sipar69

My other half wasn't very confident about driving what was then a very unusual kind of car for her (370), until the salesman told her the 70 year old wife of the guy who ran the dealership drives one.

Google Connolly Hide Care. Works on leather car seats too!

My other half goes riding on the local parkland. Loves it.

Used TT RS's are around 24k nowadays....so its an option and a very very impressive car! The TTRS is a prime example of a car that wouldn't be on my list for the reasons we've been debating earlier. No doubting its pedigree but much too similar in looks to a standard TT.

I had the same experience when having my tyres replaced by ATS Twickenham. Very happy with the tyre change service but disappointed that I couldn't get the free alignment check due to lack of data on the system.

I also recommend the Stillen. Sounds really good.

Nice. Way to keep us all happy

I think that's right. It's easy to write all high street places off as muppets but they probably vary from place to place. I found actually talking to them first and making it obvious to them that I wanted them to be very careful with my alloys helped a lot.

There are clearly two schools of thought here and not much prospect of them coming together. It does look as though those of us who like to have something a bit different are in the majority though....... which I suppose means that we're not that different after all

Does that not just suggest that they are good, if not better cars than the 370 though? The path less travelled is generally that way for a reason, OK, theres obviously some brand snobbery going on but it cant just be that. If you lived near a GTR dealer (like me) and saw GTR's every day (like I do) would that really put you off them?? Does a 370 stand out from the crowd or does it look like an updated 350Z, which bears more than a passing resemblance to a 911 or a TT though? If you really want to stand out from the crowd, you buy a TVR, or a Maserati, or a Corvette, not a Nissan, no? I dunno, I personally think the M3 and S5 stand out from the rest of the commuter mob quite nicely, but even if you dont agree there are at least 5/6 posts talking about modifying, stick a sweet set of rims on an M3 or S5 and youve got a unique car - these old girls wouldnt blend into a crowd, for instance: Don't worry - I don't take it as a personal attack - I'm all for a bit of healthy debate provided it's done politely etc I think the mistake people could make in interpreting my comments is that I am saying that having an unusual car is the be all and end all - it definitely isn't. To be clear, I would never buy a car that I felt had the unusual factor if it was a let down in other departments. That certainly isn't the case for me with the 370Z. I love driving it and I think it's a hell of a lot of car for the money. I feel it has a good blend of performance, price, reliability, looks etc. My comments on the M3 and the Audi are purely personal opinion on the aesthetics - I just don't find them interesting enough to look at, even if they are great cars. I'm constantly surprised by the amount of positive attention my Z gets from all sorts of people (most recently a middle aged woman randomly walking down our street who made a point of coming over to tell me what a great looking car she thinks it is). While that sort of thing shouldn't/wouldn't be a predominant factor in my wanting a car it, just adds significantly to the enjoyment I already get from driving it etc. Re your GTR analogy (I love them by the way) it's not so much about seeing a car every day, it's about wanting to own something that no many other people have - I like that. I wouldn't get that feeling if I owned a Cayman - certainly not around here. It's probably for that reason that when I look just for the fun of it at what I might want to move to in a few years I find myself drawn to cars that are quite unusual to look at even if they are not considered to be the absolute best in class. An example would be the 2012/13 Lotus Evora S. It's not considered to be absolutely the best car in its class, but it is still thought of as a very good car, and for me it has the added appeal of being a real head turner.

370Z all the way for me. Might not be as technically good as a Cayman S but if you live in my area there are Porsche Boxters/Caymans and expensive Audi's parked in every other street. I know things like performance, reliability etc etc are what really matters (the Z is no slouch) but for me there's also that feeling of wanting to have something a bit different that stands out from the crowd. That's why I would never touch the Audi or the M3 - they may be good cars but they just don't look interesting or unusual enough. I think the older Cayman is a very nice shape and I've seen some that I like, but ultimately they just aren't that uncommon around me (I see three on the ten minute walk to the station) and that makes them a lot less attractive.

Loved the original - hope this one lives up to it....... I really liked the recent "Dredd" film. Expected it to be a bit pants but turned out to be great

Just curious - why would you want to remove them?

I think the bumper issue varies from car to car. I think your point about photos v reality is true of the 370Z in general. Photos just don't do these cars justice and I reckon they look like they should cost a lot more than they actually do. I wash mine by hand in the road and I've lost count of the number of times people have commented on it - really makes you feel great to own a car that turns heads

I saw the blue in a video review - it is a very nice colour. Real shame they haven't made all the colours of the Nismo available here from the off. I really liked the look of the red one.

If I lived next door I'd think you gone all 'doomsday prepper'

Boo. Guess that means the red isn't available here. Shame.

Read this. http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/glos/con1item.cgi?file=*ADV0003-1011.txt

You might want to mention the Sale of Goods Act (which they have certainly breached by selling your son a duff car).

Anyone know what colours are available here in addition to white and black?

On a slightly more positive police story note, my other half was on the wrong end of a foul mouthed tirade from a fat drunken twonk on the way from work recently because she politely asked him to sit next to her on the train seat instead of practically on top of her. He spent the rest of the journey periodically f'ing and jeffing at her and she couldn't move because the train was packed (as usual nobody intervened). When she finally told me about it she was obviously upset so I encouraged her to report it. She was really pleased by how seriously they took it (not much they could actually do in the end but they didn't try to fob her off or make light of it).

With the MPSSs, the rear tyres seemed to be quite a lot more than ATS with a lot of suppliers (not so for the Goodyear Eagle Aysmetric 2s that I was also considering). Will post some more impressions when the tyres have had some time to settle in. First impressions definitely very good.

So...had a full set of Michelin Pilot Super Sports put on the car today. Went with ATS because a) best price available in my area by some margin and b. few minutes away from me. I had looked into Event Tyres, but they absolutely refused to budge on the price of the rears (about £80 more than ATS). I was aware that some people have had bad experiences with damaged rims etc, so I made sure I got an assurance from the manager that they would use rim protectors (I watched them). On the plus side, the ATS guys were friendly and efficient; most importantly they fitted the tyres with absolutely no damage to the rims, nuts etc whatsoever... The only downside was that I'd also booked the free alignment check but it turned out that the computer didn't have the settings for the 370Z!! Of course, it had them for the 350. It's not a big deal, as I'll probably get spacers fitted soon and have the alignment checked then, but it's a bit duff that a car that's been for sale for about 5 years doesn't appear on their system. I've had a similar experience with a website selling wiper blades - (I managed to get them to add the 370 to the site.) Overall I would use my local ATS again and I'm going to see if I can get something done about the alignment data issue. As for the tyres - my Bridgestones were pretty shot and even on the very short and careful trip back home the MPSSs felt so different in a very good way!

Totally sensible advice from you - it's just that unfortunately I've found that CAB aren't the best when it comes to getting an opinion on your statutory rights in a particular situation.

Legally your son probably has the right to return the car and demand a refund. From your description, the dealer has effectively breached their contract with your son by selling him goods that were not as described. I say "probably" because there are certain variables such as the description given by the dealer, but from your post it sounds like he would have a strong case to return it due to a serious and recurring fault. I think his case would be reinforced by the fact that the previous repair has failed to solve the problem. With respect to the previous well meant advice, the CAB aren't the best source of advice for this sort of thing. I'd suggest a call to local Trading Standards or even a local solicitor. Having spent that much on a car it might be worth investing a small amount extra in some professional advice (if the dealer becomes uncooperative.)