Three fiddy

[Varinn]

I'm tossing around the idea of selling my e30 in the spring and getting into something more modern. The Nissan 350z has caught my eye but I have to plead ignorance on knowing details about the car. What is r3v's opinion? Has anyone here owned or driven one? What were your opinions of the car? In terms of reviews it seems most proffessionals are liking the car's driving characteristics. Sadly the 370z is out of my price range so I'm looking only at the 350z. I'm not opposed to other cars either like a WRX wagon. Im avoiding newer BMW's for maintenance reasons.

My goals would be a fun DD with the 6spd manual, some autocross/trackdays and daytrips. Space in the boot for groceries, climbing gear, etc would be a bonus but that's about it.

The things I'm most interested in are the usual concerns
Maintenance (ignoring the routine things like oil, brakes, tires)
Comfort/practicality
Handling
Power
Aftermarket mods
Web communities

[5ickride]

U should go to a 350z forum for this. I thought about going that route also.

[beanerguitarist]

they are really nose heavy and arent to quick.... ive driven quite a few and im personally not a fan. my older brother also owns a g35 and his wife a g37.... they feel scary taken at speed its hard to explain

[dannyyisntt]

Posting that on this forum is like picking up a prostitute and asking her about the stock market

[lambo]

Get an S2000.

[smerfs]

didn't you just finish fixing up that black e30? why so soon!?

[Pl3wA]

s2000 sounds tasty right about now...

[Varinn]

Im posting this here because sometimes posting on a board for that particular model is going to give an incredibly biased review. It's akin to going to an iPhone release day and asking the customers how much they like iPhones. Don't get me wrong, I will be going to a Z board to research a well but its nice to get opinions. I also know r3v has many members that are heavily into track and have driven/owned many modern car models.

And Smerfs, yeah I'm still kinda in progress with the e30. Brakes are in the process of an overhaul and it's going to get some iS parts soon but I bore easy and I have less and less free time to tinker with old cars as every year passes. Just got the bug to move into something else, and my budget has grown enough to accomodate something newer.

Thanks for the input on the nose weight and sketch factor at speed, not do be a dink but was the car you drove mechanically sound? And what sort of speeds were you feeling iffy at? I dont break the 140kph mark in a car often (if ever) and keep my spirited street drives in the bottom gears. Track will obviously be different though.

Edit: my only fear with an s2000 is that it will be very buzzy and have no torque for daily driving. I should probably try to find one for a test drive though, they do seem like pretty fantastic drivers cars.

[lambo]

s2000 sounds tasty right about now...

Yepp...a pre-drive-by-wire AP2 is gonna be my next car...I dun give a fuck about practicality.

[slammin.e28]

Fuck Z33s. Get a nice Z32 twin turbo and some small hands. You'll only need the hands for working on it, so you can keep your manly thick fingers for every day use as usual.

Also everyone in my area with a Z33 is an incredible douchenozzle, worse even than myself. I wear my pants around my waste and am not a fan of wifebeaters or "gold" chains, if that gives any indication of who I'm talking about.

[e30trooper]

because this is a bmw site, why not go for an M tree

[Varinn]

Fuck Z33s. Get a nice Z32 twin turbo and some small hands. You'll only need the hands for working on it, so you can keep your manly thick fingers for every day use as usual.

Also everyone in my area with a Z33 is an incredible douchenozzle, worse even than myself. I wear my pants around my waste and am not a fan of wifebeaters or "gold" chains, if that gives any indication of who I'm talking about.

That is my #1 biggest fear about the 350's, MOST (not all) owners around here are exactly what you described. An e46 m3 has been considered, but I think as a bang for buck alternative I'd rather an e46 330i sedan with a manual. Goes back to maintenance costs again though, I've spent enough time in my friends BMW shop to know that they are not cheap to fix when they break. The e46 is easily 75%+ of his customer base (popularity of e46 is a factor of course, but its an example)

[Mr. Tasty]

Fuck Z33s. Get a nice Z32 twin turbo and some small hands. You'll only need the hands for working on it, so you can keep your manly thick fingers for every day use as usual.

this, renault fucked over the z33.

[Rsully70sev]

G35 coupe > 350z if that's what I was looking into.

I say e46 m tree though.

[illest318i]

I say go for it, i've driven a g35 and whoa! That was an awesome experience. Don't listen to some of these guys and get a honda, that's not the way to go..