My Z is a low mileage fun car not a daily driver. Oil changes are a bit expensive. If you buy OEM spec Bridgestone tires, yes, tires will be expensive too. Other quality tires are available for a lot less.

Ultra high performance cars (the Z squeaks into that classification) also depend on premium tires to deliver ultra high performance. Have you priced the tires on a Corvette Grand Sport, Z06 or ZR1? Our tires look cheap by comparison.

Interesting point of reference: The iconic mid eighties flat twelve Ferrari Testarossa Supercar did the 1/4 mile in the mid 13s, just like a 370Z, but it can't hang with the Z in braking or cornering and don't even ask about gas mileage.

The Z is a fantastic performance bargain but it does cost more to operate than a generic car.

I'm not telling him what to do, I think you read someone else's post....maybe these?



On the house topic, I am far too geographically mobile to justify purchasing a house. I have a condo in one state and an apartment in another, and I sleep on a jet :|

if you rented for the past few years, you're way better off than if you bought.

You know, based off these comments, nothing really sounds that bad. As a frame of reference

1) I already buy premium gas for my car, and I suspect when boosting enough (which I'm guilty of every single tank), I get around the same gas mileage as you guys (about 22-24 right now)

2) Tires are one thing I already expect to be pricey - I just spent $750 on summer tires/mounted on my car, and I would already suspect that a Z's tires would cost a bit more than that being larger/wider

3) Oil change doesn't sound so bad as I already buy 5qts of nice oil for my car now, I assumed for some unknown reason that everyone was dumping in that $16/qt oil

4) Mod prices for this car vs. my civic are surprisingly not that different. I made this comment on the civic forum a while ago when I noticed you guys have a lot of FI kits that cost less than what I paid to turbo my car. Of course, other things like exhausts cost 2x as much as a civic's does.. but mods are so extraneous that I wouldn't really worry about that

I've also been factoring in expenses on a brand new Nismo Z, which was looking like almost 40k from the dealer after TTL. Realistcally, if I do go with this car, I'm probably going to buy a used Sport or Sport/Touring closer to 25-30k since I can't even justify a Sport Z at 23, let alone a Nismo :D Thanks for the input

350Z... winning

So, does having a wife affect the credibility??

:icon18: :icon18:

:bowrofl:

i think that decreases your credibility :wtf2:

An oil change with Redline 5W-30 and a Mobil 1 110 size filter costs me about $85-90 for materials and a half hour of time. I go 5K between changes. I had to replace the original 19" Potenzas at 18K miles to the tune of about $1700. (Replaced with Michelin Pilot Super Sports which hopefully will go at least 25K miles...)
Also changed the air filters at 15K miles myself, cost was about $25-30. The car has 22K miles now and has not seen dealer service yet. Maybe will have the transmission and rear end oils changed by the dealer when the maintenance schedule calls for it, and I may even do that myself. It's not a cheap car to own nor maintain. It's a thoroughbred sports car, deal with it and enjoy it and don't whine. You'll enjoy it.

im not sure... :confused: :rofl2:

I bought my Prius and my Z around the same time. I have 4x the mileage on the Prius, yet I think they cost as much running because they have two different purpose. The tire cost is a killer on the Z. The stupid oil cooler/trailer hitch cost more than what my tires and oil changes and all other maintenance combined on the Prius.

Not so sure a house is a great investment right now. If they start going back up in price then.... step in. Otherwise, why ride the rollercoaster down. Not sure the ride is over yet. :shakes head::shakes head:

This comes from someone that owns a house... out of work and has to stay working in his area because to sell his house in a bad market would be a poor move. I know it's relative... But, selling and not having enough left for a down after real estate commisions etc... is killing Americas ability to adjust to the circumstances we are in.

I mean, I'd take a job and live in Oklahoma and live for a lot less than Cali if I had a chance. I'm stuck fighting for the last scraps here in Cali and it isn't any fun I'm telling you. :shakes head:

Funny I traded in my Prius on my Z. LOL just couldn't handle everyone tailgating me while I was getting my 50 mpg to save $75-100 a month in gas. Now, I just half thottle it and look in my mirror and laugh. Guess I didn't make a very good Prius owner. I can relate why the felt the way they did ... So, I never tailgate a Prius or any car for that matter. I'm never in that much of a hurry. Plus, giving yourself a little distance stops rock chips to the front of your car.

:tiphat:

This is definitely a tough market. Housing prices are only one of the reasons why it might not be a good time to buy. Are you sure that the market has bottomed? There's a glut of inventory on the market right now and they keep building new homes... are prices going to rise anytime soon? Might they even fall further?

And like in your situation, you don't want to be tied down to a certain area because you can't sell your house. There are a lot of people that would be able to get a job in another city or state but they can't because their home has anchored them and they can't afford to put it up for a firesale.

And there are people who might be fresh in their career and don't know if they are going to stay in their particular location for long. If I think I'm only going to be in DC for a few years buying a home might not be worth the risk.

Then of course there are people who are perfectly content with the apartment lifestyle. They don't want to be responsible for their own maintenance. Maybe they want to live close to where they work and buying a house that close to the city is just not in the cards financially. As an example, if I wanted to buy a house in the same area where I rent, my mortage would be double what my rent is. I don't want to take on that burden, especially if I am not comfortable with the housing market right now and if I am not even sure if I'll be in this area in the next 5 years.

There are plenty of reasons not to buy a house, just like there are plenty of reasons to buy one. So there's really no right or wrong answer and whether you own a home or not certainly lends nothing to your "credibility" as an "adult." :icon17:

See what you did, ken? Epic derail. Now bring us some charburgers and cheese fries. :icon17:

Also, if you are in witness protection or have a stalker/stalkers (like moi), you probably don't want to buy a house and settle down in one area for too long :tup:

Great point. :iagree:

Wow... what ever happened to judging people by content of character vs the order in his purchase of material possessions???? Lol... this is some ridiculous sh1t right here...lol.

You guys have a totally backwards respect measurement. I hope you guys are under 25??? Then there would be an excuse. What I respect from a person is the small things they do as far as being respectful, considerate and honorable people. I don't care if you own a mansion or a cardboard box??? If your heart is good and you are a good individual in the way you treat me and the people around you? I respect you. I don't care what a person drove or in what order they bought a bullsh1t material possesion. To me this whole theory here is bullsh1t... I'm actually a lil surprised by the names involved in this train of thought..... but to each his own.

well the issue was more about pointing out if one had prior obligations like a mortgage. that's a completely different picture than just owning or leasing an economical $35K car and paying some rent. i didnt think it was fair to the op telling him wat he can or can't buy. he can decide for himself wat's right for him (i hope it's a him. :icon17:). that was the intent of the post.

but in my world, car hobby starts from the house with garage, not the car. :D i mean why have a nice car if you have to park it on the street or some apartment parking structure where wheels get stolen or doors keyed or watever that happens. if you have your own garage where you have access any time of the day, at least you can concentrate on the car, not fixing bs. i like progress, not rewinding to fix bs and waste time. :p i dont have time for that. another reason why i have a backup steering lock already... i dont like down time.

and i had homemade pizza tonight. :yum: charburgers and cheeze fries maybe friday. :D hahaha

hey weren't you the one that said our cars were non-aspirating? lol :D here:
http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...0-350-a-5.html

:iagree:

You could live in a gated apartment complex with controlled access ;)

Works for me that my parents garage with all of my tools is only 30 mins away.

Bottom line is owning a home or renting should really have no bearing on whether or not you have a nice car.

Do what you want with your money. You can't take it with you when you die.

glad someone shares the same thoughts. lol :tup:


yah, i lived in pretty upscale apartment complexes long time ago after college landing my first job 2200 miles away from home...was gated and had 2 levels of assigned parking garage. i rented 2 car spaces. long story short, it didnt work for me for my car hobby. i needed power, access to tools, and a wall to block off all the noise at night and most of these apartments loitering is not allowed in parking areas for safety.

i also had some arse kick the rear bumper leaving shoe marks, hand prints on the glass from people looking inside the car, bird crap?, valve caps stolen, no privacy while detailing the cars.. :shakes head: there were actually cars stolen from the parking garage too. and you'd think shitt like this dont happen in a nice gated community in a nicer part of town. wrong!

i had (still my buddies) friends about 30min away who owned a car repair shop i could use to do mods, but still, just not the same borrowing tools and space cause i didnt have the flexibility with time. not like i can hop on over there at midnight to start a coilover install just because i got back from a late flight biz trip. :D

i learned very quickly that if i wanted to really get into this hobby like i meant it, i'd want a nice garage of my own that i have access too 100% of the time.

so if someone was asking about the Z for overall operational cost to keep in mind, i think that's a valid question... smart for someone to do research especially if they are money conscious and just starting out. (how's that for getting back to topic? lol... :D )

Tires are the killer. I change my own brake pads and oil so there's not a whole lot else other than those damn tires!! :icon14:

True kenchan, living in an apartment with a nice car is a serious pain in the ***. At times, almost more stress than it is worth. I live in a nice place, very nice part of town too. I also rent a private garage which helps a lot, but is nothing compared to having a real house garage/driveway (especially when I need to wash my car).

[QUOTE=
See what you did, ken? Epic derail. Now bring us some charburgers and cheese fries. :icon17:[/QUOTE]

Lol, Classic. :bowrofl: That made me smile .... Now, back to our regularly scheduled program. I love this place the sidebars are priceless.

I'm not taking it too seriously... were just mucking around right now. Enjoy the show. :happydance:

:iagree::rofl2:

Do what I do: live in an apartment with attached garage.

I think something on you shrunk up a little? If you have a good job it is a buyers market. Plenty of foreclosures and homes on the market. Coupled that with low interest rates its buy buy buy. I agree the house etc. followed with some toys is good planning. I am sorry but their is no reason not to buy a house if you can afford it. More times than often it is good money spent over time. Right now we have a 15 year morgage at less than 3.5 percent. Crazy good! I think the original poster should look at something else. I do give them kudos for setting down and looking at overall cost. Very smart and honest assessment on his part.

I didn't want to sound like im preaching that's all. :D obviously my way of life is different from others. I did however learned quite a bit along the way as I've already posted. :p and I'm doing pretty good.

They both have their own purpose, but the Z is definitely more expensive to run purely because of the tires. Average cars have tires that last 30K, you get 15K in the Z off the truck. There is also the transmission fluid and diff fluid change, but they are <$100

If you have 20% in down payment sure. If not, you are screwed.

Cossie, you're exactly right. Home buying is a fine goal, but it certainly is not for everybody. Some markets have such a high cost of living that scraping together 20% is practically impossible. I'm fortunate enough that I got my home bought before lending tightened up, but the idea that started this thread derailment that I need to get a house before buying a car is preposterous.

OP, here's the thing. The only thing that matters when looking at a car is whether or not the purchase negatively affects the style you've grown accustomed to living in or the style you're prepared to live in. If it does to an extent that it makes you uncomfortable, hold off and look at the purchase at a later date. As the others have said, I respect you for looking hard at the numbers, that's the only way you'll truly know if you can afford it. Whatever you decide, good luck!

S.

Hey nice to see another Minnesotan on here. I purchased my 370z last June. The only major problem I had was I ran over a nail about a month of owning the car and had to completely replace the back left tire. Cost me about $400 from tires plus.. As for the oil change my last oil change was $30 bucks.. I don't know where you got this $120 from but I do know people were talking about getting the more expensive oil which is around $90 which I heard is just recommended?

Anyways, Where are you looking at getting your Z from? I purchased mine at coon rapids nissan.

Yeah this talk of $120 oil changes is crazy. I just bought my own oil for like $30 at walmart and the dealership charged me $20 for filter and labor to change it.

I was trying to buy a house with my parents like 2 years ago, but it didn't work out. So, I took the money I was going to spend on a down payment for the house and bought my Z :D

Buying a house will be my first priority after graduating this May though :tup:

Once your home is paid for you can at least think about retirement.

My house represents more to me than people see. It is my home. It is not what I can sell it for that matters. I have grown roots essentially. I would rather stay home than go to eastern Europe where the most beautiful women on earth live.

No longer having a house payment allows me to spend like a SOB, but I never developed a rich lifestyle. Lucky for me. I just save, buy gold, and give my mom money, because I can.

:tup: i hope to be at your level soon. :D i will be done with mortgage in a few yrs. from there it's all going to our retirement fund. :) and i too agree about having your own home.

:icon18: :tup: