370Z Takes on Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track

ClevelandCWRU

Sooooo.....Anyway....let's see if this thread is salvageable, shall we?

Still no purchase update. I haven't gone back yet, mostly because I wanted to think about it some more and solidify my decision, but also partially to make them wait a week to sweat it out and realize they'll have to do better to earn this sale.


Something new did enter the fold, however. I stumbled on a late 2009 build (June) 370Z touring, optioned exactly how I would order a new one. Touring, sport pack, blue, "gray" interior, no nav. It has like 200 or 300 miles, pretty much like new. It's a little bit of a trek from me, so I haven't driven it, but I did call. They want $30,000, I offered 27,000, no sale. Am I really that low on my offer?

How would you owners rate the reliability of your cars? The more I read about the engine in these, the VQ no longer seems to be the gem it used to. NVH issues aside even, the oil consumption and overheating issues. I gather that the cooking of the oil is limited to tracked cars typically, but what about the VQ's that thirst for oil as well as gas? Without rehashing that debate all over again, do we know what caused the issue and what units were affected? I've read plenty of conflicting information searching, ranging from the issue was confined to only the earliest of early 09's, all 09's, even current builds. No matter what you tell me though, I'm sure I'll be obsessively checking my oil level if/when I do buy one now that I know of the issue.

Also, where does Nissan get off calling the interior gray? It's totally off-white. Either way it looks awesome. Guys who have it, is it impossible to keep clean? How does the alcantara on the seats and doors hold up with some use?

Methodical4u

Man I wish I could help you out with all of your questions, but i've only gotten 1500 miles on my 11'. I like to just do normal driving for the first 1000 miles and get start to get on the car a little bit more up to 1500 where I change the car's oil over to AMSoil.. It's ALL I use in my car. It's shown to beat every other oil out there, but that's a whole different debate in itself. It's what I like and that's all that matters.

Finding an 09 with that low of miles is pretty awesome though... especially in blue... great color. I wish I would have been able to find one, but I love my pearl white too so no worries.

Methodical4u

As far as being reliable.. i'm a firm believer that any engine that is well taken care of will last a long time.

ClevelandCWRU

Hmmm, I was hoping some folks could comment on the reliability and durability of their cars. Guess you guys must be too busy driving them with the nice summer weather!

Speaking of summer weather, anybody else think it's strange that Nissan doesn't offer a sunroof on the 370Z? Weight? Please, the car is already porker.

280z/300zx

My previous 09 was an early build date, so one of the first few months built. Had the car for almost 2 years and a total of 6500 miles. Never had an overheat issue or used a drop of oil. Temps stayed consistantly at 220 in Vegas 110+ degree weather. Temps stayed at 190-200 in the winter. On the days I took it to the strip or auto-x it usually would go up to 240-250 and as soon as the run was over it would drop back down to 220. Again, never used oil, but I only did 2 oil changes on it

My 2010 Nismo hasn't used any oil either. Had the car about 8mo now and 8k miles on it. Temps seem to run about the same as my 09 did. The only thing I did notice differently is that on my last trip to Calif. the temps did go up to about 24-250 while going up Baker hill. This is a common area for cars to overheat in the summer as you change elevation by something like 2000ft. My previous 09 never had a problem but my 2010 seems to not like this hill much.

With both cars I've never hit limp mode. The engine temp issues seems to be hit and miss with people on the board. Some people have had issues but I'd say 90% of owners haven't. I know you don't plan to track your car so chances are you will never have a problem. It should be mentioned that the 350z had the same issues but it was never made a big deal because there wasn't an oil temp gauge in the car. Since the 370z has one everyone can monitor it and it's become much more public.

As for the price of the 09 I don't think 27k is bad personally. I see where they feel they have an almost brand new car and therefore want top dollar but in this economy why pay top dollar. Explain to them that you can get a brand new 2011 for not much more. Another good point is if you bought the 09 for 30k and were to then turn around and trade it in or sell privately you would be hard pressed to get 30k for it. Most 09's seem to get about 23-25k in trade and sell privately for 27-28k. Try talking to them about it more and if still no deal let it sit. Check back in a few weeks and see if they are willing to change their tune.

cossie1600

a curved roof?

find a modern car that is not 3000lbs+, this is not 1985, 3300lbs is light in this market at this age

kenchan

i dont think he was even born in 1985.

but yah, 50-60lbs of weight at the top of the car is not good for cg.

redline727

As some one who just went through the decision making process and ended up with a 2009 370Z base w/ Sport Package M6. I had a hard decision myself and was shopping against an 06-08 BMW M Coupe. There are many things that help me choose cars that I buy but one that always stands out is HERITAGE! I Choose cars and manufacturers that have history and seem to share the same enthusiasm to make cars as I have to buy them. I don't get that feeling when I hear Hyundai Genesis. Now this wasn't the case for all my purchases some choices have to be made for other reasons...I'm talking to you chevy cobalt and colorado...But even my first Laser was part of something. Not saying Hyundai won't get there, it's just not there now. What made me choose the Z over the M was I hated the interior of the M Coupe but loved the exterior and loved the performance but not the drivability. To me the Z was the complete package. And I think the same could be said about it going against the Genesis.

__________________

cfweber

One of the guys at work got a Genesis coupe and it is good looking in person

Hyundai is an up and coming car company

some say the Honda of this era

the Genesis is a very nice option

I like the Z

zchristopher

gennesis is good looking car. like the performance numbers, and saw one in a mag. that was lowered. but i fell in love with the z because it is a sports car, not a muscle car, and not a car that you would see a ton of younge people driving and fixing up. my 2 cents

cossie1600

Have you not been reading the board? Everyone has mods on it! I see a lot of HS and college kids!

I agree, maybe I should have reference EG6 or something

280z/300zx

Hell, even in 85 the Z wasn't under 3k lbs. My 84 slick top 300zx weights 3170lbs. The t-top version is about 3220lbs and the turbo 300zx (had t-tops) came in at 3280lbs. Add about 40lbs for automatic versions.

The Z was only ever "light" in the 70's, and even some people think it was the early 240z's that met that as the late model 240z, 260z, and 280z all pushed over 2400lbs.

I agree with your comment. So for a 2009-2011 car with all the crash protection, gigantic wheels (compared to the 14's and 15's back in the day), and gagets the 370z is not doing too bad.

cossie1600

sport pkg weights nearly 50lbs more than the base, who is foolish enough to think the base offers more performance? maybe in a straight line race or wallet race

ClevelandCWRU

Thank goodness you two have uncovered the deciding factor between the two cars: my AGE But you are correct, 1985 is not the year in which I was born.

I'm not complaining about the car's weight, but you're fooling yourself if you think the 370Z is a lightweight by any measure. It's a small, compact 2-seat sports car, yes, but it's heavy for its class. It's heavier than almost all of its true sports car peers, and weighs as much as the bloated, 5 seat Camry or Accord sedans (4-cyl versions). Now, the Z is slick in that it carries its weight very well, better than any other car I can think of and in fact it's rather impressive how well it handles, especially at this price. Nissan's engineers should be commended.

The price is the key here, no sports car can match its performance at anything close to the Z's price. But price is a double edged sword here, and the modular FM platform that allows Nissan to build/sell Z's at such a low cost is the very cause for it's relatively high curb weight for the class. Modular design opens many, many design/production doors, shaves considerable $$ off production costs, but it also forces you to design products "within a box" which does not come without trade offs. The trade off here is more weight than should be necessary, but it keeps the cost down. Weight is the reason the car can only approach, but never equal the dynamics of its benchmark, the Porsche Cayman.

I understand folks like their cars here; the 370Z is a compelling product, and I'm trying to work a deal for one like I stated. But if you start taking an observation (not even a criticism) about the car (ie. its weight) personally, you might have issues....

280z/300zx

Agreed. the Z could lose a bit of weight but what other car that packs 300+hp and costs less than 40k weight's less than 3200lbs? You won't really find one. It's not so much that the Z is light, it's just that compared to some competiors like the Genesis, Camaro, Mustang, etc the Z is on the lighter side. Cars in general just need to lose weight but it costs money as you already pointed out. Still I understand your point about having sedans weight the same or less than the Z (example 2012 impreza at 3150lbs).

Also looking back to the Z's history the 370z isn't doing bad, which is what I was trying to point out. The Z has stayed right around 3200-3400lbs since 1984 dispite consistantly getting larger engines, beefer tranys, heavier differentials, bigger wheels/tires, and lets not forget....being safer in collisions while at the same time being able to play your ipod. I think for being able to keep the Z at this current range of weight for the last 30yrs is pretty decent.

Also to answer your original questions about the sunroof, probably the biggest deciding factor for Nissan was chasis rigidity. Cars with sunroofs, targas, and t-tops have less rigity which affects handling. When Nissan designed the 370z their main target was the porsche. They wanted to make a car that could rival the porsche around the track for half the cost. Having that extra big of rigidity on the roof helps keep the car from twisting which in turn makes the car handle better in turns.