Any Americans near the Canadian border looking to purchase a 370Z?

[asoomal]

I didn't see anything related to this on this forum earlier, so I doubt many are aware of the following news.

A month ago Nissan Canada reduced the the MSRP for the 370Z from 40,000 CAD to just under 30,000 CAD.

Here's the link for the article:
http://nissannews.com/en-CA/nissan/cana ... issan-370z

Which means, as of today, this equals to just under $25,000 USD, almost $5,000 less than the US MSRP for the same vehicle.

Thought I'd let you guys know about these savings.

[NolimitZ32]

Hmmmmmmm. Might have to get my pops to look at this, he's been wanting something RWD.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Good call!!!
The nismo and convertibles are roughly 20 grand more though!

[RicerX]

I was just about to ask about Nismo pricing. LOL

[NolimitZ32]

After looking at this I actually went and did a little reading up on the RWD vehicles on the market now and interestingly enough the 2015 Z coupes are listed for under $29K at quite a few dealerships in Texas which makes the Canada deal still good but only if you don't have to travel half way up the continent. But what really got me is the realization that the current Z cars are for lack of a better word crap (as far as DDs go) in comparison to the other offerings from the US, Japan and S Korea. Sorry had to let that out /rant

[RicerX]

Define what you mean by crap?

[sx moneypit]

Define what you mean by crap?

My thoughts exactly.

[NolimitZ32]

I've been test driving some $25k -$35k rwd manual cars recently trying to help my dad pick out his "slightly past his midlife crisis mobile" and getting to mess around in some rwd manual cars and of what I have driven so far the Z of all the cars left me in what seemed to be a completely lobotomized state, its good at many things but not great, it's not terrible at anything either. It just doesn't do a good job of making me smile or frown or not drool on myself (insert "Nolimit is a window licker joke here"). It's like the mid-90s corolla of the sports car world, great car that is just completely void of personality and is therefore uninteresting. Its a car that is like many of Nissan's cars today a compromise between the engineers, and accountants and the only reason it survives is because it has absolutely no competition in the US market (as a 2+0 purpose-built sports-car), it fills a not so small niche well for now but what happens when Toyota or Mazda decide to come back into the game? Now I may be slightly biased here and it may be why I am much more critical of it like a dad being the little league coach making his son run twice as much. But to me every time I run into the new Zs its a disappointment, not always quantifiable but its always there. Sorry if I offended anyone with my opinion and y'all are right I should be more careful with my choice of words. And OP sorry for the threadjack.

[RicerX]

What all did you drive?

Of the price range you listed, you're getting the following on the new market: Z, Miata, BRZ/FRS, Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, and Genesis as far as sports cars are concerned. If you're looking at used stuff, then don't bother reading the rest of this because it's not aimed at someone shopping 5 year old Corvettes.

Even with the Z being long in the tooth (and each of those models aside from the Z and Camaro having been newly introduced or redesigned since the 370Z debuted), it still has a better power-to-weight ratio than half of those options, is lighter than the remaining half, and is one of two with only two seats available. As far as sports cars are concerned, it's one of few like you said, but could only be disappointing if the desired personality emphasizes one of the following traits:

1) Raw Power (two options up there available with 400+hp in that money range)
2) A certain look (totally subjective)

That's really it - the Z has one of the most advanced features available for a manual transmission (synchro rev match - first vehicle on the world market with it offered, it is now also the cheapest available vehicle to feature that), it's rock solid for reliability (which is far more than you can ask from the Hyundai counterpart, or the ignition switch in the Camaro that has killed people) it's still relatively lightweight in the grand scheme of things (add turbo hardware to make up for the power difference in the BRZ and see where it goes in weight, and look at the cost difference for any weight savings and you'll have your answer there), it doesn't have terribly overboosted or numb steering (Mustang - overboosted), it has a fantastic weight distribution (Challenger... lol... more weight than anyone cares to distribute unless you get a Hellcat to compensate), and a pretty damn good suspension out of the box (Genesis could stand to improve here, but there are viable aftermarket options to help it here). It's still a serious competitor if your emphasis is the sports over the car in sports car. If you're looking for driving friends around, it's not for you. If you're looking for carrying a bunch of other s***, it's not for you. If you're looking to wreck the drag strip, it's not for you.

I can't stand the hate this car gets because people are either too big to fit in it or don't get why the Z is special over the other offerings on the market. 90% of the people that hate it have never driven it, and the other 10% of haters have never driven the competition enough, or haven't driven the competition in an environment which the Z was designed to flourish.

The horsepower wars and stupid-driver assists are destroying the market for cars like the Z, BRZ, and the Miata, because the average car buyer doesn't have to care about how a car works or exactly how much power even 200hp is. No one cares about investing in driving anymore - it's either "HULK SMASH PUNY CAR" or "I'm just waiting for self-driving cars so I can play candy crush the whole way to work."

If you're near Canada, buy a 370Z for a steal on a hell of a fun car.

/rant

[NolimitZ32]

I've driven the exact lot you listed except for the Challenger (wouldn't be caught dead in one). And what I feel about it (the Z) pretty much aligns with what you said. I don't want to by any means discourage people from buying or driving the Z34 I think its a good FR coupe, and wonderful platform for a designated sports/race car but its not a DD which is what this search is focused on. For me (or in this case my father) as someone that never gets on a track, daily street drive-ability and utility are a must. The Z34 lacks these in comparison to the GC, the Mustang, and the BRZ. The Camaro and Challanger can be thrown out of this competition instantly for a few reasons and I imagine most folks will agree, and the 5 year old vette is out too, let's stick to brand new cars. The MX5 is a great platform but it fills a niche that it created in the market that no one has been able to touch. Its a go-kart for the street and an awesome option as a 3rd car but as far as DD vehicles are concerned it fails. The Toyobaru twins are slightly under-powered as far as "sports cars" go but a bit more forgiving on big city roads and have enough oomph to not be an obstacle on the freeway, they are fairly small but do have something resembling 4 seats and a trunk which places it just about even with the Z34 for utility and slightly higher for forgiving suspension and lower price. The Mustang is a boat compared to the others but its a boat with a ton of torque, lots of space, definitely much more comfortable than the Japanese counterparts and a hell of a lot faster in a "HULK SMASH PUNY CAR" type of way. Which brings me to the winner of the category, the Genesis Coupe. Yes it has some small downsides and is probably the least "sport" out of all the foreigners but all in all its the best in class for the things important in this comparison (daily drive-ability and utility). It is able to perform all of the "sporty' tasks well and is still no slouch when you have to pick up grandma and her dog. Please understand that I love the Z-car, I would own an example of every one if I were able but in a world where s*** has to get done sometimes I couldn't bring myself to get it as an only car. And the final caveat; my dad is 60, has had back surgery for multiple cracked vertibrea, and has to put up with my mom already b****ing about how stiff and small his 2013 GTI is, so imagine if he got a Z34. I have no hate for the Z34, I think they are bad on surface streets and not "HULK" enough to put a smile on my face on the freeways.

And folks, you don't have to be near Canada, if you're near Texas there are some fairly comparable deals on the 2015s right now.


CN:
Miata handles better but has no utility
BRZ handles about the same, has about the same utility, less power but cheaper and more forgiving on bad pavement.
Camaro and Challanger are , just, no.
Z34 too stiff for surface streets, not "Hulk" enough for freeway fun, no space for grandma's pooch
Genesis Coupe Wins as a "fun" DD.

[Jookmasta]

Honestly I was in this boat about 10 years ago. Was deciding between a 350z and a GTO and guess which won? Sorry but as much as the 370z has improved over the 350z, as a dd it just doesn't have enough utility. As a second or third car, if it's in the budget, then yea it sorta beats out all the competition. But the two seater thing is what killed me. And from what I've seen, if your in this budget range looking for a fun vehicle, the miata can give a 370z owner some buyer's remorse. The 370z does everything good, nothing great and absolutely nothing wrong. Nissan was insanely smart in splitting the platform to NOT include the 2+2 version like how the Z32 had. But now look at the price disparity between a 370z and a Q60. What was the price difference back in the early/mid 90's between a twin turbo 300zx and the 2+2 version? Either way, the genesis coupe is no slouch and the aftermarket is there. If he doesn't want to mess with it, it has a better warranty than nissan. And i guess the insurance might be less since it's not a 2 seater?

As for the American counterparts, ecoboost mustang is friggin 34-35K. "New" camaro is coming 2016 but if it has the same blind spot as the rest of the line up since the first Transformer movie, it's not even an option. I think the challenger is really comfy, but it's a love/hate relationship from what I have seen among car enthusiasts. I'll repeat what the internet is chanting.......the scat pack is the bargain of the century. The hellcat is what everyone would want if they had the money, but you will be hard pressed to find a vehicle that can match the scat pack's stats at its msrp. Yes it's heavy, but there comes a point where no one is performing "extra" weight reduction to have their DD go faster. If it's heavy, it better have some power to move that weight and the scat pack has it.

[Jesda]

EB Mustang is only 26k.