Consumer reports is one of the most misleading pieces of Junk Ever...

Thanks guys for all of your replies we (my fiance and I who share this account) really appreciate it. My fiance really wants the car and just can't seem to fall in love with anything else. My train of thought is similar to the man who's wife "had to have it". If it becomes problematic we will reassess, but at least for now - after reading these posts and doing some more research- our thought is to just get the car. The next step is finding out how many miles we can get on the warranty. We need to find out whether or not they will start the clock from when we buy the car (presumably used with low mileage and great condition) or if we only get a set amount of miles total on the warranty. I appreciate everyone's candidness with consumer reports, as I've always kind of thought the same thing. Bottom line, none of you have had any major issues that we should watch out for?

Thanks again for all of the insight!

The steering-lock-intelligent-key issue alone is enough to severely hurt that rating. Since that happened to me I have never again felt the car was reliable. Every time you drive it out of town you worry about if it will start. Now, with the harness and cut wire I feel better, but my faith in the other components of that system remains so-so at best. If Consumer Reports called me, 'reliable' would not be in my description of this car. I've said it before, but after 22 years of Nissan Z's (and two Nissan trucks and a Maxima) I am done, I won't buy another Nissan.

you do know they stopped putting in the steering lock on the later 2011 and up Z's don't you? as for me, have gone through a 2002 altima 4 cyl. 2005 altima 6 cyl. and now the Z and have not had one issue with any of them that wasnt my fault to begin with for neglecting things such as maintenance. at worst the only problem i ran into with my Z was the passenger side power window motor burnt out and was replaced no questions asked. it all really depends on the dealer you deal with and sadly for alot of people that come to be dissatisfied with the brand often times it's because of the way the dealership treated you in some way or another.

Cagan
 

Never had an issue with mine and I bought in August of 2009. I have a clear bra and new Avant Garde wheels and Hankook tires which offers a better ride in my opiinion than stock Advans. But, no issues with paint since i baby it and nothing else at all. Very satisfied.

Sure, but are you aware this is the 2009 being discussed, not the 2011.

My Z has been the most reliable car I've owned yet, except when it snows...

edit - actually I was thinking about this more, even in the snow the car does pretty well for what it is. yes I dd my car and use snow tires in the winter.

I knew they stopped, but that really doesn't affect my car. And sure, my feelings about Nissan are influenced, probably heavily, by their horrible dealerships and my painful experiences with them - like when my under-warranty and bought-there 370Z was hauled in on a flatbed only to see them attempt to put me off for a week because I did not have an appointment (REED NISSAN, Orlando FL). But here's the deal, to buy a Nissan I have to go to a Nissan dealership, and so it is a big part of it. Look, I love the Z, I own two currently and plan to keep both as both are paid off, but I won't be back for another. One too many bad experiences/car issues/etc.

Dont ever buy a Ford-they (as a company) are also horrible to deal with...knock on wood-Been driving Honda's for years not one bad dealership issue.why?! No issues w the car-0 probs...i have lots of faith in Honda (japanese) vehicles as a whole...

Only issue I've had is that the color of my car (magnetic black) is true to it's name, I've been hit 4 times in 8 months by morons. Other than that it's been an absolute pleasure to own! Yes, and it's a 2009 model.

Only use reports of others peoples opinion (biased or otherwise) as a guideline, never as gospel! Know the facts yourself firsthand before making a decision.

Every major issue is well documented on this forum. Several were fixed with later years. There are some other common but minor issues. You dont see a lot of people posting with oil consumption, exploding transmissions, weird electrical issues, etc. You should have a good idea what to expect after reading here (bad luck aside)

My Z is no longer reliable because it wasn't hail resistant. :icon14:

I had the same issue with my hyundai and the key leaving me stranded, but I would never call the car unreliable for that issue alone. For putting 74,000 miles on a car in less than 2 years it was very reliable :tiphat:

I looked at the Consumer Reports for the Z a few months back compared to the Camaro SS/Genesis Coupe/Evo/Merceded C class/Mustang And Many more...

So, what I saw was that the Z had a poor reliability rating compared to EVERYTHING else on my list, so I looked at the reviews and noticed the Oil cooler and Limp mode were high on those lists of complaints, considering the 2012 was coming standard with one I felt confident buying the Z

It is my opinion they magazines and rating sites are paid for there opinions.

Example: new car coming out we will give you $$$$ to promote this car!

Marketing and advertisers all companies are cross promoting today. They can bend anything to make it look like something else. They try to trend/heard the masses into believing one thing or another. Reminds me of the movie Wall-e where they say try blue it's the new red.

Bought my '09 new in '09 and it's been perfect other than replacing the ambient temperature sensor, which was done and done right under warranty and with no problems. I replaced the stock tires with Continentals to get a more comfortable ride and replaced the stock cloth interior with a beautiful custom leather interior. I put the clear bra on the car the day of delivery. Although I have only 10,200 easily driven miles on the car (garaged November to April) it has earned my full confidence. I have enjoyed the car very much and continue to constantly receive complements on it.
If I had it to do all over, I would buy it again.