At $18,000, Is This 2005 Nissan 350Z A Jaw-Dropping Top-Dropper?

Convertible season is upon us, and that makes today's Nice Price or No Dice 350Z especially tantalizing. We'll have to decide if its price cools our warm-weather wanting.

While its true origins have been lost to time, the children's verse "Simple Simon" can be traced back to the 1685 booklet "Simple Simon's Misfortunes and his Wife Margery's Cruelty." Marrying a cruel individual is an unenviable fate, but it at least provides us solace in the knowledge that even someone as dunderheaded as Simple Simon could be 'right swipe-able' enough to find a mate. Speaking of simple, the 2000 Mazda Protege we looked at yesterday was presented in its ad as about as simple a ride as one could ever want. 

It offered manual crank windows and a transmission so dim it couldn't tell what gear the engine wanted without the driver's help. Just like Simple Simon, though, it was not without its charms, one of which being its $3,600 asking price. That turned out to be a happy ending to the tale, with an 88% Nice Price win as its happily-ever-after.

If you're in a band, you know that you have to save one hit out of your concert playlist in order to have something big for the encore, should one be needed. Nissan committed a major faux pas upon putting the 300ZX out to pasture at the end of the 1996 model year, by not having a suitable successor for that halo model already waiting in the wings.

In fact, it took Nissan almost a decade to bring a new six-cylinder sports car to market, debuting the 350Z in coupe form in 2003 and a convertible version a year later. Power for the new Z came from a 3.5-liter (hence the name) DOHC VQ35DE V6, which could be mated to either a six-speed manual or, for people allergic to self-enjoyment, a similarly cogged automatic. 

Regardless of transmission choice, the first 350Zs brought to the ballpark 287 horsepower and 274 lb-ft of torque. Putting those ponies to the pavement is a limited-slip differential, four-wheel independent suspension, and Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) to keep it all on the up and up.

This 2005 Nissan 350Z is the fancier-panted Touring model, which means it has leather upholstery, seat heaters hiding under that hide, and a number of other updates to make the car more comfortable on the open road. Based on the pictures and description in the ad, it is presented in laudably like-new condition. 

Silver paint and a gray interior may not be the most lust-worthy of color combos, especially not when paired with a black roof and silver factory 17-inch alloys. Fortunately, Nissan imbued the 350Z with some unique styling cues to grant it some visual interest no matter what color it's painted. Those include some extra-chonky door handles and, at least on the convertible, some interesting shut lines for the boot lid and hard tonneau, the latter also including some neat little speed bumps behind each seat. 

There are also lots of neat details, like the little Z molded into the air vent grille that hides between the dash and the door and matches the one on the steering wheel mere inches away.

All those Zs might make an owner feel like they are Zorro, or maybe sleeping in a cartoon. The cabin is otherwise well laid out and features an aftermarket stereo head unit that the seller says offers wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for a small slice of modernity. The original factory stereo will come with the car.

It all looks very well-kept in the cabin. And why wouldn't it, seeing as the car has only done a modest 17,264 miles? Weirdly enough, the B trip odometer has captured 1005.5 of those total miles. The ad touts that the car has always been garage-stored and only driven in nice weather. Mechanically, it's said to be "perfect" and will be delivered with fresh oil in the sump and a new Kumho on each corner. The title is clear, and the CarFax summary provided shows an accident-free history. The seller says that all the service records under their ownership will be provided for either dine-in or takeaway.

Those records go back to 2018 when the present owner—the car's second—took possession of the Z. They are now looking for owner number three to show up and drop $18,000 for the privilege of driving it to a new home. That's a lot of money, but if you consider the contemporary competition—Porsche's Boxster or the Honda S2000 being prime examples—it's not out of the range of reasonability.

Is it a great deal, though? What do we think about this lightly-used 350Z and its somewhat wallet-heavy price? Is $18,000 a fair asking for a car in as nice of condition as this car appears to be? Or at that much does this Z make you go Zzzzzz?

You decide!

Facebook Marketplace out of Ashland, Nebraska, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Glemon for the hookup!

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