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How badly did you want a 350 before you bought it?


mouldie

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I actually hadn't considered a 350z initially when looking for a new car; I didn't really know anything about them and I'd put them in the 'boy racer, looks fast but isn't' bracket along with Celicas and stuff. I was totally failing to get excited about all the boxsters and z4s that I was going to see, and then one of my mates got a Zed and told me it had a 3.5 V6 and i got interested. With a bit of research I realised they were rediculous value and the perfect balance of sport and comfort (which i hadn't been convinced about with the other cars) it was a total no-brainer. :thumbs:

 

DB

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Well our 350z is technically the Mrs' car but we have both loved the car since it came out, at that time it was not an option as she couldnt drive and I was too young and a student so couldnt afford one. Then actually I was toying around with the idea of getting a weekend car - something like an MX5/S2000 and one of my mates is an automotive engineer said - "why not a 350z". And my only thought at the time was damn why didnt I think of that but it was out of budget really.

 

Anyway fast forward about 6months and the Mrs wanted rid of her 12yr old micra and we decided rather than 3rd car just get a better replacement for her and we started hard researching and looking around and one popped up 25miles away, was exactly what we wanted and did the deal within a week. We both love it and couldnt be happier. TBH if costs are a concern I would say your worrying too much about it, go test drive one. If those worries dont disappear maybe its something you should think twice about. My opinion with these sorts of cars is that you have to love it or youll end up resenting the costs and niggles.

 

Personally it was fully worth it, I literally look forward to any reason to take it out :).

 

Hawker

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Like Ekona it was a tick box exercise for me ;

 

RWD - check

Coupe - check

Great handling, braking, performance etc - check

Great engine - check

Styling? Er, wasn't convinced but I love it now.

 

The strange thing was that I never liked Jap cars so the result was a bit unexpected, I always found them too cheap (plastics etc) and souless.

I still think they're a bit flimsy, but souless? Hell no, the 350Z has serious soul :#1:

 

I'll be gutted to see mine go, which it will be soon :byebye:

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And my next question........how did you pick which one???

I think you will find that the car picks its owner, you will know it when the car "talks" to you.

 

 

You don't pick a zed :thumbs:

 

I thought that was puppies? :lol:

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I always loved the 350Z as a teenager but it wasn't until a couple of years ago when i thought, "Whats the best new-ish, affordable, RWD 2 seater that handles nicely (ie not a TT or another "fake" sports car) i could afford that would be fun to drive and easy to live with?" that it dawned on me that the Z was the car i was after

 

It came down to the RX8, S2K and 350Z, or a big turbo for my Golf GTI. I stand by my choice and i think that owning a RWD GT car with a big lump under the bonnet early-ish in my live has really cemented my passion for driving.

 

Like the OP my step-dad has loved the Z since it came out and he was a bit :wacko: when i told him i had put a deposit down on one and i would hapilly put him on the insurace.

 

The only problem is that I think I have spoiled myself a bit and now and i always find myself lusting after something bonkers like a noble M400. :blush:

 

I had very little commitments at the time or purchase which was a good excuse to dive in at the deep-end and just go for it. If you can (maybe not quite) afford one then I suggest you do the same or you will forever be scouring auto-trader wondering why you never bought one. :evil:

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ive always loved the zed. came into some cash at the start of the year and decided feck it. spend a month looking and bought it.. i love the var so mich am selling my ike to buy a winter run about so the zed can be garaged.

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I have had several older models and wanted a 350z very badly. Unfortunately I was in the middle of a foreign business deal which tied up all my cash. I went to the local dealer and he had a Kuro roadster as a demo car. That did it, I put a deposit on it immediately.

 

I then had to wait three months to release the cash to complete the sale. I visited the car every time i was passing but couldnt drive it. :lol:

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Thanks for all the replies guys!

 

I think my main issue is that I don't NEED a 350z as I have a company car. If I didn't have any other car I would just buy one and accept the higher running costs in exchange for the grin factor. However, it'd be more of a replacement for my motorbike than my car, and as such, I would only use it on sunny days. I then start to think along the lines of 'cost of insurance, road tax, running costs plus fuel divided by the number of drives per year = £a lot per trip!!!'. Which kind of takes the fun out of it.

 

However, I have to own one at some point im my life so I'm thinking along the lines of buying one with a view to keeping it for 12 months and happily accepting it'll cost me a couple of grand overall. That way I'll either fall in love with it and decide that the cost is irrelavent and keep it. Or I'll get rid after 12 months, chalk it down to experience and at least be able to say I did it. I think sometimes you've just got to s**t or get off the pot!

 

And I DID go to Junction 17 cars. It gave me the opportunity to see pre 06 and post 06 Coupes and Roadsters all next to each other. For various reasons I don't think I'll be going back there.....

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Did they actually let you take one out or did they insist you also buy one before you drive it?!?!

 

They totally ignored me! There were two people working there and for the hour or so that I was there they were with other customers. To be fair, I wanted to be left alone as I was browsing so it suited me just fine!

 

I didn't really have any issues with them, and I felt that their showroom facilities were excellent. The issue I had, and maybe I'm being picky here, was the quality of their stock. Little things like scratches on door handles etc gave the impression that the car hadn't been coveted by it's previous owner. I also thought the presentation of the cars was poor. Little things like drink stains inside the storage area in the centre console etc. Nothing that you wouldn't buy a car because of, just not what I'd expect of a sports/prestige car dealership. I mentioned this to my wife and she agreed. I then read the comments on here when I got back and it kind of made my mind up!

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  • 2 weeks later...

i got my zed as an exchange for my car and thught id keep my bike for the nice days, any nice days we have hd ive been out in the car. bikes are just getting to dodgy on the roads, more and more dangerous. am now selling my bike to by another car so the zed can be garaged and pampered like it deserves, if you own a zed for more than a month, youll quickly fall in love with it, sadly for my bike though. the bikes now sitting in the garage where the zed should be.

b

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I'm hunting for a zed, always loved them since they came out. I'm a big Golf fan (stop laughing in the back) but think I'l plump for a Zed instead of an R32/Gti.

 

Currently in the process of getting quotes, cheapest one is just shy of £1.2k :scare:

 

The problem is, I'm saving for a property, and owning a Zed will eliminate 1/3 of my funds, but if not now, when?

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I never really considered a Z until I clicked a dealers link to see what other cars they had other than the vx220 I had initially clicked on, and there it was. 8 hours of research on this very forum and I was sold. The next day after a thorough inspection an 05 350z roadster was mine.

 

I've owned faster cars but as a lot of posts mention, it's the 'grin' factor. Best car I've owned? Definitely.

 

Arguably it looks a bit cack with the roof up but looks the dogs dangly bits with it down, which of course I haven't seen much so far this bloody summer. :wacko: (march the roof went down 20+ times).

 

With my two audi tt ragtop owning mates down the pub...

 

mate1: I think the tt looks better than your Z with the roof down

me: Do people shout 'nice car' when you drive by?

mate2: Err, no

 

Enough said. :#1:

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