Looking into low-mileage 09

USINC97 · 09-03-2012, 05:20 AM

Obtained ours new 01/10. Currently have 4810 miles on it. HVAC garage kept. No problems.

Jsolo · 09-03-2012, 10:43 AM

Don't get hung up on 'dealer services'. My cars only see the dealer for warranty work. Either I do my own maintenance, or I take it to a local shop for something I can't do.

Rally Guy · 09-03-2012, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PapoZalsa

Not always true! I have 4 car in my house with only one driveway plus I also have a truck, the other 2 are a SUV (old lady) & car (daughter).

My car is 09 and has a little over 10,000 miles. I have been 3 times to ZdayZ and plus different car events. However to get my car out of the garage I have to back up 2 car and then put then back in de driveway since I lived in a Cul-de-Sac where the parking is premium.

So most of the times I jump on my truck and go to work. I drive the car more often during the Fall, Spring and some mild Winters because they leave before me to go to work and school.

So my car is not rusty and gets regular maintenance, and at least I drive it twice a month. Is in better condition that some 10, 11 or even 12s models.

Just curious how do you quantify if yours is in better condition than newer 12 models?

jza · 09-03-2012, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jsolo

Don't get hung up on 'dealer services'. My cars only see the dealer for warranty work. Either I do my own maintenance, or I take it to a local shop for something I can't do.

True, but there's about 15 months of powertrain warranty left and without documentation I wonder if I will be able to use it if something goes wrong.

Jimmyusmc · 09-04-2012, 01:39 AM

Is this a certified Pre Owned Z? I have a 09 and it has been great with no problems.

edub370 · 09-04-2012, 10:14 AM

Picked up my 09 with 15k on it last year and i'm the 3rd owner. 0 problems

jza · 09-06-2012, 05:03 PM

Took a closer look and noted a few red flags:

TLDR: uneven wear and rear tires need to be replaced, no record of oil change, poor mileage over the last 450 miles of use.

1. The rear tires are actually not as good as I originally thought. I did the penny test and you can see all of Lincoln's hair on the right rear. The left rear has a little more. I know these are performance tires, but this seems wrong.
2. There's no service records, except for an oil change. Also, I looked at the upper windshield and there's a faded out sticker from a quick lube. It was hard to read, but I think it said next oil change due on 5/2012 or at ~10k miles. The 10k miles bit is weird because the car has less than 7k and they usually recommend oil changes every 3k miles in these kinds of places.
3. In an earlier post I mentioned that the avg. mpg was ~23-24, but apparently this was wrong (maybe this was the mileage during the previous drive?). After pressing the menu button a few times I saw that the avg. mileage was ~14mpg(!) and avg. speed was ~24mph(!) over ~450 miles

Looks like I'm walking away from this one

Jsolo · 09-06-2012, 05:25 PM

1) Most of these tires only start out with ~10/32" of an inch. Not a whole lot.

2) What services should be done at such low miles? Granted, if it was my car, being 4 years old, everything but the coolant would probably be changed out by now.

3) Sounds like it was driven in the city only. I only reset my trip meter these days. Record the mileage/gallons in the phone and call it a day. Maybe on a long road trip i'd reset everything else.

Consider the car as a whole. You can tell if it was kept up or not. If something bothers you about it, then by all means walk away. Otherwise you'll be forever bugged by it

Market should be ripe with 08/09's, maybe even some '10's. You'll find what you're looking for eventually.

OldGuy · 09-06-2012, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jza

Thanks for all the advice. I'm currently looking into the Z-specific issues. The biggest one seems to be the oil consumption, but I guess there's no way to tell if it has this problem from a simple test drive.
Price is $26k

$26,000? I paid only $29,000 for my brand new '09 7sp auto brand new in November '09. Think about that price a little---it's 4 model years old already.

jza · 09-07-2012, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jsolo

1) Most of these tires only start out with ~10/32" of an inch. Not a whole lot.

Is it normal that the rear tires of rwd cars wear much faster than the front with regular driving? You don't think the fact that the right is more worn than the left is an issue?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jsolo

2) What services should be done at such low miles? Granted, if it was my car, being 4 years old, everything but the coolant would probably be changed out by now.

an oil change a year would be nice

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jsolo

3) Sounds like it was driven in the city only. I only reset my trip meter these days. Record the mileage/gallons in the phone and call it a day. Maybe on a long road trip i'd reset everything else.

Does the city mpg sound about right?

jza · 09-07-2012, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldGuy

$26,000? I paid only $29,000 for my brand new '09 7sp auto brand new in November '09. Think about that price a little---it's 4 model years old already.

It has touring package and sport package, which increase msrp several thousand. I'm indifferent about the facelift, so I don't mind it being older as long as its in good condition.

Jsolo · 09-07-2012, 10:32 AM

Uneven rear wear can be caused by a number of things. I was going to ask if the car had the sports package (with the vlsd). Looks like you answered that in the post above. I'm not sure why the wear is uneven. It would help to know the type of uneven wear. For example, is the inside more worn than outside. Could also be the road crown, but I would think this would be noticeable on the front tires too. And yes, rwd vehicles will wear the rears faster. Just how much more are the rears worn than the fronts? Maybe those 7K miles were harsh/abusive miles...

Agreed, an annual oil change at the least. But then again, you don't really know if it was done or not. How's the color of the oil? Light honey, or dark honey, or black? To the day, it's been exactly 6 months since my last oil change. 3200 miles later, the oil is a dark honey color - not very dark, but more darker than lighter. I'll do an oil change after my road trip (1K miles).

City mileage on these cars is bad. I think I can squeeze out 14-17 mpg by granny shifting and being in 5th gear by 35-40 mph. If mpg is a top concern, you're looking at the wrong car

. There is a price to pay for all that power.

jza · 09-07-2012, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jsolo

Uneven rear wear can be caused by a number of things. I was going to ask if the car had the sports package (with the vlsd). Looks like you answered that in the post above. I'm not sure why the wear is uneven. It would help to know the type of uneven wear. For example, is the inside more worn than outside. Could also be the road crown, but I would think this would be noticeable on the front tires too. And yes, rwd vehicles will wear the rears faster. Just how much more are the rears worn than the fronts? Maybe those 7K miles were harsh/abusive miles...

The fronts I could see Abe's head, but not his hair

. For the rear right tire, it was worn more on the outside. Didn't check this on the fronts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jsolo

Agreed, an annual oil change at the least. But then again, you don't really know if it was done or not. How's the color of the oil? Light honey, or dark honey, or black? To the day, it's been exactly 6 months since my last oil change. 3200 miles later, the oil is a dark honey color - not very dark, but more darker than lighter. I'll do an oil change after my road trip (1K miles).

Hmm, didn't check it

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jsolo

City mileage on these cars is bad. I think I can squeeze out 14-17 mpg by granny shifting and being in 5th gear by 35-40 mph. If mpg is a top concern, you're looking at the wrong car

. There is a price to pay for all that power.

Yeah, that's understandable. I was just checking

09-04-2012, 10:14 AM	#21 (permalink)
edub370 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2011 Location: KCMO Posts: 3,458 Drives: 09 370z S/T 6MT Rep Power: 20	Picked up my 09 with 15k on it last year and i'm the 3rd owner. 0 problems __________________ 09 370Z ST 6MT//Injen CAI//Greddy CBE//TP//TSW's//Swifts//Stillen lip//Whiteline sways 326whp/268tq

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09-03-2012, 05:20 AM	#16 (permalink)
USINC97 Base Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 104 Drives: 09 370Z 6MT/09 Cube Rep Power: 14	Obtained ours new 01/10. Currently have 4810 miles on it. HVAC garage kept. No problems.

09-03-2012, 10:43 AM	#17 (permalink)
Jsolo Track Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: chicago Posts: 783 Drives: '12 G37 6MT Rep Power: 15	Don't get hung up on 'dealer services'. My cars only see the dealer for warranty work. Either I do my own maintenance, or I take it to a local shop for something I can't do.

09-04-2012, 01:39 AM	#20 (permalink)
Jimmyusmc Base Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 68 Drives: 09 Nissan 370Z Rep Power: 13	Is this a certified Pre Owned Z? I have a 09 and it has been great with no problems.

09-06-2012, 05:03 PM	#22 (permalink)
jza Base Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: USA Posts: 10 Drives: 05 tiburon Rep Power: 13	Took a closer look and noted a few red flags: TLDR: uneven wear and rear tires need to be replaced, no record of oil change, poor mileage over the last 450 miles of use. 1. The rear tires are actually not as good as I originally thought. I did the penny test and you can see all of Lincoln's hair on the right rear. The left rear has a little more. I know these are performance tires, but this seems wrong. 2. There's no service records, except for an oil change. Also, I looked at the upper windshield and there's a faded out sticker from a quick lube. It was hard to read, but I think it said next oil change due on 5/2012 or at ~10k miles. The 10k miles bit is weird because the car has less than 7k and they usually recommend oil changes every 3k miles in these kinds of places. 3. In an earlier post I mentioned that the avg. mpg was ~23-24, but apparently this was wrong (maybe this was the mileage during the previous drive?). After pressing the menu button a few times I saw that the avg. mileage was ~14mpg(!) and avg. speed was ~24mph(!) over ~450 miles Looks like I'm walking away from this one

09-06-2012, 05:25 PM	#23 (permalink)
Jsolo Track Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: chicago Posts: 783 Drives: '12 G37 6MT Rep Power: 15	1) Most of these tires only start out with ~10/32" of an inch. Not a whole lot. 2) What services should be done at such low miles? Granted, if it was my car, being 4 years old, everything but the coolant would probably be changed out by now. 3) Sounds like it was driven in the city only. I only reset my trip meter these days. Record the mileage/gallons in the phone and call it a day. Maybe on a long road trip i'd reset everything else. Consider the car as a whole. You can tell if it was kept up or not. If something bothers you about it, then by all means walk away. Otherwise you'll be forever bugged by it Market should be ripe with 08/09's, maybe even some '10's. You'll find what you're looking for eventually.

09-07-2012, 10:32 AM	#27 (permalink)
Jsolo Track Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: chicago Posts: 783 Drives: '12 G37 6MT Rep Power: 15	Uneven rear wear can be caused by a number of things. I was going to ask if the car had the sports package (with the vlsd). Looks like you answered that in the post above. I'm not sure why the wear is uneven. It would help to know the type of uneven wear. For example, is the inside more worn than outside. Could also be the road crown, but I would think this would be noticeable on the front tires too. And yes, rwd vehicles will wear the rears faster. Just how much more are the rears worn than the fronts? Maybe those 7K miles were harsh/abusive miles... Agreed, an annual oil change at the least. But then again, you don't really know if it was done or not. How's the color of the oil? Light honey, or dark honey, or black? To the day, it's been exactly 6 months since my last oil change. 3200 miles later, the oil is a dark honey color - not very dark, but more darker than lighter. I'll do an oil change after my road trip (1K miles). City mileage on these cars is bad. I think I can squeeze out 14-17 mpg by granny shifting and being in 5th gear by 35-40 mph. If mpg is a top concern, you're looking at the wrong car . There is a price to pay for all that power.