2005 NISSAN 350Z

Blast from the past

Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 3 Reliability Rating: 3 Safety Rating: 4 Technology Rating: 3 Value Rating: 5

30 years ago a friend of mine had a early 70' 240z. We took it all over SoCal in the 80's and it always turned heads wherever we went. Driving through the canyons to and from the beach always got the adrenaline going. Fast forward to now. Gone from California, now in Colorado. All the kids are gone, and a SUV isnt really needed any more to cart teams of kids around anymore. The wife has the 2010 Murano and prior to that it was a 2005 Murano. Needless to say i am a fan of Nissan. And it was time to look for something fun for me after i wrecked my 92 Toyota PU. I knew that i wanted a sporty looking coupe. So I really looked around (Mazda3's, Audi TT's, Infinity M35's, Hundai Velositer, and the Nissan Z's). I knew it was going to be used which is a bit of a gamble when purchasing a sports car because they may have been run pretty hard by the previous owners. The Hundai was out quickly, exterior was nice, interior good, engine (twin turbo 4-cylinder) ok. TT was close. I loved everything about it but labor and potential maintenance costs took it out of the running. The M35 was in the running, as was the Mazda. But after researching the Z's that have been reborn I knew my search was over. I set up a search engine and one came up that was brought in from Auction that morning. I got off work and went to check it out. Exterior looked good, interior fair (leather seats are on their way out but no tears and some of the plastic accents are peeling). After taking it for a test drive i was immediately taken back to my teens (hopefully "Dude" doesn't reenter my vocabulary). I thought about a convertible but living in Colorado i figured it probably wasn't a good idea due to our winters here. I know I'm going to hate myself later this Spring. I've now had it for a week and some little things have come up. I took it up into the mountains and at first everything was great. It handled GREAT, and on the winding mountain roads of Colorado. However, half way through the Temperature "red lines" and Check engine light comes on. Needless to say there were lots of F-words and S-words. I took it in to have it checked out and thermostat is bad, maybe blockage in coolant lines, dead battery, A/C belt removed (hopefully it actually works). If this is all it needs I'll consider myself lucky. In short, I absolutely LOVE my car. My wife isn't sold on it yet she would have liked me to get another SUV or luxury sedan. But, after I let her drive it (I haven't let her yet) I'm sure she'll get on board. And if you are looking for a 2 door sports car i highly recommend this one. Additionally, the "Z community" is GREAT and clubs are located in most major metropolitan areas. They are great sources of information and tips. 6 Months Later.... Still love the car. Couple of points.... Interior is below average and the leather is starting to crack on the driver side. But I guess normal for age and living most of its life in NM. Standard sound system sucks. The firewall between the cabin and engine is thin and residual heat enters the cabin.