Yeah, even with a lot of deadener in the hatch, road noise is still fairly noticeable. If you did the whole car and got quieter tires, you could definitely make the car more liveable. It still wouldn't be quiet.

I guess no one told the OP that once you buy a z, you're not allowed to ever buy anything else. :rofl2:

Such is life here on the forum. :bowrofl:

And god forbid you come back and show off the replacement vehicle. No matter what you replace it with, some anus will tell you how its a complete pos and you should have kept the z. :rofl2:

Flash it with a tune before you leave the lot!! Not joking.

Crappy stock tune still breaking ringlands? Damn. You'd think they would have gotten that under control by now.

Running 14.5afr to 4500rpm under full boost since 3500rpm, what do you think? Haha.

Wow. That's really dumb.

i did a little bit of the hatch as well as the trunk with roofing material to sound deaden. i'm now able to use my bluetooth phone. well i was able to, before my exhaust mods.

just a little bit really quieted up the cabin. i hated hearing debris kicked up by the tires.

Correct, it's base/sport, which means no leather. My seats are crazy uncomfortable - I've actually had it to the dealer for an issue related the seat padding already, I'm still waiting on replacement parts.

To your other point, I've already installed some dynamat in the trunk, and did not notice a significant improvement in road noise. In fairness, I did most of the base of the trunk and "not" the fender wells (I ran out), so there's room for improvement.

As was mentioned, however, road noise is only one of my complaints.

I tried to encourage this to everyone I came across. It should be the first thing done for sure. The car drove so much better after the tune anyway.

Well, I had my appraisal done last night. I got a surprisingly reasonable deal:

They offered 28k on the trade, and I get roughly an additional $2200 in tax savings on the new vehicle. Add in the license credit, and a partial refund of my extended warranty, and I'm actually coming out slightly ahead on the deal.

Yup OP, you sound like a Imprezza WRX hatch guy all the way. With all your outdoor activities etc.

My wife also sounds like you in the sense that she thinks its better to have a nicer car all year instead of having my Z and then jumping into a 2000 Subaru Forester the rest of the time lol...which I kinda agree with, my heart breaks a little bit every time I could be driving the Z and I'm not. But I find with this car, sometimes a sacrifice is involved.

I love the Z as it gives me my selfish me time, away from my wife and 2 year old. So I guess I'm lucky to have it.

Definitely go for the WRX, you can have lots of fun with it, only downside on that car (to me) is that they are EVERYWHERE.

I would get some form of wagon if I had to go practical. A4 Wagon is looking pretty sweet these days.

Here in Tucson, I seem to see more Zs than WRXs. Plenty of Foresters and Outbacks, but not many WRX wagons.

Oh ya? Z's (370 Z's atleast) are like Unicorn's over here lol.

Might be also because here most guys drive Z's only for 8 months and its stored during winter. So not practical for most people.

Well good luck tracking down a WRX hatch/Wagon. not feeling the 2014's that are coming out so a 2012 or 13 should be perfect.

Was going to say, if your car has zero issues with only 5k miles, you can certainly (if you look enough) find someone to buy it for not much off a new car. This does mean you need to have no dog hair, debris, chips, etc in the car. You like the car, but it's just not for you, which is usually the story you *want* to hear from a seller. You just need to get away from the people who always read the car ads looking for good deals, and sell to a regular joe who is either looking for that particular car or whom you can convince in person to take it off your hands.

Did you jump on that offer from the dealer? Might be your best bet. Sooner the better so you depreciate even less.

GLWS and GL on the next ride. :) This lesson is a good lesson for your age and assumed financial status, and you'll probably not be out *too* much for the experience.