Enthusiast/Touring marking

[richdodge]

Hi guys. I am still in search of my Z. A 2004 Z convertible owner has his car for sale but is out of town for an extended period so his brother is handling inquiries for him. His brother does not know if the Z is an Enthusiast or a Touring model. Is there any marking on the vehicle that he could look at to tell me which model he has in his garage?

Thanks.

[2doggs]

Looking at the interior of the car, if the seats are leather, it is is a Touring. The Enthusiast has carbon cloth seats. This would be just one difference. In May, we traded in an '04 Enthusiast Roadster for an '07 Touring Roadster. The Enthusiast had a single cd disc player and the Touring has a Bose 6 disc cd changer. Also, regarding the seats, leather has a switch on the center console for heat. Providing this '04 car is stock, these are a few differences. Mabe, some '04 owners will provide you with additional info. If you are buying a used Z, take your time finding the right car. We never had any of the problems with our '04 that you possibly have read about in this or other Z forums. One other thing, we live in north Phoenix and my husband has lots of contacts at many of the dealerships. Let us know if we can help.

[richdodge]

Thanks for that great information. I located dmv.org which returned a description of the car when I entered the VIN. It is an Enthusiast. Anyone thinking about spending a little money to research a car's history should consider dmv.org or anything other than carfax which I have found to be almost useless. I ran carfax on my own vehicle, which I have religiously taken to the dealership(s) for major maintenance, and carfax shows absolutely zero maintenance history. Carfax didn't even identify the 350Z I am looking at as anything other than a roadster.

Thanks again for your reply. Good stuff!

[richdodge]

Question for 2doggs: I had asked the Forum earlier about differences between 2004 and 2005 and did not get much response but did not think to ask about specific problems with either model year. Are there some things that I should look for or ask about when I visit a 2004? Same for a 2005?

Thanks.

[2doggs]

As I mentioned in my post, we did not have problems with our '04 Enthusiast Roadster. Some problems others have had: tires, window motors and soft top seperation. I believe the the tire issue was due to improper alignment and would have been resolved while under warranty. On another Z forum, many folks have replaced window motors on different years and models. However, I am not sure how long into ownership this has occured. The top seperation on the Roadster could be the result of much exposure to the elements. Here in AZ, high temps and lots of sunshine could possibly shorten the life of a soft top. Our '04 spent a lot of time in our garage and had 34K when we traded it in. So, the top still looked new. If you are only interested in a Roadster, check for fading. Also, open and close the top on any car of interest. The top should open and close in 20 seconds and operate smoothly. Regarding '05s, I believe the tire issue was '03 and '04. Window motors seem to be a problem as late as '06. That is another operation you want to test. If you purchase from a private owner, I hope you take your find to a reptuable mechanic for an unbiased opinon. Other than the purchase of your Z, the only money spent should be for mods (if you want them). Finally, if the Z is going to be a daily commuter, you may want to consider a coupe. There seems to be many of them in the valley.

[richdodge]

Thank you for that excellent information, 2doggs. It was very helpful when looking at potential purchases.

[normaltype]

Thanks for that great information. I located dmv.org which returned a description of the car when I entered the VIN. It is an Enthusiast. Anyone thinking about spending a little money to research a car's history should consider dmv.org or anything other than carfax which I have found to be almost useless. I ran carfax on my own vehicle, which I have religiously taken to the dealership(s) for major maintenance, and carfax shows absolutely zero maintenance history. Carfax didn't even identify the 350Z I am looking at as anything other than a roadster.

Thanks again for your reply. Good stuff!

You still have your dmv account?