Already drove the auto. Which I liked. Will try a manual, I just don't like inconveniencing sales rep when I have no interest in the car. U would be surprised how very few touring sport and nav are out there. I have been looking for 2 months now and the only one that came up on cars was so marked up, I could of bought a new one for a thousand more. So im thinking I will have to jump at the opportunity whether manual or auto.

They're salesmen. It's their job to let you drive the car.

Yeah, took me forever to find an affordable one with Touring and Navi. I love the entire package, the one I found was by accident at a Honda dealership, picking my daughter up from her car service. It was there when we dropped off the car, but I didn't see it until we returned to get her car. Love at first sight! I kind of got into a pickle because another guy was trying to buy it but since I use that place often the sales guy knew me. I paid less than BB value but with the other guy sitting at another table glaring at me I didn't have much room to bargain! The other guy was getting out of the car from a test drive when I started talking to the sales guy, so I made the first offer (actually low balled but couldn't get much down) and eventually after I signed for it the sales manager went over there to them and gave them the bad news, the couple gave me a dirty look and left. I could have gotten it for less but it was everything I wanted and in mint condition.
I drove it for the test drive and had 3 days to bring it back so if I missed anything I knew I had a loophole.

Just keep looking, it's out there somewhere - for less than new!

Is touring sport and nav that rare? That's what I have. 7AT as well. Opted for auto so I can send faxes while driving. Just kidding. Opted for auto because a race car driving buddy talked me into it. With paddle shifters and no clutch a gear shift change is quick. Plus we get one more free gear, yay. I was ready to cut corners bu getting the 6MT, but I have had automatics most my life. My MT now is in a Subaru and it's just a hassle when i drive long distances or get stuck in the city.

You won't be disappointed. The 7AT is 90% of what any DCT/PDK-type system ends up being, functionally. We can quibble about how different they are internally, but they end up working basically the same on the track. This is my 7AT getting put to work in a traffic-free lap (well, other than at the start and end) at TWS yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PoLVWVJyfU#t=141 .

I had 4 Z's with manual trans-just got my 5th
 

a 2012 base AUTOMATIC with 1k.

Never thought I would own an automatic Z, but the car & the time was perfect.

The last Z was a great car. An 08 H.R. Enth. 6 spd. The car was perfect. A good DD & a weekend drag car. Very few N/A mods so it was also very streetable. Even with slicks & coming out at 5,500 rpm with 1.6 60' times, the car NEVER let me down, NEVER broke an axle or anything.

I got a good feeling about my 2012 370. I like how it drives & I do like this automatic trans. very much. 7 speed with good gearing. As far as a weekend drag car, I'm 100% sure that I'll be doing 12.7's, 12.8's after I get my test pipes & a tune. Tires? Maybe. I plan on doing it with stock intakes & exhausts. Can't wait till spring:) As much as I like manual trans cars, and love power shifting with clutch, sometimes without:), I think I'll be happy with this automatic car.

The reason for the long story is because I always thought I'd be the last guy on earth to buy an auto Z....:icon17:

I went from a 7AT to 6MT. Although I made the change happily, the 7AT is great and definitely quicker.

My only beef with an automatic is that now everybody can do what I can. A very good manual car driver will have a big advantage against his competition. With an automatic, everybody can floor the pedal :)

Tune the shift speeds to be faster w uprev and swap the up/down pins so it operates like a proper sequential shiftier -- between those changes and the paddles you will not miss having an extra pedal to operate.

Nostalgia! :mad:



:p

Just bought a 2011 370Z base with sport package and auto 10 days ago. After having both knees replaced three years ago, and with the left one somewhat crooked, and this being my daily driver, I wanted the automatic. The car was virtually new with only 6500 miles on it. The transmission is great, as is the car!

I also own a 1971 240Z with 4 speed that I've had since 1987.

The clutch helps me with my knee, as my leg falls asleep if it just sits there (after two surgeries).

Weird how that works.




Though, I've said it before - my next car will be an AT I think, as long as it's a dual clutch AT.

I'm with you Haboob, I think my next car will be a good AT or clutchless manual.

That's why I love manuals! Dying breed so I may have to keep this Z forever!

If I only had one car I would get an auto though. Driving a manual in traffic is tedious and I wouldn't want to do that every day.

Everyone said get the manual so I got the auto. Only dead fish go with the stream.

But seriously, this is almost a religious issue. I guess what works for one is not understodd by another necessarily. I have a manual Subaru, and in traffic I hate shifting gears every 5 seconds. Today I took the Z on a straight road and did rather well with the paddles, but I am still learning. Maybe if the throw was shorter on the gearbox I'd like it. Both manual and auto had their advantages and neither transmission was a selling point by itself. The only thing I HAD to have was Nav.

All in all this is a "grass is greener" issue. Had I got the 6MT I'd be googling the 7AT features. Guess I need both. :>