My second offer was shot down last night. The 370Z is a bit of a stretch for me, but I thought 36K OTD was a reasonable for offer for a Base+Sport in 6spd (no options). Maybe not in California and maybe not for a 2012. Maybe I am being too stubborn on the price. Maybe I'm just out of my league, LOL. However, sales tax in my area is 8.5%. I also cannot import any new 49 state car into California. I was planning on putting $7-8K towards a down payment.

I have not seen a Blue 370Z in person, and I'm not totally crazy about pearl white. For the GTI, I love that bright Candy White. After pricing a GTI with options, I found the Base model Z to be close in price. And after driving the Z....well.

As for the insurance comments: My quote included Collision with a $1000 deductable. Any minor/medium damage that I cause to my Z, I will fix myself...this prevents my rates from going up later. I'm almost 32 years old with a clean record. I live outside the city limits and in a decent area of town.

I must be a very good driver then :)

http://i41.tinypic.com/afavep.jpg

Prices really went up. I paid 29k flat for mine

There are a lot of 370zs' in vegas, I got my 2012 370z manual base sport package for $33,000, planet nissan in vegas, its a short drive from LA and you can save thousands. California seems to sell a lot of cars at a premium. In a big city its best to avoid the high price upper class suburban dealerships. I bought 3 new cars in the last 6 months and couldn't get a good at the classier dealerships, no matter what brand.

When I went to the downtown or lower level dealers ships they tended to offer better deals beacuse of their target audience and location, most sold the cars at dealer invoice and were really ready to bargain.

So on the west coast Planet Nissan in vegas in the best to buy a car from, and on the east coast close to NYC and most cites, is Mike Barneys Nissan in Amherst NY close ito Buffalo, ask for Mark Sadray, Best Salesman I ever dealt with, real decent guy and will bargain with you to sell you a car at a price you both are happy with.

Wow, that's a great price! But like I said, I cannot register a new car from outside of California.
Before Buying a Vehicle From Out of State - Be Sure You Can Register It in California FFVR 29

did you try 100% Haggle-Free New Car Price Quotes from Local Dealers - TrueCar

From what I can tell sounds like you've chosen the 370? Great choice! I also considered a new GTI. Fantastic car, love that German engineering. I'm getting married next month, got the car in October, and still chose it. People say its impractical, but for what? My fiancee and I picked up a rug, get our groceries, go shopping, etc and its fine. No, it can't haul loads and loads of stuff, but for everyday use, (my definition of practical), its perfectly fine. Nice insurance rates too. I pay $660/6 months through USAA.

We visited my wife's parents this weekend and I took turns giving them rides in the car, they both loved it. My MIL was shrieking and laughing her *** off when we hit *cough* triple digits.

I love everything about this car. Also found out the P.O. paid for XM and it's still working great, so I locked down some great presets.

For what it's worth, I'm 6'1" and when I first got in the car the seat was a little high, but I still had to stretch to get my head to touch, but once I discovered the height adjustment, it feels roomy as hell.

I know there are some fixes I should address first, but I can't stop thinking about re-upolstering my headliner in matching black alcantara. Has anyone done this?

Update
 

I went with the 370Z

Well I just got home about 45 minutes ago. I was at the dealership till after midnight closing the deal. A 2 hour drive back. Then I had to drop my friend off after she drove my little Civic back at my place. I'm exhausted, but it was worth it. I got the 370Z I initially wanted. danny@FontanaNissan is the forum sponsor who helped seal the deal for me.

KEB, you were 100% right...and I hate telling women that. After test driving the Z, I really wasn't interested in the GTI as much anymore. The Z fits and looks comfy in my garage. It will get lots of love. A BIG change from my Civic. Thanks for all your feedback guys.

Congrat!!!! Smart Choice!!! :tup: And Welcome to the Club!!! LOL

Now a 2nd Q, are you going to keep the civic as your Winter beater? :tiphat:

From one new Z owner to another, welcome! Remember to keep those revs below 4k for the first 1,200 miles. ;)

What, for when it's 50 out? I think he's from San Diego. :icon23: ;)

Congrats man!

arr.... my bad, thanks for reminding me :icon17:

RE: However, sales tax in my area is 8.5%. I also cannot import any new 49 state car into California.

Watch out. CA wants sales tax. I live in a 9% county and thought about buying in a lower sales tax county. It does not matter, you will be billed the difference. 8.5% for out of state buy in your case.

Congrats man. I figured you'd end up with the Z. I'm loving mine.

:roflpuke2: :tup:

And that's one hell of an upgrade. Enjoy!!!!

My buddy has a white GTI and he loves it but I just picked up a red Z and to be honest, even though fuel costs are higher and its a two-seater there's no feeling like me driving around in my Z. The sleek look the Z gives out just can't be compared to..
It's your DD. Might as well be happy if you're gonna spend so much time in your car. Great decision, Z ftw.

Fuel costs aren't even close to a factor for me when I consider how much enjoyment I get from driving this car. That said, it's noticeable how much faster I go through a tank of gas.

My old GTI with the VR had a ~14 gal tank and it would last longer than this with the ~19 gal... and the VR didn't get phenomenal MPG either... I have a heavy foot when it comes to getting up to speed.

I fiddled with the MPG meter for the first week in the Z, now I don't even look. It's not a prius, it's a sports car. Eff green.

Exactly. It's not a prius it's a sports car. I'm on my second tank of my z. Getting 19. What are you averaging?

If you drive half way reasonably there's no reason the Z can't get decent mileage. I'm on my 3rd tank and I've never reset the MPG calculator.

Mine showed 23.0MPG on the way to work. That's the average reading that shows along with average speed. I'm about 70% city 30% highway.

The key to decent mileage is being smooth and predicting traffic patterns to stay off the brakes.

Yeah I think I need to ease off the gas while driving in the city. Honestly I'm just really excited to own the car so I'm enjoying it each and every time I get in that drivers seat..

Well, in the grand scheme of things...I learned a long time ago life's much too short. Consider it fun tax and have at it :ughdance:

No matter how hard I drive the Z it won't ever match the rx8's mileage. That 1.3 liter rotary ate 14 miles per gallon.. and 17mpg highway. Not to mention the Z is way more fun. Still trying to figure out if anyone has tried regular unleaded to get better gas mileage?

Regular Unleaded will only get you less mpg and dirty engine. Don't try it.

A change in octane won't affect mileage, only performance. You can probably run 89 in the car if available, just don't wring it's neck at every red light.

Negative ghost rider. It won't make the engine any more clean or dirty. It will just be more prone to knock retard which will force the computer to reduce timing and affect horse power.

Well then 93 it is. That and fuel injector every once in a while

Just dropped off my new Z to get its clear bra and windows tinted.

Have you tried putting 87 in your car? I did try, not on my Z of course. It did give less mpg and stinky exhaust.

Shrug. The only big difference in 87 and 93 is just the octane rating. Some brands use a different additive pack in their premium. Could account for the smell I guess. Catalytic converters burn up anything fuel wise that's left over so it wouldn't be that.

Several years ago I test 87, 89, and 93 in a cross country road trip. This was in a car spec'd for 87 and I got the best gas mileage from 87. Ran two tanks of each fuel to be sure.

Bottom line, just use what the car is spec'd for. With 11:1 compression in the Z motor, premium is your best bet.

Gonna need some pics...

I can't stand clear bras (on cars). What's the cost of that service? the only rock chips my car has are on the front bumper and I can get a quality respray on that for around $300 through a friend connection.

Well, good for you and your friend. Opinions are like ********...but it's my new car, not yours. I fought hard to get my 370Z. It's my first new car and I want to keep it looking great for a long time. I don't live in Jerkwater USA. I have to daily-drive on SoCal super highways and it sucks. I don't want to re-spray my front bumper every year. To me, that's a hassle.

It was $800 for the clear bra + $200 for the tint.
It took all day. They wrapped the hood. I can't even tell it's there. They even gave me a bottle of XPEL wax for the clear bra. 3 weeks ago I didn't even know what a "clear bra" was....not until I did my research here on the forums. An overwhelming amount members recommended a clear bra for a daily-driven Z.

I took iPhone photos at sunset, so the 35% tint appears darker. Thanks to the forum, I was able to warn the shop about the infamous peeling that so many Zs encounter on the front windows.

Can't even see it bud! If you live in an area with a lot of debris on the road it's not a bad idea.

In the context of the thread, 87 vs 91+ is irrelevant, as GTI's also prefer premium fuel too. ;)

The past 5 cars I've owned have had premium-fuel requirements. This topic always comes up in enthusiast forums when gas prices start to rise. Frankly, I really don't understand those who try to "sneak by" with cheapening out on running regular grade gas in a 'premium-recommended' car. I mean, it's your car, so do whatever you want. And yeah, it'll usually be 'ok' to run regular unless Premium is required, like in the case of a WRX STi. But MPGs are far more dependent on the driver, temperature, & wind than on octane. I suspect that achieving better MPG on 87 would be from the driver intentionally being easy on the gas pedal ("it's ok to run 87, just don't accelerate hard") rather than from the gas itself.

But look at the economics...

The price of premium should be .20-.30 /gallon more than the cheap stuff. At least, that's been the case everywhere I've ever filled up one of my cars, whether at home or traveling. Some stations do gouge more for premium (one in my town charges + $.50/gallon more than regular :shakes head:), but they are (IMHO) the exception, not the rule.

So let's assume you're filling up with 17 gallons. Assume 87 is $3.50, 91+ is $3.70. You're spending $59.50 on 87, or $62.90 on 91+. A difference of $3.40 or 5.4%. I get it that $3.40 is $3.40. Times are hard, and every dollar counts. But if that extra $3.40 over the $~60 it cost to fill up is that much of a strain on your budget, then you've got bigger problems than whether or not to put premium in your car. Go buy a Prius. ;)

Furthermore, the higher gas prices go, the less expensive relative to regular that premium becomes, assuming that $.20 difference remains. At $4 for 87, $4.20 for 91+, you're still paying just $3.40 more than the guy filling up with 87, but that's 4.7% more ($68 vs $71.40) . If 87 hits $5 and 91+ hits $5.20, now you're just paying 3.8% more for premium ($85 vs $88.40). And so on. Hey, I know it's of little consolation when gas hits $5/gallon this summer, but it's mathematically correct.

Is saving those few dollars a fillup really worth worrying about damage and/or limiting the performance of your car?

Now, if premium gas suddenly becomes $.50, $.75, or $1 more /gallon than regular, or if you live in an area where premium is significantly more than regular, then the economics of the question become much more meaningful.

^^^^ Very good points. All of my cars require premium as of today and I've always calculated as you have above. Costs me about $4 per tank difference over 87 for 93 octane where I live, or $2 a week LOL

:yum:

And yeah... wish I had known about the tint issue. I've got the corner peel on both windows.

Maybe it's my area, but the gap between regular and premium gas seems to have widen a bit at most gas stations. The 20 cents difference doesn't seem to be norm now. I am seeing 30 to 40 cents at most major gas stations. It's one of the reason why I get gas at Citgo and Sam's

Can you point me in the direction of this info? Tint is on my short list.

http://www.the370z.com/exterior-inte...ing-issue.html

It's a sticky under the Exterior/Interior section of the forum.

^^ Thanks. I thought this was some issue with a piece inside the door. The windows going up and down when the door is opened is pretty standard now. My Challenger does the same thing. Never had a problem with that tint and the guy does all my cars. I'll let him know just the same just in case about those corners though.