350Z Good Idea?

Amraam

Amraam

Amraam

Soldato
Joined
5 Jan 2009
Posts
4,771
Hey all,

I'm 23 with 1 years NCB (should have been 4 but I lost three thanks to some ice!) and I currently drive a 1.6 Astra mk4 SXi.

Basically, I want something flasier, and a bit faster. I can't decide if I want a hot hatch or a sporty coupé but I'm leaning towards the latter.

I had my heart set on the RX8 for ages, but running costs and the fear of a flooded rotary made me decide not to get one.

So what do you lot think of the 350Z? I'd be looking to get one for ~£11k tops, with less than 40k miles. What are they look to run? Service costs etc?

I realise that's a HUGE jump from an astra, and I worry it would be too big an increase in performance (nearly 200%!). I'm very open to suggestions :)

Thanks!
 
Run some insurance quotes and I bet you'll find it isn't such a sensible replacement. It's an excellent car though and £11k should find you a decent example.
 
Think petrol and maintainence, I very much doubt a 3.5ltr V6 is going to be the cheap for either of those.

I think there are a couple on here somewhere (Also iirc, they're really not that practical for a coupe and the interior can be a bit gash)
 
Absolutely brilliant car, nice handling, very meaty feel.
But the insurance will screw you over big time xD
 
Insurance will be a huge hurdle and it's a massive step up from an Astra. You think the icy conditions screwed you in an Astra you just wait till you're in a lairy rwd beasty!
 
Running costs arent too bad other than fuel, but driven gently i used to get about 25mpg on my daily comute and managed 34 on a run, servicing isnt too bad either and never had anything go wrong with mine in the year i had it. If they had 4 seats id get another :) not overly keen on the new skyline tho
 
I really like these, never noticed how much they had dropped in price.

Just been added to the list. Have you also thought about the Honda S2000?

Similar characteristics, but with a 4 pot and vtec YO. Also imo, look nicer.
 
If you only want something a bit faster then the massive additional cost in running expenses for one of these probably isnt neccesary. There are many cheaper cars to run that are quicker than your current Astra.

Perhaps go for a hot hatch like a Civic Type R?
 
I think the step up will be very big and the costs involved in running one will be far too great, granted services won't be majorly more expensive as it is still just a nissan, but petrol will be probably twice as bad, tyres will be noticably more and insurance will no doubt be at least twice as much, I also think you're underestimating the performance increase as your astra depending on year will put out something like 100-110bhp whereas the 350z will be about 285hp depending on year. Not to mention the change in FWD to RWD may cause some issues, I agree with Fox and think a step in between such as a type r then you can have some extra pace with a middle ground cost, plus it will leave upgrade paths open to you in the future.
 
[TW]Fox;15858551 said:
If you only want something a bit faster then the massive additional cost in running expenses for one of these probably isnt neccesary. There are many cheaper cars to run that are quicker than your current Astra.

Perhaps go for a hot hatch like a Civic Type R?
Click to expand...

Agreed, plenty of stuff out there.
 
[TW]Fox;15858551 said:
If you only want something a bit faster then the massive additional cost in running expenses for one of these probably isnt neccesary. There are many cheaper cars to run that are quicker than your current Astra.

Perhaps go for a hot hatch like a Civic Type R?
Click to expand...

In future interest, is their massive difference in running costs between the s2000 and the Type R?

Two totally different cars, in a sense, but am assuming they would share similar running costs? As in petrol and servicing costs.
 
Lord-Jaffa said:
As said above, properly look into insurance first before you get too excited, I can imagine it being well over 1300, even more depending on postcode.
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Yeah best I've had is £1050 :/

The power is what I wondered about the most - it would be a huge change.

Problem I face is that I'm not really after a stupidly fast car, just a really nice comfortable stylish car, hence why I'm mainly after coupes.

I'm really picky - my own worst enemy

What do people think of the newer style Hyundai Coupe?
 
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Amraam said:
Yeah best I've had is £1050 :/

The power is what I wondered about the most - it would be a huge change.

Problem I face is that I'm not really after a stupidly fast car, just a really nice comfortable stylish car, hence why I'm mainly after coupes.

I'm really picky - my own worst enemy

What do people think of the newer style Hyundai Coupe?
Click to expand...

Hyundai Coupe, ewwwwwwwww.
 
Begbie said:
In future interest, is their massive difference in running costs between the s2000 and the Type R?

Two totally different cars, in a sense, but am assuming they would share similar running costs? As in petrol and servicing costs.
Click to expand...

I would imagine the service and petrol costs of a Tyre R to be almost identical to the S2000.
 
Lord-Jaffa said:
I would imagine the service and petrol costs of a Tyre R to be almost identical to the S2000.
Click to expand...

Depending on which Type-R, you're probably correct. Insurance on an EP3 Civic will probably be a damn sight cheaper than the insurance on an S2k or DC5. Don't forget that the S2000 has ~ 40bhp more than the Civic Type-R.

£11k is perfect Integra or S2000 money though :D
 
My neighbour made the jump from a 1.4 Civic to a 350Z at 22. I see a few around but his was the only one I've seen with the Nismo kit, makes a huge difference to the looks.

I only went out in it once but it seemed like a very capable car yet one that I could still do hundreds of miles in without feeling ruined at the end of it. Think of it as a GT rather than a focussed sports car and you won't go too far wrong.
 
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