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Be Warned. 350Z to stay away from!


MiKyHuT

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Hi,

 

Drove 6 hours through the night from scotland to chorleywood just outside london yesterday to pick up a Z. Had been in contact with the guy for about a week, and was told the car was immaculate. Went through all the hassel of getting the money together quickly also.

 

Now, i've never seen a z up close. or sat in one or anything. so when he opened up the garage and saw it sat there.....wow. I knew thats the car i wanted. they look so much more mean and low in person. Most gorgeous thing i've ever seen!

 

I took my mate along who used to work in a car body shop. Thankfully! because while i was sat in the beast imagining myself blasting along in it blinded by its beauty.... He noticed it had been rear ended at sum point in its life. both rear quaters had been sprayed as aswell as the rear bumper and boot lid. he could tell by the paint lines and a few runs. also abit of over spray on the window.

 

Was not very pleased as the guy had told me it was an immaculate car. and let me drive a 740mile round trip for nothing hoping i wouldnt notice. And i wouldnt have if it wasnt for my pal.

 

 

so im posting this up here just so nobody else wastes there time or money on it. http://www.jasonbarker.co.uk/shop_detail.asp?offset=5&product_id=278

 

i shall now have to carry on looking, GUTTED

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To be fair, mine needed a rear bumper for the sake of a tiny half inch crack in it when another car was shunted into mine.

 

Due to how difficult the paint is to match, it was touch and go if they would blend into the arches and boot lid.

 

If I had left it with the "approved" repairer, thats exactly what they said they were going to do. As the only damage to the car was a tiny crack in the bumper, I told them where to stick it and went to another bodyshop. They managed to match the paint and just do the bumper - but it took them well over 20 paint mixes to get it right.

 

It could be that this has befallen a similar fate and they just let the approved repairer get on with it.

 

It seems common today to find that rather than get as near to an exact match as possible, bodyshops will get it about right and then blend in half the bloody car. :surrender:

 

Fortunately in my case, I have photos of why I needed a new rear bumper and showing the "extent" of the damage.

 

 

Here is what caused me to have a new rear bumper, this crack and a slight scuff:

 

DSC_0333.jpg

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To be fair, mine needed a rear bumper for the sake of a tiny half inch crack in it when another car was shunted into mine.

 

Due to how difficult the paint is to match, it was touch and go if they would blend into the arches and boot lid.

+1 - mine had a nice old lady just catch the rear corner of the bumper but it broke the tab that holds the read indicator/fog cluster to the bumper which reqired me getting a new one. The damage was tiny but cost about £2k for their insuance to fix.

 

Saying that, the seller should have been forthcoming with that information as like you say its gutting to get there and discover it. When I go to sell mine, I will tell prospective buyers its been done and why it was done, along with supporting docs, and thats even though you cant notice it and only the bumper was sprayed.

 

Wish you all the best in your search, there are plenty of good examples out there, so sure it wont take long. You will be over the moon when you finally find the right one :teeth:

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When you mentioned it did the dealer mention it had been in an accident? If they were aware about it they are legally responsible to tell you about it, one of the big differences between trade and private sales, private unless your asked you don't have to disclose the car being in an accident. if your a trader must pass the information on.

 

As others have mentioned there are reasons why panels might need a respray i.e. I had my bonnet resprayed but it was done due to it being vandalised (with photographic evidence & repair receipt for when I come to sell)

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if he had pictures to prove it was just a slight crack in the bumper or sumthing, fair enough. But it was the fact he had no idea why it had been resprayed. he knew it had been though and didnt tell me, we noticed it and confronted him.

 

I thought the guy was a really nice guy, i had been contacting him all week about the car and he was such a help. How gullible am I though. At the end of the day he was just your average backstreet garage dealer that just wants to sell his cars.

 

Yup, plenty more out there. Strugglin to find a decent one around the 10K mark though

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To be fair, mine needed a rear bumper for the sake of a tiny half inch crack in it when another car was shunted into mine.

 

Due to how difficult the paint is to match, it was touch and go if they would blend into the arches and boot lid.

 

If I had left it with the "approved" repairer, thats exactly what they said they were going to do. As the only damage to the car was a tiny crack in the bumper, I told them where to stick it and went to another bodyshop. They managed to match the paint and just do the bumper - but it took them well over 20 paint mixes to get it right.

 

It could be that this has befallen a similar fate and they just let the approved repairer get on with it.

 

It seems common today to find that rather than get as near to an exact match as possible, bodyshops will get it about right and then blend in half the bloody car. :surrender:

 

Fortunately in my case, I have photos of why I needed a new rear bumper and showing the "extent" of the damage.

 

 

Here is what caused me to have a new rear bumper, this crack and a slight scuff:

 

DSC_0333.jpg

 

If its done properly imho you should never spray to a sharp edge, it should always be blended in to ensure no colour difference is visible under certain lighting which brings out different pigments in the paint

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If you look closely has a non standard front bumper on it too :thumbdown:

 

 

It is a standard bumper.....with a lip spoiler :)

 

 

meant to mention that.... a very badly fitted front lip!!! did not match up to any of the curves, plenty of gaping black holes!!

 

I agree that some times things need to be blended in, my pal runs a car repair garage and i've see him do it many of times, it was actually an employee of his that i took with me who noticed the respray. But the guy couldnt tell me anything about what hadd happend. could have been a slight bump, could have been a high speeder!? Wasnt worth taking the chance.

 

Ive found another im after now, but it doesnt have that auto box i was soooo looking forward to having. :console:

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Think you made the right decision chap. If they have no idea why it was done, walk away, you dont know what mess its hiding. Be grateful your mate spotted it :)

 

Keep your chin up, theres plenty out there to be had. Its just unfortunate that the price range you are looking for, there will be a lot of worse for wear examples than if you were looking at a higher price. But keep looking and you will find a corker. Tim (Lomoto) sold his pristine example for around that price I think

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Think you made the right decision chap. If they have no idea why it was done, walk away, you dont know what mess its hiding. Be grateful your mate spotted it :)

 

Keep your chin up, theres plenty out there to be had. Its just unfortunate that the price range you are looking for, there will be a lot of worse for wear examples than if you were looking at a higher price. But keep looking and you will find a corker. Tim (Lomoto) sold his pristine example for around that price I think

 

 

aye, lucky escape i believe. I know, wish i had more moolah to spend, but im only 20, insurance is killing me also. although, im even suprised i can get insurance at all. Im trading in my pride and joy for one on saturday. My beloved fiesta ST. The car im getting has been taken off auto trader already so i cant even post pics.

 

some pictures of my last remaining days with the fiesta, it will be missed. moving on to better things!! not me in the pic btw haha

 

4585_1190381999210_1218154423_540432_6505091_n.jpg

4585_1190382119213_1218154423_540433_4864847_n.jpg

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Thanks mate,

 

Just over two weeks ago I've seen the same car on the web and because I leave 5 min from Chorleywood I decided to give it a go but the guy never answered his phone.

Around this area you can find good aZ in the Nissan dealer in Mill Hill which is a GT specialist for around 13/14K or there is one in Amersham for 17.5.

A lot more money than the one you've seen but a safe buy.

 

Alex

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  • 3 weeks later...

Sorry to hear that. I am in the market for a 350 too and have discovered a couple of sheds out there so far which is really sad. Glad you have a friend that's willing to help you like that, I always take my dad (mechanic) with me before making a purchase too :).

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