bkknight369

Sorry to keep on whoring up this forum...but I'm banging my head against the wall...trying to decide on which car would suit me best.

Here are some deals I've been offered:

1. 2004 blue touring 350z 6 speed.
- Never titled, but has 500 miles on it
- In Portland (150 mile drive)
- Price is $29100, which is almost $5k under msrp

2. 2005 silverstone touring 350z 6 speed
- Brand new
- Nearby
- Price is $31794
- I'd get 100k mile warranty thrown in, plus free minor maintenance

Ideas? Opinions? Anyone wanna slap some sense into me?

Scrib

#2... Extended warranty plus, some free fixes and current model year.... That'd work for me.

The '04s should be disocunted even further with '05s on the lot. I'd look for a lot more off that '04 if you decided to go that route.

Bdog

You should be able to get a 2004 G35 for around $30K with under 10k miles. I know its not brand new, but I would pay an extra grand while still getting a full warranty and get a G35 over a 350z.

bkknight369

(at the risk of offending scrib ) I just am not a big fan of the g35c styling...I think this is the one time in my life I'll be able to afford to get a 2 seater without taking family issues into account.

Also g35c's arround here are pretty pricy, even used...I think the average is ~32-34k, and that is just slightly out of my price range

dom

Good, cause Scrib didn't post anything about the G35

I'd go with the 05 as well or like Scrib said, knock some more $$ off the 04.

Bdog

^^ Thats cool, if a Z is what you are wanting I would take Scrib's advice and get a larger discount, in a couple of months the 06's will be out.

Scrib

lol

to each his/her own

get what you want. i'd rock a 350z if I was looking for a two-seater. Actually, I'd probably get a S2K, but anyway...

BTW... You're for offending me.

bkknight369

haha doh

would it be terribly idiotic if im rocking this car as my SOLE mode of transportation? (on the plus side, I could rightfully justify never being DD on the weekends )

synth19

I would do neither, I would get a CHEAPER 03 or 04 (provided it's in great condition, warrantied, and low miles). That Z would be an ideal purchase, and you can get it for around 23-26k. With the money saved, I would splurge on mods! The only advantage of the touring is leather seats (you can ge aftermarket) and the crappy bose system. NOT worth it imo.

bkknight369

how does the bose stereo compare to the cl's system...i actually kinda like the stock system in my cl

There is a 6mt enthusiast nearby...$25k, 11k miles, 2004...but i reallly like heated seats, and i dont plan on modding much

cob3683

#2.

My problem with buying used is that you have no idea if the car was beaten around in these types of cars (Z's, M3's, 911's,etc.) You're assured that the car was broken in properly and not screwed around in.

bkknight369

absolutely id be more comfortable buying a car with 1-5 miles AT MOST on it...i have ocd like that

synth19

^ A car could also have been fucked up in the first few miles it was driven, and sold as new. I've seen some guy beat the shit of a car and it sold with just under 15 miles and sold as new. You're taking a chance and you never know exactly what has happened to the car no matter what the circumstance. That's why make sure you got a good warrenty and do a thorough inspection prior to buying the car. Heated seats is okay, but again, that is something you can do aftermarket. I never used heated seats, so I didnt really care for that option. I did want leather, so I got it aftermarket for around $700. The install was flawless and "tight." Looked totally stock. I do know they do sell the heated seat option for a few hunder more. As for the bose, I never heard it, but people seem to HATE it.

synth19

Oh yeah, and the regular system sux, but I dont want to change it because it's pretty tricky getting everything to align righ with my navigation system (auto fade out/voice/etc).

zeroday

i sold my 03 350z touring last september for 26,700. had 6k miles on it. took 2 mos. to sell at that price. just giving you a reference point.

bkknight369

you speek the truth about the beating-on-car issue

But i dont want to settle for an enthusiast model...and there arent a lot of performance models in the area

I'm taking a few cars on a test drive on saturday...hopefully I'll post pics of my new car on sunday

cusdaddy

No need to get a Touring. Waste of $$ IMO... I have an Enthusiast and I swear my stereo with new replacement speakers sounds better than the Bose (the subwoofer washes out the highs) and is easier to swap out.

The Touring offers no extra performance and very little extra lux than a Enthusiast or Performance model.

Leather seats can be bought aftermarket, but the cloth are actually excellent. They really hold you in place during tight turns.

Rims... Who cares? You should be looking at aftermarket rims anyway for the Z.

I love the car. Good luck, but beware of the transmission on the 03's. My 03 Z's tranny grinds quite often even after 2 attempts to fix it (no replacement yet). I'd go for a 04 or 05 personally as the 03's had a few issues (alignment, gear grind, gear whine, window issues, etc...)

synth19

What speakers did you upgrade to? I'm looking to upgrade as well! Tell me exactly what you did!! Sounds like you didn't remove the head unit which I dont also want to do!

bkknight369

I got a reply from a used dealer, about a black touring edition with:

- 8100 miles
- 6mt

$31500 out the door, after everything (tax for me is going to be ~9.1%)

Look at all reasonable?

cusdaddy

Since my car is a lease, I didn't want to do anything radical. The stock head unit is fairly powerful (160 watts) but the rear speakers are pretty terrible. Try turning the sound to rear only and you'll see what I mean.

I got a pair of Polk speakers for the rear (If I remember correctly, they were the Polk db650 model) speakers for the rear. There are a lot of options, but I got them in the need to be 6-1/2" size.

It's not a complete install, but definitely an improvement. There are a lot of options for speaker replacements luckily. I went the cheap route, but it does show a noticable improvement.

cusdaddy

What year? 2004?

bkknight369

Yes 2004

I'm trying to bring him down though...the 2004 enthusiast in seattle is going for $25k (pre everything), with ~12k miles on it.

Man I'm so exhausted with all this, and I havent even stepped foot into the dealership

I really appreciate everyone's feedback...please please keep it comming

oonowindoo

G35 all the way babee!!! i would buy one ( have had 2) just because of their customer service......

Water-S

have you thought about a S2K. personally I don't like the styling of G35 or the Z.
If I was to leave the Honda family for a little sporty roadster I'd go with a BMW Z4.

bkknight369

too late gentlement...I BOUGHT THE Z

I bought the 2005 new one...the used price was pretty closed to the new price, so I figure what the hell

been driving it arround today...just incredible ride...but I'm also getting used to the manual transmission, and I've stalled a couple of times

pics fourthcomming

mattg

congrizzle

Scrib

Congrats!

Chopsie

Zood Choice I would have gone with choice B also

cusdaddy

Congrats!! Good choice getting a new one!

synth19

congrats!

Chief F1 Fan

Mod time: new wheels (Volks); exhaust; intake; stereo; supercharger. I'm up to S/C as I've just bought a 9820 Alpine, Focal Utopias, Phoenix Gold amp (2oo watts/ch); and am looking at a Basslink. I can't wait to drive my Z and look for excuses to go somewhere in it. Shouldn't bitch but my drive to work has been quartered from 40 mins to 10 so I don't get to cruise enough in it!

bkknight369

yep I live about 15 min from work...but recently I've been taking 'midnight cruises' through the nearby city

as for mods...I might get a deeper exhaust setup, but thats not for a while. I'm actually decently satisfied by the sound system