Tell me about 350z's....

a1ex2001 · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:10

Booner! said:
I have and I picky.... I only like the new shape which is too expensive The new shape S3 in white is like my ideal all round car if it was in budget...really like them.

M3 is like £2500 to insure. Elise/Vx220 on backroads to work every day doesn't bother me.... I am 21, have no luggage, have no friends and barely drive the girlfriend about

I'd be tempted to do the M3 the insurance will drop in comming years so I might just take it on the chin! bit of a dream car for me I'm just to chicken to buy one!

Vx220/Elsie on a backroad in the middle of winter on a cold dark rainy morning when you just want to get to work is not going to be a great place to be! A slightly bigger more practical car will be warmer and comfier on those days when you just can'r be bothered or when you've got bored of hooning it down the same short stretch of lanes every day.

Just because you have no mates of luggage now don't assume you never will!

Booner! · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:18

MG42Maniac said:
I looked at 350z's in great depth before deciding to spend less money on a car and more money on other 'hobbies'.

Snip.

Thanks for the info, that was a really useful post

I have maxed out all my hobbies and working in the games industry means that I rarely need to fork out for that hobby so cars is next in line. I suppose the elise is going to be a bit hairy considering the weather we get here. I am going to be impressed by most cars moving from a 1.6l 2001 Golf...so even the most shoddy of interiors will impress!

Once insurance is a little bit easier, I will look at an M3 but I think it's generally a jump/upgrade which I want to savour and also want to do properly....not get a bottom spec entry level M3 without sounding too picky!

Housey · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:20

A bottom spec entry level M3 is still a quicker and more complete car than any of those you list I'd suggest, though not as sharp as the VX and Elise of course.

Crizzy · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:23

Booner! said:
Budget has increased to £14000 for the car....

Booner! said:
The S2000 is too expensive to insure to justify.

You can get S2000's for £10k, would leave you with plenty of change?

Simmz · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:24

Which model / year are you looking at?
I imported a Jap 2003 350z model a while ago and have never had any problems with it. MPG is pretty decent on motorway driving, averaging around 32-35mpg. Town driving depends on how heavy footed you are and can be anything as low as 12

Servicing is really cheap and even cheaper if you supply your own oils. P1 you can get for about £120 and P3 is around £300ish so not too bad.

The ride itself is nice and comfy and the interior isn’t that great, but not too shabby. You have enough power and grunt and it does feel like a sports car. If you get an import, make sure you replace the exhausts asap, as the Japanese ones are silenced and the car just doesn’t sound right.

Depending on what mileage and spec you are after will make the price vary, but with the current economy and the new tax laws, you could easily pick up a dcent 04/05 if not an 06 model for around 14k.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/732265.htm
^^^^^

An example of how cheap they are getting now.

Hxc · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:25

If you are 21 Bell will start quoting you on TVRs...

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/767219.htm - Knock him down £500 and you have £3500 for insurance and when it goes wrong

Could probably sell the plate for a bit too...

I'd say an M3 would cost a lot more to run so the extra insurance might not be the only cost to "take on the chin" so to speak.

Booner! · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:29

Crizzy said:
You can get S2000's for £10k, would leave you with plently of change?

I would rather spend more on the metal/car than £2400 to insure an S2000. I do like them, but can I really justify that on just insurance!

Hxc said:
If you are 21 Bell will start quoting you on TVRs...

I figured this out the other day.... I could afford to buy and run a Tuscan, but insurance is £2300 ish....give it a year or two and I will definately be in the running for one. They are lovely cars (when they work!)

Simmz · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:31

Booner, I was 22 when I bought mine and insured myself with Bell as well. It's pricey to begin with, but it drops a lot after the first year

They will also add you in as a performance car holder if you speak to them which goes on your profile should you carry on using them to insure vehicles in the future. (basically makes it easier to insure a ferrari should you need too

)

[TW]Fox · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:33

Simmz said:
Booner, I was 22 when I bought mine and insured myself with Bell as well. It's pricey to begin with, but it drops a lot after the first year They will also add you in as a performance car holder if you speak to them which goes on your profile should you carry on using them to insure vehicles in the future. (basically makes it easier to insure a ferrari should you need too )

They'll do no such thing, they offer ridiculous rates on cars like this to everyone regardless of experience. They quote me just £950 for a Porsche 911 GT2 which is frankly wreckless IMHO.

Hxc · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:33

Booner! said:
I figured this out the other day.... I could afford to buy and run a Tuscan, but insurance is £2300 ish....give it a year or two and I will definately be in the running for one. They are lovely cars (when they work!)

Try a cerb. It will be a bit cheaper I think....

Crizzy · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:34

Booner! said:
I would rather spend more on the metal/car than £2400 to insure an S2000. I do like them, but can I really justify that on just insurance!

Thats fair enough but it is only £600 more than what you wanted to spend on insurance in the first place? When you consider your budget is £14000 surely that isn't that significant?

Booner! · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:43

Simmz said:
Which model / year are you looking at?
I imported a Jap 2003 350z model a while ago and have never had any problems with it. MPG is pretty decent on motorway driving, averaging around 32-35mpg. Town driving depends on how heavy footed you are and can be anything as low as 12

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/732265.htm
^^^^^

An example of how cheap they are getting now.

Thanks for the info

That linked 350z was the one that had me interested. It's a bit boy racer, but with nismo stuff I think they look awesome in blue/white.

Also, what on earth went through Nissan's head to release the convertable?!?! It looks disgusting....like a ford KA sport convertable *throws up*

Booner! · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:46

Crizzy said:
Thats fair enough but it is only £600 more than what you wanted to spend on insurance in the first place? When you consider your budget is £14000 surely that isn't that significant?

Hmm, when you say it like that

I am just not convinced yet, do you think I would struggle to get a test drive in one? I like the older shape 2001 iirc?

merlin · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:52

20 year old and an S2000.

Nope, not sure where that one is heading.

Booner! · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:56

Believe me, it scares me to think of that....I have already heard plenty of stories regarding twitchy back ends etc. I will be 21 too

not that it matters

Muffin` · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:58

merlin said:
Nope, not sure where that one is heading.

In two different directions

[TW]Fox · 30 Oct 2008 at 13:37

merlin said:
20 year old and an S2000.

Nope, not sure where that one is heading.

Same place mine went when I moved up from an FWD trolley I would imagine

Jez · 30 Oct 2008 at 13:42

merlin said:
20 year old and an S2000.

Nope, not sure where that one is heading.

Insurance is a joke anyway on 2000's so it'd be out of the question, mine was 4 figures :/

BigT · 30 Oct 2008 at 14:35

I can give you some thoughts on the 350z and compare it to some of the other contenders. My brother got an 04 plate one for 14k for six months ago. I have a boxster S, test drove some Z4s and owned a 330Ci.

The 350z is a nice car with a decent amount of room for 2 and their luggage. Handles well, not as good as the Porsche, but slightly better than the BMWs IMO. Probably the quickest in a straight line. Servicing is very reasonable compared to the others and mechanically I think it should be pretty good. Certainly my brother has had no issues in 8k miles.

Interior build quality is a different story. BMWs are miles ahead. The Nissan looks pretty from the outset, but the plastics are poor, as is the switchgear. It also doesn't seem that well put together, My brother has several bits that don't open or close properly and he pushed his fuel release switch through the dash. Sat Nav on the GT is also annoying as you have to use this annoying cheap remote.

Ride wise I couldn't get on with the Z4. Too harsh. The 350 struck a nice compromise between sporty and smooth on a cruise. Very similar to the 330 from memory. Oh and rear visibility is very poor on the Nissan.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Booner! · 30 Oct 2008 at 17:25

After browsing forums and stuff today, it seems that the 350z is very modifiable... however I do get the feeling that the car gives off a very boy racer image, much like the focus ST.

I'll give it some more thought but it's a strong contender. I still think that the Elise 111s would be a great day to day car... not sure if I could put up with it in the winter, especially with my little driving experience in RWD cars.