My Z Story

[Fervidia]

Well first of all, I should mention that I don't have any plans set in stone as of yet, and I don't currently own the car legally. That said, I wanted to post my entire Z-experience (I couldn't find a worthy pun for that one) from the early years of aspiration all the way up to financial crisis, engine failure, write-off, or death via high-speed-Nissan-branded-sardine-tin action that is sure to come. Actually, I haven't included arrest for dangerous driving, but that shouldn't ever happen unless police are posting cameras at track days now...

 

If this post is in the wrong place, any mods feel free to put me in my place; I will in future intend to post any and everything relating to my ownership in here.

 

So to begin with, a little about me and cars in general; my father has always had a passion for cars, and while that's primarily focused more towards old American muscle and similar classics, his, and in turn my interest didn't stop there. So in my early years cars were a big thing in my life with models, posters and video games (another interest that my father and I share), my interest died out over until the late teens, where driving became a reality, thus sparking a dormant passion.

 

A year or two pass with driving a less-than desireable car, a 2010 Škoda Fabia; don't get me wrong, while I was required to pay for insurance, fuel, and anything else that could break or go wrong, the car was a hand-me-down from my father, and we've both expressed our feelings towards it as being a car that "just gets me from A to B," it was an ugly shape, and the colour was neither blue nor silver, which didn't help. After encountering reoccurring turbo issues that, even after trading standards threats with the dealer, ended up on the far side of £600 a visit, and having a total of three turbos in the 85000 mile lifetime, i decided to jump ship, and let a dealer auction the sorry piece of junk off to a scrapyard or similar fate. Oh, did I forget to mention that I trashed the front end not once, but twice within a year? After rear-ending a BMW driver during entry to a roundabout (this was due to A: the driver stalling while being on the phone, and B: me not looking where I was bloody going) the car got a fixed up face, although the second crash, losing the back end out to bad traction on one of those coiled slip-roads and wedging the poor thing into a side rail, I left it looking banged up.

 

That was, hopefully, and true to this date, all my motoring bumps bangs and bashes cleaned out of my system, and I went on to frantically looking for a feasible second car that needed to be swapped out before the Škoda decided to spit its turbo-dummy out again. That lead me to my second car, a (rather expensive for my age) 2014 Volvo V40 that was, and I quote "a car that I'll keep, and never want to replace." That sentiment lasted a whole of six months, leading up to now, where I suppose I am showing clear signs of Zeditus. Yeah sure, the Volvo is a lovely car: reliable, fuel-efficient, luxury interior, 4-door, sensible, pretty, etc, but it isn't what I want any more...

 

...and finally, after a derailed topic from the get-go, the part that this forum post is actually supposed to be documenting... Z.

 

So it was a couple of months back, let's say January '18, where I decided that the Volvo is a sitting duck for a certain dwindling investment, and I wanted something more... something Japanese, and something sporty.

 

It was, for the longest time, a Toyota Supra A80 that I aspired to own, but the odds mounted against that, from my insistence on buying as OEM as possible, to my reluctance to buy automatic; also, I'm a trim snob, so it had to be the all-singing, all-dancing twin-turbo model. Another nagging thought other than prices and availability was the looks; an A80 looks good, but at the same time, I can agree that it is an ugly car.

 

Thoughts turned to the realistic after that, and I compiled an exhaustive list of all sporty Japanese models that caught my fancy, and it narrowed down to the decision between an ~04 Impreza, or a 350z. The Impreza is a nice car, but from my perspective, everyone wants one, and they can be found relatively commonly on UK roads, and the ultimate decider was the fact that the Z sounds absolutely beautiful, in my opinion.

 

So Z it was, and as some of you may well know, I packed my metaphorical bags and set up shop here at 350z-uk, where I unloaded every question and thought that passed my mind, to the point where I think I know more about 350z's than any other car. The guys here on the forums are wonderful and considerate, and I got loads of helpful feedback and advice, I suppose I can say that I'd never own a Z without them!

 

Looking for Z's was frustrating; I hate buying cars! I just want it all over and done with so I can relax and get back to life and enjoy ownership of the right Z that isn't covered in rust or absolutely fragged under the bonnet.

 

It took over 700 miles, and about six weeks to find what I believe to be "the one". A >200 mile round trip for a car that I told myself "if there isn't anything wrong with it, I'm having it," paid off, and now the purchase is being agreed upon, and I'll hopefully be behind the wheel in a few weeks time, and looking into getting the best price for the Volvo, because at my age, and at my wage, two cars just isn't a good idea.

 

So that is I guess you could call "part one", with more (hopefully good) news to follow on my journey!

 

As a slightly unrelated side-note, my father has been unsure on what to do with his car situation for a while now, paying ~£300 a month for a Škoda Octavia that he doesn't use to full potential due to his close proximity to work, and I believe he is currently looking into getting a Mazda RX8! That'd be cool, father and son, in two beautiful Japanese automobiles.

[Fervidia]

What a roller-coaster of a week of car to-be ownership! Let's start with our lovely weather recently in the UK, where all is well until it comes to the weekend trip down to near Bristol (a round trip just short of 500 miles), seeing snowstorms and sunshine intermittently throughout the work day making me think twice about the date... all for the snow to be practically clear on the morning of the journey!

 

My father thinks he wants a Z... or something similar; RX8, SLK, etc. Something 'silly, but affordable', and we had a quick chat about sports cars and the likes with the guy who I bought the car from, great service might I add, and a wide range that would've been worth the first viewing trip even if the Z turned out to be a no-go, (EVO-Motors) had several Z's; Nissan Z33s, BMW Z4s, not to mention a few others such as a Jaguar XK and a Porsche Boxster.

 

Got the Z about ten miles before a check engine light flagged up on the cluster, although it wasn't affecting the car at all so pushing home I managed to dig out the OBD II scanner to check the codes, all of which were sensory exhaust issues. I thought about taking it to a garage, but decided to write the codes down and clear them to see if they returned, and so far as yet, with an 80 mile run, no check engine light. Still a little worried about passing an emissions test, but I'll worry about that when it fails.