Looking into Purchasing a 370z Nismo
 

For the past few years I've wanted a 370z Nismo, my timeline for a purchase is 4-6 months from now but could be much sooner if I come across a deal too good to pass up on. I've test drove the base model a few times so I have some idea of what the car drives like and know what I am getting into.

I was originally only looking for a 2012-2014 370z Nismo, however decided recently to expand that range to include the 2011 year model as well. My understanding is that there is very little that has changed over the years.

From research I have done I know that the early model 370z Nismo's suffered from steering lock and transmission issues, though I think this was limited to 2009-2010 year models.

What I'm really trying to determine is the following:

1. Were 2011 370z Nismo's affected by steering lock or transmission failures seen on the 2009-2010 models?

2. Aside from that what else can I expect to run into with a used example of a 370z Nismo from 2011-2014?

Find a garage queen. Someone who only washed, polished, and looked at it. They can be found with low mileage. 2011 didn't have the factory oil stabilizer. You would replace it anyway with a Air to air oil cooler anyway. They pulled the steering locks off in 2011, research the thread on here for all the details. CSC (clutch slave cylinder) issues are common. Be prepared to deal with that. That happens on all years.

Yeah, I'm only looking for 370z Nismo's from 2011-2014 with under 40,000 miles from either a dealer or a completely stock one from a private seller who can thoroughly verify services completed. Curious as to whether or not the CSC issues is why I'm finding a lot of 2011-2014's with less than 40,000 miles, some as low as 25,000 miles. What all is involved in permanently resolving the CSC issues, if that is at all possible?

More importantly, what should I be looking for in a used 370Z to know that this part has already failed? In addition, should I budget into my purchase price the upgraded (I know an aftermarket CSC exists) CSC as well as the repair costs?

Permanent solution to CSC is to purchase a Z1 CSC elimination kit.

Do you have hands to do mechanical job on your cars such as doing this type of transmission swap of the CSC to Z1 elimination kit? If your doing it in the Dealership maybe approximately 1.5K labor cost plus the Z1 kit.

Look it up on their website.

There is no way knowing when the CSC would fails its not based on the mileage.
Ive seen people post here theirs broken at 15K, others have 60K miles yet has not not have issues. Mine is already 40K miles no issues still.

Another common issue is the rear differential bushing another PTA isuues to replace not too expensive the part cost. But again a labor intensive job to do.
My technician at Nissan charge $95 an hr to fix my car.

Btw how much is your buget? Is this your weekend car or DD?

Btw people do not sell their cars because of the CSC problem but rather the car is old model people tend to upgrade to newer model cars or some life changing events like having babies need to buy a SUV or truck.

Not because of CSC issues. All sports cars whatever brand have their own issues.
Your buying a used vehicle. Ask for extended warranty if that makes you feel secure.

I have an early model 2011 with Rev D ESCL (steering lock). It is not covered under the recall, so you'll want to remove the fuse if you wind up with one. The ESCL was removed entirely later in the 2011 models. I'm pretty one of the steering lock threads has dates but I couldn't find them in a cursory search.

I also have the Z1 CSC elimination kit (~50K miles on it), and I will be switching to the ZSpeed CMAK whenever my stock clutch is done. I would recommend either ZSpeed CSC aftermarket option over the Z1 kit based on my experience :twocents:

I do have a fair amount of experience working on cars (and motorcycles) and have been doing so since early high school.

This is going to be a daily driver for me, something I can drive everywhere.

I was aware of the rear sub-frame bushing being a failure point as well. I guess I will have to carefully look the car over to eliminate everything else except for the transmission.

Anything else to look out for?

I'd rather not get into budget and all that, still early in the search.

If you do any work on the clutch i would recommend picking up an rjm hd clutch master cylinder too....factory master cylinder is a known weak point when upgrading the hydraulic system on the clutch

Just to summarize what others have said...

Steering wheel lock: if the car has one, just pull the fuse and it won't ever give you problem.

CMC: replace with RJM CMC

CSC: replace with ZSpeed CMAK (no manual adjustment needed) or Z1 CSC Elim kit (manual adjustments needed over time). ZSpeed also makes replacement heavy duty CSC, but ZMAK is better.

Note: just be gentle on the clutch and the stock CMC and CSC will hold up much longer. Do budget for aftermarket replacement, however.

Diff bushing: OEM is liquid filled rubber bushing, it enhances comfort at the expense of life span, you will see dark fluid and stains when the bushing fail. Plenty of aftermarket options. This won't get you stranded, however.

Front suspension: for Nismo trim, make sure the front spring spacer has been removed, it's a gigantic piece of rubber that's about the length of the front spring, preventing the spring from compressing, used to keep the front ride height up to prevent scraping prior to delivering to customers. Problem is many dealerships forgot to remove them, and new owners drive them thinking the bone crushing ride is normal.

The Z is a relatively simple car.

Found a 2012 370z Nismo that is being sold privately, seller mentioned they had a "carfax" report and sent me something from VinCheckUp.

I've never heard of them but upon reading through the report there were misspellings and errors here and there. Not sure why the seller would think this is an acceptable form of carfax (or maybe my standards are very high) to send but it did nothing to make me more confident about what I was potentially buying.

The car looks okay otherwise, but this has me slightly concerned.

What's a better way to get an idea of the car's history, other than talking to the owner which I will be doing later tomorrow?

Be careful. My car was totaled when it was hit in the rear. I have always wondered if it was sold and someone put it back on the road. My Nismo placard number is on here of that 2012 in the Nismo registry.

Get the vin number and you can order a carfax report on your own.

Yeah, If I decide to go look at it I will be purchasing a CarFax before I look at the car in person.