Flew across the country for this car
 

My name is Shane, and I recently purchased a 2010 370z sport with 41k miles just outside of D.C. I flew out from Minnesota with a friend and drove it back. During the drive I learned that, fifth gear grinds if u jam it in, first to second gear is rough, this car needs an exhaust, and mine was resprayed because we found masking tape in the edge of the headlight.

The Z is such a fun car. Im not too familiar with the 6MT on the Z but there are lots of posts on the forum that you would probably benefit from regarding your tranny.

Look under the hood at the bolts securing it to the hinges. If the factory paint is still solid and even, and no obvious damage/ill fitting body panels, etc, then the respray is probably to correct paint chips. The Z's have really REALLY soft paint.

Could also be leftover tape from a headlight resto job unless it was obviously masking the headlight. or just a bumper repaint like bunk suggested... the OEM paint on these cars is not terribly durable - you'll see a lot of rock chip complaints here.

Welcome to the 370Z forums Shane and congratulations. Post some pics if you can. When you shift you transmission do not jam or force it into gear because you will damage your transmission that way. Take your time when shifting your transmission it is worth it. Also your transmission fluid level may be low and/or old and need to be changed I would try this first to see if it helps with your shifting. If you can’t change your transmission fluid yourself take your Z to a reputable shop you trust or a Nissan dealership service department and have them change your transmission fluid for you. Our 6MT transmissions are expensive to rebuild or replace. Also your clutch alignment could be off and cause you to miss shifts or your clutch may possibly be faulty and needs to be replaced.

Welcome to the forum

congrats and welcome and remember the Z likes to run