve Covers and associated gaskets - 115K (slight leak at plug seals)
Tranny Drain and Refill - 50K and again at 105K
Coolant Drain and Refill - 105K
Diff drain and refill - 50K and again at 105K
2 Full Sets of Tires

Now have to replace TPMS sensors.

Thats 3 full years of ownership...not bad for a raw sports car.

bluebadge

2004 Z - Bought in 2008 with 48k on it now at 195K

@ 140K I had to fix the subwoofer amp due to it cutting out every now and again, I applied a little pressure to the relay with a bolt through the chassis of the amp and the sorted that.
@ 155K I repaired my 5th bow motor (for convertible roof) and wrote a story about it! see link.
(https://my350z.com/forum/maintenance...th-photos.html)
@ 155K the end of the drivers side hydraulic roof strut snapped off, so just welded a screw on it and it worked fine after that!
@ 175K Replaced stock '04 headlights with '06 full HID headlights as someone took out my passenger side front fender and light so I thought I might as well change them both.
@ 175K Fender (see above)
@ 145K Had to buy a refurbed passenger window motor.
@ 180K Some kind of oil seal behind the filter needed replacing as it was leaking (I suspect that the garage who did my oil change over tightened the filter hence the leak)

Thankfully no major mechanical yet! looking forward to another awesome summer!

Toneloc

90000-130000, other then basic maintence (belt, tire, oil, fluids, plugs) one tpm sensor died... that's it knock on wood

icer5160

iTrader: (4)

2006 Revup Base model.
Purchased in May 2010 with 16k mi on the odo.
Current mileage 61500.
Besides normal maintenance and upgrades (brake pads, belts, oil changes, tires). I've only had to replace a small number of things.

1) TPMS sensor went out (this occurred on a 2008 Nismo set of wheels I purchased from these forums that came with the pressure sensors, even though the sensors were newer, one of them went out about 1 month after I had the set on my Z).

2) Driver's side window regulator. The window motor itself works perfectly, however the regulator cable appeared to have stretched and my window was no longer cracking correctly when opening the door. I tried cleaning and lubricating the regulator with no success, so I ended up replacing it and everything works fine now.

3) I had a weird squeak coming from my driver's side rear axle/hub. Nothing was replaced, but when my troubleshooting methods came up dry, I took it to ZCG for the repair. Seems the CVDA wasn't aligned properly with the hub somehow. It was quickly fixed by ZCG and I've never heard a squeak since.

4) One of the yellow sidemarker LEDs in my front headlight burned out.

That's it, this car has been far more reliable to me than my 1999 Honda Accord Coupe 4Cyl (not a honda fanboy, never riced it out, Honda's aren't worth the $$ to mod). But that Honda had a number of major issues, most likely side effects from the previous owner that were never disclosed to me during purchase. But you live and you learn. After purchasing that Honda and now my Z, I've learned a lot more about what to look for when buying a used vehicle.

icer5160

iTrader: (4)

I think it's also worth noting that a lot of the repairs/maintenance that are required for these cars is highly dependent upon a number of factors:

1) Your geographic location, weather.
2) How you treat the car, both while driving it and routine maintenance.
3) The year and trim package of the vehicle.
4) Custom modifications done to the vehicle.

Obviously if you live in a dry, hot, desert like climate, you can expect things like paint, rubber seals, plastic trim, etc to fail earlier. In contrast, if you live in a very humid climate I would expect electrical components to fail or the car to rust early.

If it's your daily driver and you beat on the car every day, expect earlier tire, brake, or clutch replacements. If you don't change the oil/filter regularly, other "bad" things can happen. Keeping your car clean/washed really helps extends the life of your paint and exterior door/hatch seals. Especially if you keep a good wax coat on it.

Certain years/trim packages have their own little quarks that need to be addressed. Examples: Tire feathering, Revup Oil Consumption, Transmission issues, and I think some years had a Differential TSB out for insufficient lubrication. I'm sure there's other examples, but it's best to research any/all known issues with your specific year/trim package when purchasing used and plan on having them taken care of because you can't assume the previous owner or trade-in dealer took care of them.

Last but not least, custom mods. This is probably one of the number one reasons people see failures of components on their cars. One of the most basic mods people do on their car is replace the factory head unit (stereo). If the shop doing the work doesn't know what they're doing, you can expect to see some weird things happen. I've seen people blow fuses and relays because someone tapped into the wrong electrical feeds to run their stereo. If running a high power amplifier, you could cause early alternator and battery failure. I've also seen ignition systems fail/lock because of a poor aftermarket alarm system install. This doesn't just apply to the electrical system of your car, but also the powertrain/drivetrain/suspension. Slamming your Z to the ground with springs alone when it's "not" a track car is a good way to cause early strut, bushing, and tire failure. It also locks you out of half the shopping centers in town with steep driveways/speedbumps. To each their own, but the point is, you should think about and research the mods you want before just slapping them on your car. Simple things could have devastating side effects.

HK350 Z

Great news to see this,I am most definitely trying to get 225-250K out of this motor and tranny before I rebuild or swap.

chitownpete

Several excellent points Icer. My 04 Roadster has been great but bought with 23k and now have 32 k after 3 1/2 years. Replaced belts (starting to crack) and bought new tires when I first got the car but only because I wanted to go with 17s instead of the OEM 18s. Bought a new battery as well. I purposely bought a un modified car since you never know the quality of aftermarket parts or the quality of the mechanic who installed the parts.

icer5160

iTrader: (4)

@Chitownpete

Great idea to replace the battery and belts. It was also awesome that you found an unmolested Z. I did exactly the same thing shortly after purchasing my Z.

First, the one I found was bone stock. Nothing modified on the interior or exterior. Second, I had it inspected by two reputable Nissan Z specialists. The first thing I replaced was the serpentine belt. My car was a 2006 yet only had 16k miles on it by 2010. The previous owner must've only used this car on weekends. So I didn't assume things like the belts or fluids were changed often.

Just because a car has low mileage doesn't mean everything is ok. Lots of things wear out simply from age, not use. Ex: Coolant, belts, oil, etc.. Besides replacing my serpentine belt, I also changed the oil and filter. My Z was a trade-in at an Acura Dealership, but again, I didn't assume they checked/changed all the fluids. Naturally they didn't have any maintenance history for the car. Just the CarFax which is completely useless IMO. If I were to do things over again, I would have waited and looked for a 2007-2008 with the HR engine from a private seller, not a dealer. But I love my 06 Revup and so far it's been good to me.

It doesn't have the really nasty oil consumption problem that made this year infamous(1qt gone in 500mi!), but I have seen 1.5-2qts of oil gone after 3700-4000 miles. This is a little off topic, but last weekend I took the time to perform the BG Performance Oil change on my Z. This entails using 1xCan of BG-109 and 2xCans of BG MOA + 10qts of oil. The BG-109 is supposed to clean out buildup around the piston rings and help restore compression among other things. I'm coupling that with changing over to 10W-40 Valvoline Premium Conventional oil(previously used 5W-30 Mobil-1 fully synthetic) and I'm hoping to dramatically reduce the oil consumption. Depending on my results, I'll write up a DIY thread in the forums with my findings, I've got 3500mi to go before my next change.

Dan Garcia

iTrader: (71)

08 z with 7 miles, it is now at 30,250 miles and haven't had to replace anything yet.
I have upgraded a few items which did not need replacing. So so-far so-good, no compaints here.

Jbakes727

iTrader: (3)

04 with 94k. Bought with 78k 21 months ago. I've done just regular maintenance and replaced a passenger window motor. Haven't had a major problem, car has started every time and has never broken down on me.

Osborn Wu

06 with about 98k miles, owned for about 2 years
replaced: hatch strut (won't stay opened, replaced with z1 upgrades after about a year I got the car), thermostat (got stuck, back in Janurary)
need replacing: headunit (won't play any CDs after I got the car for half a year), TPMS sensors (been broken since I got them)

PerfZ

iTrader: (3)

142,000 on my '03 since I bought it new. Window motor and fuel hatch release relay under warranty. Since then the other window motor, one cam sensor, throttle body, and radiator just a couple months back. Overall, I could not be happier - still on original clutch and original tranny although clutch will be needed soon I'm thinking.

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

Couple window motors, a Nismo thermostat , trans , 2 wheel bearings , control arm bushings , diff bushing , fuel rail and............ Not bad for beating the living crap out of the car.

VengefulHitman

2005 Touring MT, bought in Spring of 2011 with around 83k miles now at a little over 110k

- Catalytic converters went bad at around 85k, replaced with high flow cats (now have test pipes)
- Throttle position sensor went around 90-95k, replaced the full throttle body
- All O2 sensors have been replaced 95-100k
- Serpentine belts have been replaced 100k
- Tires were replaced around 107k with a new set of wheels.
- Recently replaced the Camshaft position sensors (both) at around 109k
- Dif was serviced at 110k

Zmandriving

Got 2007 with about 45k on it. I did my suspension work that I wouldn't count as being a repair. I have camber kit for front, sway bars front and rear, endlinks, traction arms, and toe arm in the rear are also aftermarket. Also upgraded lsd because I have a base model. I have pop charger. Got full exhaust system from headers back and uprev tune.

Okay now for repairs.

Drivers side window motor

Paint for interior scratches, just used spray paint on a piece of paper with a brush and then clear coat on top.

I have had new rotors and pads put on, ebc brand and new ss brake lines.

I have new clutch and flywheel that needed to be replaced at about 37k, pilot bushing, and ss clutch line. JWT package.

Bought new rpf1 rims and new tires

My last repair was about 500 miles ago and I tore my differential subframe bushing. I had all subframe bushings replaced with poly bushings, solid differential bushings, poly engine mounts, and poly transmission mount.

Next upgrade will be poly bushings for front lower control arms and steering rack bushings.

04_Touring

04 Touring MT. Bought it around this time, last year with 43k on it. Currently have a little over 49k. No problems/repairs at all. No feather in the tires surprisingly. I feel like the first thing to go up will be my window motor. Seeing that 80% of Z owners have to replace it.

icer5160

iTrader: (4)

A lot of people have window motor problems with the Z. The main reason these window motors fail or begin to fail is dirty tracks and worn out regulators. Some simple preventative maintenance can be done here. Clean the window tracks with rubber/plastic safe cleaner, then get some dry silicone lubricant in a spray can and use on your window tracks. If you have the time, it's also worth taking apart the door (can be done safely in about 10min after going through it once or twice) and cleaning up the DC motor's brushes/commutator. Lots of crap builds up there from use and a clean motor ensures best operation. There's a lot posted about this in the DIY section.

If you want to clean and re-grease the regulator, you need to use very light grease, silicone is the best. I made the stupid mistake of using lithium grease and it just gummed up the regulator making things worse. Ultimately though, a new regulator may be required because the steel cable will stretch overtime and use. Luckily these regulators really aren't that expensive(around 70-80$ for the driver's side).

If you live in a coastal city or in a humid area, I would highly recommend using dielectric grease on electrical plugs/connectors that are exposed to the outside climate, such as your window motor, head lights, alternator, battery, etc. This will keep them from corroding and potentially causing more issues.

Broseph Stalin

iTrader: (1)

talk about a lemon