Possible xmas gift-car, need some input

[lobra97]

Well,
The ol ball and chain has mentioned a few times that she has been eyeing the Nissan 350zs. Our room mate had one a couple of years ago and she's always like them. I have been eyeing an older Mercedes as well for her DD. Like a used C230/240/S430/ etc. It seems i can find them under $8k for the most part but i haven't really dealt with them. I'm more worried about maintenance on my end but with all the forums and online stuff i'd assume it can't be that crayyy as a lot of peeps have them, especially 03-08 models. I was also thinking maybe a G35, IS300, for her car. Before the guys who date models and bench 500lbs and say get her a new one we prfer to live without a car payment if possible. I would sell our Lexus and pay the diff on the car. Cobra and the house is really the only thing we have monthly besides phone bill and usual stuff.

Any input? I'm sure we have a wide array of experience on these cars....we be ballin' on SVTP.

Thanks,
Leo

 

[Steve@TF]

you have a kid right? dont get a Z. get the G35.

in exchange, for Christmas for you, maybe a little tag team with the room mate?? :banana:

 

[lobra97]

you have a kid right? dont get a Z. get the G35.

in exchange, for Christmas for you, maybe a little tag team with the room mate?? :banana:

that's what i was thinking as far as the Z. Lil guy is 7 but i still don't want him in the front. as far as the roomie we live alone...i guess the dogs can watch though haha

 

[Zemedici]

i had a Z before the cobra, and know the ins and outs of the car. The earlier ones may burn a little oil between oil changes (maybe a quart) depending on how high you rev them, and the fuel sending units for the gauge are a bit moody, but other than that they are great. They're extremely peppy for a stock car.

Oh and i'm sure you know, but the G35 and 350z are the EXACT same thing, just different interior and body panels. 03-05 is DE motor (287 hp iirc) 05 manual and 06 are rev up - 300hp, and 07-09 are HR motors (dual intakes, 306 hp)

I'd try to get an 06+ for the Bi Xenon headlights as well as hopped up HR motor.

 

[wht93gted]

I got my wife a new Fusion for Christmas 4 years ago. Kept it at my parents house, got up early Xmas morning, picked it up, put it in the driveway with a HUGE bow on it.

It still gets me out of trouble even to this day.

Anyway, the cost for German parts are insane. My buddies mom had a 350z and it was horrible (in her opinion, I couldn't even fit in the car to drive it). It's just an uncomfortable car to daily drive was her biggest complaint, and it was missing a lot of the things she grew to love about her Maxima before it.

Lexus has a pretty solid reliability rating overall, fwiw.

edit: svtp proof, my old white '93 was in front of it.

 

[SirShaun]

I hear horror stories about Nissans build and material quality. Interior/Steering Wheels melting and stuff like that. I don't think I would ever buy a Nissan.

 

[RX1Cobra]

My GF bought a demo 05 G35 sedan back in 05 with about 15K miles on it. She still has it and it has around 165K on it now. In that time I've had to do one wheel bearing, throttle body, crank and cam position sensors (just recently). Other than that nothing but normal maintenance. Has been a really good car IMO and it still drives nice despite have 165K miles on it. Think they would make a good choice but a little hard on gas if that's a concern.

 

[Zemedici]

I hear horror stories about Nissans build and material quality. Interior/Steering Wheels melting and stuff like that. I don't think I would ever buy a Nissan.

owned a few and my brother's a service advisor at Nissan currently, neither of us have heard of any of these sort of issues...sounds like an old wives tale to me....used to run with 50+ 350z guys, and none of us had melting steering wheels.

 

[lobra97]

my buddies nissan altima just had all of her hood paint pretty much chip off in the last mth. i guess they use cheap paint, is it the same for Zs? i also warned her about DD a sportscar, i hate driving my cobra as a DD and i know she'll grow tired of it. i may look into the G35s. as far as the fusion i think she's looking something sporty. she had a trans am in 05 and loved it but sold it for a millenia when our son was born. that car was a POS btw..
so german parts are really that expensive?

reviews i have read say MCB way better than BMW though lol

 

[Zemedici]

German parts will make nissan parts look cheap.

 

[04svtterm]

in that price range, i would stick with something japanese. Euro Luxury can be a potential headache & money pit without really knowing it's true history. Something jap will run great & be reasonable on repairs.

Say no to fusion....

 

[lobra97]

German parts will make nissan parts look cheap.

steering wheels that melt can be expensive too lol

 

[lobra97]

in that price range, i would stick with something japanese. Euro Luxury can be a potential headache & money pit without really knowing it's true history. Something jap will run great & be reasonable on repairs.

Say not to fusion....

i've always like the IS300's too. we like our Lexus

 

[Zemedici]

steering wheels that melt can be expensive too lol

that's one of the most outlandish comments i've ever heard. I called my brother to ask that, and he put me on speaker and literally everyone in the service department started laughing hahahaha

Just do your basic research/inspection of the car and you'll be fine. G/350Z gets my vote. Easy to work on, cheap to fix, reliable, fun, comfortable (I LOVED driving mine), nice stereo system.

Go with a Touring 350z. Wont be disappointed, heated leather seats, bose system, HIDs.

 

[wht93gted]

It was a complete surprise for my wife, she had no idea that I had even been looking at cars.

I went with the Fusion because I got a killer deal; $25,500 with 0%\60months on a loaded 4cyl SEL. Backup cam, leather, upgraded stereo, moonroof, spoiler, remote start; I think everything they had on the 4cyl ones. The sticker was 29,900 I believe.

But you're right, it's a turd for sure. She loves it and its perfect for commuting, but it barely has enough power to merge on the highway. The transmission feels like it's going to grenade at any minute, and every time she gets gas, it wont start. She has to try 2 or 3 times.

I just bought a CPO 2012 E350 for my DD and it's amazing. I look forward to commuting every day. It has 2 more years on the warranty and a 3rd one after that for the CPO program. Then I can buy another 1 or 2 after that. Considering the prices of parts & labor (for things I can't do), I might just do that. I don't think I'd buy any German car without a warranty.

My vote is lexus

 

[lobra97]

that's one of the most outlandish comments i've ever heard. I called my brother to ask that, and he put me on speaker and literally everyone in the service department started laughing hahahaha

Just do your basic research/inspection of the car and you'll be fine. G/350Z gets my vote.

lol someone else said it haha^^^

hmmm i'll look at the G's.

just curious, any info on the caddy CTS? like 2006? non CTSV i don't need her outrunning my cobra lol

 

[ElscottHavoc]

My buddies 350z burned oil like crazy and it was a babied 20,000 mile car.

 

[lobra97]

It was a complete surprise for my wife, she had no idea that I had even been looking at cars.

I went with the Fusion because I got a killer deal; $25,500 with 0%\60months on a loaded 4cyl SEL. Backup cam, leather, upgraded stereo, moonroof, spoiler, remote start; I think everything they had on the 4cyl ones. The sticker was 29,900 I believe.

But you're right, it's a turd for sure. She loves it and its perfect for commuting, but it barely has enough power to merge on the highway. The transmission feels like it's going to grenade at any minute, and every time she gets gas, it wont start. She has to try 2 or 3 times.

I just bought a CPO 2012 E350 for my DD and it's amazing. I look forward to commuting every day. It has 2 more years on the warranty and a 3rd one after that for the CPO program. Then I can buy another 1 or 2 after that. Considering the prices of parts & labor (for things I can't do), I might just do that. I don't think I'd buy any German car without a warranty.

My vote is lexus

awesome on warranty. buddy bought a used mustang at carmax (got eyes poked) but he has a warranty. he had the itch to buy parts so i told him to wait til it expires before he goes to town on it

 

[Zemedici]

lol someone else said it haha^^^

hmmm i'll look at the G's.

just curious, any info on the caddy CTS? like 2006? non CTSV i don't need her outrunning my cobra lol

yeah i saw him say it haha

my buddy just rolled his cts, but up til then it was damn bulletproof, and my god was it comfortable to ride in. Those would be an option as well.

My buddies 350z burned oil like crazy and it was a babied 20,000 mile car.

As i said, some early ones burn oil, but if it was more than a quart every 5k miles or so, he's got another issue. Also depends on how much you rev it/drive it/etc, as with any car. By no means is it a sign to NOT purchase the vehicles.

awesome on warranty. buddy bought a used mustang at carmax (got eyes poked) but he has a warranty. he had the itch to buy parts so i told him to wait til it expires before he goes to town on it

If its the maxcare warranty, I used them probably 250 times when I was writing service, and they denied the repair (didnt cover the part) maybe 5 times, they never even asked about mods.

 

[lobra97]

yeah i saw him say it haha

my buddy just rolled his cts, but up til then it was damn bulletproof, and my god was it comfortable to ride in. Those would be an option as well.



As i said, some early ones burn oil, but if it was more than a quart every 5k miles or so, he's got another issue. Also depends on how much you rev it/drive it/etc, as with any car. By no means is it a sign to NOT purchase the vehicles.




If its the maxcare warranty, I used them probably 250 times when I was writing service, and they denied the repair (didnt cover the part) maybe 5 times, they never even asked about mods.

hmmmmm there's a few online that don't seem too crazy as far as budget. i had a buddy with a newer one and his was also very comfy. i'm thinking like an 06' believe his was a 10' so its a bit diff. moms friend had one and i think he said his key went out and was like $500 for it...kind if scared me.