Hello Everyone From Phoenix!

Watermarking

Hey guys and gals! I joined a month ago and wanted to make my debut post. Just a little information about me. I'm an 18 year old college student majoring in business. My main hobby is driving a few of my family vehicles. Ever since the day I turned 16 I get a huge adrenaline rush and thrill from driving; even if its down the road to get milk and eggs at Wal-Mart I also enjoy hiking the local mountains around the Phoenix valley.

I'm going to be graduating next year(that's the plan) and I am going to be making a very big choice in my life; purchasing my first 'real' car. Its not going to be straight out of college as I need to get a stable job first before spending a large sum of cash. I'll be saving up for a good 6-8 months before making that purchase. It might be a far ways away to few, but its going to come very fast for me. I like to thoroughly research everything I do, and this is just another research 'project.'

Coming to the 370z forum, you can pretty much assume that a 370z is on my list of cars to research. There are a few more I have been looking at; a Lotus Elise/Exige, and a Honda S2000. I'm not asking you guys to tell me which one I should get; I would just like to get as much information as you know about each car; the logistics and basic stuff. I'll start by saying what I like/dislike about each car on that list.

The 370z is a car I was very excited to see after being a huge fan of the 350z. I love all the Z cars; the styling is fantastic. What I love most about the 370z is the looks; both interior and exterior. The shorter wheelbase from the 350z was a big improvement in my book. I also really like that the newer 370z's have the option of a 7 speed automatic. Phoenix has some heavy traffic so driving a manual isn't the most fun I also like the feel of the paddle shifters in your hand, it just feels right to me. However my doubts on the 370z is the weight; at nearly 4,000 pounds its quite heavy.

I love the Lotus Elise/Exige, one, if not my favorite car on the road right now(In my price budget ) The styling, handling...everything about it. I love the raw interior. I also love the handling. So much response; its basically a go-kart. I also love that sense of being a part of the road when driving it. You feel every bump and are so close to the asphalt its great. Being a Lotus it has that exotic feel to it, something I could really take pride in. However, being only 2,300 pounds and made of fiber glass, its not really sturdy. I would be so afraid of making one tiny mistake; hitting the curb or judging a driveway wrong, and making a HUGE accident out of something that wasn't huge. I mean you get hit at 10 MPH and its basically a total loss. Being only 18 I don't have the most driving experience. I like to think of myself as a great driver, but don't we all Also what scares me is the insurance cost.

The Honda S2000 is a great little car, a lot like the Elise really. Great small car with awesome handling. I love how it looks all done up(Lowered slightly, nice tires on it). I'm afraid however that since the car is discontinued parts will be harder to find as times go on.

What I want out of a car is a few things. I want to be able to take it out of the garage and enjoy it the minute I hop into the seat. Acceleration is, if not the highest priority on my list. I need that feeling of being sucked into my seat. The second priority on my list is handling. I know the Elise has great handling because I've rode in one, but how is the handling in a 370? Just knowing that it weighs nearly twice as much frightens me about the handling. The last thing is well...a bunch of things. I want to be able to hear a nice engine note and get some high revs in. Lastly I want to be able to enjoy some of my music on a nice stereo system. Cruising is what I love the most. I'll be auto-crossing this car A LOT. I don't plan on tracking the car, but I could change my mind. This car I purchase will be daily driven, but I do plan on picking up a cheap truck or something down the road for tasks that the car can't do(big trips to the store, hauling stuff...etc). My price range for this vehicle is going to be 30,000 dollars. Max would be 35,000.

Kind of a lengthy first post, but I felt I covered most of what I felt needed to be covered. Hope you guys post some informative and nice comments.

Sincerely, Dylan.

Trips

Damn, that was long!! I stopped reading after the first line

Welcome!

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Sibze

So true, WELCOME!







P.S, I'm sorry but I didn't read it either lol

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RIP Tony.

Watermarking

I get that a lot

CarbonSignal

i managed to read 3 FULL paragraphs ... =)

My advice: Dont even think twice.. get a Z and you will never regret.

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Cmike2780

Welcome.

Graduating at 19yrs old with a Business degree? So you graduated high school at like 16 or something, wow.

I don't know your financial situtation, but you should really think about how this will effect you for the next 10 years or so. If you plan on financing, be warned that your interest rates are going to be high if they even approve you for a loan. My sister just graduated college a year ago, has a good stable job and she still needed a cosigner to get a loan for a Pathfinder. Her credit score was really good but she didn't have a whole lot of credit history. Throw in a high insurance rate for someone your age, maintenace cost and you could really bury yourself financially before you've even started. You probably don't want to hear this stuff, but I wish someone had given me this advice when I bought my first car. In the end, its your money to spend and your decision.

As for the cars you mentioned...

The S2k is a good car, but finding one that hasn't been beated on will be tough. This is probably the least expensive option and parts aren't that hard to find since it is a popular platform to mod. High reving, nice handling car but could use more torque. Easy to mod with all the performance goodies out there though.

The Exige is probably out of your budget and a used Elise is going to be a tough call. The maintenance cost will hurt your pocket more than you think. It makes for a great track car, but is not a good daily driver. If you haven't been inside one, check it out and you'll see just how spartan the interior is. The chasis is plenty sturdy and has nothing to do with body panels. Anyway, your not suppose to crash. Also, you probably wont have electronic nannies like VDC or TCS.

The curb weight for the 370z is 3,250lbs (1,470 kg) (base) far from 4,000 lbs. The Z is an easy choice IMO.

I would think about getting a used 350 instead. Even then, a sports car might be too much car for you with only 2-3 years driving experience.

Fast car + inexperience + huge adrenaline rush= DEATH (no joke)

Drive safe.

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[09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R]

Red__Zed

welcome-- good luck with the car search.

If you have any S vs Z questions, feel free to PM me. I should be able to help offer some comparisons between the two cars (I think I've owned 3 s2k's by now, but it might be 4).

Watermarking

Thanks Mike for that post. I had no clue the 370z was that light. I guess I read the wrong site on 370z specs. That totally changes everything now. Thanks for the welcomes everyone

definitionxmk

Whoa. Welcome mang

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FALKEN . AMUSE . STANCE . INVIDIA . MINES . TOMMY KAIRA . BRIDE . VOLK RACING . GTM
Featured in DSPORT issue #137 - Follow me on Instagram: @definitionxmk

XwChriswX

For those looking for instant gratification and tl;dr:




Now for what I came here for:


Welcome and hello fellow member of hell.

Glad you found/decided to join us here. As for the debate on your list of possible cars, I think whichever one you decide to go with will give you what you are wanting to get because each one has their individual pro's/con's

What I will say is that don't count out the 370Z on handling or because of its weight. For a car over 3k pounds, it handles extremely sharp. And that's stock... just wait and see once (if you buy one) how much better and even more responsive it would be with a few mods. I've put Abby through several canyons in SoCal and have been extremely impressed with it's responsiveness. Given its not an almost 6 figure priced car, I don't expect it to be 'the greatest handling car in the world' but it definately can snap your neck if you want it to.

Now assuming you do decide to purchase a Z...

The qualities you admire in the Lotus and the S2k can both be adapted to the Z with allowing you to drop it almost onto the ground if you want depending on which brand of suspension producs you go with. And as you know driving around in phoenix, lower isn't always better. I have a 7AT myself and I will agree with you, in traffic here it's a godsend. Maybe some of the die hard sports car fanatics out there will flame because you didn't get the 6MT but don't worry. They're just jealous our tranny shifts faster than they do.

I too have peered into the thought of auto-crossing with this car, but need to get a few more mods knocked out and get some better tires first. If you stay here in Phx, expect to get about 15k good miles out of the stock tires before you'll be wanting to replace them. If you keep it as a DD only and don't do any long trips, you might be able to strech that to 20k. I highly recommend (unless you plan on going with a full intake like the Stillens or Injens) getting the K&N drop in filters cause they will need cleaning... Often.

If you do decide that a Z is what you want, and a 370 is what you want, check out the Private Classifieds here on the forum so you can help give a good car a good home. If you want a new one, PM me and I can give you a list of the local dealers to go to/avoid. I've had experience with 95% of them so I can help you out with that. If a 370 is out of your price range new/used, there's nothing wrong with getting a 350 and having fun with that. the good part with that is the fact that parts will be a lot cheaper.

If you have any questions or anything let me know and I can hopefully point you in the right direction locally.

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Bonnie - Stage 2, Audio build coming this fall!
R.I.P. Abby 3/29/10 - 3/30/14

Sibze

Wow,

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RIP Tony.

mark_taba85

long for you to get it up

I also stopped after the "hello"

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"Once you go ASIAN, there is no other persuASIAN"

XwChriswX

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Bonnie - Stage 2, Audio build coming this fall!
R.I.P. Abby 3/29/10 - 3/30/14

wdkwang

that's what she said

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Powerhouse Amuse | K&N Typhoon Intakes | MotorDyne ART Pipes | Borla Catback Exhaust | B&M Short Shifter | Intake Ducts | Ichiba 25mm F/R Spacers | Carbon Fiber Interior Vinyl Wrap | Tints | 10000k HIDs | Vtak, yo!

Endgame

wdkwang, you are crazy! lol!

Welcome! I am in Laveen. I also shopped the Exige and Z. Got the Z and love it; it is the perfect blend between muscle car (Stang) and sports car (S2000). I love it. Read around the forum and you will find lots of threads to get an idea of the Z car.

I am so please with my car in its current state, I do not even compare it to other cars...