Brand new member....BMW vs. 370Z

[Shakeydeal]

Ok, before you guys crucify me, a little info.

I am currently a BMW 335i coupe owner since January of this year. I really like the car, but I don't necessarily love it. I installed a JB+ chip and the thing is pretty fast. I have also done some cosmetic mods to make it look a little less like every other 3 series bimmer out there.

When I was car shopping, the 370Z was high on my list of contenders. I never drove one, so that was my loss. I just bought the 335 after loving the torque and power after the first test drive. I have since driven a C6 vette thinking it might be "the one", but it wasn't even close IMHO. BMW FTW in that shootout.

So now we are getting closer to my question.

I love the way the Z looks. It is much more aggressive and sporty looking than my BMW. Looks alone, I would take the Nissan all day. BUT, I felt the same way about the vette until I drove it. Then my opinion was far less enthusiastic.

I am a member of one of the BMW forums and hesitated to ask the question there, knowing what fanboys they all are. Me, I am not a dyed in the wool BMW fanatic, I just like the car. So what can you tell me about why the 370Z would be better than the 335i? I welcome all opinions.

This will be more of a weekend and/or fun car. I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee as a DD. So I am not concerned about giving up storage space or losing a back seat, mine never gets used anyway. And my assumption is that the Z is more of a driver's car that gives up some of the comfort of the BMW. So I know there will be tradeoffs there, and it is a matter of what is most important to the owner.

So sell me. Or not.........


Thanks in advance,

Shakey

[Shakeydeal]

This place is like a ghost town............

there goes a tumbleweed.......

[BusyBadger]

Most of us have day jobs or are out driving. Still it's nice of you to set an example for others on how not to make a first impression.

One single word would make me pick a Z over a B, maintenance - frequency, parts cost and parts availability.

You should drive a Z before asking why, you might answer them on the drive. But somehow I've fur the feeling if a C6 didn't do it for you a Z probably won't either.

What didn't you like about the C6? What trim model was it? What kind of transmission? What kind of transmission is in your car? How was the sales-toad where you drive the C6? They let you go on your own or did they ride along? Of they ride song did they really let you test drive it or just run up and down the street a couple of times?

[Shakeydeal]

Still it's nice of you to set an example for others on how not to make a first impression.

Hey, I do what I can........


I intend to drive a Z in the near future.

Not sure what the trim package on the C6 was. And the salesman let me and my wife drive it, no limit on the distance. We did some city driving and freeway pulls. 6MT, as is my car. It had the rawness, but lacked any semblence of refinement. And I get that. But it just seemed cheap by comparison, and only slightly, if any, faster than the BMW. And they wanted my car +16K for what seemed like the lesser of the two. I politely declined. Not sure I would have traded even up.

So yes, I will drive a Z. And soon too, I hope. I just wanted to get some opinions from the other side of the fence. Biased or unbiased, whatever they may be.

Shakey

[djwarner]

Maintenance, reliability, and design intent are the main differences.

Rear visibility is the Z's major short coming. If this is a problem, I would suggest a model with Nav and a rear view camera.

If you can, find a road with some twistees when you take your test drive.

[BusyBadger]

What year is your 3 and what year was the C6 you got to drive?

[Shakeydeal]

My 3 is a 2007 and the C6 was a 2009.

[BusyBadger]

... had the rawness, but lacked any semblence of refinement. And I get that. But it just seemed cheap by comparison, and only slightly, if any, faster than the BMW.

I understand the cheap by comparison part in regards to a BMW, but the last bit, about faster...not so much. If you're running a stock car, then it shouldn't even be close, the 'Vette is 400 pounds +/- lighter and has 130 more horsepower.

If you're not stock or the' Vette is gimped by something like a bad tires, poor fuel, or a valet tune maybe...but if you can't feel a difference stock vs stock you're doing something wrong.

And while the Z may feel more refined than the C6 it won't even begin to touch it in straight line speed.

[Shakeydeal]

I have a JB+ chip, dialed in for ~60/60 more hp and torque. Not a huge difference, but still closer to the vette than stock.

Shakey

[jerryd1987]

bmw is one of the worst cars you can buy as far as reliability is concerned, not a single european manufacturer made it to the top 10 most reliable manufacturers list found here.
http://wallstcheatsheet.com/automobiles ... ?a=viewall

on top of that they have a retarded high recall rate, 90% recall rate vs cars manufactured, to put that in comparison GM even with its huge numbers only boasts 65% recall rate, only one european has good recall rates. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelan ... all-rates/

add that in to the fact that they have a high cost of entry and high repair costs, many of the repairs requiring you to go to a dealer and its not worth it to buy anything from and of the european countrys, stick with domestic or japanese. lets not forget that most of the bmw's are boats as far as weight is concerned for their year. all that luxury stuff i suppose.

something else your forgetting about the vette you drove also, they are severely detuned from the factory to counter emissions of their large displacement. a c6 $400 cam kit, $650 hp tuner software, and $1k exhaust can easily pick up 100 hp. super chevy was able to add $1200 set of heads, $900 intake, $350 TB and some 440 cc/min injectors was able to get 595 whp and 545 ft lbs of torque from a 383(about a 6.2L just a hair bigger). thats 600 hp for ~5k and its still NA. thats $29.41 per hp and an amazing deal. your chip might have been better but after that chip the bmw gets very expensive.

given the choices of all of them i would probably do the vette if considering reliability and "fun factor" as well as ease of adding power. i dint buy one because i dont like the looks, and i got my 350 for 11k.........

[djwarner]

Hey Shakey,

did you ever take that test drive?

And the results are?

[Shakeydeal]

Not yet, been busy with work and my stepson's wedding. Soon though.....

Shakey