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So I finally made a decision...


GhostyDog

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... that a 350z will be parked outside my house in the very near future :yahoo: I had a back to back test drive of a 2007 S2000 and a new 350Z GT at the weekend and although it was a very difficult decision, I'm going to go with the Z.

 

Had a manic test drive round the back roads of the Aire Valley, road's I know very well and loved every minute of it, the car was a metallic grey 2007 model with the full GT Pack and Sat Nav with Charcoal leather.

 

In a perfect world this is the car i'll be going with potentially with the orange and black leather/mesh seats if they look okay in the flesh. If the numbers don't add up i'll be looking to get one a year or so old but in the same colours.

 

If I do end up with an older variant, can someone point me in the direction of a thread that details mods to the engine to refine the power band like the 2007 engine, this was the deciding factor for me that so much of the power is available right down at the bottom of the rev range, so much so that for one overtaking manoeuvre I never changed down from 4th, just booted it :teeth:

 

Anyway, looking forward to becoming an active member of the community :thumbs:

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Hi, and congratulations - you'll be grinning from ear to ear when the car is finally on the drive :teeth:

 

As Mike says there are various differences between the 06 and 07 engine, and any modifictaions done to the 06 will be counteracted by the ECU, any real HP gains should only be seen if the ECU is piggybacked.

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You know you've made the right choice. Quite a few of us have been in that dilema of S2000 or 350Z. I thought it was no contest to be honest, the S2000 is a great car but the Zed just ticked more boxes. It's also cheaper to insure which is a bonus and is visually a better looking car. :thumbs:

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the 07 engine is quite a lot different from previous models. Bigger Plenum or a plenum spacer and improved air intake is gonna help but the ECU counters and real HP gains.

Also overall the 07 as whole car it's self, is heavier, marginally longer, oh best bit it has a dipstick that you can get a decent reading off. Newer models, more HP, but less torque than older models.

Both the older and newer models have their good and bad points. Happy shopping when the time is right. ;)

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Cheers, probably going to be doing some number crunching over the next few days then i'll be either on the search for a good second hand example or pushing the boat out for a new one, I generally keep a car for around 3 years, and judging by the market depreciation can be quite heavy (UK GT Spec car on 06 plate for 20K on autotrader).

 

What are your experiences of depreciation on these? Is the market deflated by the massive amount of JDM motors available on the cheap?

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We dont talk about depreciation round here - we like it to be a happy place. :blush:

 

In all seriousness, depreciation on a new UK car is not great. Its not been helped by Nissan bringing out a new model 350z to the UK every 2 minutes either.

 

The first one we bought was a 6 month old, and we got something like 4.5K off the list price, without a trade in. So the previous owner must have swallowed something like 5.5k in 6 months.

 

Although it has to be said when buying a car like the 350Z depreciation concerns clearly cant be at the top of your list, they should still be considered. Is owning a brand new car and having the small changes on the 07 worth the depreciation?

 

After that question is answered, the rest are just specs, colour and searching. :teeth:

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If the rumours ar true about the impending release of a 370Z, or when the Nissan GTR hits our shores, that could also have a rather negative effect on the new 350Z prices too.

 

Ex Demos may certainly be one option, though I doubt there are many dealers ready to move on their demo car just yet. There is a discussion on buying ex demos here:

 

http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/viewtopic ... highlight=

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Good decision, get one.

 

At the end of the day ANY new car loses 17.5% (VAT) the second you pick it up and drive it off the forecourt. You're paying for the fact you chose it all and it is new. No different to anything else out there, they just cost a bit more than computer bits etc.....

 

(Unless your new car is a hugely desirable Aston or something of course ;) )

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I'll post here rather than on my ex-demo thread. Maybe its the time of year but one of the cars I've seen advertised is a temper orange convertible with 4k miles on (it has nav + gt pack) and is up at 29.5k. By my maths that saves 3000 quid.

 

I'm going to look at one at the weekend which is an even better price so they are starting to come about. Maybe its the dealers shifting convertibles & also needing 57 plate demo cars?

 

I did notice the prices of 06's dropped a fair bit on auto trader (06 GT Blue 21.6k from a nissan dealer for example - not stupid miles either).

 

I guess if a 370Z comes out without foldy hard top roof it will drop prices a bit but if its a new model with folding roof I guess the price is going to be north of 35k new anyway which moves it up a bit more imo.

 

For me I'm going to check out a 313 convertible but like you I'm sort of tempted to go for one nearer 20k (06 with the enhancements would be fine for me) and pocket the difference for a rainy day.

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not quite on topic, but for what it's worth here are my 05 vs 07 comparisons 10 days into ownership (excluding all the usual things you can read about in the brochure):

 

* 280 vs 313 is v.noticeable even when running in and much smoother ;)

* nicer sound (can't quite describe how though)

* no tramlining (probably RE050s over RE040s though) :yahoo:

* 2 (count them) cold(ish) air intakes

* illuminated cruise control/phone/ignition

* better leather on the seats

* stupid cup holder has morphed in to a coin tray

* soft trimmed arm rests and illuminated cup holder

* black background to radio display (wow!)

* non-wobbly 'phone mics

* massively improved centre consol, cubby holes, heater switches

* annoying audible seat belt warning

 

And the still no better list:

* rattle, rattle, rattle....

* fit of fuel filler cover

* hunting on a closed throttle at low revs (emissions???)

* shocking colour mismatch on washer covers

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Mrs Chesterfield keeps looking at the property pages and pointing out houses, just after we have finished the work on this one and can enjoy it.

 

So Ive started pointing out new cars just after Ive bought all the bodykit bits for this one.

 

The irony doesnt seem to sit well :blush:

 

Hows the car number crunching going?

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Hows the car number crunching going?

 

Quite well, we have agreed that she can have some extra coin towards a mortgage if I can have 300 quid a month for a car, I managed to get my insurance down to around £700 fully comp with some online search tools and hope to get it down even further by ringing folk up and tailoring the policy.

 

Women and spreadsheets, the miracles of modern life ;)

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Hows the car number crunching going?

 

Quite well, we have agreed that she can have some extra coin towards a mortgage if I can have 300 quid a month for a car, I managed to get my insurance down to around £700 fully comp with some online search tools and hope to get it down even further by ringing folk up and tailoring the policy.

 

Women and spreadsheets, the miracles of modern life ;)

 

Hey don't knock em - can be useful if you include them as a named driver to help getting the insurance quotes down :p

 

(providing she ain't got 9 points, or similar ;)

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  • 1 month later...
Let us know how you get on with your choices guys. Will be interested to find out. :thumbs:

 

Things went bad for a while and it looked like I might not have been in a position to get one. It all kinda hinges on my girlf getting a new job, she had the job, had accepted it and then it got pulled in the 11th hour.

 

Last week she got a call from the company saying they are hoping to get the headcount signed off this week so the offer will be back on the table and so will my Z.

 

Looking at budgeting around £20K already seen a few nice UK examples, there's an 06 Gunmetal 300 GT with Sat Nav with Rays on Ebay within that budget as we speak, I'm itching to go have a look and come back with a huge grin on my face and some new keys in my pocket but until everything is signed and sealed I'm having to live with the continuous torture that is the internet and online car sites :(

 

She says I have to wait until my house has sold as well but hopefully I'll be able to swing it sooner, it's coming up to a good time to buy, I hope lots of people are saving up for Christmas and not buying Zeds so I can get my dream car for a killer price.

 

I CANT LIVE LIKE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

;)

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