2003 Nissan 350Z Reviews

Speakers.

Paint.

Plastics.

Wanted to share some thoughts on my newly purchased used Nissan 350Z.

I went to my local dealerships to check on their inventory of used cars. The local Nissan dealership on the used car side had three cars I wanted to try out. They made a copy of my driver's license and we were ready to drive them...

The first car on the lot that I wanted to test was a clean 2004-2005 Lexus ES330 sedan model. The Lexus had about 111,000 miles on it, and was going for about $11,500. What a beautiful looking car... fit and finish and materials were some of the best I have ever seen.

Now the drive... it was very hard to push the gas pedal down... took a lot of effort. I know these newer vehicles have now electronic gas pedals/drive by wire system... not sure if it was just this car or all their models like this?

Also there was some grabbing noises from the brakes. We have had a lot of rain in the high desert this year... so it could have been rust on the brakes that was causing it. The power started out slow and built up very strongly... but the car felt very heavy and slow footed. A beautiful car, but not much fun...

the next car we drove was a small Honda Fit model with a manual transmission. It was a 2006/2007 model bright red with custom wheels and exhaust. It was going for about $12,500 with about 43,000 miles on it.

The engine was smooth as silk right up to redline... one of the smoothest engines I have ever revved... felt like I was driving one of those old singer sewing machines.

The car was light on it feet... with a very good ride, but the larger oversize tires and wheels and loud add on exhaust didn't do well with this car. The drive train would buck a little along with the brakes... definitively a car to buy stock or new with no modifications...

I was about to leave the lot and head towards the local Honda dealership, when I spotted a Nissan 350Z sports car. It was a 2003 base model with about 60,000 on it with a price of $14,993. It had an automatic transmission in it, which was alright with me since I have had 5 or 6 speed transmissions before, which are fun for a while, but it becomes too much of a chore to shift and push the clutch after a while.

Off we went. The car felt very solid with very good power coming from the 6 cylinder engine... for me the engine had incredible power, especially hitting the right gear in the automatic... but remember, I am coming from a background of small sixes and four cylinder engines... so some of you that have already driven high performance engines might not think it so powerful.

Some of the negatives of the car were speakers and stereo that needed help, and a very hard ride with numerous squeaks and rattles. Also the interior was cheap looking. If I could only get that Lexus ES330 interior in this Z... but that engine and automatic transmission sold me... I offered them 13,000 on it and they said OK... I heard later from another salesman at the dealership that they paid about 10,000 for it at the auction... so they still made good money on it, even with their safety and smog on it.

Also found out this was the Enthusiast model, not the base model. The Enthusiast model has a few bells and whistles over the base model, which include cruise control, traction control, and limited slip differential. Also the prior owner installed a leather kit for the seats and a automatic transmission.

Also a concern for me with this car was the Car Fax report stated that it had two past owners, which I didn't like, because the second owner didn't do any maintenance to the car, and had it for only 13,000 miles. The first owner according to the Car Fax report did all the required maintenance on it.

Here are the pros and cons to the car:

Pros:

Strong engine.

Smooth automatic transmission.

Nice leather seat kit (after market)

Nice carpet with carpet kit.

Beautiful looking car.

Nice weighted steering.

Strong brakes with good stopping power.

Cons:

Cheap looking interior.

Interior/exterior scratch very easily.

Hard BUMPY ride.

Cheap stereo and speakers.

Difficult to get in/out of vehicle.

Center dash console looks like it's ready to break.

Very little room in the rear hatch area.

A lot of rattles and squeaks.

In conclusion, if you need a nice fun weekend cruiser... this is the vehicle. A lot of fun with great bang for the buck. Also if the dealership got this for $10,000... then there is no reason a private party can t go out and do the same thing. I wish I had done a little more homework and done the same thing the dealer did.

Also check with your insurance company before you buy this car. My insurance went up 40.00 per month, even though I haven't had a accident in many years..

Also, check into the Infiniti G35 coupe/sedan, which is a similar model that has a better interior than the 350Z. Not sure if you could get one of those for the 10,000 to 13,000 range. It's a buyers market now, and a lot of these people that bought these cars new... are now trading these cars in for the next big thing. Also they made a lot of different models in this 350Z.. so do your research before you buy...

My 350z has been great to me, no huge/major mechanical problems. At 130 K I am surprised at the z. Taking daily driving and hard driving with ease. Most maintenance below was expected except for tire wear and the valve cover.

Major Maintenance:

1) Incorrect camber wears inner front tires.

2) 130K slipping clutch replaced with ACT clutch and Fidanza flywheel great (expected).

3) Leaking valcover tube seal. Seal built into valve cover (dumb). The entire valve cover has to be replaced $250 each.

Simple Maintenance:

1) Radio died at 100K.

2) 90K, transmission mount replaced.

3) Clicking axles (re-torqued axles and changed back brakes).

OVERALL, A GREAT CAR FOR THE PRICE!!!

Great car to own fun to drive, awesome power for the price.