Getting rid of my Z. Any recommendations for a replacement?

mts

S2000

Felix 808

Sorry hear South
I wish you luck & hope you poke in here & there.
Anyway, so as not to find yourself in the same scenario, I would suggest once you have it narrowed down to what your looking for, go hang out in the dealers maintenance shop a few times seeing what cars come in there (hopefully the car you like) & talk it up with the the customers in the lounge on what their experience with the service department is like before you buy. This way you can get a feel if you are going to be happy taking your car to them.

Best of luck to you

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SouthArk370Z

Thanks!

I've been doing a lot of "networking" the past week or so. So far, I've been getting the expecting mix of mostly good things with a few minor complaints every now and then for most of the other dealers within 50 miles or so of me. The local Nissan dealer and a Chevy dealer in another town are the only ones getting mostly bad reviews and even they have their fans.

Maybe I'm expecting too much. It just seems to me that when I pay to have "all the fluids changed (except the differential; did that about 10K miles ago), change the intake and cabin air filters, and do the 30K scheduled maintenance" that the power steering bottle would be above touching the low line, the battery would have been checked (can't swear that they didn't check it but there was dust on the top and caps when I got home), the cabin air filter would be replaced, and the tires would have more than 210kPa in them (they were at 230-235 two days before, so I'm guessing they couldn't read the tag in the door jamb (240kPa) and let some air out). Oh! And they changed the oil change alert to 5K miles without asking even I had told the Service Rep that I stick to the factory 3750. I don't have a lot of confidence that they actually did the trans/brake/coolant flushes.
And that's just one visit to one dealer.

But anyway. Life is good - much better than I deserve - so I'll just grit my teeth, find a car I can get worked on, and carry on.

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karotZ

Good choices for the GTI, Ford Focus ST, for the FR-S you should be able to take that to Toyota, S2000 would be fantastic and will run forever since it's a Honda. Have you considered Lexus for a 4 door sporty look? For Lexus, you should be able to take it to Toyota. How about Infiniti dealerships nearby? For either a G35 or G37.

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SouthArk370Z

I'm getting conflicting reports on the only VW repair shop in town. Independent shop and, by all reports, very good with the old, air-cooled Beetles/buses/&c. Maybe not so much with a recent VW. Still investigating.

I talked to the Ford dealer again and he is expecting an ST and another Mustang "soon." Will test drive ASAP.

I will call the Toyota shop and see what they say. Thanks for the tip.

The S2000 is on the short list but I'm still not sold on a vert. If it had a hardtop, it would be a main contender.

Hadn't really thought about Lexus. Will take a look. Thanks again.

No Infiniti dealers in town but that is a great idea since Infiniti and Nissan share so many parts. I'll check the Infiniti web site after I finish this post.
Edit: Closest Infiniti dealer is 80 miles (I think it's closer to 100, but the web site says 80) away in Shreveport, LA. If I were only closer to Shreveport, I'd have my pick of brands.

Thanks

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bvl

Are you jumping the gun a bit here? I use a local Nissan/Chrysler dealer and they have been relatively fine. Even though I can do my own stuff, I have been using them for most of my basic maintenance (I do my own air filters, its cake).

*ANY* dealership can scam you. Anyone can not change fluids and just charge you. Often the simple maintenance stuff is done by their low order grease monkeys while the seasoned and certified techs work on the hard stuff. Some level of trust must be established starting with blind faith on the consumer end.

And that is something to consider: sounds like your car has just been basic maintenance for a few years and you are more aggressive with the preventative care? Nothing wrong with that (I did my diff and trans myself, even though that is only 'premium service' according to Nissan).

Why unload a car you like to drive just like that? Next time in for service that is more then just an oil change, ask to speak to the tech for a few minutes: just to meet them, and ask 'so you see anything else of interest on the car?'

More often then not they will probably be entertained in the fact they got to work on a Z, which is rare in itself

Otherwise you have good feedback. For a FWD car the Ford ST's are getting rave reviews. I also would look at a RWD 'merican thunder if you could. V8's are fun and the MPG won't be much different then the Z

- b

SouthArk370Z

I've had similar experiences with the two Nissan dealers that are closest to me. It wasn't just the one episode. I can see how "And that's just one visit to one dealer." could be confusing. It was just one visit - out of many - to one dealer - of three.

A lot of good suggestions that I really appreciate.

Yeah. Nothing like the sound of a thumpin' V-8. If I can find a good deal on a V-8, I'll jump on it but most sixes and quite a few fours have enough power for me, so why pay a premium to get an eight?

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bvl

Why? Because it goes to 11.

You don't need a reason other then its yummy. I didn't need to get the 335d for my commuter, a baby turbo 4 would do fine too. I like the torque.

I agree the 6's in both the bow tie and ford coupes are pretty slick for what they are but given how porky those cars are, its gotta be an 8.

- b