Looking to buy, first sports car experiences?

Zetine

Sounds like you're talking from experience there

I appreciate your concern with the financial side of things; I get it, it costs a lot to own one of these, I've spent a fair amount of time searching through general maintenance costs, as well as sudden costs that might appear, the high costs did look scary, yet I'm still here. I don't intend to rush into anything I can't actually maintain, that first paragraph was mainly to show that I'm not exactly going to get one next week, I will actually wait until I can get the sports car I really want. However, starting off saying I'm 19 was probably a big red flag for you guys, hence the realistic responses. But hey, I'm the most naive I'm ever going to be right now (hopefully), and I'm very much set on a 370, but I'm not looking to do anything to bankrupt myself by jumping into things too soon.

And with the MX5 deal, I'm really not too keen on them I'm afraid, I guess I would like one many years down the line as a project or something fun to work on, but as of right now, ehh

JARblue

$4K a year for insurance?!?
I love my Z but it's not worth double whatever price you're looking at - that insurance cost is damn near what my monthly payment was on a brand new Z.

Tires are what surprised me. I could barely get 6 months out of a set rear tires. Spent probably close to $1800 per year

Not to mention mods. This car is not cheap to own or work on. Small numbers mean limited aftermarket part options and specialty shops that know the Z well are few and far between for the most part. Can't imagine the UK is any better off than the US in that regard.

FWIW, I traded in a 2000 Nissan Sentra base model for the Z. Think it was rated around 120 hp (at the crank) lol

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Sway

Get out of here JAR! Before you buy everything up that isn’t even in this thread...

Anyway he’s right, I pay 1/4 of that for my insurance. And I know you’re set on a z34, but it’s a very *** happy car, not the best for your first Rwd imho... also, it’s an old platform, don’t get me wrong I love my Z, but it’s not worth the price it is new anymore... and even if you get an old one, after that insurance you might as well be buying a new on anyway in terms of cost... you do you man, we live and we learn. But I feel you’d be much better of with an frs or even a 350Z... just my .02

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OptionZero

I guess I'm gonna have to rain on the parade

You're 19. A sports car is a waste of money, particularly if it's your only car.

I don't know what the exact selection of cars is, since you live in the UK, but I would instead STRONGLY recommend:

1) something more insurable. A 19 year old with a rwd 2 seat sports car is gonna get mauled by the insurance companies

2) something less worthy of the cops attention than a sports car

3) something 4 dr, with more practical space

4) something cheap enough you aren't eating up your savings just to buy the car, much less maintain it

It's hard to hear this but at 19, it is more important to either finish whatever education level you're targeting, whether its a trade or university

Once you have secured a job that you reasonable expect you can hold on to, AND can cover housing, food, etc, look at what you have left over

and still don't buy a sports car. dump it in some sort of savings or investment and buy a damn house

then get a sports car

i did it your way, i was an fuckin' idiot. Got a used s14 kouki in college. Dumped money into it to swap in a 5-spd. Four sets of wheels (i think), three different suspension setups. S15 helical diff. Uber rare parts from japan and the UK. Track events. Two different brake upgrades. Custom work. Then, repairs along the way. Can't imagine how many dollars i blew on that thing learning thru mistakes of all variety

Got a job. had to buy a second car since the s14 wasn't reliable. Bought a used is300. parked two cars on the street because i was living in a single bedroom apartment - thats ridiculous. More cars than bedrooms? thats stupid

Finally got to a point in my career when i could afford a house, quickly sold the S14 (at a stupid loss, because i was lazy). Took a few years to get set up. Got off probation at work, earned some security

THEN i got a Z - lightly used

I i didn't blow all that money on the S14 in college i probably coulda moved everything up a couple years

The Z isn't the worst sports car in the world by any stretch. the issues are the CSC and overall mediocre fuel economy.

Didn't the UK get the Altezza with the hot 4SGE "beams" engine?
If i can't talk you into something boring, i'd rather look at something like that

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s2krazyyy

Im in the favor of a young man having a sports car if he respects it and can afford it. I mean what other time in your life will it be better to own a 2 seater sports car? Young with no obligations so why would you need a 4 door car anyways... to haul your friends around? Anyways like I said if you can afford it I think you should do it but it looks like your insurance is bending you over backwards and I agree with others here that you should not hamper yourself with that kind of bill. There are plenty of other sports car options out there that wont kill you im sure of it.

JARblue

It's obvious he cannot.

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The Z Philes

When I was 19, the Z32 Twin Turbo 300ZX came out. I vowed that when I got out of college, I was going to buy that car. I did get a good job after graduation, and while I had what it took to put myself in the car, it wouldn't have been practical and I would have been financially strapped. I ended up buying a new Nissan SE-V6 King Cab 4WD (I liked off-roading as well), and that turned out to be a much better choice at the time. Now I finally have my Z and don't have to scape by to enjoy it.

All of that said, do whatever you think is best. Part of life is learning by your own experiences, and I've seen plenty of young people make things work when really committed to something.

s2krazyyy

NOT a 370z obviously, but a sports car? HELL yes he can, like I said in my original post there are plenty of options!

Gooch

I'll share my experience as a very young Z owner:

Got my 2006 350z when I was 17 (Haters gonna hate...) I got very good financing if anyone was wondering how that happened.

I was a college student who had a stanky job as a janitor, and between books and gas, and all the other stupid stuff you buy as a brand new adult, I quickly ran out of money. Insurance was cheap though, because I only had liability insurance. (I still do to this day, because now the car is worth pretty much nothing now lol)

During my second semester of college, I realized the lifestyle I was living was not sustainable, and decided to join the Navy. The job I got was hard and paid well, so I found myself able to purchase a 2015 Nismo at the age of 22. I kept my old car to keep the miles off.

If mods are your thing, you better have the money. I just purchased my first mod for my 350z a few months ago.

Long story short, as a very young Z owner I ran out of money and had to make some major life changes to keep my car (among other things). If the car had been wrecked, or if the csc (in your case, with a 370z) went out, I would have been totally screwed. After over 6 years of ownership however, the 350z has never broken down. Only two flat tires. I feel very fortunate to have had things turn out the way that they have. Best of luck to you.

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'15 370z Nismo Tech 6MT Magnetic Black, V2 BP Kit 6467 Unexploded Turbo | '06 350z Touring 6MT Carbon Silver

2011 Nismo#91

You'll love the car but you'll hate yourself for buying it in 5 years or less. Financially I could right now buy a new 911 GT3 RS but I couldn't do much else but look at it and stay at home eating rice every night and that's not fun.

What I did end up doing was buying a used V6 Camaro and driving that from 18 till I was 26 and had to get another car when it was totaled by a sleeping driver. It was 2005 and I could have blown all my money on an S2k or a 350Nismo etc but a bought a V6 Tiburon SE. An excellent car and by not having to pay interest or high insurance I was able to buy a nice place to live, game consoles, take vacations, and other fun things.

You are very lucky that you have a great choice of fun, fast, cheap, hatchbacks being in the UK. That's the smart and fun choice.

CRiZO

Yeeeesss turbo hatch.

I had a Mazdaspeed3 (Mazda MPS there I think?) and it's a killer deal. If FWD isn't a dealbreaker, maybe look into that. It's just as fast as the Z, if not faster, and insurance considered it to just be a Mazda3.

Zezus

I say buy a sports car!
I don't know about there, but 350z and 300z are cheap as hell around here. You can get a decent one for 6k or so.
Do it while you don't have any responsibilities, before you have kids. Going out to late night car meets and hanging out, doing dumb **** was one of my favorite parts of college.
Now i'm a homebody and haven't been to a car meet in years.

bunk

My two cents... Dont do it. You have your whole life ahead of you to indulge in the car of your dreams. Concentrate on getting your career started, make more money and then you can comfortably get a dream car.
I was dumb and bought a new sports coupe I couldnt really afford, it got repossessed 2 years after getting it. In hindsight, I shouldve settled on a practical/affordable DD and focused on my future.
Sure, I had fun, but it wasnt so fun always worrying about the next car payment, insurance payment, basic maintenance, etc...

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CRiZO

Yeah a 350 can be a good deal if unmolested. I would absolutely not buy a 300zx though, those things are money pits and impossible to work on.

Car meets have died off sadly. It's either those street shutdowns with lots of idiots doing idiot things for snapchat, or tiny groups. I saw an enthusiast miata meet the other night and man it made me miss those days.

Zezus

I remember the days of going to meets in my (basically) stock civic. I ended up completely building and swapping that car and learned so much.
It still would have been more fun to have a fun car to begin with, rather than making a boring car fun.