buying an '09 Z

[jaizey]

So I am highly considering jumping on a used z34 with carmax. I am hoping someone on here could help me out and give me a heads up on what to look out for, if anything? I've read about the steering lock issue, is there a way to have this exchanged under warrantee? any other advice would be greatly appreciated!!

[Vaughanabe13]

Not to be "that guy" but I suggest you search the forum and just learn as much as you can about the car and the more you learn, the happier you will be if/when you make the purchase.

[sz34]

I bought my z from carmax, its an 09 base, so far I haven't had any problems with it, the only thing i can tell you about carmax is to get plenty of pictures and stuff, I live in SoCal and had it shipped to me from Schaumburg, IL. The whole process took about a 3 weeks to get and by the time i got it, saw that it had a couple of cosmetic flaws that i weren't really happy with, but in the end i decided to keep it cause the transfer fee was non refundable and I really wanted the z, learned my lesson there tho! but all in all, its a good place to look! GL!

[MattP725]

The main issues that 09 and early 10s had issues with are oil consumption and steering lock failure... both are replaceable under warranty assuming your 09 is still warrantied. Most likely your B2B is up or will be soon on the car which only leaves the oil consumption to be covered. Unfortunately you can't tell if a car burns oil before purchase and if the car starts you don't have a steering lock problem (at least at the moment).

Other issues that may occur are high oil temps (09-11 and beyond depending on driving habits) and clutch slave cylinder failure... generally if you drive the car a bit and it holds the clutch pressure you should be ok (again at least for now). Pump the clutch a bunch of times and see if you lose any feeling in the pedal. You WILL have oil temp issues regardless, buy a cooler.

Nothing else major of note that I can think of.

[elmz]

Damn, you're going to scare this guy away. All valid points though. 09 here, I purchased it when it came out and so far I've had no issues. The car does consume oil but its really not a big deal. But it could be worse if you live in really hot climate. Just keep an extra quart of oil handy and learn its consumption habits.

Just an FYI, don't rely on Carfax to tell the whole story about a used car. I sold my 350Z base to Carmax and it was in 2 accidents, but only 1 of them was a major one that required a rear corner panel replaced. When they ran a Carfax, it was clean. The base Z, with no traction control, are more prone to accidents. So check all the doors, hood, and trunk jambs and make sure all the original stickers are there. The 370Z has the vin# stickers on every panel. Good luck.

[jaizey]

thank you guys I really appreciate all the help!!

[LakeShow]

Maybe you can make it a request to be fixed before you purchase?