£16k - what to buy?

[oliie]

I ve heard it is absolutely amazing car. If I could afford I d go buy a brand new one for approx 28k.

Everytime I go to my local nissan dealers they never have one ine!!

I ve only seen a couple on road too. How much did you pay?

The GT pack car (the one I got) is around £32k new I think. I paid around £18.5k which in all honesty is a bargain for what is a 300hp (well, just under...) monster which is still under warranty and basically in almost brand new condition. The grin factor with the windows down is worth it alone. Close your eyes and you'll think you're in exotica worth twice the price.

I never thought I'd love a Japanese car so much... it just oozes character. Did I mention the soundtrack is pure porn?

Your Nissan dealer is awaiting your visit....

O.

 

[trophy176]

18.5 is not too bad same prive as a clio v6 but can handle!! Been reading with a close eye the 350z in evo that they have been racing. What a job to work for that mag.

 

[oliie]

You're sounding...as the kids might say... like a Nissan 'fanboi' :wink:
In fairness the only negatives I can think of (just test driving them, not owning) is the built to a price interior, hard scratchable plastics FTL.
Have fun with the car, if not the drive up the M1 :? and get it out on track!

I think one negative with the car which is actually a undoing of itself, is the hard work to drive the car. I actually felt a bit tired driving it from London -> Leicester on the first day! It has a very heavy steering when it has load on it (but is great when you're in the mood) and the gear shift can be hard work (but again, wonderfully direct with a 'rifle bolt' feel to it). The driving position also means you sit low and can't see out of the car much so on the motorway lane changes are a big thing and you need to be quite conscious of what is around you.

So the things that make this an amazing car also make it a bit tiring. But the exhaust is so well designed - really characterful but at constant speeds very unobtrusive. It is like the best after-market exhaust int he world - but standard. Really incredible! Other manufacturers should pay attention to the 350Z exhaust design....

So there you go - a bit of negative to balance my report! But it is all good fun when you want it to be.

O.

 

[trophy176]

WANT ONE!

Plus wont fall apart like a Reno!!

 

[Steve]

The Zed is a great 'step-up' from the Trophy. Well Done Olly, I too never believed the Japs could do 'soul'. But owning an MX-5 and DC2 now I don't think I could bother with non Jap now to be honest.

I keep thinking about an S2000 as I think it would be perfect but if you read any review of it it always gets compared unfavorably with the Zed, even the chop-top Zed is a superior drive. Only down side I can see with it is the thirst but I'm not seeing much more than 28mpg at the moment so 22 can't be a lot worse on the wallet.

I'm either going to build myself an S2000 Type-R (why haven't Honda done this?!?!) or get a Zed in the future. RWD is sooooo much fun, and uncorrupted steering is underrated.

 

[trophy176]

S2000 seems to be very very expenisve at mo expecially with second hand values, but Civic type r is same so can only be a good thing.

I m slightly unsure next would like a Zed but probably cant afford, cant afford s2000 so most likely would look at impreza or evo. But then you have to consider service costs.

So most likely I ll buy some kind of cheap estate 850 or 406 and a motorbike at least kind of a jap thing if i buy Yamaha.

 

[oliie]

The Zed is a great 'step-up' from the Trophy. Well Done Olly, I too never believed the Japs could do 'soul'. But owning an MX-5 and DC2 now I don't think I could bother with non Jap now to be honest.

I keep thinking about an S2000 as I think it would be perfect but if you read any review of it it always gets compared unfavorably with the Zed, even the chop-top Zed is a superior drive. Only down side I can see with it is the thirst but I'm not seeing much more than 28mpg at the moment so 22 can't be a lot worse on the wallet.

I'm either going to build myself an S2000 Type-R (why haven't Honda done this?!?!) or get a Zed in the future. RWD is sooooo much fun, and uncorrupted steering is underrated.

Steve - definitely have a drive in the Z... Think a modern day S2000 and you're close, but the main difference is that the Z feels and is the bigger car, and has much more torque low down. You can pull away in 3rd gear and you'd never know it, while the S2000 requires its neck to be wrung each time you drive it to get the most out of it... the Z is far 'lazier' in this respect.

As for MPG - I am averaging 33mpg on the run up the M1 and 27mpg combined with city driving - so not too bad, but not great.

I bought this car without reading any reviews - but when I read the reviews I think they are spot on - it really is a surprise. Plus Nissan only charges £120 for a service on a 300hp car. Just amazing.

O.

 

[oliie]

S2000 seems to be very very expenisve at mo expecially with second hand values, but Civic type r is same so can only be a good thing.

I m slightly unsure next would like a Zed but probably cant afford, cant afford s2000 so most likely would look at impreza or evo. But then you have to consider service costs.

So most likely I ll buy some kind of cheap estate 850 or 406 and a motorbike at least kind of a jap thing if i buy Yamaha.

The Trophy is a great car - if you can't afford the step up then stay with it - nothing touches the Trophy at its current value of around £10k.

O.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Am I the only one to realise he's gone 2K over budget? :lol:

They do sound superb tbh & heard nothing but good things.
I must say the interior plastics let it down & it's thirsty, but I can't find fault with anything else.....look forward to hearing more as you use it.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

Glad to hear you are enjoying the car Ollie. I posted my thoughts on the Z on here a while back after an impressive test drive. I've been trying to track down the 'right' 350Z for the last couple of months but havent managed to locate one that fits the bill yet. I'd say you payed a bit over the odds at 18.5k for that car in that colour scheme but it does look to be in very good condition and has very low mileage.

I think the note off the exhaust is great - almost sounds more like a V8 than a V6 the way they have made it so deep and bassy. Thought i'd post a link for you - let you check out the aftermarket options I'll be going for the Nismo i think (Stillen sounds good too)

http://www.everything350z.com/exhaust.html

Thought i'd unload some of the useful/useless Z info i've picked up over the last few months for anyone thats interested in the Z and also as there have been a few inaccurate points raised.

A brand new 350Z with GT pack will be approx 29k - pretty keenly priced if you ask me.

Engines have different BHP depending on age
- 276bhp (or 280bhp depending on what you read) introduced in 03 and ran till 06
- 296bhp introduced for 06 models (although the GT4 ltd edition had this engine in 05)
- 309bhp introduced for 07 models

Not all services are 120 quid - this would be the cost of the basic P1 service. There are three levels of service P1, P2, and P3. A P3 is the biggy but should still only be around 250-300.

Road tax is a whopping 300 quid! Aparrently its 400 for 06 plate cars onwards!

Here's one for you to check out Ollie - most people dont notice this - the interior is asymmetrical. The drivers side door card is different from the passenger one and the drivers seat is different from the passengers one.
Passengers side is set up for easy entry & exit and has a grab handle while the seat is geared a little more towards comfort. Drivers side is set up more towards the driving position and the seat is slightly more heavily bolstered.

 

[trophy176]

Cool hand luke you live in Newcastle dont you? Saw on autotrader on at silverlink specialist cars which looks pretty nice.

If my lotto numbers come in dont I ll be ordering one tomorrow!

 

[oliie]

Glad to hear you are enjoying the car Ollie. I posted my thoughts on the Z on here a while back after an impressive test drive. I've been trying to track down the 'right' 350Z for the last couple of months but havent managed to locate one that fits the bill yet. I'd say you payed a bit over the odds at 18.5k for that car in that colour scheme but it does look to be in very good condition and has very low mileage.

I think the note off the exhaust is great - almost sounds more like a V8 than a V6 the way they have made it so deep and bassy. Thought i'd post a link for you - let you check out the aftermarket options I'll be going for the Nismo i think (Stillen sounds good too)

http://www.everything350z.com/exhaust.html

Thought i'd unload some of the useful/useless Z info i've picked up over the last few months for anyone thats interested in the Z and also as there have been a few inaccurate points raised.

A brand new 350Z with GT pack will be approx 29k - pretty keenly priced if you ask me.

Engines have different BHP depending on age
- 276bhp (or 280bhp depending on what you read) introduced in 03 and ran till 06
- 296bhp introduced for 06 models (although the GT4 ltd edition had this engine in 05)
- 309bhp introduced for 07 models

Not all services are 120 quid - this would be the cost of the basic P1 service. There are three levels of service P1, P2, and P3. A P3 is the biggy but should still only be around 250-300.

Road tax is a whopping 300 quid! Aparrently its 400 for 06 plate cars onwards!

Here's one for you to check out Ollie - most people dont notice this - the interior is asymmetrical. The drivers side door card is different from the passenger one and the drivers seat is different from the passengers one.
Passengers side is set up for easy entry & exit and has a grab handle while the seat is geared a little more towards comfort. Drivers side is set up more towards the driving position and the seat is slightly more heavily bolstered.

Thanks for the info!

I'm not sure I paid over the odds. I ended up bringing the price down to £17.9k and it had:

- 11k miles when I picked it up
- Just been MOTd
- Just had new road tax
- Just been serviced (third service despite mileage so P1, P2, P3)
- Still under manufacturers warranty
- Immaculate (as mileage would suggest - always garaged and third car)
- Just two owners in three years (first one being Nissan)

I have not seen any other UK GT spec car for this price - especially in this colour (which I absolutely love!). From my research the price I paid would normally buy a 25k miles car, possibly just out of warranty. So I think I got a very good price

As for the interior... it is really strange! I certainly noticed the drivers seat being different (e.g. the extra crotch support). I'll have to check out the grab handle though... didn't see that one! Nice tip, thanks

I will probably leave the exhaust as-is for now but maybe in a year go for something a bit more aggressive. To me the stock exhaust is better than almost any other after market exhaust I've heard on other competing cars. Sorry, I keep going on about it!

It's true about the road tax - a bit crazy, but still quite OK for the overall proposition of what you get. The service costs are still very good, especially as most services are P1 or P2.

I'll see if I can get some piccies up when I get it to Permagard

O.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

Any updates on Zed ownership for us Ollie? Anything you really like or dislike now you've had it a few weeks? (honest opinions please)

 

[H2XBY-397]

Very smart cars, but am I right in thinking they run the same engine as the Vel Satis or am I talking cod shiz????

Either way, I think they are superb cars.....look forward to hearing your thoughts after some miles :wink:

350z, vel satis, and murano share the same engine...iirc

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

I think they are all different versions of the same model of engine, for example the Murano engine is detuned and has less horsepower than the one found in the Zed.

 

[Guest]

Is it only me that doesn't like the 350Z? I test drove the 276bhp model before I bought the Trophy and I didn't get along with it. Yes it sounded nice, and yes the chassis felt good, but it only came alive with some thrashing and the interior was a bit poor for a car that was almost £30k when it was new. The thing that really put me off it, though, was the gear change - it was far too agricultural for the type of car it is.

 

[Cue]

David, i'm in your camp.... i thought it was ok - i had one for a weekend when i was looking at changing from the 330, i wasn't impressed as such. it was ok dont get me wrong but it seemed to lack power for it's size.... i'd like to test one of the newer ones though as i had the first generation one with the mugen bits. i think the engine has 50bhp more now.... that may make a difference....

Dynamically it was fine, lost traction in the wet a bit easily, not as bad as the m3 evo though....