Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post - My intro / cross-shopping questions

Oppenheimer · 04-14-2009, 09:08 AM

Hey guys, been enjoying lurking and learning about the 370... this forum is great. I wanted to solicit some opinions from you on my situation, all responses welcome.

I'm about ready to buy a new car, probably between the end of this month and July or so depending on what I decide to do. I've been daily driving my trusty ford ranger back and forth to work (65 miles each way, 50%... I work from home the other 50%), as you can imagine its not the most enjoyable thing in the world. Tall, wind noise, crap stereo, 18mpg you get the idea.

Before my wife and I bought our first house, I had a '00 Toyota Celica GTS which I really enjoyed driving / owning. Had to trade it for the truck for practicality reasons, but now the truck has almost 100k on it and I'd like to retire it for trips to Lowes / towing our dirtbikes around and get something fun to drive. No kids (no plans) / no friends / no need for back seats.

So this is more or less where I'm at... the 370 is where I'm currently leaning, the issue being that its more or less the top of my price range. I'd probably be getting a plain old base model (though it seems the base 370 has a lot more to offer than the base 350 did). The other Z option is a still-on-the-lot '08 350. I'm sure I could get a pretty good deal on one of those, they've been offering cash / financing options for 2 months now. Problem is, I'm in SW Missouri and its not like there are 350s sitting all over the place. Finding one to sit in and compare will require a trip, so I'd like to make sure its even worth it. I realize the 370 is better, but I go back and look at 350 reviews and its not like that car was a slouch. This is kind of a tough call for me and I seem to change my mind quite a bit.

Other cars I've looked at are down in the price range. I've looked at the MazdaSpeed3 and the Hyundai Genesis (come on, don't stop reading you've made it this far). The genesis is nicer than I expected it to be, but I don't know that I care for their options packages (the brown leather seats are terrible IMO, and they are the only option on the mid-range coupe) and people are paying over MSRP (yes seriously) for them right now which... well... I'm not even going to go into that. The reality is that its close enough in price to the 370 that I'm not sure it makes any sense in my situation. The MS3 would be the cheapest of the bunch, but I'm not so into the look of it... plus 4 doors and front wheel drive, meh. I'll still go drive one before I decide, but I really want something I'm going to be excited about seeing when I walk out to the garage.

I know it upsets the sports car gods when people say things like they are concerned with things like tire wear, but for me thats just the way it is unfortunately. If I were to go with a non-sports pack 370 I imagine I'd have more options when it comes to replacing rubber? I don't see myself tracking the car, so the LSD etc. might be lost on me anyway. I could see myself replacing the stock stereo (and get it dynamatted perhaps?), and maybe get the seats upholstered in leather over time. If I did that, I don't think the base 370 is really missing anything I care about too much.

Thanks for reading, and I appreciate any comments.

04-14-2009, 09:08 AM	#1 (permalink)
Oppenheimer Base Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: MO Posts: 6 Drives: 03 Ranger Rep Power: 16	My intro / cross-shopping questions Hey guys, been enjoying lurking and learning about the 370... this forum is great. I wanted to solicit some opinions from you on my situation, all responses welcome. I'm about ready to buy a new car, probably between the end of this month and July or so depending on what I decide to do. I've been daily driving my trusty ford ranger back and forth to work (65 miles each way, 50%... I work from home the other 50%), as you can imagine its not the most enjoyable thing in the world. Tall, wind noise, crap stereo, 18mpg you get the idea. Before my wife and I bought our first house, I had a '00 Toyota Celica GTS which I really enjoyed driving / owning. Had to trade it for the truck for practicality reasons, but now the truck has almost 100k on it and I'd like to retire it for trips to Lowes / towing our dirtbikes around and get something fun to drive. No kids (no plans) / no friends / no need for back seats. So this is more or less where I'm at... the 370 is where I'm currently leaning, the issue being that its more or less the top of my price range. I'd probably be getting a plain old base model (though it seems the base 370 has a lot more to offer than the base 350 did). The other Z option is a still-on-the-lot '08 350. I'm sure I could get a pretty good deal on one of those, they've been offering cash / financing options for 2 months now. Problem is, I'm in SW Missouri and its not like there are 350s sitting all over the place. Finding one to sit in and compare will require a trip, so I'd like to make sure its even worth it. I realize the 370 is better, but I go back and look at 350 reviews and its not like that car was a slouch. This is kind of a tough call for me and I seem to change my mind quite a bit. Other cars I've looked at are down in the price range. I've looked at the MazdaSpeed3 and the Hyundai Genesis (come on, don't stop reading you've made it this far). The genesis is nicer than I expected it to be, but I don't know that I care for their options packages (the brown leather seats are terrible IMO, and they are the only option on the mid-range coupe) and people are paying over MSRP (yes seriously) for them right now which... well... I'm not even going to go into that. The reality is that its close enough in price to the 370 that I'm not sure it makes any sense in my situation. The MS3 would be the cheapest of the bunch, but I'm not so into the look of it... plus 4 doors and front wheel drive, meh. I'll still go drive one before I decide, but I really want something I'm going to be excited about seeing when I walk out to the garage. I know it upsets the sports car gods when people say things like they are concerned with things like tire wear, but for me thats just the way it is unfortunately. If I were to go with a non-sports pack 370 I imagine I'd have more options when it comes to replacing rubber? I don't see myself tracking the car, so the LSD etc. might be lost on me anyway. I could see myself replacing the stock stereo (and get it dynamatted perhaps?), and maybe get the seats upholstered in leather over time. If I did that, I don't think the base 370 is really missing anything I care about too much. Thanks for reading, and I appreciate any comments.