Cross shopping other cars with the Z?

darkphantom · 04-20-2015, 08:54 PM

Well gents, I think I have just about made up my mind on the Z - going to go for it!

I went out and test drove the little Golf R and while it was fun to drive, handled like a charm, I just know that the Z will give me more of a raw/visceral feeling.

I will take the Z while I am young and return to the easy driving V Dubs in my years of old...(much later, if that even happens...)!

Sadly, the Z I was looking at in san antonio was sold

so I have to keep searching. There is a white one near by but I am looking for a color that is a bit more exciting.

Magic Bus · 04-20-2015, 09:13 PM

Yes good choice as the Z is raw/visceral. Test drove a M235i fairly recently and while it was superior to my Z in so many ways, I would not switch out the Z for it at this time. Just because of the r/v feeling.

Tigger · 04-20-2015, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LAVA

I bought my Z last fall after 16 years of owning German cars. I thought they were the sh!t until we bought a G35S sedan for my wife. After putting over 100,000 miles in her car and only spending around $500 on repairs (brakes, tires and oil excluded) I was sold on Japanese engineering and reliability, which was why I decided to by a Z. German cars are over engineered, which IMO has no advantage, they're also very expensive to fix and maintain. It's highly unlikely that I will ever buy another German car.

Kinda funny you say that. I already knew German cars sucked for reliability. I know for certain I could never by a BMW. Never. Throughout my 43,572 miles on the Z, I only changed the oil and filled it up with gas swapped out two sets of tires and drove the **** out of it. Good times. Excellent reliability. Even for a sports car which is just crazy. Very impressed with the Z in that aspect. And then what'd I do? I went and bought a used 911 with 75k miles on the clock. lol.

Like I said, get the warranty and drive that bitch without worry. So what if it breaks? Zs have had catastrophic engine failures too! Happens to every car on the road.

Point is... drive what you love. Life is too ******* short to worry about how soon you'll need to replace tires.

Eclipz · 04-20-2015, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkphantom

I just drop a tune in there and I am easily over 300whp and over 350whp of torque!

This made me laugh.

glad to hear you went with the Z, enjoy it! Every time i see one on the rode I wish I was in one!

Tigger · 04-20-2015, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkphantom

Well gents, I think I have just about made up my mind on the Z - going to go for it!

I went out and test drove the little Golf R and while it was fun to drive, handled like a charm, I just know that the Z will give me more of a raw/visceral feeling.

I will take the Z while I am young and return to the easy driving V Dubs in my years of old...(much later, if that even happens...)!

Sadly, the Z I was looking at in san antonio was sold

so I have to keep searching. There is a white one near by but I am looking for a color that is a bit more exciting.

You'll find the one you want for sure. Patience. Something really good always comes up about once a month. Glad to see you settled on something nice!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magic Bus

Yes good choice as the Z is raw/visceral. Test drove a M235i fairly recently and while it was superior to my Z in so many ways, I would not switch out the Z for it at this time. Just because of the r/v feeling.

I drove the 235 too. And the 435. And the 535. And the M4. And an M3.

NONE of them handled well. I ******* hated the handling. Horrible. The roll was a nightmare in all but the 435 and that one just felt too goddamn heavy to have any real fun. Don't even get me started on the 1 series. Garbage right there.

I'm sorry. Not picking. I just don't know why everyone says that BMW is superior. I didn't really even care for the interior of the 235. And I couldn't understand why a reasonably optioned one hit $50k. ****. And no. It is a cheap, nearly entry-level car. No reason for it to hit that price. And like I said. Rolled like a bitch. I just don't know why people say they drive well. They don't. and 50/50 weight distribution will hinder performance more than help it. Sooooooo....

Anyway.... I guess I need to reference my own post here. Drive what you love and don't go by what Tigger says sucks.

Duc_Z09 · 04-20-2015, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkphantom

Well gents, I think I have just about made up my mind on the Z - going to go for it!

I went out and test drove the little Golf R and while it was fun to drive, handled like a charm, I just know that the Z will give me more of a raw/visceral feeling.

I will take the Z while I am young and return to the easy driving V Dubs in my years of old...(much later, if that even happens...)!

Sadly, the Z I was looking at in san antonio was sold

so I have to keep searching. There is a white one near by but I am looking for a color that is a bit more exciting.

White is nice looking. I have magnetic black... it looks awesome for about 10 minutes after I wash it, which is pretty much every time I drive anywhere. Never buy a black car.

The VW would have been more practical but not nearly as much fun. The Z is a car that (if you mesh with it) will make you happy every time you drive it. You'll also look back at least twice every time you walk away from it; that's how I know whether or not I bought the right car.

Duc_Z09 · 04-20-2015, 09:47 PM

Here's my opinion, feel free to disagree...

I think cars like the Golf GTI, BRZ, Focus ST, Mini Cooper, Mazdaspeed 3, etc are so popular because they feel a lot faster than they actually are. That's why owners get so attached to them.

But the Z is the opposite; it's hard to believe the speedometer when you look down and see triple digits because the power is smooth and deceptive. V8 muscle cars have neck-snapping torque to let you know how quickly you're accelerating, and the hot hatches have torque steer... but the Z just sort of zips along without any drama, then sticks like flypaper when you reach an apex and start to apply serious lateral G's.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that some cars can be exhilarating at relatively low limits (i.e. you can drift a BRZ at 20mph because it has no grip), but for the Z those limits are a lot higher and you have to push it harder to feel the excitement.

MR.nismo · 04-20-2015, 10:09 PM

I agree with DUC. The power delivery on the Z is linear. I used to own Evo's , Mazda speed 3, and their power delivery is like a sudden punch but that is it. There is no much of a momentum behind the punch. Evos are quick but no fast, and the same goes for the speed 3, is quick but not fast and there is a difference between quick and fast. I had a trans-am v-8 and sure it had power but it was heavy to maneuver.
The Z is not the fastest nor the most powerful car out there but one thing is for sure and that is a well balanced package when it comes to power, weight, agility and handling, fuel consumption and other little things in between.
By the way DUC_Z09 I assume you are a Ducatisti? If so I'm a fellow Ducatisti as well, 1198 model. Cheers!!!

Tigger · 04-20-2015, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MR.nismo

I agree with DUC. The power delivery on the Z is linear. I used to own Evo's , Mazda speed 3, and their power delivery is like a sudden punch but that is it. There is no much of a momentum behind the punch. Evos are quick but no fast, and the same goes for the speed 3, is quick but not fast and there is a difference between quick and fast. I had a trans-am v-8 and sure it had power but it was heavy to maneuver.
The Z is not the fastest nor the most powerful car out there but one thing is for sure and that is a well balanced package when it comes to power, weight, agility and handling, fuel consumption and other little things in between.
By the way DUC_Z09 I assume you are a Ducatisti? If so I'm a fellow Ducatisti as well, 1198 model. Cheers!!!

****. You wanna bring up fuel consumption? 31.8mpg on highway. Think it was just over 500 miles and had quite a bit of fun along the way. Can't get much better than that for the amount of power you get!

volusia · 04-20-2015, 10:33 PM

I went out and test drove the little Golf R and while it was fun to drive, handled like a charm, I just know that the Z will give me more of a raw/visceral feeling.

I will take the Z while I am young and return to the easy driving V Dubs in my years of old...(much later, if that even happens...)!

Well, I had one before I bought my z. It was blast to drive(APR stg2+) and all
but like you said the Z is more balanced and makes me look back everytime I
park it which I never did with R.. lol

photo.JPG

dP3NGU1N · 04-21-2015, 12:25 AM

German Reliability: The Greatest Myth Ever Sold to American Car Buyers

Zipper 104 · 04-21-2015, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duc_Z09

But the Z is the opposite; it's hard to believe the speedometer when you look down and see triple digits because the power is smooth and deceptive. V8 muscle cars have neck-snapping torque to let you know how quickly you're accelerating, and the hot hatches have torque steer... but the Z just sort of zips along without any drama, then sticks like flypaper when you reach an apex and start to apply serious lateral G's.

Yup...I had my Z out for the first time in ages yesterday. There were people pulling up next to me on the freeway, slowing down and gawking like they had never seen one before.
There's one freeway entrance ramp I usually wail up like there's no tomorrow. This time I decided to just ease up it, like the old man I am. Well, I'm almost at the end of the merge lane when I see a car almost in my blindspot. I decide to just nudge the speed up a bit to put some space between us. No drama. I look down at the speedo and see 170 kph. (just over 100 mph) WTF? I didn't even get on it.
I didn't own a car for the past 15 years. I looked only at one 370 and bought it. Looked at nothing else. With Swifts the suspension is near perfect. It corners like on rails, hauls a** better than I ever need. It costs me the same as any other car to park and insure each month and gas mileage is really here nor there since I drive it so little.
I was thinking today that I bought the right car. The only alternative would be to go back to being carless again.
OP, buying yourself a Z really was a good choice. All the other cars mentioned in this thread are a dime a dozen out there.

104

jpkirk · 04-21-2015, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkphantom

Well gents, I think I have just about made up my mind on the Z - going to go for it!

I went out and test drove the little Golf R and while it was fun to drive, handled like a charm, I just know that the Z will give me more of a raw/visceral feeling.

I will take the Z while I am young and return to the easy driving V Dubs in my years of old...(much later, if that even happens...)!

Sadly, the Z I was looking at in san antonio was sold

so I have to keep searching. There is a white one near by but I am looking for a color that is a bit more exciting.

When does that happen? Like 90? It never happend for Paul Newman. He raced in the 24 hours of Daytona when he was 80. I wanna be like that. I have to admit though, I had great fun in a VW Scirocco after my MGB retired.

Z is a good choice. I'm having great fun with mine. Going autoxing in May for the first time in 35 years. It'll be a blast.

darkphantom · 04-21-2015, 03:21 PM

Not even sure what happened over the weekend, I had my eyes on 3 different ones and they all disappeared!

I am trying to real this one in but we'll see if they bite:

2011 pearl white/black interior
16k miles
sport/touring

I'm asking $25k drive out - that is a fair offer right? or should I keep looking and ask for something lower?

vtec to vvel · 04-21-2015, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkphantom

Hello all, looking to purchase a 370Z but now I am not so sure anymore

I have been looking for the last two weeks and I have narrowed it down to 2010-2012 370z with Sport/touring in 6MT Coupe.

Problem is, hard to find local dealers that will give me a good price. Anyways, long story short, I was cross-shopping the 370z with a Subaru BRZ and a used WRX if I could find one.

I then mistakenly walked into a VW dealership to look at a used 370z they had and then saw the other VWs...they had a used Golf R that I ended up testing driving

I can't believe the amount of difference in the interior quality of the VW to the nissan! I mean, I know German cars are better built, bla bla, but it was just worlds apart! I used to drive a '07 335i before so I know how good german cars they can be. However, the transmission was BUTTERY smooth in the golf, I was pushing it into gears with 1 finger! The other thing is, since it is a 2.0L Turbo, I just drop a tune in there and I am easily over 300whp and over 350whp of torque!

So basically now, I am sad that the interior of the 370z isn't as nice, more road noise in the Z and I can't afford the Golf because it is almost 5k more than the Z.

My budget is $25k and the Golf R was $30k used.

So here is my question, what other cars did you all cross shop before choosing the Z and why did you pick it?

I know people will say I am comparing apples to oranges but here are some things I am looking for:

-RWD/AWD
-6MT
-good handling/feel
-around ~$25k

Anyways, thanks for listening and helping out!

EDIT: if I end up going with the Z, anything I should be looking out for? Go 2011+ over 2010?

1. great deals are out there - you just have to be patient and look on autotrader/etc. daily.
2. i don't think german cars are "better built" than japanese cars IMO.
3. i dont think people go for the interior when buying the Z, although it is much upgraded than the 350Z. also, depends on the trim you are getting. i know you said you want a touring model, but difference between touring and touring with navi are huge.

04-20-2015, 08:54 PM	#46 (permalink)
darkphantom Enthusiast Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 425 Drives: 13 Z34 PW M6 Rep Power: 243	Well gents, I think I have just about made up my mind on the Z - going to go for it! I went out and test drove the little Golf R and while it was fun to drive, handled like a charm, I just know that the Z will give me more of a raw/visceral feeling. I will take the Z while I am young and return to the easy driving V Dubs in my years of old...(much later, if that even happens...)! Sadly, the Z I was looking at in san antonio was sold so I have to keep searching. There is a white one near by but I am looking for a color that is a bit more exciting. jpkirk and Tigger like this.

04-20-2015, 09:47 PM	#52 (permalink)
Duc_Z09 Track Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Frederick MD Posts: 876 Drives: With the blinker on. Rep Power: 23	Here's my opinion, feel free to disagree... I think cars like the Golf GTI, BRZ, Focus ST, Mini Cooper, Mazdaspeed 3, etc are so popular because they feel a lot faster than they actually are. That's why owners get so attached to them. But the Z is the opposite; it's hard to believe the speedometer when you look down and see triple digits because the power is smooth and deceptive. V8 muscle cars have neck-snapping torque to let you know how quickly you're accelerating, and the hot hatches have torque steer... but the Z just sort of zips along without any drama, then sticks like flypaper when you reach an apex and start to apply serious lateral G's. I guess what I'm trying to say is that some cars can be exhilarating at relatively low limits (i.e. you can drift a BRZ at 20mph because it has no grip), but for the Z those limits are a lot higher and you have to push it harder to feel the excitement. jpkirk, Tigger, cigarclifford and 1 others like this. __________________ 2009 370z #206 (all mods are Home Depot) 2009 Ducati 848 (full Ohlins, Termignoni, etc) 2003 Grand Cherokee (long arms, big tires, 4.56, lockers)

04-20-2015, 10:09 PM	#53 (permalink)
MR.nismo Enthusiast Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Hackensack, NJ Age: 50 Posts: 373 Drives: 2014 Nismo Gun Metal Rep Power: 13	I agree with DUC. The power delivery on the Z is linear. I used to own Evo's , Mazda speed 3, and their power delivery is like a sudden punch but that is it. There is no much of a momentum behind the punch. Evos are quick but no fast, and the same goes for the speed 3, is quick but not fast and there is a difference between quick and fast. I had a trans-am v-8 and sure it had power but it was heavy to maneuver. The Z is not the fastest nor the most powerful car out there but one thing is for sure and that is a well balanced package when it comes to power, weight, agility and handling, fuel consumption and other little things in between. By the way DUC_Z09 I assume you are a Ducatisti? If so I'm a fellow Ducatisti as well, 1198 model. Cheers!!! __________________ Sarcasm and Orgasm are about the same thing. One is good....the other is better.

04-21-2015, 12:25 AM	#56 (permalink)
dP3NGU1N A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Irvine Posts: 1,682 Drives: 13 PW sport 6mt Rep Power: 18	German Reliability: The Greatest Myth Ever Sold to American Car Buyers __________________ 35% Hooper Optik \| Takeda Attack CAI \| F.I. HFC \| Hotchkis Sway Bar \| Stillen 24row \| OS Giken Super Lock LSD \| TK Shift Knob \| EVO-R Carbon Diffuser

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04-20-2015, 09:13 PM	#47 (permalink)
Magic Bus A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2012 Location: Honolulu Posts: 1,427 Drives: 17 6MT M2 Rep Power: 18754	Yes good choice as the Z is raw/visceral. Test drove a M235i fairly recently and while it was superior to my Z in so many ways, I would not switch out the Z for it at this time. Just because of the r/v feeling.

04-20-2015, 10:33 PM	#55 (permalink)
volusia Base Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: IL Posts: 22 Drives: 12' Sport Touring Rep Power: 10	I went out and test drove the little Golf R and while it was fun to drive, handled like a charm, I just know that the Z will give me more of a raw/visceral feeling. I will take the Z while I am young and return to the easy driving V Dubs in my years of old...(much later, if that even happens...)! Well, I had one before I bought my z. It was blast to drive(APR stg2+) and all but like you said the Z is more balanced and makes me look back everytime I park it which I never did with R.. lol photo.JPG

04-21-2015, 03:21 PM	#59 (permalink)
darkphantom Enthusiast Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 425 Drives: 13 Z34 PW M6 Rep Power: 243	Not even sure what happened over the weekend, I had my eyes on 3 different ones and they all disappeared! I am trying to real this one in but we'll see if they bite: 2011 pearl white/black interior 16k miles sport/touring I'm asking $25k drive out - that is a fair offer right? or should I keep looking and ask for something lower?