Test drove 370z -- have concerns -- help!
 

Hey guys. I am considering a 370z w/ touring and sports pkg. It's an 09, and I think I am going to be able to get for significantly under invoice. I have two concerns after my test drive today. 1 -- shifting into 5th gear feels notchy. All other gears seemed smooth. Secondly, when cruising on the interstate in 6th gear, I hear a constant vibrating sound, appeared to be coming from under th hood -- it was really quiet, can't hear it at all even if the radio is barely on. When I shifted into 5th, it would go away, but came back every time in 6th. Has anyone else had either of these issues? Thanks!

Not with mine.

I would just go to another dealer and test drive another, if you don't notice it with the other. Don't buy the first...

I don't have problem with 5th but with 2nd, it seems like the gate to 2nd doesn't let me in easily, a little vibration on 3rd gear too, but i heard its normal for Z car !!

I don't have any of these problems either.

:iagree:

Thanks for the responses. I should add that the car has about 200 miles on it, it's been on the lot for quite a while. To me this means that probably around 20 people have test driven the car, and that scares me a bit. I'm not sure what to think about break-in periods on a NA car, but I hope that a strict break-in period isn't necessary.

Yes, stay far away from that car

Great idea -- i'll do that this week. If anyone else has experienced a strange buzzing sound in sixth gear, please let me know. Again, you have to have the stereo off to even hear the sound, but it worries me a bit.

trading in the evo x ?

Not trading -- I'm leasing it, and the lease is over in 2 months. If I get a good enough deal on the 09 370, I will probably go ahead and do it. The evo is great, but I don't really enjoy it as a daily driver. From what I can tell from my test drives, the z is a better choice as a dd.

none here!!!!!

Really? I never drove an evo but I would think that would be better suited for dd duty vs a raw sports car. What about the evo makes it not that enjoyable? Or wait, are you saying you want something more sporty?

The biggest thing for me is the tranny. Until the car warms up (at least 15 minutes), shifting into every gear is super notchy. There's nothing more annoying to me than driving a car that doesn't shift smooth. That's really what kills it for me as far as a daily driver. The z felt much smoother, and just feels more like a sports car. The looks, esp the interior, are a big step up as well. There are no amenities in the evo at all. From what I can tell, my evo feels quite a bit faster than the z, but I don't realy care as much about that as I used to.

The Z is definitely a faster car in stock form, it probably doesnt feel as fast because the power comes on more linear and not in a rush like something with a snail attached to it. It has less TQ, but 40+ more bhp, its also 250 lbs. lighter. As far as vibration goes, some people have complained about the rear stabilizer bar rattling against its plastic housing, sounds like its coming from the front but its actually from behind. However i've never experienced this problem. To me, all the gears feel notchy, but maybe thats just me. Test drive another before you make your decision and if you dont like the notchiness, the auto is an option, think if it as an MR minus the dual clutch.

Got ya. I'm just getting the shifting thing down in my 370. I hadn't driven a manual in 7yrs and I will say that the 370 clutch is a bit touchy. I'm not sure if you've seen the other threads in the general about shifting being a bit of a PITA but there are quite a few. I've driven my friends STi which was much easier and he even had an aftermarket clutch that was pretty grippy. The launching in AWD is incomparable to that of RWD so I'm sure that's what you were feeling plus the turbo. But yeah the 370 interior and overall styling is awesome. Good luck on your hunt!

Thanks for all the advise. I found a 40th anniv in town, so i'm gonna go test drive that tomorrow evening. I'm not sure which color I like better -- the other z i'm looking at is platinum graphite. The anniv edition is on sale for around 36K, so I should be able to swing a pretty good deal on that one.