I am looking to purchase a used Z soon here but i need some input. I currently drive an 01 Eclipse GT with a few mods on it and only about 67000 miles. I was given an offer by a friend who really loves my car to purchase it for 8500 which is a good offer honestly. I took the offer as a joke and was like yea right i love my car then he used my weakness on me....my Love of the Z. He told me that i could use the money and buy a 350Z instead which at first seemed like a yeah right to me then i really got to thinking. I'm going to tell you how old i am first and then your going to think WTF yea right then i will tell you why it is very feasible for me to own pretty much my dream car.

I am 18 years old will 19 in February and will attend college this fall. I am looking for a Z preferably 04 and at least performance trim. I like this year becuase for every year it adds more of coarse for the same mileage and i heard that 03's being the first year weren't as reliable as the 04. however i imagine that most problems would have been addressed if the 03 is still running. However in my mind i really want a Z with less than 45k miles. an 04 Z with less than 45k run anywhere from 16-20k and that is fine since my "limit" is 20k and limit is in parenthesis becuase if it is an amazing deal for not too much more sure i would stretch it a little. Now your going to say "how can you afford this? I bet your parents are going to buy it for you" and i respond with a no not at all. My eclipse is entirely paid off for and 3/5ths of the car was paid for by myself from working basically 2 years. I finished paying it off with graduation money recently. My job consists of a Waiter at a very popular restuarant where i can easily make 350 bucks a week in the summer doing 5 days and when school starts i will drop down to 4 still keeping 280 or so a week in my pocket which aint too shabby. I kinda got lucky on this job but either way i have it. Insurance will be around 680 every 6 months with myself listed as a "secondary driver" even though it would be mine for full coverage. That is part of my very close aunts contribution to college. She will pay my insurance through college since i worked in school and got the majority of my college paid for. Now i have told you all of this to basically take me 100% serious and also not as some kid who wants one but doesnt deserve or will actually earn it. I will have around 10k after selling my Eclipse and be looking to take out a 8-10k loan with my parent co-signing. Payments should be anywhere from 200-250 a month for 5 years depending on how much i actually pay which is less than i make in a week and i have no other large monthly payments as i live at home right now.

Here is where i am asking you for help. Should i really try to make sure it's an 04 instead of an 03? Or maybe even an 05? I heard that the 03-04 engine runs about the same as the 05-06 variation so it shouldn't be a deciding factor since they are so close in power. Actually i love more Torque in cars anyway. Im kind of scared as this is so much to seem like to spend on a car to have close to 60k miles on it. I have had my eclipse for 8 months now and i put 6000 miles on it meaning i probably wont put more than 10k a year. I plan to keep it at least until i'm out of college with a good job. In my mind the less miles the better but it makes me wonder if im going a little overboard when i see cars with 50k miles and thinking (that's too high) when i remember finding my eclipse with 60k and thinking man that's really low! for the price it was.

Should i really be worried about the reliability once it gets up there close to 100k miles? Granted i have enough to pay for the car and do a few things to it however i cant have problems once i get up into the last years where college will be most expensive for me. I known Nissan make great cars but what are road tests of these cars at 90-110k miles im sure there are people who have driven their 03's and 04's that much so far and i'm eager to hear if i should not worry of buying one with 50-60k miles.

Plus i like low miles because that means the paint is in better condition and i'm a clean paint fanatic, have hundred of dollars worth of professional detailing tools and products and too many little dings and scratches **** me off and my eclipse for sure has a few.

Last i have read that the gas mileage is usually quite good, i get around 300 miles to the tank in my eclipse right now and the size is 15.4. Therefore i get about 20 on average. The 350Z should be comparable right? I only spend about 35 a week on gas with premium and id like to keep it that way, this was the main reason i decided NOT to get an RX-8.

Please give me suggestions on what to do. I just want this car to last 5 years until i'm done with college and have a great career and then maybe a 370Z? I have a very good job for my age while in college and live at home meaning i can go really about as high as 25k if i really wanted on a car but i for sure do not want to spend that much on one. Preferably around 18-19k (well the ones that are listed for 20 on autotrader because you can jew em down a thousand or so )

I also want a Daytona Blue one very bad however Super Black is really really nice as well. The red and the orange are quite nice as well.

Take me seriously guys and understand that i do work my money and what i have an this is a dream car to me. Screw the extra 2 seats that just means i wont be opted to do road trips and put thousands of miles on my car hah!

Cheers guys and please many suggestions and opinions of my upcoming decision. I plan to buy before november.

 

I would keep the Eclipse, then when you make it off of college you can upgrade....trying to shine in college might take you elsewhere...especially owning a Z you might become popular, if not already, and fall in love with modding it, therefore losing sleep, resulting in not making it to class, that leads to failing grades...

should I go on...

 

Oh come on. I'm just turning 19 and I'm in pre-med right now, and I'm getting ready to sell my current car and buy a high-mile, modified Z. If gas is a HUGE issue, keep your eclipse. Other wise, expect to see 22-25mpg tops. Insurance really isn't that bad, but you HAVE to have good credit, or a co-signer with awesome credit. I know my credit is kind of meh right now, because I have very little, and the Z i'm looking to buy has 88k miles on it. I'm talking them on 13.5 for it, if not 12,000 out the door. As long as you can get it and make payments, go for it. Only live once, do what you can, do it how you want. :P

 

yea he has one life like the rest of us, yet jumping head first into the shallow part of the pool, still means your in the pool. I bet it wouldn't be as fun as walking a little longer to splash in the deep side.

 

Hah i really love your reasoning not to get one however but i wouldn't let something like a single car screw up my future.

I'm not worried about the gas i was just curious. I'm still curious about the mileage question.

 

From what I've read in my four months of lurking (Just made an account today after long-term lurking), most people see 22-25, tops.

 

Once again it's not the gas mileage that's a concern that was just a small question. I'm asking whether or not i should really purchase a Z with lower miles or is someone my age who will drive the car maybe 10-11k miles a year tops and only wants it to last until the payment ends (5 years) kind of not wasting my money but better put to use somewhere else. Do you guys get what i'm saying? Should i really spend 18-19k for an 04 Z with 20k miles on it, 15-16k for one with 50-60k miles on it.

I honestly want 45k to be my limit preferably around 35 but thats going to run me 18-19 even for an 04.

Last question. Is there any real problem with getting an 03 over an 04? Some said there were problems earlier but an 03 with 35-40k miles already on it is going to mean any early problems that would have happened would have been addressed by then right so essentially it would be then be pretty much the same as the 04?

 

Oh, my bad, I was reading mileage and thinking "gas, dur.". I'd buy the higher mile one. You said you plan on modifying it a bit, which will work out well with the short warranty provided on a high-mile vehicle. Plus, 50-60k miles isn't really that bad if you plan on daily driving it, which it sounds like you do. To your 03 vs 04 question, there were some minor improvements made in 04, over the 03, but nothing significant enough to buy one over the other, outside of personal preference. The one I'm looking at with 88k miles on it drove like a champ, handled amazingly, everything was nice, no leaks. The other one I drove had 52k miles on it, which belonged to my ex, and her and I put most of those miles on there. I have to say they're a good car to keep around a long while.

 

I plan on just adding a few cheap hp mods if the one i buy doesn't have any such as the 5/16 Plenum spacers, K&N Drop filter, possibly an exhaust and tune, and most likely some better freakin rims because the stock ones are horrible hah. Theres an 03 with 44k miles and 19" Falken rims on it in Le Mans sunset or however you spell it enthusiast for 15.5k....honestly thats an awesome deal but its too far and i want a blue one hah. I would take black or red too and honestly maybe the le mans would grow on me.

It's just because i know i can make the payment of 250 a month for a 20k Z that makes me think i should get the lower miles one. Are there any major expensive maintenance costs from say 50-100k? Clutch doesn't count because those go all the time and i would replace with a GOOD stage 2 or something that wouldn't wear down as much. For example i hear the LSD are only rated at about 60k miles. If i would have to replace them how much would i look at? Or are the 350Z's LSD pretty good.

 

I'm just saying man, you might not be the knuckle head type, then do it man go get it...best of luck on your purchase...

craigslist is good

 

Sit down, work your numbers out, & decide for yourself. In my humble opinion,
"Zees" are much better Sports cars than Eclipses, but, then again, it's just an
opinion--pretty biased, too, 'cause I only buy Nissans (Sentra, XTerra, Maxi-
ma, Altima, P'finder...& THE ZED!!!). All have been very reliable, dude! Good luck!

 

Well i have worked out my numbers and i have enough to spend up to 20k and still live without feeling like i'm crunching myself. However being a college kid who wants to add a few things to it and will only probably have the car for 50-60k miles for 5 years i'm really debating whether if i should spend the extra money for the low miles.

 

Check out my 05 pikes peak white for sale in the marketplace section.

 

I don't like white cars lol sorry

I really want a Daytona Blue however if i cant find one at a decent price the Super Black, and Redline are nice as well. The LeMans Sunset kinda is growing on me.

 

Welcome to the forum. Whether it's a 2003-2005, it will be out of warranty most likely, probably apart from the drivetrain, so that aside, think about what parts cost, if something goes wrong, or tyres wear out, or brakes etc.

Best advice, have a good look through the forum, filter the rubbish out, and make a sound judgement. Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

 

Yes i know about this. I have enough to replace a few parts if they go wrong as most cars do i just go shelling out tons. I mean my current car is out of warranty as well and it's even less reliable.

 

Sure as hell don't sound mature enough to own a Z. Poor taste. I'll be the first to say you might offend a few people around here with comments like that.

 

It's great to hear that Parents are still passing down anti-semitic (you probably have no idea what this word means) slurs to their kids. I grew up in a semi anti-semitic environment but I'm glad it didn't rub off on me.

Depending on which college you plan on attending you might want to ditch the "jew bashing". You'll come off as an ignorant assed bigot. Great first impression on the site.

 

At any college worth attending you'll come off as an "ignorant assed bigot".

 

i kinda figured some-one would say that but that's just an expression thank you. However i do apologize as i guess it could have possibly offended someone.