Commander Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Yeah, you've got to have and make use of opportunities to enjoy the Zed - it's crap when it's cold or when you're in traffic or on crap roads... I bought mine and then went on a 2700mile road trip around europe and the Alps two weeks later... Went with an M3, Elise and an RX8 and it shon brilliantly every day and on every kind of autobahn or twisty mountain pass I threw it at... Knowing what it's really capable of makes the boring Mon-Fri drive in traffic on crap roads much more bearable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Kaira Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Few points that i've seen on this, and my own opinion on it (quick notes) 1) Running cost is bothering you : Every sports car is expensive, they all have large tyres, high tax, low mpg and if you mod one, you'll mod every car you own. If you can't financially afford it, which alot of people, including myself, keep avoiding and dont like accepting a sports car cost isn't affordable on a certain wage or circumstances, Don't move to another sports car. You need to get a normal car, doesnt have to be a diesel, but go for something like the 1.9diesel astra, good mpg, still sub 9 second 0-60 and cheap to run and fix. This is a solution until you can afford it financially, the cars going nowhere. 2) Bought the wrong zed. I had the same problem. I wanted blue, none availible, bought gun metal and spent hundreds wrapping it to green. Now that its gun metal again, i enjoy it. Its simple.The sporty colour just didnt look right, it needed bodykits, exhausts, spoilers, all of which i couldnt afford. If you are genuinly not happy with the zed you bought, but want a zed. Look at selling it and buying the one you want. If you are going to lose out of it, calculate your loss, can you wrap it? can you spray it? Or is it just time to accept the loss and get the colour you want, or move to the next car. 3) Doesn't feel sporty. I thought the "3 and a half litre v6 yeahhhh" would be alot more muscley than it is. Big litre, normal bark. It is definetly, to me, who is an inexperienced driver, not a good track car or street race style car. 0-60 is not the zeds strong point, I always wonder if someone hooked a caravan on while i wasnt looking its that heavy. The power surge is 50+ where no sports car for the same price will outrun or keep on your tail. There are mods you can do, i.e. turbo and s/c. Can you afford it? if yes, im sure its going to be a different beast. If no, like myself, the zed is a high mpg power car, its not your lights to lights car. Cars like a 1.4 saxo can keep up with me round, em... certain areas, because i panic about the rwd kicking out, and me blowing an 8k car down the drain. They dont have that issue. There are cheaper ways of making it feel sporty, louder exhausts are allowed on a zed, its a 3.5litre, stick whatever exhaust you want on it, no1 will complain. Short shifts, throttle controllers, uprevs. You just need to realise that maybe Big John in his fiesta ST will still be on your tail round the streets and youll think "wtf have i bought this mpg guzzler for", lead him onto a motorway and show him what the cars made of. 4) Just doesn't feel like the right car. Even if you keep looking back at your car, what are you thinking? "that would look good with a nismo bodykit", "that would look good with black alloys". I've been there tryna create a fast&furious car, costs too much. Your never satisfied and end up spending more and more that you cant afford. High end modifications are for those who could go buy a ferrari, but choose to modify a 350z. The same as the guy everyone mocks with the corsa, who could buy a zed, but wants to put a 2.5litre twin turbo in his boot. If its not the right car, test drive others, see how other cars feel, bits you like and especially, what you wont like. All in all. We all have expectations that are over-exaggurated to justify why we bought a car that gets 1mpg, high car tax, and has 2 seats. I always thought it would be faster, not as expensive, and would beat everyone i know. But, I want to keep the car now. It's not the street racer its made out to be by everyone else, its just a high litre cruiser. If your a god damn good driver, you'll have more fun. But like i said, most things require money. Check out some other cars, test drive before you sell. This is a great post! So I thought I'd give my opinion for what it's worth (usually very little!) 1. Totally agree! If you've overstretched yourself financially you'll never really enjoy it. You'll forever associate it with the stress of financial hardship. People only look at the cost of buying a car, never of using it how they want to. 2. True again 3. If you're in this situation, spend a few hundred quid on some advanced driving lessons. Not only will you be able to get the most out of the car, you'll be safe and find that you're using WAY less fuel in normal driving conditions. It's not as boring as you might think and you wont be lectured on not breaking the speed limit the whole time. 4. Agree again. If it's not right, get something else. A car is a car. If you change your mind again, it's not like a 350z is hard to find. Basically, are you imagining something realistic? I've seen this before with people caught up in the romance of a race car on the road...they quickly found out race cars are horrible, loud, uncomfortable, impractical, unreliable things! They weren't prepared to accept that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 @tommy kaira, thanks for your input. I didn't have time to reply to all the points before as I was stuck in work, here's my thoughts. 1. I'm not really "overstretched" I earn in the region of £1,500 to £1,800 after tax each month and pay out around £600 In bills. That said I don't have enough spare cash to the point of not noticing all the petrol stops as I mentioned before. 2. Already mentioned this and I agree, in hindsight I'd have rathered a one in sunburnt orange, I didn't have the time to shop around for the one I really wanted. 3. I could definitely benefit from advanced driving lessons or preferably some track time 4. Theres a good chance I will end up getting something else in the near-ish future. (Don't worry people I'll not make a third version of this post haha!) With regards to your last comment, thats not true in my case, my old car was a stripped out and highly modded civic and it was a raw as they come, I'm not to fussed about comfort to be honest. My mates are winding me up now sending me videos of hondas, I shouldn't have mentioned this to them ^ the guys track etiquette isn't great but it's a fun watch anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeerrrk Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Thanks for posting the video, very entertaining. He's not shy is he, good lad! Back on topic, as someone who has owned about 25 cars at 30 years old, I know exactly what your feeling. Don't be shy to sell it and try something else, that's what I've always done. You might come back to a 350z in the future, I've don't that with another car; been a bit disappointed, sold it, moved on and gone back for another one a few years later, (and regretted it again, but that's not the point!) I've also been in the position where I really hadn't clicked with a car (golf r32) so put it up for sale, to see what happened. If it sold for the right price, I'd move on, if it didn't, I'd keep it. Well, it sold, I didn't have a clue what to buy so was car-less for a few weeks. Then I started looking at BMW M3s and just threw caution to the wind and tired one...turned out to be one of my favourite cars to date. So it all turned out for the best! Put it up for sale at a price you are happy with and see what happens. Good luck! Mark Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dblock Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 If I wasn't happy with a car. I'd just sell it. Maybe the EP3 is the perfect car for you. I wouldn't pay to drive something I didn't really like that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddcboyle Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Im sure people on the 1,300-1,900 wage get to this point with the 350z. Watching the fuel is normal. My dad has a diesel golf and he still watches the fuel even though he gets 45mpg. The reason i post, AGAIN, since i keep posting random posts. I just fitted michellin supersports today, wore them in, and jesus..... There is so much grip compared to my verdesteins(however you spell it), and it does honestly feel like a faster car. Just down to silly £30 more a corner. Maybe something as simple as that? I gave up looking at the 0-60 times now. If a vauxhall corsa can keep up with me around my home town, its not the car... its my inability to drive the car properly. I will probably take up some lessons so i can push the car more. All i think is, i cant crash a 8k car with thousands of pounds put into it. Mr.Corsa behind me can crash his and buy another next week. So, in a way, even if i had a ferrari id still have the corsa behind me. Anyways, good luck with what you choose. Its a tough decision, the zed isnt a normal car like an ST or VXR, it is somehow.... different. and thats what makes it a hard choice. No-one thinks bad of anyone for having a normal car. I always think "if i dont have my zed, i wont look as good". In reality.... Normal car = normal person... silly modified RICED up corsa = idiot.... sports car = most times, jealousy and not so much envy.... I tended to care what others thought, but now, who cares. You can beat me in your corsa, but girls talk to me at meets ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dblock Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Im sure people on the 1,300-1,900 wage get to this point with the 350z. Watching the fuel is normal. My dad has a diesel golf and he still watches the fuel even though he gets 45mpg. The reason i post, AGAIN, since i keep posting random posts. I just fitted michellin supersports today, wore them in, and jesus..... There is so much grip compared to my verdesteins(however you spell it), and it does honestly feel like a faster car. Just down to silly £30 more a corner. Maybe something as simple as that? I gave up looking at the 0-60 times now. If a vauxhall corsa can keep up with me around my home town, its not the car... its my inability to drive the car properly. I will probably take up some lessons so i can push the car more. All i think is, i cant crash a 8k car with thousands of pounds put into it. Mr.Corsa behind me can crash his and buy another next week. So, in a way, even if i had a ferrari id still have the corsa behind me. Anyways, good luck with what you choose. Its a tough decision, the zed isnt a normal car like an ST or VXR, it is somehow.... different. and thats what makes it a hard choice. No-one thinks bad of anyone for having a normal car. I always think "if i dont have my zed, i wont look as good". In reality.... Normal car = normal person... silly modified RICED up corsa = idiot.... sports car = most times, jealousy and not so much envy.... I tended to care what others thought, but now, who cares. You can beat me in your corsa, but girls talk to me at meets ^^ So the car fits your ego? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddcboyle Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Im sure people on the 1,300-1,900 wage get to this point with the 350z. Watching the fuel is normal. My dad has a diesel golf and he still watches the fuel even though he gets 45mpg. The reason i post, AGAIN, since i keep posting random posts. I just fitted michellin supersports today, wore them in, and jesus..... There is so much grip compared to my verdesteins(however you spell it), and it does honestly feel like a faster car. Just down to silly £30 more a corner. Maybe something as simple as that? I gave up looking at the 0-60 times now. If a vauxhall corsa can keep up with me around my home town, its not the car... its my inability to drive the car properly. I will probably take up some lessons so i can push the car more. All i think is, i cant crash a 8k car with thousands of pounds put into it. Mr.Corsa behind me can crash his and buy another next week. So, in a way, even if i had a ferrari id still have the corsa behind me. Anyways, good luck with what you choose. Its a tough decision, the zed isnt a normal car like an ST or VXR, it is somehow.... different. and thats what makes it a hard choice. No-one thinks bad of anyone for having a normal car. I always think "if i dont have my zed, i wont look as good". In reality.... Normal car = normal person... silly modified RICED up corsa = idiot.... sports car = most times, jealousy and not so much envy.... I tended to care what others thought, but now, who cares. You can beat me in your corsa, but girls talk to me at meets ^^ So the car fits your ego? My ego would be to be better than everyone, but i cant beat them in the speed department because no matter how good a driver i think i am.... I have no balls when flooring the car ^^ I have to compliment my car in one way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dblock Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Just be happy with it? Why justify it to other people or anyone? People say why not buy a BMW or something fast etc etc. I dont mind looking like a mink to someone aslong as I enjoy it. I used to have a similar thought process but since I dropped that I have been happier with most things in life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Kaira Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 (edited) @tommy kaira, thanks for your input. I didn't have time to reply to all the points before as I was stuck in work, here's my thoughts. 1. I'm not really "overstretched" I earn in the region of £1,500 to £1,800 after tax each month and pay out around £600 In bills. That said I don't have enough spare cash to the point of not noticing all the petrol stops as I mentioned before. 2. Already mentioned this and I agree, in hindsight I'd have rathered a one in sunburnt orange, I didn't have the time to shop around for the one I really wanted. 3. I could definitely benefit from advanced driving lessons or preferably some track time 4. Theres a good chance I will end up getting something else in the near-ish future. (Don't worry people I'll not make a third version of this post haha!) With regards to your last comment, thats not true in my case, my old car was a stripped out and highly modded civic and it was a raw as they come, I'm not to fussed about comfort to be honest. My mates are winding me up now sending me videos of hondas, I shouldn't have mentioned this to them ^ the guys track etiquette isn't great but it's a fun watch anyway. No problem nowhereboy. The comments weren't directed at you personally, more a general opinion for anyone in that situation. Sounds like in your case you just haven't "clicked" with the car. At the end of the day you are clearly a driving enthusiast and if the Z isn't rocking your boat then I'd say go and find something that does. I've tried to get on with cars that I "should" have liked but just didn't (also an R32 Golf...they really are a bag of shite!). It really ruins your fun! Hope you find something soon! Good luck with the search! Edited January 10, 2014 by Tommy Kaira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bockaaarck Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 (edited) Sell the Zed and try something new nowhereboy, move on to a new experience and enjoy it Edited January 12, 2014 by Bockaaarck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikkydoos Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Heres my 2p's worth m8.... had my Z for 2 months now. Really love it but I know it'll be gone within a year or two. Got a pretty new Golf 1.6 TD too... go from one to the other and its like getting in a clown car. But its relaxing. The Z is a stressful experience on a daily basis. Don't get a bike. UK is not the place to bike IMO. Sell up, get something normal, then when you're all set up everywhere else, get another speedy car. I treated myself cos I've been driving an ancient diesel Corsa for 10 years Signed.... Gandalf the Grey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 You can't make this up...... Yesterday I went down to durham to check out the ep3 type r for sale, I was offered £5400 for my car in its current state and would need to pay £400 towards the type r. I was unsure what to do and told the dealer I'd have a think and call him in the morning. I had pretty much decided by the time I got half way home that I was going to go for it, the EP3 appeared to be immaculate and the test drive made me realize I definitely want another type R, Then this happened..... All power suddenly cut out as if I'd ran out of fuel, then the engine warning light came on along with the traction control light and the slip light. I managed to limp into a car park and waited for recovery whilst kicking myself for not having breakdown cover. I'm hoping this is nothing serious and most probably a sensor problem but for now I have a broken car sat on my drive and the clutch is also on it's way out too. The recovery guy offered to reset the ecu and drop me back off at the garage in the morning to go ahead with the deal, he said "I'll drop you off round the corner reset the ecu and you can just drive in and do the deal", while this would most probably work I'd never dream of doing it, I did laugh at the thought tho. So I've got two options, fix the car and sell privately for a decent price then shop around for a EP3, or take a loss on the 350Z and part ex now avoiding the hassle of being without a car while mine gets repaired etc. To top it off I've came down with some sort of chest infection and I've had to take the day off work today so I've got nothing done. I have no idea how I'm going to get to work and back for the rest of the week. :surrender: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicayrton Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 You can't make this up...... Yesterday I went down to durham to check out the ep3 type r for sale, I was offered £5400 for my car in its current state and would need to pay £400 towards the type r. I was unsure what to do and told the dealer I'd have a think and call him in the morning. I had pretty much decided by the time I got half way home that I was going to go for it, the EP3 appeared to be immaculate and the test drive made me realize I definitely want another type R, Then this happened..... All power suddenly cut out as if I'd ran out of fuel, then the engine warning light came on along with the traction control light and the slip light. I managed to limp into a car park and waited for recovery whilst kicking myself for not having breakdown cover. I'm hoping this is nothing serious and most probably a sensor problem but for now I have a broken car sat on my drive and the clutch is also on it's way out too. The recovery guy offered to reset the ecu and drop me back off at the garage in the morning to go ahead with the deal, he said "I'll drop you off round the corner reset the ecu and you can just drive in and do the deal", while this would most probably work I'd never dream of doing it, I did laugh at the thought tho. So I've got two options, fix the car and sell privately for a decent price then shop around for a EP3, or take a loss on the 350Z and part ex now avoiding the hassle of being without a car while mine gets repaired etc. To top it off I've came down with some sort of chest infection and I've had to take the day off work today so I've got nothing done. I have no idea how I'm going to get to work and back for the rest of the week. :surrender: That's unbelievable! Your Zed just doesn't want to be sold!! I am on my 3rd Zed, my current one is an HR - 57 plate and feels a good deal quicker then my old 03 - I even ventured toward Porsche for a while and now I'm back.. that says something in itself no? I hope you can sort all your woes out, it's not nice when things start going wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 Thanks man! My heads just going round and round trying to think of what to do for the best. It certainly doesn't want to be sold thats for sure, I'm not even sure I want to sell it. I've never been so indecisive about something in my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeerrrk Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 It's a sign, get rid! Try and bargain the dealer down some more, if he can up your car £200 and lower the civic £200 it's a straight swap. Get the car running and trade it in. From the sounds of it you wouldn't feel comfortable selling private knowing it's not 100%, and I know how you feel, I'd be the same. Get the fault codes read, and see what you need to do. P.s get some roadside recovery now!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sipar69 Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I think Zs are an all or nothing car. If you love em, you really love em and the joy of ownership outweighs all the downsides such as running costs, which is why I'm on my third 370 in about four years. It may be that you're just not a Z person but best of luck with whatever you end up with 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 sipar is definately on his way to 69 zeds 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 @ Meeerrrk I'd not sell it privately in it's current state, if I'm going to go down that route it will be with a new clutch and 12 months mot. I'd like to think most people would do the same but judging by my luck buying cars in the past I guess that isn't so! I just don't want to rush into anything, the last thing I need is to part ex it for the civic and then have problems with that too. I'm really not sure what to do here, I definitely want another civic but I'd much rather have the cash in my bank and be able to take my time picking the perfect one. At the same time it could end up costing me near to a grand to get the Z in perfect nick and I'd never make that money back selling privately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloutrou Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I'd liken it to having won a lifetime's supply of chocolate, you feel very spoiled but before long you're sick of the stuff and the novelty's worn off. Can you afford a cheap runaround for the work run? Only a suggestion, I bought a shed for the winter but have decided to keep it long term for the daily commute as the Z feels waaaaaay more like a treat when I get to take her out at the weekend I know it might not be financially viable, just thought I'd throw that out there. I know it would be a really, really hard car for me to ever want to get rid of. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeerrrk Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Sloutrou that's a good point. I've currently got a BMW 118d (boring I know!!), the 350z is my girlfriends, so I "suggest" she drives my car a couple of times a week - when she drives her car, she enjoys it so much more. But it does sound to me like nowhereboy's heart just isn't in it, so the best thing is just to trade up and enjoy what he loves, high revving Civics...and let's be honest they are cracking hot hatches so you can hardly blame him! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 Thats actually a pretty good point, maybe it's worth speaking to my insurance company and seeing what it would cost to add another car to my policy. I could buy a little run about and use that while I work out what I want to do with the Z. Think I'm getting cold feet about trading up to be honest, it just doesn't seem right to be paying to trade up to a car that I know is worth less than mine. Then again in my cars current state it probably works out about right. I need to give my brain a rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirag1988 Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I'd liken it to having won a lifetime's supply of chocolate, you feel very spoiled but before long you're sick of the stuff and the novelty's worn off. Can you afford a cheap runaround for the work run? Only a suggestion, I bought a shed for the winter but have decided to keep it long term for the daily commute as the Z feels waaaaaay more like a treat when I get to take her out at the weekend I know it might not be financially viable, just thought I'd throw that out there. I know it would be a really, really hard car for me to ever want to get rid of. This is exactly what I've done. I've got a little 1.4TDI polo which I use for work and my runarounds and it's a refreshing change when I come to pick my Zed keys on my days off knowing I'm going to go on a nice drive where I can push the car a bit. If you can afford a cheaper car for a runaround I'd definitely recommend it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Sorry to read about your Zed breaking down nowhereboy. That sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level 7 Boss Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I'm not sure why there's such deliberation over this. It's a car. If you don't like it, change it but be prepared to make a loss. All the best 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.