Prospecting a 370z, would like some constructive opinions
 

Hey everyone. I've been patiently the last few days for my account to be activated and finally!

I currently drive a 2012 challenger R/T and have been pretty happy with the car over the past 4 years (1 year of payments to go ~$3,500 left). I'm 29 and have had two leased altimas and as my first car a 96 infiniti i30 green granny mobile.

I am playing a "maintaining equity" strategy with my cars. I prefer to own over lease, always. I put 15k down on the challenger originally and ideally i will keep trading cars in when they are valued around the $15k-$18k mark so i can keep buying in the $30k-$35k range. Based on what i drive and that i'm not buying junk, it seems that at around the 4-5 year mark is when that value hits. I am also trying to avoid the maintenance that inevitably comes up with an aged car. I'd rather do basic new car maintenance than old car maintenance. I don't make a ton of money but handling $300 a month for the long haul is OK at the moment, i figure ill have to sock away $300 a month anyways for repairs and the down on a new car if i keep my car now. I love cars, it gives me a ton of joy and i do a lot of driving, not to mention i live in phoenix and the weather is awesome 91% of the year, 92% if you round up.

I put on about 20k miles a year, no kids and work as a commercial property manager, mostly just me driving around. A few things that have bugged me about my car is that the dash over the passenger side has sunk....twice. The getrag rear end whines like a bitch and there is no fix, its a common problem unfortunately. I've had a few things fixed under warranty thankfully like my gas tank check valve seizing shut which only let me fill like 2 bucks at a time and they put a damper kit on the rear end to try to quiet it.

About a year out from a new car acquisition I typically start my research process, this time around im looking at a new challenger R/T or Scat Pak and a 370z. The two car are very different beasts, I've test driven both (a 370z sport) and a new r/t. I don't particularly like the new 8 spd in the challenger, i find take off to be sluggish, just doesn't seem a good fit for aggressive driving, it just seems to hesitate. Really, that was the only draw back, its a solid car and feels great. The 370z i didn't really like at first, it just doesn't feel like it has a lot of power like the challenger but i am keeping in mind that the VQ is extremely linear while the hemi just gives you this crazy surge of power. I had the same sentiments though when i drove my buddies camaro, very linear power production. I know that on paper, the Z and the camaro spank my RT and at the end of the day i just need to adjust to the driving differences. At the end, i just want more speed, i'm an acceleration junkie and love spirited driving. I'd love to FI the car but its not a likely scenario in actuality.

Now that you all kind of know the back story here, i can get down to what i need to know. I am specifically looking at the sport model for the enhanced brakes and other small accouterments that come with it. Bose sounded pretty good given its Bose but i have some Arc amps that'd i put in and do some speaker swap stuff myself. What are the common flaws in the new 370's, mechanical, aesthetics etc. I want to know what you guys have encountered, even if its a piece of trim that faded weird once.

I did read a few threads of those who have a challenger still and a Z and those who've made the jump, additional input from you guys is great too!

thanks guys,
Ian

Think the most common issue (if you're looking for manual trans) is the slave cylinder (CSC) failure. I have about 3,200 miles on my 16 Nismo and luckily nothing has happened yet.

SuBXeRo - Can you live with a two seater for 4-5 years? Seen a lot of folks your age get a Z and ditch it a year later when the "baby on the way" or "no longer practical" life changes occur.

The Z is not perfect but as Slowman mentioned does have a few very well documented bugs. No problems on my end other than thin paint that chips easy.

Clearbra and you will be fine.

Let's face it, a 6-banger just isn't going to have the bottom end torque of a V-8. But the Z ECM has a lot of nannies that can be removed (eg, accel pedal response) that will greatly improve your butt dyno experience.
For lateral Gs, the Z wins hands down. :driving:

The Zs are very reliable, for the most part, but the CSCs have gone out on quite a few people. The ESCL (steering lock) was a problem on earlier MYs but was deleted in, IIRC, 2012.
I haven't seen many posts about problems with trim or body parts. No more than any other car, anyway.

There are several threads on Z problems, some of them recent. If you can't find them using the site's search, try any major web search and add "site:the370z.com" to your search string.

I've been considering the future and at the moment a baby is not in the mix. My significant other and i have been together for 10 years now and we had a huge fight late october 2015 and basically broke up. We were set to marry in hawaii in feb 2016, had all that planned and all went to pots and got cancelled. Needless to say, she and I aren't really talking baby right now. We are more concerned with keeping the house right now, sorting out our relationship stuff, most things have been addressed but a few things are up in the air and its just the fact that she makes double what i make. With babies, i know people just make it work and your never ready until it happens but for us, we really want it to be a planned thing.

Aside from that stuff my other concern was trunk usage. I tried to get the dealer to loan me one for a day or two so i could test fit luggage and stuff and they said they would have if they had one on hand that fit my needs but they didn't. I was even trying to track down a rental in town just to see.

I rarely ever carry anyone in my car besides the woman and groceries.

Life happens. Ideally i could pick up an eco beater and even drive that part of the time for work which wouldn't be a bad thing either. The converse to the eco beater would be a RAM since im a DIYer, it fits my lifestyle better and for that a 6 cylinder is plenty.

im all for the basic tweaks to the car, whats the popular tuner for the Z's? I know with the dodges it takes diablo a few months to crack the encryption, are there similar issues with the Z?

I have been looking at the FI kits, mainly super chargers for simplicity sake. I was hoping to find a twin screw system but it doesnt seem like anyone has produced them for this engine. I was eyeing the GTM/Gamma twin system but everything i've read says "STAY THE **** AWAY" from them. Fast intentions looks like they've got a good kit. I wouldnt be going or huge numbers, really don't want to have to start swapping internals and headers if i dont have to, even exhaust. From what ive read around 450-500 WHP seems to be the target for a daily driver to still attain reliability. This would certainly satisfy the speed need. Muhahahahaha. I suppose i could even get away cheaper with a single supercharger system like the stillen but i HATE the stillen manifold, i think its god awful ugly.

Go For It!
 

I don't think you need anyone to talk you into it. Just get one! Mines an automatic and I'm really happy with it. For twisty, hilly roads, the paddle shifters are great. For city/highway autos are easy.
Cheers

No

No? No to what?

No to you buying a new 370 based on your financial and personal situation.

$300 a month?
 

If my 370 cost me anywhere close to $300 a month in maintenance it would have been gone ages ago. I wouldn't settle for $150 more than just general every day stuff. All I've paid for is gas, insurance, for oil changes and mods. Not a dime more than that. Mine's flawless.......but it does only have 11,000 kms on it. (under 7000 miles) The back holds nothing, so beware. That might be my only real beef. I wouldn't want to have a 370 for work. I'd want something more versatile.

Oh, I also concur with csnow though. Sorry. IMO, your money needs to be going elsewhere at your age. Maybe less important if you need it for work and can write it off. Go lease. Every lease I ever had was worth way more than the buyout at the end. (but it costs when you go over the mileage limit) That's when you buy it, flip it to get back some of your 'investment' back, or drive it 'til it starts to get needy. Just my opinion, but I guess that comes from pissing a lot of money away when I was a much younger. Boy, I wish I had some of that back.

104

By saving 300 a month after payments are done, a portion of that goes to eventual maintenance, the rest goes toward a new down in another 5 years or so. If I got nothing floor my car, I'd expect to have about 10k down and about 5k on misc repairs and that's in anticipation of struts thatll need to happen and anything else major that might come up.

I like to own my cars and houses, I like to customize and have no worries about things being a lease, I wouldn't lease a car because most cars I like are more expensive than buying and I also have to worry about mileage. Plus if I like the car and want to keep it at the end, residual hits hard and you've already paid out.

I do real estate, the lease vs buy scenario is age old at this point. I'm not a renter, I hate it. My lifestyle doesn't demand a rental. Cats are the next biggest thing and after having leased two cars, not my cup of tea.

This thread isnt really about justifying lease or purchase or whether my finances support the decision based on the small amount of information I've chosen to reveal, it's too determine the flaws of the 370 that aren't readily obvious as well as the drawbacks you've encountered

I bought a 350z brand new in 06 and my wife and I were not planning any kids either (we were not even engaged at the time). We wanted kids but we didnt want to until we were "financially ready" too. Not even 2 years later I traded the z for a maxima because we were expecting. Now i have 2 kids and a house. Im looking at getting a 370z now but not as my daily driver. Do what you want with your money, its your life but just know things can change pretty quickly even if you plan for them not to.

Going with what everyone else said, the "handling $300 a month for the long haul is OK at the moment" is what makes me think this isn't so solid of an idea in your situation. It sounds like you're open to the idea to s*** happening sooner than later

But if it's something you really think can work out, you really should search up the common issues with the car. In my mind the CSC issue is something you need to be proactive with, and that's another ~$2K to drop on parts and labor if you aim to make worthwhile clutch+flywheel upgrades while the transmission is dropped.

And not to be so anti-Z, but I'm not big on the idea of buying a new one because the car has been largely unchanged since 2009. Steering lock issues and packages (and facelift) were the only key changes as far as I could make out. You'll pay a premium for the outdated nav and a backup camera which is becoming standard equipment on more cars now. Look in the audio thread and the Bose system isn't really all that, either.

Key reasons why I bought mine a couple of months ago is because it was a good deal on a low-mileage, well-cared example; literally the car I was aiming for when I started college, and it's reliable enough that I don't feel like I'd suffer too much for lack of warranty. Otherwise it boils down to intangibles. I like this car a lot. It gets looks and isn't common, even in a big city that has its share of higher end sports cars — but when a prospect buyer comes up trying to decide on paper or technicalities, I know it loses out to others on the market.

Carrying $300 in payments a month for the long haul is what it is. Things change in life but I always meet my obligations. $300 or there abouts in reasonable and if I have to carry for 5 years before being free, that's fine too. No one knows what the future holds. What I'm getting at is the payment doesn't scare me at that price.

The z carries a premium no matter what. I don't see the value that the car sells for but it holds its value. Regardless, I still like the car. Paying more than the cost of the sport I have trouble seeing value like the nismo, its cool but for 45k, what else can I buy?

The sound system has little value, I already have gear to transplant and audio is a hobby of mine.

Nissan seems to like to do long style runs of the z which is OK in my book, they should've had a lot of time to refine it. I don't believe that id be getting a manual so the csc issues should be a non issue.