i have two 350z's that i will be looking at this weekend. the first is a 2006 enthusiast that is orange with 148000 mi for $6999, or a 2005 enthusiast convertible that is silver with 127,000 mi for $6999. my question is which would you choose. both are manual trans btw.

without seeing or test driving either one, I'd suggest which ever one is in better overall condition. As far as coupe vs convertible or orange vs silver, that's up to you.

If that 2006 is a six-speed manual transmission (6MT for short) I'd get a compression/leakdown test done. The 2006 6Memodels have the Revup version of the VQ engine that's beem known to be a little oil thirsty.

Outside of that, like I tell everyone, get a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) performed to make sure you know exactly what you're buying and what issues it has.

Welcome to NICO!

Convertible cars add potential top issues, leaks and operational issues aren't super common but they are one more item with a limited service life as well as the top itself so cost of ownership int he long run will almost definitely be more in the convertible. Also if you want to do track events the coupe is lighter and safer and always accepted, not all track events accept convertibles and the chassis isn't as rigid.