I sure hope you opt for a/the warranty. Don't want to double the price in the first two years on repairs.

 

You missed one ... https://www.nissanusa.com/vehicles/d...cabriolet.html


(I don't know if you've seen one "in the flesh". Looks ghastly, IMHO.)

 

Sleep deprivation amongst Japanese workers is a real thing.

 

You'll regret not getting another XKR though, just give it a minute.

 

With an SL there’s real issues ESPECIALLY if you don’t DIY.

The R230 SL has ABC aka hydraulic suspension. It can be expensive and a nightmare. Especially if you need to pay a shop. You really need STAR in order to self fix too and purge the air with the rodeo process.

If you get an SL with one of the gun engines, say the SL55/SL600/SL65, it’ll be Not problem free either. The 55 will be tolerable but you will be messing with the supercharger over time, more than with the Xkr. The V12 coil packs, turbos, and some things that are buried can have $5-10k Bills. These cars can mechanically total themselves and run down the road at the same time.

I drove my late aunts SL65 back when it was new. Just an amazing experience. I’ve never bitten despite admiration from afar for a reason.

 

Piece of advice: for the SL550, AVOID the 2003-06 model years. First four years of the redesign (across the board), riddled with problems. The newer, stronger, more reliable engine came in in 07, as well as better (more reliable) ABC suspension. 07-08 are excellent model years. Then there's a whole redesign in 09 (bad year), but by 2011 it's settled into a nice car. But those were out of my price range.

 

Oh I'm already regretting it. When I drove that silver XKR I realized how much I missed my car (SIDE NOTE: also regret not pulling the wind deflector from the old one when I had the chance...). Plus, these cars are obviously a known commodity to me. But in the end I had to stick to my parameters:

- really want a convertible, and an "R". (In retrospect, perhaps I should have been more flexible about the "R" part.)
- has to be able to be my daily driver; can't be a project car. Since I don't have a garage, all I can really do is oil changes. And if I have to bring it in, I'll need a loaner, and I'd rather not go that route, so...
- would prefer 2012 or newer. 75K miles or less.

And I just couldn't find that for under $25K. The car I bought was a little over $22.5K, and I'm now thinking I would have loved to have been below $20K.

What I probably should have done was sucked it up and driven the sportbrake across the US one more time. (And yep I looked into having it shipped. Like everything else, those prices have skyrocketed, and I'd have to rent a car for at least two weeks once I got to LA. The whole thing would be at least $3,000-- probably a little more.) By next year maybe prices will be lower. Who knows?

Or maybe bought this car but seems a lot for a car with this mileage:
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...Type=spotlight