Originally Posted by Matt

The BMW 128i (18/26) and 135i (17/25) get nearly the same MPG that the Z (18/26) gets, so I'm not sure why you would value those above the Z. Someone else mentioned the Altima/Maxima...unless you get the 2.5L engine, the mpg only goes up 1 mpg (18/27 and 19/26, respectively) for those cars, so no real benefit in that department.

My Z is my daily driver. Because most of my driving is done at less than 40mph with plenty of stopping, I average about 16-17 mpg. Do I care? Not one bit. I stopped caring after the first tank of gas when I realized I was driving like my grandpa just to keep the mpg meter above 20.

I don't like the styling of either the 1 series BMWs or the Miata. The Z, to me, stands out in it's class...both in terms of performance and styling.

I'm sure the 1 series are nice, but unless I had the bank for at least the 3 series, I would be looking at the Z exclusively in this price range.

As far as price, invoice is a little less than what you were quoted. I would start negotiations at around 30,500 and don't accept anything higher than 31,500.

As far as reliability, as someone pointed out, there's no concrete data on the vehicle yet. I assume, based on Nissan's recent history, that if you take care of the car it'll last well beyond 100k miles with few issues.