From Amarillo Texas back to Palm Beach Florida (My Z Purchase!) :: SUPER Pic Heavy!!!
 

First and foremost, before the introduction of myself to this splendid
forum, I'd like to thank all the users on here that always offering
sincere, honest and reassuring advice. It helps so many potential
buyers/enthusiasts like myself make clean cut
decisions due to the support of this forum. Even with its beautiful
curves, I would not have loved the Z enough to buy one without this
forum. Thank you all!

Now onto my awesome little adventure...

I've been looking around for the last year for a 2010 Pearl White
touring 370Z with either light grey interior or Persimmon interior
with sports package and navigation. I wanted to buy a preown vehicle
that was 1-2 years old for "new car" depreciation lost purposes. Looked on
every major car buying website for the entire state of Florida for
something along the lines of what I wanted, couldn't find anything that met my specific guidelines. I waited, and waited, and waited, and looked
everyday online. One day I decided to drive by the local Nissan
Dealer and notice a preown 2010 Black 370z with persimmon interior,
sports package and nav. And damn, I fell in love. The interior stood
out so nicely, gave it that nice "pop" factor with a strong sportiness
attitude. I had to have this interior, then I looked behind me and
there was a Pearl white Nismo tucked into a parking space smiling at
me. I personally don't care for the Nismo (not crazy about its
styling with the exception of the nice front fascia), BUT the PEARL
WHITE WAS AMAZING! Looking at both cars made the decision for me... I
had to have a 2010 Pearl White 370Z, persimmon interior, Touring,
Sports package and Navigation... And damnit this made things a lot
tougher for me, because it was near impossible to find that exact
setup in Florida without buying new. :icon14:

So a few months passed by and I found a Dealer in Amarillo Texas
through autotrader.com that had the exact vehicle I had been
masturbating....errr I mean fantasizing over for the last year! 2010
370z, with all options except for mud flaps, 21,000 miles, asking
price of 36,950, a clean carfax report, AND COMPLETELY STOCK so I can
do my own modding! My interest was through the roof! Only one little
problem.......It's all the way in Texas!!! The very upper tip of Texas
might I add! And I am in Florida! Do I buy a car without seeing it
in person!? Who does that?! I looked into transporting the vehicle
from that location to Florida and was quoted cheapest at around $1300
bucks because of its remote location. So after multiple text
messages, countless emails back and forth and a few phone calls with
the seller (Street Toyota of Amarillo was the seller) and a SET
out-the-door price of $30,000 if I did not finance, I decided to make
travel plans. So after toying with the thought a little more, I
consulted with my awesome younger brother (just freshly graduated from
UCF, unemployed, and with no obligations of any sort) and decided to
take a Friday off from work and spend the entire weekend on a 1800
mile road trip!! :driving:

March 24th departure!

** I couldn't sleep the night before because flying early in the
morning always gets me excited/nervous, and for the most part, I
hadn't seen the car so I was for sure nervous. Bought two one way
airline tickets to Amarillo and crossed my fingers.

6 am flight out from Palm Beach Air port Florida to Houston. Early
as hell. Everyone was trying to sleep on that flight.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...3/photo2-1.jpg

(picture taken towards landing at Houston Airport)

When I landed in Amarillo at Rick Husband airport, the air was fresh
and cool. Temperature was in the lower to mid 40s with the sun
beaming. Oddly it was T-shirt friendly. It was a superb day to buy a car =) Walked outside and to my left stood an old/senior gentleman standing next to a Scion XB with a sign on the door "Street Toyota Shuttle". Walked over to him and he instantly introduced himself with a great big smile and grabbed my bags, stowed it into the back hatch and smiled at me with that mid west hospitality. It was a twenty minute ride or so to the Street Toyota Dealer. I guess we were on the main highway and man there was soooo much empty land / fields / planes compared to West Palm Beach Florida. Wow.... When we arrived he grabbed my bags again and made it his business to not let me carry my own bags. Talk about customer service/ good ol' dealer hospitality!

HIS NAME IS GREG MULGIN from Street Toyota AND HE'S A COOL DUDE (my sales rep) !! :tiphat:
I think he's a hugging kinda guy because the minute I shook his bear paw, he instantly swung me in for one those "bro" hugs. Nice and friendly. He grabbed my bag, walked me and my brother towards the Service director's office to introduce me and then right out to the delivery bay because he knew I meant business. I mean I spent $350 bucks to fly there and it wasn't
for cookies and laughs.

** Cleaned and parked in the delivery bay ready to go**

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i3/photo13.jpg

Everything on the car was in better condition
than I had hoped for! Holy crap! I thought there would be more paint
chips/ issues on the front of the vehicle because I know these cars
have "soft" paint from reading on the forum. Barely any to complain
about, except for the lower lip of the bumper (few scraps there which
is understandable) and a few rock chips on the hood. Other than that
not a scratch or chip anywhere else on the entire body of the
vehicle. The leather and suede was perfect, no stress/stretch marks at
all! I told Gregg I didn't want him to do what other dealers
normally do when they prep a car for delivery (shine the hell out of
the dashboard with all purpose cleaner/ dash polish, and just use all
these cleaning agents that mask certain scratches in vinyl, or
dullness. ) I work for a Lexus dealer in Florida as an Assistant
Service Manager and know how detailers work, especially on preown
cars. The car was clean, from head to bottom without the smell of
chemicals. The dash and interior looked normal as if purchasing new
from the dealer without any cleaning products caked on. What really
sold me was the smell of the vehicle; it literally smelled like a new
car. That was my first initial thought when I opened the door and sat
in it. My brother instantly thought the exact same thing. It really
smelled like the car hasn't been used, or when it was the previous
owner didn't use those stupid vanilla or coconut scented air
fresheners. Ugh. I thanked Greg for keeping with my request on not
over cleaning the interior and just wiping it down with a damp towel
if anything.


In Greg's office signing paper work (little brother) ...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...3/photo2-3.jpg

Two keys like I asked....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...3/photo3-2.jpg

**Look at that bear paw lol...**

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...3/photo1-2.jpg

**Packing the Z with two medium sized duffels and two backpacks for the
drive to Dallas to spend the night. WOw that trunk is packed! :icon14:**

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...li3/photo4.jpg

**Random picture when I was passing through a small town on my way to Dallas.**

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i3/photo52.jpg


** EMERGENCY! Had to pull over and take a piss behind an abandon building!**

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i3/photo56.jpg

**Bro was tired as hell......**

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i3/photo24.jpg

**I was excited as hell....** :happydance:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i3/photo14.jpg

**Our hotel we got on Kayak.com, $50 bucks a night!**

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i3/photo34.jpg

**Even though we were dead tired....we drove around downtown Dallas that
Friday night looking for something to do, it didn't really seem popping and actually kinda dead, or we were missing something....ended up stopping
at a hole in the wall to eat Tacos.**

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i3/photo25.jpg

** In front of Hooters downtown Dallas**

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i3/photo38.jpg

!!Welcome to Louisiana!! :tup:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i3/photo57.jpg


**On our way to Louisiana to visit my brother's friend at LSU. So many
bugs on the way from Dallas to Baton Rouge....had to pull over and
clean them off after hours of driving.**

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...3/photo3-1.jpg

**Nice sun setting in the background!**

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i3/photo22.jpg


Went out and partied downtown Baton Rouge that night, nothing super
interesting, just a bunch of college kids getting wasted. No pictures
from that night...sorry.

**Sunday morning.....went to eat at some breakfast joint my brother's
friend was recommending and then walked pass the law building at LSU
(he's a law student so he was excited to show us this)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i3/photo36.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i3/photo27.jpg


Now for the super long boring drive back to Florida from Baton Rouge....:eekdance:

Yay in Florida now...Pensacola Rest Stop.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...i3/photo17.jpg

Made it back to Palm Beach Florida at 5:00 a.m. on Monday and went to work at 8:00 am. =) :shakes head:

Total cost for the Trip $800 - $850 bucks with food, hotel, flights, gas and miscellaneous. It's not all about the money; it's about the
time spent with my younger brother and the mini Road Trip itself!!

:: Random pics a few days after a good clean wash::

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...oto5resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...oto4resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...oto2resize.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...oto1resize.jpg


** Sorry this post is soooooo long and I don't think most of you will read it at all but a few sentences, but that's my story!!** Cheers :tiphat:

Glad you had the chance for a road trip with the Z already. i'm itchin for another road trip with mine.
Welcome!

Thanks!!!:icon17:

Cool story, and pictures. The time with your Bro will never be forgotten.

Thanks Galeforce. It sure won't be forgotten!

Great story and pics to follow along on the trip. Congratulations!!!

Thanks ZilverZ for reading! :icon17:

Fun story...congratulations!!! :)

Good trip! one you will remember, always. :driving:

/hello from Pensacola Florida! :) You got one Steal of a deal but honestly that long of a drive I would do the same! Ive done that whole buy it out of state as well but you just have to pay taxes at the DMV when you get home which isnt fun writing a big check lol. Glad to see you got one hott ride! welcome and enjoy!

I'm from Baton rouge. Lol nice z

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

- niche79.....I'm dreading the paying taxes part .....( my temp plate expires April 24th!!!) That's a nice chunk of change going to the state of FL. :eek:

Thanks all for reading and commenting!! It's funny how all the people that are commenting are from the states I passed through (Nepali, Niche79 and MitchellKeen). :tiphat:

Wussup Icormba..I'm from the bay area (Fremont)...definitely miss it!

Yup get ready to write that 2k change check out to the DMV. I feel your pain! And then if you arent just changing plates but adding another car to your fleet, you gotta pay like another 200 bucks lol. Its good buying outa state, but its never fun coming home and going to the DMV to pay all the taxes on the car. Taxes in Escambia county are 7.5% so it hurt me more:mad:

im from laffayette, La. really enjoyed the story, and those pics are really nice! i think that interior against the pearl white is stunning! thanks for posting, and enjoy the ride!

Ouch Niche79!! I was advised taxes in Palm beach county is 6.5% but they cap the .5 portion at a maximum of $200 ( I don't know why). So it's 6% plus $200 at max. I have to write that check out this month too :eek:


This was a must color combination for me pauly! I agree and thank you !

This is awesome. A trip to remember woth your bro. Im in the middle of a 2000 mile road trip right now with my z, but unfortunately the wife couldnt make it so no pics.

That's awesome TheChidz! :tup: BTW nice pictures of your Monterey Blue Z. Is that New york?

And do you mind if I ask from where to where are you traveling on your roadtrip?

NYC to Madison wisconsin and back via chicago and am currently in cleveland.

Great write up & pictures!! :) (Amarillo? We know you were desperate to find that ONE car then.. no one goes there cuz they want to)

-jennyT

Haha . It was definately "God's country" . I'm from a city-type area like Houston sooo it was a lot of "empty" areas. However all throughout Texas starting from Houston (my flight connection), Amarillo to Dallas the people are soo much nicer than Floridans! I was suprised.

And yes! I had to have that exact color combo or not buy the car at all!

:rolleyes:

nice pics and road trip man. I dont really see the Z as a road trip kind of car, (maybe because the highway noise/ ride) but it seems you had a good time.

Welcome and congrats!. :tup::driving:

That's a cool trip. Nice you took some pics and it will be always remembered. Love that combo btw. :tup:

I lived in Lubbock for 10+ years & loved it. But I didn't go to Amarillo unless I was passing through. LOL. Beautiful car! Great choice!

Nice pics and story. Enjoy her, congratulations!:tiphat:

There should be a road trip thread if there isn't one already. It was fun to follow your trip in the Z. I was re-living my experience, flying to NW Florida and driving back to Boston. I opted to sleep in the car, and save the $50 for my first mod, worst decision ever.

Personally I feel the Z isn't that bad for a road trip car (maybe not across country) , however not being able to recline all the way back as a passenger sucks for sleeping purposes. The road noise isn't that bad. However my last vehicle was an Lexus IS300 (my brother now drives it) and I have to admit it is way more quiet and comfy.

THANKS JennyT , Lake Show and STREET life!! :tiphat:

This roadtrip was especially fun because I was learning everything in the car anyhow, being that I was trapped in that thing for long hours! I'm currently sitting in an office with a dress shirt and tie on.. while typing this and now am itching to drive up somehwhere hilly/ with mountains next!!---> another roadtrip! But damn I couldn't sleep in the Z for a night let alone a few hours. Sorry about that one :rolleyes:

Congrats on the acquisition man! I did the same exact thing as you, except I got my Z in Rochester, NY, and I did the drive by myself :( It was still fun though, and it's a great time to get acquainted with the car! Enjoy it! Are you planning to mod at all?

lol my last car I bought was also in NY but Syracuse. I flew to Rochester where my mom and aunt were living and they took me over to syracuse and I also drove it home solo and folded down the back seats and slept in the trunk/back seat lol. Im ready for another trip but for a meet or something, if the fiances job takes us down to south florida, omg every meet im there! lol

cool. looks like a fun trip. you can see my house in that first pic.

Definitely planning to mod.... here's my first mod....lol small deal but it added a nice touch to the pearl white rear end :tup:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...3/photo1-3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...3/photo2-5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...3/photo2-4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...3/photo4-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...li3/photo5.jpg


I definitely does not LOOK THAT BLUE! The pictures somehow color washed it a bit. I have a few more things on order! :happydance:

Wow, you must be a gifted sleeper than. I need a bed lol. I'd definitely be down for meets!




Which one is it? Is your Z parked in your driveway? ;)

Bigchanges, where did you get your LEDs from?


Sent from my iPizzle using magic and new fangled science stuff.

Hey Huck. I read some reviews on another thread on this forum some time ago and got them at :

Nissan 370z LED Light

You won't regret them. It lights the rear plate area perfectly, like an LS460 but slightly more color. It's not as blue as the picture I posted earlier though. ;)

nice little touch, well worth it! Wellington I see, such a classy uptown area. My fiance had a job lead going down that way, dont think anything comming of it but hey, it was a start. Yah, after you folded the backseats down on that car, it was pretty deep in there so you could lay flat all day long and have room. It was a 4 hour sleep anyhow, nothing too extravagant, done many of those on long hauls up north!

You sir are an easy sleeper...I couldn't do that even when my brother was driving and I had ear plugs on lol. :rolleyes: How were you able to tell I'm from Wellington? My bio just says "Palm Beach" ?

Looks like you had a great time! My boyfriend wants to do something like that sometime.

look at the package in your hand....;) I work for UPS for 15 years, eyes just jumps at addresses, damn UPS haha!