Hi, I'm new to the forum.

I'm looking for a new motor and having previously owned a BMW Z3 M coupe I need some help in deciding. The M coupe is now a bit long in the tooth and the interior is dated. So I'm looking at either the Crossfire or the 350Z. I am in the UK.

I have so far test driven the Crossfire (auto) and am looking at taking a drive in the manual to compare.

Not arranged a drive in the 350z yet, need your opinions on if I should bother or not. It certainly doesn't look as good, but according to the specs it is faster.

Also, if I go for the crossfire, what colour should I get? Looking at the Graphite at the moment but considering Black along with the cost savings it brings.

Anyone know of any good deals going in the UK on these at the moment to help me get the best price?

I think auto is the best bet as it seems more popular and therefore will be easier to re-sell in the future.

Any help much appreciated.

 

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the Z. I think the style will start to look dated in the coming years. I did drive the 6 speed and I felt that the engine, while powerful, seemed a bit unrefined. I didn't like the transmission much either. Don't even get me started on the interior.

They are cool cars though, don't get me wrong. I just wouldn't buy one. Lots of people like them and if you do, I'd say get one.

 

I'm not a fan of the 350Z, either. If you want to buy a car for speed ... which, to an extent I find silly ... then go for the 350Z. But there will always be faster cars, and as such you'll be continually disappointed.

Go for the car you like the most. The Crossfire is a far more luxurious and refined ride. It's easier to be in, it's quieter, it's softer. The 350Z is harsher. My vote is for the Crossfire, but be sure you testdrive both.

 

the difference between the autostick and the manual was night and day for me. I did not want the car after driving the autostick. It is not a triptronic and manual mode is unusable. In manual mode you tell it to shift, then wait for it to think then it finally shifts.. it still shift on you even in manual mode so I don't see the point. Plus it did not feel very fast.

I went back and tried the manual and really liked it. It had more push to it and I was in control. considering that most of the power kicks on at 3000 rpm I am able to stay above their when driving to stay in my power band (yeah I have a bigger gas bil lthen the norm). You should diffently try the Manual.

As far as the 350z yeah it has more power but weighs a ton too. We even have wider tires than the 350z. I looked at the RX-8 and the 350z when deciding to buy mine.

Personally I did not like the 350z at all. I never even took the test drive but got in and out of a few models. When you see it up close you will notice how unporpotional the car really is. The body is too wide at some points (espically the rear with those little tires). The worst part was the interior. The carpet looked like they got a really good deal on the cheapest carpet ever made. The interior overall looks cheap and unfinished. Even the leather package was not nice.

Either you will love or hate the 350z, there is no inbetween. If you decide that you do love it then you may want to look into a aftermarket leather interior. Looking at all the options your best bet is to buy the cheapest one and just add aftermarket leather inside. They are charging to much for what little they add to the price of the grand trouring model. You don't really need xenon lights 1" bigger rims and all the ESP stuff.

As for the Crossfire the base model has no accent colors. This allows it to be disguinished from the limited model. If you ask me it is a shame they even offered this model. It brings resale down. For a "flagship" car they should have never stripped it. Have you ever seen a new Corvette without leather interior? DC just downgraded the class of the car.

-marc

 

welcome.

for sporty vehicles automatic transmissions do not necessarily translate to higher or easier resale. for example, i used to own a '95 6-spd corvette that sold new for less than the auto. however, in the resale market the 6-spd commanded a premium over the auto and was also easier to sell. the reason for this was that the purchasers of new corvettes are typically middle-aged and of well above average income. they wanted a luxury sport vehicle and opted for the auto. approximately 2/3 of the cars were produced with the auto. in the used car market, younger (mostly 20s and 30s) drivers who could now afford the used vehicle sought the manual transmissions. simple supply and demand. the same thing could occur with the crossfire.

 

depends on what you mean by new. leather seats didn't become standard on corvettes until 1994.

 

I have heard this several times now. Maybe someone with more knowledge can chime in here. My understanding is that putting in the automatic in sports cars started as a way to help sell the car because the wife could drive it too. I also had a friend that has always has to have automatic corvettes for this very reason. He hates them but can't get one any other way and his wife refuses to learn how to drive a stick.

I myself was looking for a used C5 corvette and noticed that people with really low miles on them did not denote which transmission they had. I would always call and that would be my first question. They would always reply in the "I just lost the sale" voice saying it was an automatic.

-marc

 

Correct!! - All C4, C5 and C6 corvettesl have leather. Corvette almost released a cheap version on the C5 line but it worked better than the regualr coupe (stiffer) so it became the Z06 body. They also need to keep the markets seperated on high end Camaro owners and Corvette owners. I guess that DC did not have a lower end to seperate ours from so they took this route. oh well...

-marc

 

Get an M3! If you want speed bypass the 350z and get the m3. If your want to be unique get the crossfire.

Sorry but the M3 is my fav car. I would trade my crossfire in a heart beat for an M3. To bad i couldn't afford it.

 

Your question addressed on this forum is like asking a lion if it likes meat. Of course the Crossfire is the better choice. Structural rigidity is tops, styling is eye catching, proven drive train, a more sophisticated ride than the 350Z and relative exclusivity makes the Crossfire the obvious choice. Color however is personal - My favs- SSB, Red, Black and all of the others.

 

Thanks for the info guys. Personally I would have gone for manual initially. why have a car like this and not have the full driving experience! However, in the UK 80% of crossfire's sold are Auto's. don't know why. But when I come to resell an Auto may be a better investment.

 

Saldous. I live in scotland and bought a graphit auto stick. Traded in my 330ci sport BMer for it and have never looked back.

I do not agree with drunkig on his comments of the auto stick. It may not shift as fast as a bmw M3 with there smg but it is much quicker than the standerd BMW auto transmissions. It also has a feature that allows you to go into a coner, brake and by pushing the stick to the left and holding the car will pick the perfect gear to exit the corner quickly.

I do not agree with rob m comments about re-sale value but, do agree with you. it will sell for more in the UK. Autos are the norm in the US stick shift being the exception. Over in the UK it is the opposit. Plus in the UK very few will buy a stick shift merc as they have a rep for not being very good, but you may already know that.

The choice between stick and auto is up to you. I like the auto because I use the car everyday and must travel, rush hour, on the M8. After a 12 hour shift I far perfer it to the BMW 5 speed.

As far as the 350z. I looked at the car for a long time at the glasgow motoshow and the dealer.

Never drove it but, the style and the engine did not suit me. The engine is french and I have had bad experiances with french cars did't want to take the chance.

Hope this helps.

 

Hi,

I drove both (after ordering the xfire) i did not enjoy the manual xfire, the gearchange was notchy and difficult to shift smoothly and the clutch was very light, so along with mercs reputation for poor manuals i opted for auto and do not regret it. 80 miles a day on the M25 an auto is essential and sadly the same is true for most commutes, once in the open you can use the manual shift option for more fun but even leaving it in auto is quick.

The 350Z was a faster more powerful car no question, but i found it hard work, a drive to work everyday in the 350Z would have been a problem with its higher in cabin noise and less comfortable ride and poor interior finish.

I think if i'd been looking for this purchase as a weekend car and using public transport for my communte the 350Z may have stood a chance but if you intend to use it daily the Xfire is the best choice IMO.

 

Nor is there a Camaro any more. So maybe a "cheap" Corvette is in the mix for some day?

 

Thanks for all your input guys. I ordered my X-fire yesterday and pick it up on the 19th. Went for the Auto in Graphite with single-tone leather. :-) :-)

 

hey good choice 8)
And so the wait begins for the day that you become someone who turns heads wherever you drive, beter start preparing yourself for being on show!

 

I started out my search for a "sports car" with a list that included the Z, the MR2, the Honda S2000, and the MazdaSpeed Miata (not the Crossfire). I drove the MR2 and hated what a dog it was torque-wise, although I liked it a lot otherwise, except that it's even smaller inside than the Crossfire (I'm 6'1"). I didn't drive the S2000 after driving the MR2 because even though I love the looks and quality of that car, it is also (while very fast and nimble) a dog on torque. I just don't want to have to keep the RPM's above 4500 all the time to enjoy a car (I come from a '02 Maxima SE 6 spd that really cooks all across the torque band).
So having had good experience with Nissan (I've had 4 Maxima SE's), I intitially intended to get a Z. I drove it twice for medium long drives, mostly in low to medium speed areas.
I'm going to try to be objective about the Z in a comparison to the Crossfire I ended up buying: the Z is faster; has a better shifting system--especially for power downshifts--has a slightly bigger cockpit; definitely has better seats; handles a little rougher, but is a little tiny bit quicker in it's responses, too; costs less in the version I was buying as compared to the Z ($29, 800 vs $34,500), doesn't sound quite as nice; doesn't look quite as good as the Crossfire in as many colors; has a little bit better steering feel than the Crossfire; and, finally, it carries two golf bags while the Crossfire doesn't really even take one (don't laugh, driving a sports car into the parking lot at the golf course is one of the better narcissistic things about owning sports cars.
So it sounds like the Z should have been the car I should have bought, doesn't it?
Here's why I didn't:
-it's much heavier than the Crossfire, and feels it
-it's not a rolling work of art like the Crossfire is
-it's clutch is tiresome in traffic
-it's not as exclusive as the Crossfire
-it didn't have the INCREDIBLE deal (list $34500, $1,400 down, and $299 a month plus tax for the lease!) on it the Crossfire did that I very accidently saw a a dealership I never visit
-finally, the Z was about appreciation for a fine car; the Crossfire was about little boy excitement (I'm 61 this year).
I've had it for a week, and have loved every nanosecond of our "relationship."

 

Great analysis Richard, a tribute to good sense and taste. It's also nice that a member of my generation shares my obsession with things automotive.

 

Thanks CCrossfire. I envy you being able to drive yours 365. Winters in NW Michigan are SNOWY!!

 

Well, I owned a 350z for 8 months, and then traded it in for the crossfire. The major reason is that a 350z represents the boy racer import car racing scene, and that is just not who I am. The 350z's aftermarket is sickening, in a bad way. All the gaudy crap for it is making the car actually embarassing to be seen in. I got a ton of compliments on the Z, all from young males :? .The crossfire gets about 10 times more compliments (no kidding), but from all ages and genders :lol: .

The Z was quite a bit faster, the manual a bit better (but stiffer clutch), achieved about 1-2 better mpg, but that was about all that was better. Everything else goes to the crossfire. I never thought the interior of the 350z was that bad though. It just wasn't luxurious. I have a friend with a 2002 Vette, and he really liked the 350z's interior compared to his Vette's!

A thing that really baffles me is the reviews on the "VQ35" engine that is in the Z. Although powerful, the engine is not smooth revving at all once you get over about 4000 rpm. The entire car, clutch, and gear shift vibrates like crazy! The reviews always comment on the smoothness, which is just not correct. The crossfire, on the other hand, is silky, silky smooth .

Saldous, enjoy your new ride when it comes in!