EDBANGER Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Hi there, I've been browsing the forum for a while now as I've been dwelling on whether or not to take the plunge and buy one. It was either a 350z or an S2000 but my heart was always saying Z. I had a test drive the other week and it very quickly made up my mind. I'm going to view a car on Wednesday that I'm pretty certain I'm going to buy so as I'm a total noob I was wondering if there was anything in particular I should be looking out for? The car in question is a 2005 convertible model with GT pack. Full service history having just had it's P3 service and will be newly MOT'd when I buy. With that in mind I can't see what could possibly be wrong with it but I'm not very mechanically clue'd up. I'm also that excited by the prospect I'll lose all composure when I get there anyway. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 to the forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MITZ@CougarStore Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Welcome to the forum... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDBANGER Posted August 17, 2015 Author Share Posted August 17, 2015 Cheers chaps. I suppose a little bit about myself wouldn't be a bad idea. I'm 35 and have no children which is why I'm allowed to buy such an awesome car. I'm also into BMX, golf and powerlifting which I appreciate is a strange combination so I'll be looking to get a bike rack that fits to the zed but I'm happy the clubs will fit into the boot. What advice have you got for general Z ownership then? The car I drove the other day had an LPG conversion which I liked the idea of but unfortunately that would have eliminated the ability to carry golf clubs so it was a no go. So far I think the only mod I intend to make is to upgrade the stereo because looking at a tape player just felt odd. Possibly remove the badges off the back too just to make it a little more bad ass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 to the forum. Check out the buyer's guide in the guides section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Miester Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Welcome along to the forum I have a Roadster as well had twelve months now Iam lucky to have has me fun car but Just to say the boots on the roadsters are not that big especially for a large golf bag not putting you of as there excellent car and great drive and the main thing they have character , get one and enjoy got to say azure blue they look ace but Iam bais..! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDBANGER Posted August 17, 2015 Author Share Posted August 17, 2015 Welcome along to the forum I have a Roadster as well had twelve months now Iam lucky to have has me fun car but Just to say the boots on the roadsters are not that big especially for a large golf bag not putting you of as there excellent car and great drive and the main thing they have character , get one and enjoy got to say azure blue they look ace but Iam bais..! lol I'm hoping it'll squeeze in. I do like the blue but I like the black even better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDBANGER Posted August 17, 2015 Author Share Posted August 17, 2015 to the forum. Check out the buyer's guide in the guides section. Superb, just read through and if I understand correctly....... * The tyre scrubbing and rear axle clicking noise were only issues on pre 2004 cars? * The Bose stereo could be jumpy but I'll be replacing that anyway. * Stone chips etc but a certain amount is to be expected on a 10 year old car. * Main service after 50000ish miles is expensive but that's the P3 service isn't it?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Welcome aboard. Just like buying any used car so do the normal checks. Check for rust around the rear wheel arches & also on the standard exhaust system particularly towards the rear section near were it joins up to the back box. Common problem with the fuel gauge not reading correctly but there is a fix for that should you find a car with that problem. Link: http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/54763-how-to-fix-the-inaccurate-fuel-gauge-pdf/ More info here: http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/77426-buyers-guide/ http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/77967-nissan-350z-history-including-upgrades/ http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/56308-what-can-happen-if-you-run-your-zed-on-95-ron/ http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/22880-guide-for-new-memberspotential-buyers/ http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/24796-top-100-faqs-must-read-wip/ Also a good idea to have a good read of the service schedule for the 350 so that when you look at cars you know whether or not the servicing has been kept up to date depending on mileage/age of the car. Link: http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/31110-service-schedule-for-a-350z/ Good luck with your search. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenWomble Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 it's hard to be objective about which car to go for when your heart is made up the 350z won my interest with it's stats (s2000 was on the list too) but won my heart with the less numerical choices. things like the ample power across the whole rev range appeal to me far more than peak punch in a tight power band some more things to be aware of the OEM clutch will wear out, so either look for one that's just had that replaced, or you could use it as an excuse to fit an upgrade if you like modding the 313 HR engines seem to have an issue with the oil gallery gasket. if oil pressure is low but oil level is fine then it will need the new upgraded gaskets. personally i plan to get that done before the oil pressure starts to drop. costs a bit though if you're paying for someone to fit it the boot might either fail to pop open on its own, or struggle to stay up. plenty of advice on how to fix that though the electric window motors were weak, i believe most of these will have been sorted out by now though. i'm sure there is more, this forum is a gold mine of useful information. at the core though is a very solid car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenWomble Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Common problem with the fuel gauge not reading correctly but there is a fix for that should you find a car with that problem.Link: http://www.350z-uk.c...fuel-gauge-pdf/ Mine doesn't register the top 1/4 of the tank. Only had it since Sat so that's not top of the list of things to get sorted but I've bookmarked the guide for when that one gets it's turn. Thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 (edited) Common problem with the fuel gauge not reading correctly but there is a fix for that should you find a car with that problem.Link: http://www.350z-uk.c...fuel-gauge-pdf/ Mine doesn't register the top 1/4 of the tank. Only had it since Sat so that's not top of the list of things to get sorted but I've bookmarked the guide for when that one gets it's turn. Thanks Mine used to do it too. In the end I never really got it sorted, ...seemed to be better someday's than other days so I just learnt to always keep a good eye on the miles I'd covered. Edited August 17, 2015 by GMballistic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenWomble Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Common problem with the fuel gauge not reading correctly but there is a fix for that should you find a car with that problem.Link: http://www.350z-uk.c...fuel-gauge-pdf/ Mine doesn't register the top 1/4 of the tank. Only had it since Sat so that's not top of the list of things to get sorted but I've bookmarked the guide for when that one gets it's turn. Thanks Mine used to do it too. In the end I never really got it sorted, ...seemed to be better someday's than other days so I just learnt to always keep a good eye on the miles I'd covered. I'm so used to having a max range of 250 miles that I really don't care what the new max range is yet, I did Wales to Kent with plenty of juice left Would you believe me if I said my old car was a 1.8 V6 that did 30 MPG on the open road and on my first trip in the zed I managed to max the ave MPG readout at 33.1? The change in performance is astronomical, but the change in running costs will be minimal. Never knew eating your own cake tasted this good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I'm so used to having a max range of 250 miles that I really don't care what the new max range is yet, I did Wales to Kent with plenty of juice left Would you believe me if I said my old car was a 1.8 V6 that did 30 MPG on the open road and on my first trip in the zed I managed to max the ave MPG readout at 33.1? The change in performance is astronomical, but the change in running costs will be minimal. Never knew eating your own cake tasted this good Witchcraft! Glad your Zeds doing you proud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samsniss350z Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bockaaarck Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 (edited) Sounds like it should be a good car. Make sure you ask if the previous owner has had any issues with the roof. Make sure you get it opened and closed a few times too. I have a coupe and if I'm honest, I'm not sold on the the 350Z roadster with the roof up. Roof down however, I think it looks amazing. Hope it ticks all the boxes regards condition, servicing, etc. Then you can buy it, get the roof down and enjoy that howling V6 Oh, and welcome aboard Edited August 18, 2015 by Bockaaarck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veilside z Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Hello and welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDBANGER Posted August 18, 2015 Author Share Posted August 18, 2015 Nice one chaps. Well I know the roof has some scuffs to it and will either need patching up or replacing. Apparently it's still water tight though so whilst it's top of my list it's not life or death situation. I've had a look and it seems a new roof fitted is £600ish. Does that sound about right to you guys? The clutch and fly wheel have already been replaced so that's a good thing regarding the OEM clutch. Does anyone have any recommendation for the sounds system replacement? I know there's loads of cheap DIN's on ebay but I hear that they're cheap for a reason. Whilst I don't want to go totally mad on price I want something that is reasonable and keeps all the steering wheel controls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z370Z Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZEUS Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Welcome along Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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