Best 370Z Buy For My $26k?
 

I really don't want to turn this into a feud of which car is better.

Having said that, from what I'm seeing, for $26k I could get an '09 or '10 Nismo with pretty low miles (will be harder to do, but I think I could find one), a 40th Anniversary, or an '11 or '12 regular Z w/ Sports Pkg with ridiculously low mileage (5,000-15,000 miles).

Honestly, the Nismo would be my top pick, but would it be stupid to pass up a nice Anniversary Edition or a car that's basically brand spankin' new?

Would love to hear thoughts.

Thanks.

Pass on the Nismo. By the time you do your mods, it is just a bodykit. Also, 40th anniversary editions are cool thing to say you have but other than that fact, whoopied doo. Do with the 12' basic/sports pkg. Just my 5 cents (inflation).

Unless you plan on tracking it, Id go with the model with the fewest miles.

Low mileage 11-12 base w/sport. Car has been refined, over time and you know it was not in some other not a good driver/enthusiasts hands for too long, and abused. If not, get new considering price has come down with the 14's.

Get sport package, get one with a warranty or one you can buy a Nissan extended warranty for

No one wants to be stuck with a car that consumes oil

That's about what I paid for my 2012 base with 1600 miles from CarMax. I got it in August 2013, so I have basically a brand new car without the depreciation hit. Personally, get one with the lowest mileage. :twocents:

I'd pass on the NISMO, but I think it would be hard to pass up a 40th. If it's a car you want to keep for a long time I would get the 40th, but if it's just your next car that you'll have 2-3 years I'd get the 2011 or 2012.

40th. Because they are the best.:icon17:

sport pkg and low mileage...pass on the nismo. /thread

26k will get you into a 2011+ with sub 5k miles w/ sport

Just look for the best deal out there.

you could also jump into a sub 10k mile 09 sport for about 5-6k less

Most of you seem to have the same opinion. Thanks for the input.

Another question I have is that I see some of the best buys in the Northeast (New Jersey, New York, Pa, etc..). I'm in Texas and don't mind going wherever to buy a car. My wife and I would fly up and enjoy the ride home in it. But should I be worried about these cars being exposed to Hurricane Sandy? Would that show up on a CarFax? I know if it's bad enough they would have a flood damage title. Just curious because my wife's best friend lives in Philadelphia and mentioned to my wife that she and her husband were looking for a nice, but used car, and couldn't believe how many had some kind of history due to that storm.

Thanks.

Research is your friend. I think you would have a better chance getting a decent car if you checked locally. My Z was a local car, but I was also checking out cars in Texas. I've read too many stories about cars from Sandy showing up for sale when they should have been scrapped. :twocents:

Yeah, that's my fear. But I'm in San Antonio, and cars are always more expensive here. For no good reason, it's pretty much a blue collar town, it doesn't make sense. The dealerships here think they can ask top dollar for everything. I almost always go to Houston or Dallas to buy cars. But I have bought out of state before.

You can check on here for free if the car was in hurricane sandy,

(now remember that even carfax is not 100%, so always do a thorough inspection)

FREE Hurricane Sandy Flood Damage Check - CARFAX

Thanks!

I wrecked my current car last summer, and it shows up in carfax as clean, never wrecked.

Here is one not in the northeast,

2012 Nissan 370Z Base - St. Petersburg Florida area Nissan dealer near Tampa Bay Florida

Bought my car from them. It was the smoothest vehicle transaction that I have ever done.

Yeah most salesmen here are kind of jerky from my experiences.

I went to H town to buy mine.

If you want you can check out my '11 Sport Touring, if you have yet to make up your mind.

Mine? :stirthepot:

Nissan 370Z Touring | eBay

i'll just put this here, although ^^his car is baller.

I may take you up on that.

Thanks for pointing those cars out.

I guess I should state something, I've modified cars in the past, but have kind of gotten tired of doing it. Whatever I buy will remain pretty much stock. An intake and/or exhaust is the extent of what interests me.

Also, I've read a couple of the "is the Nismo worth it or not" threads, it sounds like many buy the Nismo primarily for the looks, and less so for the performance. I'm the opposite, my main interest is performance. I've never met a suspension setup that was too harsh.

In the past I had an RX-8 GT and an RX-8 R3, the R3's setup was so much better. Much harsher ride, but amazing in the turns. Just not enough torque. I guess I'm wondering if there's a similar difference between the base Z and the Nismo. I've driven both, but not back to back. With several months between test drives, it's kind of hard to make a good comparison.

Pic of my old R3:
http://www.rx8club.com/members/rx22-...2536-19610.jpg

:tiphat:WRONG!!!! NEW I might be likely to lean toward your misinformed statement. But the Nismo has $2500 in body bracing that make the car waaayyy more durable for track use. The rims are the best quality of all the Z's... And there's more room for mods up front. The Nismo used is a better buy... Finally, in the long term, the nismo may hold it's value longer based on the high quality internal racing structure and low production volume.

The sport pkg you won't feel much difference daily. But if modding for track use. The Nismo has important rigidity components the sport doesn't have.

OP, if Nismo is your top pick then don't let other people change your mind. If you can find a Nismo in low price go for it and good for you! If you can't find one then 40th or sports package is a good choice too. Nismo is not just a bodykit. lol.

:ughdance::iagree:

Thank you for all the input. I'm really leaning toward a Nismo. I just like the looks and the better performance, even though it seems to be minimal.

I'm actually in the same boat. So everyone is in agreement with getting the newest car you can find with the lowest amount of miles that fits your budget? What was wrong with the earlier years? I had a built APS TT Z33 back in the day that I sold due to health issues. It was an interesting ride with that car, but I don't want to do all that again. I'm getting back in the game because the new blocks can withstand more power. I'm on the list for the FI TT and will be scooping up a car between October and December of this year. I may do track days so I guess I could get either a Nismo or regular car. Thanks for any insight.

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Early year model has more problems like steering lock failure, fuel starvation, lack of oil cooler etc. Not saying they are absolute bad. My 09 has 0 problem so far. But later model years Nissan has noticed those issues and tried to fix them. In general, the newer model year the better.

40th anniversary instead of the nismo. Don't get the nismo especially if the 40th anniversary has low miles. Trust me, you'll thank me :)

Why do you say that?

sent you a pm

I just got a 40th for 26K with 26k miles, I just had to do a lot of searching and flew out of state to get it. They pop up now and then but wasn't seeing many in SoCal so I did what I could. Couldn't be happier. It's flashy but not too flashy, 1 of 1000 so it's somewhat rare. Being a 40 year old male I think the Nismo is a little much with the tale but I looked at them as well. The one thing you can say for sure about Z owners is they seem to take care of their cars and many have low mileage. That said I don't recall seeing a Nismo for 26K but my advice is make up your mind and buy the car you want.

Maybe because the 40th is a special edition lol

On a serius note because it has red leather seats, bose audio system, sports package. The nismo is nice to but its all preference between the two I would take a 40th since its a little more rare and it has the touring package. The nismo has a nice body kit but its too plain on the inside.

I have my 11 base + sports for sale 9500 miles. $25500 with fast intentions tdx exhaust

The 40th or Touring have the much nicer and refined interior, I would not buy anything else, but we all have different needs and stuff

Go with a 40th or a touring + sports. The performance difference between a sports and a Nismo is minimal.

40th all the way, but I like nismo's full frontal ;)