Thinking of buying, question about high mileage

gizmo8500 · 01-16-2011, 03:01 PM

So I think I'm loosing my mind cause I can't help but want this car despite knowing it's completely impractical for me. The reason I say that is because I live in West Virginia where there are hills and snow, and I live on one of these hills with a gravel driveway. More on that later.

My primary question is this: I see that most people don't put many miles on their Z. I would like to hear from anyone that uses the Z as a daily driver and puts a decent number of miles on it. How does it hold up? I suspect I will put some serious miles on it. I've put 50K miles on my Accord since April 2008.

The Z I'm looking at is a touring model. It has around 5000 miles on it. I believe it was one owner by an older couple who moved out here and decided they didn't want to mess around with snow and the Z, however this is from a dealership and they could be telling me anything. I'm hoping that I can get a good deal on it cause there's snow everywhere, and they were even trying to give the car away in a promotion (but no one won it to my knowledge). I'm thinking of offering 23,500 and see what they say about that...maybe that's a little too low though?

I have two older Jeeps that can get me through the snow, but there is plenty of time during the year there's not snow on the roads. It's almost always on my driveway for the whole winter though, so I'll have to figure a way to get it up and down. It's about a 30% grade. Am I just being stupid about all this? I really love the Z, every time I look at it its like I'm in love. I can't seem to apply rational thought.

m4a1mustang · 01-16-2011, 03:09 PM

It should hold up just fine. And with a set of dedicated winter wheels and tires the Z is great in the snow.

mick · 01-16-2011, 03:37 PM

30% grade seems rather high for my nismo. i don't know if a touring model can make it because it's pretty low to the ground too.

m4a1mustang · 01-16-2011, 03:44 PM

Ah, if that grade starts immediately from level ground then it might be too steep of an angle to get the car up unless you have a lot of room to angle the car.

sonic370 · 01-16-2011, 07:28 PM

You said you may use it as a DD. How many miles daily.. Will you commute
to work. I can't comment about the snow. but from what the guys in the know say here you will need a good set of snow tires..

mine is a DD and i commute about 60 miles round trip... no issues if you know
what you are getting into.. i bought mine new an 09 SP.. no problems at all
except gas cap and the rear hatch issue.. i love mine...

my only complaint would be having to buy new tires every 25,000 miles...

gizmo8500 · 01-17-2011, 10:07 AM

The grade is steep but it doesn't go straight from level to incline, it's much more gradual.

My commute isn't that bad, around 36 miles a day. I have long road trips though to my family in NC and Myrtle Beach that tend to rack up the miles.

So there isn't a tire I can put on this car that would last longer for summer driving?

m4a1mustang · 01-17-2011, 11:15 AM

There are plenty of higher wear summer tires out there. Fwiw I got around 18,500 miles out of my OEM tires with moderately aggressive driving. You can go with a summer tire like the Hankook Ventus V12 that you can probably get 25,000 miles or more out of.

Ideally you'll have a summer and a winter set. The Z with a good winter/snow tire is very capable in snow as long as it can clear it.

01-16-2011, 03:01 PM	#1 (permalink)
gizmo8500 Base Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Flemington, wv Posts: 2 Drives: Honda Accord Coupe Rep Power: 14	Thinking of buying, question about high mileage So I think I'm loosing my mind cause I can't help but want this car despite knowing it's completely impractical for me. The reason I say that is because I live in West Virginia where there are hills and snow, and I live on one of these hills with a gravel driveway. More on that later. My primary question is this: I see that most people don't put many miles on their Z. I would like to hear from anyone that uses the Z as a daily driver and puts a decent number of miles on it. How does it hold up? I suspect I will put some serious miles on it. I've put 50K miles on my Accord since April 2008. The Z I'm looking at is a touring model. It has around 5000 miles on it. I believe it was one owner by an older couple who moved out here and decided they didn't want to mess around with snow and the Z, however this is from a dealership and they could be telling me anything. I'm hoping that I can get a good deal on it cause there's snow everywhere, and they were even trying to give the car away in a promotion (but no one won it to my knowledge). I'm thinking of offering 23,500 and see what they say about that...maybe that's a little too low though? I have two older Jeeps that can get me through the snow, but there is plenty of time during the year there's not snow on the roads. It's almost always on my driveway for the whole winter though, so I'll have to figure a way to get it up and down. It's about a 30% grade. Am I just being stupid about all this? I really love the Z, every time I look at it its like I'm in love. I can't seem to apply rational thought.

01-16-2011, 03:09 PM	#2 (permalink)
m4a1mustang A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 55,385 Drives: on two wheels Rep Power: 6962	It should hold up just fine. And with a set of dedicated winter wheels and tires the Z is great in the snow. __________________ - Steve Zs & Coffee - Saturdays at 10AM in Fairfax, VA and Columbia, MD (Click the banner!) LIKE us on Facebook!

01-16-2011, 03:44 PM	#4 (permalink)
m4a1mustang A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 55,385 Drives: on two wheels Rep Power: 6962	Ah, if that grade starts immediately from level ground then it might be too steep of an angle to get the car up unless you have a lot of room to angle the car. __________________ - Steve Zs & Coffee - Saturdays at 10AM in Fairfax, VA and Columbia, MD (Click the banner!) LIKE us on Facebook!

01-17-2011, 11:15 AM	#7 (permalink)
m4a1mustang A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 55,385 Drives: on two wheels Rep Power: 6962	There are plenty of higher wear summer tires out there. Fwiw I got around 18,500 miles out of my OEM tires with moderately aggressive driving. You can go with a summer tire like the Hankook Ventus V12 that you can probably get 25,000 miles or more out of. Ideally you'll have a summer and a winter set. The Z with a good winter/snow tire is very capable in snow as long as it can clear it. __________________ - Steve Zs & Coffee - Saturdays at 10AM in Fairfax, VA and Columbia, MD (Click the banner!) LIKE us on Facebook!

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01-16-2011, 03:37 PM	#3 (permalink)
mick Track Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: California Posts: 903 Drives: Used to drive a 370z Rep Power: 16	30% grade seems rather high for my nismo. i don't know if a touring model can make it because it's pretty low to the ground too.

01-16-2011, 07:28 PM	#5 (permalink)
sonic370 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2010 Location: Orange Texas Posts: 1,574 Drives: 09 370Z Sports PGK Rep Power: 18	You said you may use it as a DD. How many miles daily.. Will you commute to work. I can't comment about the snow. but from what the guys in the know say here you will need a good set of snow tires.. mine is a DD and i commute about 60 miles round trip... no issues if you know what you are getting into.. i bought mine new an 09 SP.. no problems at all except gas cap and the rear hatch issue.. i love mine... my only complaint would be having to buy new tires every 25,000 miles...

01-17-2011, 10:07 AM	#6 (permalink)
gizmo8500 Base Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Flemington, wv Posts: 2 Drives: Honda Accord Coupe Rep Power: 14	The grade is steep but it doesn't go straight from level to incline, it's much more gradual. My commute isn't that bad, around 36 miles a day. I have long road trips though to my family in NC and Myrtle Beach that tend to rack up the miles. So there isn't a tire I can put on this car that would last longer for summer driving?