JurassicZ Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 (edited) Hi new to this forum and I will introduce myself properly later. I am seriously looking to get a 350Z Roadster for some summer fun. This will be a 3rd car and I will be looking at an early car in reality to appease the wife. As she would rather have something boring like an SLK auto, I may have to make a sacrifice and go for an auto option. I am going to look at one in a couple of days which is on a 53 plate not too far away, but I think I read somewhere that Nissan did not sell early 350Zs in auto, is that correct? If so when were the first UK autos sold, and I guess then this must be a grey market car and any price would have to reflect this. thanks for your advice. Edited June 23, 2014 by 350ZRDev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 All autos are JDM grey imports, it was never offered in the UK. And welcome along Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Welcome to The Forum. as above all auto's are imports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JurassicZ Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 Okay thanks for the info. I presume this should affect the price significantly down? There cannot be many autos in the UK then, does anyone on here recognise this car as a previous or current members ex car? WM53 LNU in Silver. Also reading through the JDM section it would seem that this in fact may not even be a 53 reg but earlier manufactured? Thanks for all your advice as I do not want to make a big mistake on buying an import and it may push me back to another option if I cannot convince my wife on the manual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Dont worry too much about it being an import. Just check your insurance company, some of them can be a bit strange in imports but the companies on here understand. It cant be much older as they were a new model then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seasider Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I've got both - a uk roadster and a JDM coupe auto. I absolutely love the auto - I've put a UK rear bumper on mine, just so no one knows I'm harbouring an import! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilMH Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Good luck with finding the right car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JurassicZ Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 Thanks for the help guys, I am viewing tomorrow and will let you know how I get on. I have read through the buying guide which is very useful. How much difference is there in the import rear bumper? The car I am going to see is a 53 plate in silver with 70,000 miles. Supposedly full service history and a failry local car for 5 years with the previous owner. It's on at £5995 at Cross Keys Garage, Taunton. They have it advertised as an 05 which is wrong and they are supposed to be updating there website. How does that price look. As there are almost no auto roadsters around, it is difficult to guage pricing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilMH Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Price sounds like a reasonable starting point to me. Apart from the obvious physical examination - based on the buyers guide I would study the service history in detail (hopefully they might have the actual invoices?). V5 and past MOTs will verify some of the other stuff (locality, past MOT advisories). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seasider Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Expect the service history to be patchy at best if it's an import - it's rare the records from japan stay with the car and even if they exist unless your command of Japanese is good it may not mean much to you! Use your instinct. General condition. Clean oil. All the fluids at the right levels etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JurassicZ Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 (edited) Well the car impressed! It had not been prepped for sale, which is a good thing. A bit dusty inside and mild colour wear on drivers bolster. Presume Gliptons scuff would cover this? Has a dent on the front of the bonnet where a bar or something has dropped on it and a curbed NSF wheel all which will be done ( the bonnet respray will also cover the few stone chips on the bonnet which have been touched in). The sat nav cover does not want to shut, but I did not want to force this. Car has very nice aftermarket Pioneer touchscreen music system. Car has full service history and old MoTs and even the original invoices from Japan. Advisory work required on last MoT was carried out also. Pads, shims, and some steering arm/bushes as well as 4 new tyres. All in she looks a very tidy and well looked after example. She drove very well, no pulling, no clicking from the back axle and the gearbox was very smooth with no lag or drivetrain shunting. Main question is- I could not get a good look at it underneath. How big an issue is the potential lack of rust proofing, is it true that these came without any rust protection? Thanks for all your help and advice guys! Edited June 25, 2014 by 350ZRDev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JurassicZ Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 (edited) Sorry another newbee question. Is there a cambelt change or anything similar advised around the 70,000 mile mark? Ignore this question as I have just done a search and note it's a timing chain. I guess this is the same basic engine as in my Infiniti FX? Edited June 25, 2014 by 350ZRDev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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