Why hasn't the 370z worked?

[AJRFulton]

Yeah the Nissan badge is a downfall.

 

However..... it is priced accordingly. £26K gets you something that to get the equivalent with a Porsche badge, you are paying pretty much double.

 

TBH, I like the cars rarity. It appeals to me, and easily gets more attention in the car park at work than superior cars C63/GT3/M3/etc... as people that don't know much just assume they are another C Class/911/3 Series. They see the 370's side profile and realise it isn't a Porsche and wonder what it is.

Edited May 29, 2014 by AJRFulton

[gsexr]

Just remember the 240/260 and how many people would like one now.

Get yer 350/370 and enjoy it for what it is also knowing that you have realised something that the masses have not .................... Yet

[JetSet]

BMW, Toyota and Honda all pulled out of F1 because car sales fell so sharply they simply couldn't afford it any longer. Porsche also saw a big drop in their sales lucky for them they have a massive mark up on every car sold. TBH, I'm surprised that Nissan haven't dropped The 370Z yet, worldwide sales have been at around 50% of projected sales when the car was released.

 

 

Pete

[coldel]

I get the pricing of the 370z gets you a lot of car for the money, but if your budget is £28k then it is your option, if its £40k then the car is going to struggle against Porsche and the like - how many less people are there with 40k to spend vs 28k to spend, I dont know, it might not actually be that many people different so although its cheaper people could well be investing into a more expensive brand.

 

In terms of the 240z, yes uber rare now and desireable, but then so are many Porsches from that era, which are much more valuable than a 240z you could argue.

[Ebized]

One of the problems with the car is people don't actually know it exists. People think mine is a 350Z, they don't know about the 370Z and the fact it is almost a completely new car to the 350Z. I don't ever remember seeing a 370Z advert, and unless I actually went looking for one, given the cars rarity, I wouldn't know about it either. Nissan did a terrible job marketing it.

 

 

Not sure I agree with that statement.

 

Its introduction in 2009 was preceeded by massive press release and all sorts of rumours about what it would look like and feature. Then Nissan offered the chance to drive them at Silverstone on track and on the surrounding roads but I had to pull a lot of strings to get a place in September with that test confirming the the car looked the business (I also had doubts on that front from the pics - like many others) and they handled/drove as well as the 350.

 

Trying to buy one from the first batch that arrived in 2009 was near on impossible I recall, until I struck very lucky to spot a web advert from a dealer for their 68 mile demonstrator in late November 2009 just as the ad popped up on the web. Rang and secured the sale with a £500 deposit but had to wait until the end of December to take it off the dealer (Nissan stipulation). The salesman said that he could have sold my 370 10 times over, but the fact he also got a damn fine 350 in p/x helped secure the deal In winter no less. But with the rescession biting even harder in 2010-2011 and the electric/green lobby having their way was really the death-knell of sales ever reaching 350 levels.

 

But what pleasantly surprises me is thst despite the often negative comparison comments with Z4's/Caymans etc it does seem that the relatively low numbers is the reason s/h prices are holding up so well - in fact I would say that after nearly 4.5 years the residual value of mine now is about the same as the 3 year old 350 that I traded in for the 370 so no doubt the rareity value is a bonus for us owners

[AJRFulton]

One of the problems with the car is people don't actually know it exists. People think mine is a 350Z, they don't know about the 370Z and the fact it is almost a completely new car to the 350Z. I don't ever remember seeing a 370Z advert, and unless I actually went looking for one, given the cars rarity, I wouldn't know about it either. Nissan did a terrible job marketing it.

 

 

Not sure I agree with that statement.

 

Its introduction in 2009 was preceeded by massive press release and all soughts of rumours about what it would look like and feature. Then Nissan offered the chance to drive them at Silverstone on track and on the surrounding roads but I had to pull a lot of strings to get a place in September with that test confirming the the car looked the business (I also had doubts on that front from the pics - like many others) and they handled/drove as well as the 350.

 

Trying to buy one from the first batch that arrived in 2009 was near on impossible I recall, until I struck very lucky to spot a web advert from a dealer for their 68 mile demonstrator in late November 2009 just as the ad popped up on the web. Rang and secured the sale with a £500 deposit but had to wait until the end of December to take it off the dealer (Nissan stipulation). The salesman said that he could have sold my 370 10 times over, but the fact he also got a damn fine 350 in p/x helped secure the deal In winter no less. But with the rescession biting even harder in 2010-2011 and the electric/green lobby having their way was really the death-knell of sales ever reaching 350 levels.

 

But what pleasantly surprises me is thst despite the often negative comparison comments with Z4's/Caymans etc it does seem that the relatively low numbers is the reason s/h prices are holding up so well - in fact I would say that after nearly 4.5 years the residual value of mine now is about the same as the 3 year old 350 that I traded in for the 370 so no doubt the rareity value is a bonus for us owners

 

You've came from the 350Z community though bud. As an outsider, I knew little about it.

 

I'm fairly into cars, although not a magazine or forum geek. Until I actually looked into the 370Z when looking for a car, I just thought it was a 350Z facelift. I say that as somebody whom researched and nearly bought a 350Z a few years back, so (unlike most) I wasn't totally blind to the Z badge.

 

Most people I talk to, they think my car is a 350Z. I work in power generation, so I'm on sites with hundreds of blokes, all with money to spend, and plenty into their cars - M/AMG/RS badged cars are fairly common in the car parks... but...... So few folk have correctly identified it as a 370, much to my frustration and delight (as I'm anal and like correcting them). The car does get a fair bit of attention though, as folk often ask what it is.

 

Also another point is the 370 looks a lot better in the flesh than in anything other than professional magazine style photos. It's a hard car to get the angle right to take a good photo of, but in the flesh.... it looks pretty good from most angles.

Edited May 29, 2014 by AJRFulton

[Ebized]

First 370's I saw in the UK - on their way back to ? from the F of S at Goodwood in 2009.

 

Little did I know then that UK56 ZED would be not be with me into 2010.

[The G Man]

The second issue is the competition has been too tough, the likes of BMW, Audi, Porsche were producing cars which were faster, cheaper and more economical. Given the economical situation and this crazy obsession of being seen in an Audi, the 370z was certaining up against the ropes.

 

If none of the above affected you or bothered you, then as a car, the 370z is perfect. I know I would have one and will consider it at some point in the future.

 

Can you point me to a Porsche that is cheaper, more economical and faster, that's straight out the wrapper brand new? I couldn't find one, or for that matter, a BMW or Audi with the same spec and power?

 

I went into a Porsche dealer and spec'd a base model with f*** all and it was more expensive than a Nismo, strangulated and utterly cheap/basic. That's a fact, pass it on.

[coldel]

At the end of the day, its a Nissan. There-in lies the problem I reckon. You only have to look at the Golf vs the Leon, identical cars different price points but vastly different sales figures I would guess (assuming Golf sells more!) - who wants a Seat? VW screams its marketing and heritage at you about quality which Seat can't at the moment match.

 

Look at anything, take tyres for instance, generally people will buy Michelin, Goodyear etc - heard some great reviews for Nakang but you think anyone would buy them even if they are cheaper than a Goodyear but just as good? I don't see many people on here buying them.

 

I can imagine there are people that buy on spec, and there are people that buy on brand. It just feels like the brand, in the recession, is just not working for them?

[Richf]

It's too big , it doesn't have good storage space , it's too expensive to run , the engine and box are pretty unrefined for a £30k car, it's a Nissan

[Ebized]

It's too big , it doesn't have good storage space , it's too expensive to run , the engine and box are pretty unrefined for a £30k car, it's a Nissan

 

Then I saw your signature.............

[bronzee]

One of the problems with the car is people don't actually know it exists. People think mine is a 350Z, they don't know about the 370Z and the fact it is almost a completely new car to the 350Z. I don't ever remember seeing a 370Z advert, and unless I actually went looking for one, given the cars rarity, I wouldn't know about it either. Nissan did a terrible job marketing it.

Interesting as over here in Kiwiland/NZ they did market the car, was a big presence in all of the major car mags. Even now and consistently, they still market the car, a number of campaigns running currently with all of their models including the Z. Our club over here was invited to a launch even all the way back in 2009, so on mass we all arrived in our Zeds parked up all around the dealership, even though it was a foul day!

 

 

 

It's too big , it doesn't have good storage space , it's too expensive to run , the engine and box are pretty unrefined for a £30k car, it's a Nissan

Obviously given you've got a 70. It is a biggish car, it doesn't have any storage space, and maybe it's a little unrefined, but heck it's a sports car!

People are all getting a bit soft these days, the rawness and size of a Zed is part of the joy of throwing the thing around the roads, twisties and it just keeps asking for more!!! The it's a Nissan comments really annoy me, not a personal jibe at all. That's actually a good thing, because you're not tossing around in a "labeled" car that you've paid a fortune for the badge, and often a very unreliable car. And yes, I do have "labels" too.

[tatooandy67]

I have owned my 370 for around 7 months now and I just have to say I LOVE IT, I'm happy sales in the U.K. are low, I'm glad a lot of people don't know what it is and I'm enjoying the exclusivity so for me at least the 370z does work extremely well I'm not bothered that maybe some aspects are a little unrefined or the fuel bill is a bit high and storage space is a touch on the small side IMO it's a great car and I'm extremely happy to be part of quite an exclusive owners club, my only niggle.....I wish I'd bought one sooner

Edited May 30, 2014 by tatooandy67

[coldel]

I like lots of posts on here like the exclusiveness of a car - I even had a debate with Dan on another post how when buying a car it being rare is important to my decision which seemed bizarre to some! I had a 350z, then a VX220 and now an R33 Skyline - plenty cars out there with better specs but stick my VX or R33 in a queue with a 911 and nobody is looking and enjoying the 911, in fact I have caught a number of people taking selfies of themselves in front of my R33. Not sure why the 'its a nissan' comments bother you Bronzee mate, factually thats true! The question is why hasnt the 370z sold and branding must be a factor, I wonder if it was branded something more perceived as motorsport based it would have done better, who knows.

 

Actually, I would never buy a 370z, why? Because I had a 350z! Understand some people like Will and Colin (good name that, can always trust a Colin) migrated but actually I like to be flirtatious with cars at the moment and try different ones. I might consider a Zed again but it would either be a 240/260 or whatever comes out in about 10 years time!

[rtbiscuit]

Used value's of the 70 are much higher than used values of the 50 at 5 years old.

 

Maybe this is to do with the numbers on the road?! Very interesting....

nope its because when the 350 was on sale was the start of the economic crisis. I picked my zed up at 18 months old for less than half price. The arse had fallen out of the market big time. And if you still had money and didn't care, you could Pick up some very good bargains in the car world.

[GIXXERUK]

I'm sure poor sales in this sector is pretty much across the board, that's why there are a lot of bargains out there even on older models, for the money how much car do you get when you buy a used m5 now !

Big engined cars are becoming dinosaurs

[coldel]

Maybe it is the death-throes of the two seater? You have to say that the capabilities of your average family hatchback are coming on leaps and bounds. 280bhp GTi's etc which from a performance perspective are now up with this perceived performance car - but offer practicality?

[JetSet]

Not a lot to do with the Nissan badge, in The U.S.A sales of The Zed series held up much better than The Z4 or The Audi TT, only Porsche did better.

 

Cars Sold in The U.S.A

 

Z4...........2004.......13,654, 2009..........3,523

 

350/370..2004........30,960, 2009.........13,118

 

Audi TT...2004........5,275, 2009............1,935

 

Porsche..2004.......31,473, 2009..........19,696 (Total sales of all Porkers)

 

Maybe our American cousins don't have the same badge snobbery as us though. I will attempt to dig out further sales figures when I get a spare few hours.

 

 

Pete

[coldel]

Yeah but that's the US, European brands are much more likely to be stronger here. I would bet a dollar that local American sports cars outsell the 370z hugely in the US?

[Suits]

Yeah but that's the US, European brands are much more likely to be stronger here. I would bet a dollar that local American sports cars outsell the 370z hugely in the US?

 

Sorry, what ??

[coldel]

Yeah but that's the US, European brands are much more likely to be stronger here. I would bet a dollar that local American sports cars outsell the 370z hugely in the US?

 

Sorry, what ??

 

in terms of what Americans would term as sports cars!

 

My point was that comparing sales of a small European car like the TT to a Nissan 370z in the US doesn't disprove the idea that the Nissan badge has something to do with the 370z not selling here.

Edited May 30, 2014 by coldel

[GIXXERUK]

Yeah but that's the US, European brands are much more likely to be stronger here. I would bet a dollar that local American sports cars outsell the 370z hugely in the US?

 

Sorry, what ??

 

in terms of what Americans would term as sports cars!

 

My point was that comparing sales of a small European car like the TT to a Nissan 370z in the US doesn't disprove the idea that the Nissan badge has something to do with the 370z not selling here.

 

Pere's point is that car sales are down at the point across the board, to look solely at on model doesn't not give a true picture due to the economic climate

 

No one is trying to disprove that the badge doesn't affect a cars sales, it obviously does

 

[coldel]

I dont think thats entirely true, just did a google and found this, plenty of marques making increased sales year on year http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2013/11/usa-sports-car-sales-figures-october-2013-ytd.html, UK car sales are at a six year high I read on the news some time ago, households in the UK who own more than one car is increasing each year also...

[Linus27]

Yeah but that's the US, European brands are much more likely to be stronger here. I would bet a dollar that local American sports cars outsell the 370z hugely in the US?

 

Sorry, what ??

 

HAHAHAHA excellent reply

[Linus27]

I could be wrong but I get the impression that Nissan in the UK does not have such a strong image due to cars like the Micra and Datsun Bluebird. In the US, the image is more to do with the 240z etc. I could be wrong but I also get that impression when the brand is mentioned.

 

I bet Mustang sales in the US are huge.