Advice on whether 370Z is the right car for me...

Originally Posted by Adam_W

hi,

I'm about to buy a used 2010 370Z and suddenly thought, "hey, maybe I should ask some people who actually know something about these cars."

So here is my situation: I've recently gotten "into" the idea of owning - and being able to drive well - a sports car. I think the car I want is a Corvette Z06 (please, hear me out!) , but I'm not dogmatic; could go for a used Porsche 911 or GTR. I don't want to drop $60K+ while being fairly ignorant of sports cars or how to drive them.

So I thought I would start with the "driver mod" first. I know how to drive stick but have never owned one, so I don't know how to drive one "well" or with skill.

I want to buy a stickshift sports car to learn on, take a course at Skip Barber, go to autocross a few times, get into HPDE 1 and 2, and then by the end of this year, decide what sort of car do I really want and then know how to drive it well at that point.

I started with the idea of getting a Miata until I found out that for HPDE, I'd need a rollbar (convertible), and probably remove foam from the seat for a 6'1'' person like fit with a helmet (head must be beneath level of rollbar).

Wanting to learn on a rear-wheel drive car - and being unable to find a decent 240SX in my area - I thought I'd get a 370Z for 23-25K and then sell it after a year.

Questions:
1. Is the 370Z a good car for my purposes? Since it's newer, I was thinking it would sell better than a 350Z, i.e. I would not lose as much money.

2. Is it true that the 2009 370Z "burns oil" and should be avoided?

3. Do you think I'm going to lose a lot of money when I sell the car, e.g. I buy a 2010 370Z with 30K miles, in good condition, for $25K and then in 12 months I sell it? Would be losing a 2-3K or are we talking losing more than 4K?

Thank you!

Originally Posted by OldGuy

I've owned my '09 370 for over 3 years now and it doesn't burn or use any oil. It has been trouble freee for me. That said, I'd start out with something a bit more modest. Z is a lot of car and ties up a lot of money for an "experiment." I also own a Miata which has been been perfect since its purchase new in 1995. Get a used Miata to own as you "find yourself" automotively speaking. Much more modest investment and a lot of fun, as well.