First Z - approx £10k budget - what would you do?

[hiphopopotamus]

Hi all

 

I'm considering moving to a 350Z from a Porsche 924S. Am just looking for something that goes a fair way to retaining the "old school" great driving feel & charm of the 924S (ie something quite mechanical in feedback, and not too "artificially" light on feet), but that is a little more modern in terms of power and ability, is a bit more of a daily driver type (ie fewer things likely to go wrong), and I've also got one eye on the fact that the ULEZ zone will be covering my south London location from October.

 

From research, the 350Z seems to fit the bill nicely. Has anyone driven both the 350Z and the 924S (or any of its bigger brothers - 944/968/928 etc) and have thoughts?

I'd quite like to pick up a relatively low mileage & unmolested one (ideally not much more than 30-40,000 miles on the clock), but I realise that's getting less and less likely as father time continues his relentless forward march. The 350Zs I've seen in dealers with this type of low mileage tend to be pushing toward the 370Z in price (~30-40,000mile 350Zs currently seem to be priced around £9-10k, while roughly equivalent 370Zs seem to be around the £13k mark – please let me know if you think that valuation is off – am just going from mental averages of what I’ve seen the past few weeks, so I realise these could be inflated/misprices).

 

I'd say my upper budget would be approx £10k – therefore I probably wouldn’t be able to push toward a 370Z with low mileage. But with the above in mind, do you think a 370Z with say 80,000 miles is a better value proposition compared to a 350z with 30-40,000 miles - if they're priced the same? Any significant reliability issues popping up at that higher mileage point?

 

I'm not likely to pull the trigger until late March or so, so I’m very happy to hear opinions in the meantime. If you were in my shoes, what would you go for?

 

Final point, if it matters for your recommendations - it'll be street parked - a relatively quiet and safe street, but not garaged any time soon. And with that, I’m unlikely to do any significant modifications in the near term… but then a lot of people say that when they first get one of these don’t they…

 

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Olly350z]

One big consideration for you to take into account is preventative maintenance. The reason I mention this is later models of the 350z, the HR, are prone to several faults which will munch that budget. 

 

Slave cylinder failure and gallery gasket failure are the two main concerns and unless you have proof by the previous owner they have been already done would be top of my to do list. The early model 370zs also suffered from this so its a consideration either way. 

 

My buddy years ago bought an 07 HR, one owner full history and 34K miles. A month later he was at Abbey Motorsport having both issues rectified to the tune of around 1900 pounds (he had other work done as well) Luckily he had factored this year and left with one of the cleanest OEM examples imo. 

[GranTurismoEra]

If you go for an older DE main issue is rust and maintenance on older parts. 

[Andy_Muxlow]

Hi and welcome along buddy. If you go for an early 370Z they also have gallery gasket issues as with the HR engine. But its really your choice. I would go for another 370Z in a heart beat. But I love my 350Z and my wife's vert also.

[ShortPaul]

Hi and welcome from Bristol 

[ShortPaul]

Personally if i was looking, i think this one is definitely worth looking at https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/10300572

[stevezzz]

I bought my 05 zed from this dealer about 18 months ago , he only stocks or sells on behalf of the owner nice cars, he had this in stock back then, I  think it is going to be expensive, he does have a couple of higher mileage ones in stock, would definitely recommend him though

[ShortPaul]

I say that its not realistically worth more than 10k

Edited February 4, 2021 by ShortPaul

[coldel]

You would be paying a premium for the name of it in reality. And if you plan to add miles to it, rather than take it out to the countryside on sunny days only then you will lose money on depreciation. 

 

To be honest, unless you are investing by buying one and sticking it away out of sight, I would get over the mileage-myth that exists in this country and get yourself a well kept and sorted car possibly one with an enthusiasts history, One that has refreshes of all the moving parts, has been driven, but cared for.

 

Do try and drive one before buying, they are not sports cars, they are GT cars. They are a touch lardy and meant for the wide open roads of the US market not the backwoods B roads of the UK market - although you can do some work to help them adapt to that. 

[docwra]

On 03/02/2021 at 20:49, ShortPaul said:

Personally if i was looking, i think this one is definitely worth looking at https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/10300572

You having a laugh? Anyone who POAs a 350Z is going to be looking for ridiculous money even without its original wheels. 
That car, with 80K miles is £5K IMO, I bet he wants closer to £15K 

[davey_83]

CAP for the GT4 is 9550 with 20,000 

[msitpro]

45 minutes ago, davey_83 said:

CAP for the GT4 is 9550 with 20,000 

Agree - would be worth more with some expensive mods on it like say Ohlins shocks and Nismo arms - they're not yet a classic where they'll command crazy money for being 'unmolested'

[ShortPaul]

57 minutes ago, davey_83 said:

CAP for the GT4 is 9550 with 20,000 

Thanks for backing up on that

[hiphopopotamus]

Thanks all for the warm welcome and suggestions.

 

Been sitting on it a bit and digging a little more - think I may try to push my budget a little to get a more recent 370z.

 

I have reflected on the good point that @coldel mentions that they are different from B-road focused nimble cars (the 924S is great for B roads), but think at this point in time the 370 GT focus probably suits me more - I'm intending to do some big trips (scotland + europe) in the coming years with my next car. But I'll try to get some test drives in with dealers to confirm, once lockdown ends. Other than Evo motors mentioned earlier, does anyone else have any recommendations (or warnings) for specific dealers, ideally in the South East?

 

Also, I note from some people online that there were some issues in early 370s that were ironed out in post 2013 models - is there anything to watch out for in particular, and are all 2013 models themselves sorted, or is it a subset?

[Olly350z]

If you're really going to go after a 370z then I would suggest saving as much and for as long as you can, as they only really got better with time. As example I'm reasonably confident in saying most 2015 cars had all issues ironed out. 

 

As for dealers, the one notorious one to avoid that I know of is Junction 17 cars. Avoid them like covid 19. 

 

Depending on where abouts in the south east you are, I'm worthing so you are welcome to have a nose around my Nismo if you want to get an idea before you visit a dealer 

[hiphopopotamus]

That's a really kind offer, thanks a lot! Will definitely take you up on it post-lockdown (definitely too far away to do it during), would be great for any pointers you have about key things/places to be aware of. And I've not seen a nismo in the flesh, so will just be a nice chance to tick that box too. I'll drop you a message as & when things start easing and see if we can find a time that works.

In the meantime, sounds like I need to start saving!

[Payco]

Best advice I can give you is act on the advice on here.You won’t find a better source and more experience of these cars. I’ve owned a DE 350z and a Mark 2 Nismo before my latest project and both were great cars. Buy with your head, not your heart. Welcome along.

[W8BGS]

As above, I own a 2010 370z GT and had the gallery gasket done, it isn't cheap, the 370z is a cracking car to go on drives in. I try to do a road trip from Bournemouth to Wales once a year and it was spot on during the last trip to Snowdon and the Evo triangle in very heavy rain. 

[GranTurismoEra]

Nismos start at £18,000. Tbh the production has pretty much ended for it so prices are stagnated.

 

What was overpriced 6 months ago is now asking price. If anyone thinks 20k is overpriced for a mk 2 Nismo then best of luck finding a clean one for less. 

 

Nothing wrong with an older Z, just check the regular things, steering lock, gallery gaskets and slave cylinders/clutchs. Other than that nothing I can think of.

 

You can probably get a clean 2013-2015 GT model for around 13-16k at the lower price.

 

Crazy thing I saw a 2015 convertible a few months back not sure if it was sold. Very rare I reckon it got imported or sat around for a few years before being sold to the first owner.

 

Try find one with good history and receipts. Or like Ollie suggested wait a little longer and get a post 2013 but will be at least another 5k on top. Summer time car prices will be up though

Edited February 8, 2021 by GranTurismoEra

[Matay20]

I tried to buy the 2015 one, went striaght away. not seen another newer than 2012 and only seen one or two of them.

[docwra]

At £10K Id definitely save up a bit more and buy a 370, they are better but not necessarily "sell your 350Z to buy one" better.

I think older DE cars are one of the best performance car bargains around at the moment though, massive amount of dar for your money.  

[GranTurismoEra]

Id be happy with an older black 370 GT tbh. There are a few knocking about. A bit more low key 

 

I got my Nismo up for sale by no means perfect but hey no complaints from joe public.

 

 

Edited February 12, 2021 by GranTurismoEra

[Roscoe]

Personally I would opt for a good condition 350 HR. Good HR’s will now depreciate less than a 370z and unless your buying one of the later Nismo versions there is no difference in performance over the HR and an early 370z. Unless you just prefer the 370z overall of course...

Good luck with the search 

[GranTurismoEra]

Seating position in the 350Z is more low rider E46 which is nice. The 370 seating position is more jet fighter and the dash seems higher. My mate 350hr was just as fast when tuned. Even stock performance is similar.

 

 

[Sim]

We've had 4 zeds, two 350z, and two 370z, a coupe and roadster of each, years 04, 06, 09, 10.

 

They've all been great cars.

 

In all honesty I prefer the 370z as I find it slightly more comfortable on long runs. But then I'd probabaly rather have a mega tidy well looked after 350Z than a run into the ground 370z.

 

I'd suggest going to see a few, sorry to repeat myself but as above, I'd rather a clean tidy well looked Z than a run into the ground Z.

 

As others have said, anything pre-2012, 350 HR or 370 and you need to budget in gallery gasket unless it's been done.

 

You also need to know when it's had a clutch and uprated clutch slave and budget accordingly. There are cases of them going at relatively low mileage.

 

Have a really good look around then for overall condition and get one that's got lots of history showing it's had regular oil and got decent brakes, tyres etc, so anything else consumable wise that might need doing. My 350 used to do fronts every 8-10k miles and rears every 5k before I found Michlelins that have better grip and last way longer.

 

If you find one that has been looked after and has a few nice mods, IMO it is worth paying a bit more if they are mods you'd have done yourself.

 

If it's been mapped, make sure there is paperwork, if it hasn't, I'd recommend a trip to Abbey, (I've used them alot and always had good results) or another approved tuner (there are lists of approved tuners on the ECUtek site), and get UPREV if it's a 350Z and ECUtek if it's a 370Z. You won't be getting the best out of HFCs and a CAT back exhaust plus drop in filter or some sort of intake mod without a good tune, plus the difference in drivability is huge.

 

Finally, once you've found a good one, enjoy

 

PS. I've driven 911s and find them too refined, the Z is a rawer drive and honestly I prefer it, but then I prefer my FI Z to an R35.

Edited February 16, 2021 by Sim
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