Bigadz Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Hi all I have fallen in love with the idea of a 350Z. I currently own a Honda Accord which I love to bits and dont think I can get rid of. But I am a petrolhead which is why I am here and want this car and wanted to get some info from you guys who know about a thing or two. What are the running costs like? My ATR gets about 30ish mpg but sometimes less, I average about 300 miles from £50 tank at the moment. Is servicing a joke? Are they any nasties lurking like does the gearbox only lasts 50k or something major like that? What light mods can be done to get a bit of extra power without ruining reliability? Finally for now how much is it insurance roughly, I will be around 25 when I want to get one and I have a clean licence, currently paying 780 for the ATR which is group 17, but I guess the Z is group 20? I was gonna put a pic on of my car but didnt want to polute the forum with my Honda as much as I love her. Many thanks, I know these are reoccuring questions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixy Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Hi there! Just do it - you won't be sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Firstly, dont worry about the Accord, once you have the Zed the first thought you give to it will be in about 3 months when you remember you still have it and get round to selling it. Cant think of any issues with the Zed, if you trawl around the forum there are no major breakdown faults that I can recall. The mods issue, I guess everyone starts with a stubby aerial etc and is soon into pop chargers zorsts etc. There are plenty of traders on the forum and here the dollar is king, importing parts from the U.S.A is not only a lot cheaper but relatively easy and quick. Insurance, down to the postcode lottery again Im afraid. As always, shop around. I am a few years older than you and mine came in about £80 p.a more than my Honda Accord. As for mpg. I drive from home to work on about £65 of petrol, its about 340 miles so not too painful, as ever it depends on whats in front of you. If you can, get to a meet, apart from the car ( which is bloody awesome) you will soon be caught up in the whole Z thing. And, if you want to ask any questions, go ahead, the stupid ones will always have been asked before, probably by me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Hi and welcome. The 350Z coupe is insurance group 18, with the exception of the GT4 which is group 19. All roadsters are group 19. Servicing is not that cheap, but its not daft money either in my experience. We have numerous dealers on here that will be recommended by members and they do servicing at the right price. If you do motorway miles than you can expect similar fuel consumption, or at least not that much worse. Use your lead right foot some more and youll see that figure drop though. There are some known issues etc that can happen to the Z, these are listed in the warranty section along with owners experiences when they have suffered any faults: http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=28 If you are doing motorway miles, watch for the stone chips - the paint is weaker than a weak thing on the Z, so it does chip easily - if yours is in decent condition when you get it, or new, then investing in some sort of film protection is a must for many. Its expensive, but so is a front end respray. Hope you enjoy your stay, and Im sure there will be plenty to offeradvice when you are ready to take the plunge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 around town mpg is about 21 but on the motorway you looking on average 28-30mph. Petrol to fill on V max or BP Ultimate for a tank £65 which the Z prefers to drink but can drink the non alcholic bog standard unleaded. No major nasties to report. Yes a very few have had a gearbox replaced under warranty. The problem was solved. The biggest wear and tear is tyres with the fun of rear wheel drive :teeth Service cost aren't major. Max you will pay is around £270 for a big service down to £150 for a little one. Inusrance, is impossible to quite on with so many conditions effecting price. Best advice is to give some companies a ring. Some people pay over a grand and then some pay around £400 ECU cancels any performance mod gains although a larger plenum or plenum spacer is a good one to start and with noticable gains. Of course there are many exhaust that have a wow factor. Forced induction is another matter starting from around 6k Just get a test drive sorted and you'll see if's well worth every penny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 I'll try and answer what points I can. Running costs are very reasonable for a 3.5l V6. I can get 30MPG from mine, with a variety of motorway and town driving. This means a £60 fill up will last me about 380 miles atm, so very similar to the ATR. There are a few small nasties lurking about, all of them are fixed under warrenty iirc. From tyre feathering to clicking rear axels. Do a search on here and it will reveal more. You wont get much extra power from her as the ECU is self "leveling". This means any mods you add it will cancel out as the ECU learns them. I'm not 100% sure on this one, but someone will correct me if its wrong. Insurance wise, I'm 24, 2yrs NCB and 0 points and I pay £535 with Elephant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sl114 Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigadz Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share Posted July 31, 2007 Thanks very much for the replies very informative. Seem like a decent bunch on here I think you have all just made me want one that little bit more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 test drive one and you'll see why Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigadz Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share Posted July 31, 2007 :Insurance wise, I'm 24, 2yrs NCB and 0 points and I pay £535 with Elephant Thats really impressive you must live in the safest postcode in the world! So the ECU needs to be replaced to get any real gains then? I take it the earlier models are around 276hp? From dyno's is this an accurate figure or are they making more/less? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H5 Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Welcome! I get 26mpg average out of mine, all driving taken into account, using Shell V Power. 95RON takes the consumption down a bit. Insurance, as has been said, is a lottery. Mine at 25 is about £600, 3 points, 2 years NCB. Mod wise, plenty of visual bits available, from tacky stick on, to top notch Jap tuner products. Speed wise, it's not slow in the first place and then noticeable gains will need £'000s spent. Subtle changes in exhaust / induction / plenum will add slight changes. For any faults, take a look in the warranty section here. How old a car would you be buying? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigadz Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share Posted July 31, 2007 Well I guess I would be looking to spend 15k but it wont be for a while yet, might give me time to look into the JDM route as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H5 Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Well I guess I would be looking to spend 15k but it wont be for a while yet, might give me time to look into the JDM route as well. In that case if you go UK car the warranty will have gone I would think so look for any signs of the warranty points when you see a car. As for the JDM route, I'm sure one of the import guys will be along soon.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixy Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Have a word with Jurgen. http://www.jm-imports.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H5 Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Have a word with Jurgen. http://www.jm-imports.co.uk Or even import girls....! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinbad Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Welcome buddy. The ATR and 350z are both great cars so congrats on having good taste lol. I don't think you'll find running costs too much more than what your actually paying. I know im abit biased here but i don't think you'll regret changing from the ATR to a Zed either. yes you will need a new ecu to get any gains as mentioned the current ecu adjust to compensate for any permance mods. From what i've seen the 350z doesn't fully make 276bhp when on the dyno but not many cars do? There's also very little difference "on road" performance between the 276bhp engine and the Rev-up 296bhp engine. I personally get an average of 26mpg with both Motorway and town driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GC350z Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 There's also very little difference "on road" performance between the 276bhp engine and the Rev-up 296bhp engine. Or MY07 which is approx 310bhp with twin air intakes but that's out of your price range. Any Z is a great Z. Get a test drive as soon as you can and you'll be hooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 And if you want some "interesting" questions to ask the salesman I am sure many will oblige. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigadz Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share Posted July 31, 2007 And if you want some "interesting" questions to ask the salesman I am sure many will oblige. How do you mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 You'll know more than most Zed salesperson (note - gender neutral!) after being on this site a week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev-the-Rev Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Most things have already been said so hi and One or two things do come to mind though. - Cars with the GT pack sell better. If it's got the Bose system fitted check the CD player doesn't skip. Check for uneven wear on the front tyres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pingu2 Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 Weclome aboard, mate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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