Did I scam myself?

[alienpoker]

Thanks for the affirmation guys. I was just a bit worried after a big purchase but I truly love the car and want to take it to as high of a mileage as I can.

I plan to put on lowering springs, 20mm spacers all around, and swaybars since I want the car to be more stiff. I don't really think it's worth it for me to touch the engine, transmission, or tune it since I'm in California.

Good plans. For the first eight years, new cars in California don't need a smog check for registration renewal. Instead, they pay a smog abatement fee, after 4 years. So essentially they don’t check for 8 years what you did to the car. ?

Eventually you have to prove your’re CARB legal or if you sell the car prove it to the buyer.

I live in CA and there are CARB legal upgrades. Just check they do have a CARB NUMBER for the upgrade before purchasing. You show the CARB stickers with the numbers in them when you Smog the car in 8yrs. But you could just have the upgrades removed & install the stock components. Then do the smog check & get the certificate that lets you register. I did that for years on a 2010 370Z Nismo before buying my Z in 2025. EZ.

e.g. You change Intakes from stock Air-boxes so the engine can breathe better, and it makes a nicer sound. Totally carb legal, as for example, Nismo Z intakes are on the Factory Z Nismo. You could also change intake / exhaust to a CARB legal system. For exhaust it’s usually CAT-BACK, ‘cause you can’t use straight pipes (aka test pipes) and remove the Catalytic Converters. Tunes are out. Unless the tuner can revert to factory ECU settings or the whole kit is removable.

GL with your upgrades, do what you like and just enjoy the new Z.

 

[CPerdomo]

I paid the full price for my 24 Z Performance. I won't deny that it makes me cringe when I read about the savings others were able to get. But do I have buyers remorse? absolutely not. I was debating between the Mustang GT and the Z. I was aiming to the regular Sport Z model. But the dealer only had the Performance and the Nismo model. So I got the Z.
I'm grateful I was able to get my hands on one of these. I paid what I paid because I wanted to. So others were able to get a better deal months later? bless your heart... I'm content and love my Z.

 

[5amp5on]

I paid the full price for my 24 Z Performance. I won't deny that it makes me cringe when I read about the savings others were able to get. But do I have buyers remorse? absolutely not. I was debating between the Mustang GT and the Z. I was aiming to the regular Sport Z model. But the dealer only had the Performance and the Nismo model. So I got the Z.
I'm grateful I was able to get my hands on one of these. I paid what I paid because I wanted to. So others were able to get a better deal months later? bless your heart... I'm content and love my Z.

you are much more articulate than I. I agree with all you said 100%

 

[papozalsa]

I bought mine last Summer when the prices were still high. Got my Performance with a color combination that every Dealer was asking $5 to 10K. Got it for $1,500 under MSRP and free shipping cross country. So I'm still happy about my deal even that the prices has gone down. Some people are like "I was waiting for the right time" like they knew the future.

 

[Meg_Z]

Bought a Used 2023 Nissan Z Performance with 30k miles on it for 44.7k out the door (got an additional 60k/5 year warranty on top hence the jump in price). I live in the Bay Area so I know prices are higher in general and I didn't want to travel out of state to buy a car but I can't get it out of my head that I paid too much for a car with this kind of mileage.

I also purchased a preowned 23 manual performance with approximately 9K miles for $39.750 with the remaining factory warranty. They originally wanted $40 and I countered with $39.5. They pointed out it was one of the least expensive Z performance available in the region which was true. In the end like many have already posted enjoy your Z and don’t let it bother you what people are getting them for today!

 

[Meg_Z]

If you leave the dealership with the car, they made money.

If you are happy, you won.

Exactly and 9/10 dealerships are not going to lose a cent!

 

[Shuino]

From the East Coast, but I got my Performance Z last September for 44.5k Used with only 3000 miles.

 

[Thefunk]

Money can be recovered. Time wasted on remorse and regret cannot.

 

[NismoNed]

Money can be recovered. Time wasted on remorse and regret cannot.

This ^^^

 

[Thefunk]

Well I shouldn't say wasted because it implies feeling remorse and/regret is a waste of time, which it is not. It's okay to feel those things, just don't spend too much time on it.

 

[alienpoker]

I swapped a 2010 370Z 6MT Nismo for a 2025 Z 9AT Nismo. Old one was Black (which gets very hot here in CA) new one is Red. I honestly haven’t looked back. It’s like Nissan built a Z GT instesd of a raw racecar for the streets. If you want a muscle-car buy a used GTR.

I decided to give up my early v1 Nismo. Did I pay a lot of $$ for virtually the same car, with a different body shape? Some haters would say yes, I think no. Nissan has addressed (or upgraded like the engine) *nearly everything I didn’t like about my previous Z*. I wasn’t into modifying a Performance Z, I just wanted something I could keep mostly stock and drive.

This may be the last chance to own a Z before Nissan only make EV monstrosities. Can Nissan survive long enough to justify designing & building another Z? Maybe no, Probably not. Think Ford’s ‘EV Mustang’ and how much they devalued that Muscle-car brand. This is all my opinion YMMV.

Get a decent price & go for it! That’s my .02 worth.