martybhoy Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Right, I follow a couple of car channels on youtube and I came across a video which has gave me food for thought. On the supercars of London channel, the guy doing the videos has an r8 v8 model. He done a video about the general running costs. A couple of key prices were front discs and pads - £1500 and a service £1100, he also claimed he was glad he didnt get a GTR as it was more expensive to run that the r8. This made me think, anything remotely faster than a zed e.g. cayman etc all have a monumental increase on running costs. For instance I have a friend with a 987 boxster not even an S and he wishes he'd got a zed due to running costs. Really makes me wonder whether spending another 6-7k upgrading a car is really worth it or putting that to use on a zed (supercharger ) is the better option. Giving huge power whilst remaining with fairly minimal running costs. hmmmm.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundy Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Depends where you get your prices from... Running cost of a Zed could be ridiculous if you took it to a main dealer... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martybhoy Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 I use infiniti at braehead and they have always been outstanding in both price and service, I wouldn't look anywhere else tbh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundy Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I use infiniti at braehead and they have always been outstanding in both price and service, I wouldn't look anywhere else tbh. My point is, the guy in video is giving prices...but these prices could be direct dealer prices, OEM prices etc. As I say, Zed maintenance is expensive if you used OEM replacement parts. To say the running cost is expensive, you'd need to know where the data is coming from first. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
370Ad Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 To confirm Grundys point. A local dealer wanted 850 for discs and pads all round for my 70. I managed to source them via Clarks and a Nissan garage on ebay for 2/3rds of that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martybhoy Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 I use infiniti at braehead and they have always been outstanding in both price and service, I wouldn't look anywhere else tbh. My point is, the guy in video is giving prices...but these prices could be direct dealer prices, OEM prices etc. As I say, Zed maintenance is expensive if you used OEM replacement parts. To say the running cost is expensive, you'd need to know where the data is coming from first. Yeah I agree and I am positive that he did use an Audi for his references. I would think though that if I was in a position to own an R8 I would probably try to maintain an Audi history for the car likewise porsche etc. My point was more at considering what the zed is capable of whilst retaining reasonably low, not dirt cheap but reasonably low costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaddyCee Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 My local Nissan main stealer wanted 1.7K for discs and pads all round on my 350Z a couple of years back. I too sourced the parts from Clarks and had the job done for under £600. It pays to buy the parts yourself and then get an independent or main stealer to fit imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack wellZ Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Always the problem with German cars they'll squeeze any penny they can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 My 911 cost me no more to run than my 350Z. Fuel was less, servicing was more but less frequent, parts more, but I modded the Zed and not the 911. Tyres were more but then I was on 19"s, if you ran a Zed on 19"s then you'd be the same again. Initial purchase cost aside, there's no difference in running costs I found. Same with BMW or Audi stuff, it's only really when you get to the Italian supercars that they make your eyes water with running costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martybhoy Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 My 911 cost me no more to run than my 350Z. Fuel was less, servicing was more but less frequent, parts more, but I modded the Zed and not the 911. Tyres were more but then I was on 19"s, if you ran a Zed on 19"s then you'd be the same again. Initial purchase cost aside, there's no difference in running costs I found. Same with BMW or Audi stuff, it's only really when you get to the Italian supercars that they make your eyes water with running costs. What model of 911 did you have ekona? It's good to hear other peoples experiences with other cars working out well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 My R33 and VX220 were both as good performance as my zed (better than the zed in many respects actually - both the VX and GT4 have much better mpg as well) never got any hefty bills for either over and above the Zed cost. Looking online at the GT4 (again very quick car) costs for parts are on par if not lower than the Zed - it actually seems quite expensive compared to those cars especially the VX as that uses standard vauxhall astra parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 What model of 911 did you have ekona? It's good to hear other peoples experiences with other cars working out well. 997.2 C2S PDK. Miss it like crazy, tbh. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleR Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 A Cayman is on a 2 year service cycle, so when you take the £200-300 per year servicing on the Zed, the £500 for a Porsche Service Centre to service the Cayman isn't expensive at all. Another example is disks and pads for the M6. BMW main dealer want the guts for £1200 for the fronts, the exact same OEM disks, pads and sensors on eBay are sub £500. BMW service costs are a joke, they quoted me £960 for a major service. Needless to say, the M6 goes elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Mate of my brothers paid nearly £2000 for a clutch and flywheel change from a main dealer for his 350z (despite me sending them Zmanalexs contact details - fool!) so hardly cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS8055 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 The Nissan dealership here in Luxembourg wanted me to pay €3300 (around £2400) for me to get a new clutch and flywheel. I took it to Sly at Kaizer Motors and he did the whole lot for less than £800 if I remember correctly. Same thing happened again at Nissan when I needed new discs and pads for the Zed... around £2500.... so once again told them politely where to go and took it to Sly's for the work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 theres a big difference between the cost of an R8 or GTR and spending and extra £6k above a zed for £6k more than a zed you're maybe looking at boxster, cayman, maybe M3. certainly nothing as exotic as an R8 or GTR. but if you can afford to service a zed properly, im sure you can afford a cheaper Porsche or an M3 - after all, tyres will be broadly the same sensible sized 18" or 19"s, all have around a 3-4 litre engine so probably use the same amount of oil, and all all will have front discs around 330-350mm so will be broadly similar. the only extras I can see are that M3 discs are drilled and grooved, and are around 3 times more expensive than a similar sized standard BMW disc. moral of the story is for gawds sake don't use a main stealer, unless its a warranty repair you aren't paying for, or you had some servicing thrown in when you bought the car. All other cases, use an independent! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIXXERUK Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 theres a big difference between the cost of an R8 or GTR and spending and extra £6k above a zed for £6k more than a zed you're maybe looking at boxster, cayman, maybe M3. certainly nothing as exotic as an R8 or GTR. but if you can afford to service a zed properly, im sure you can afford a cheaper Porsche or an M3 - after all, tyres will be broadly the same sensible sized 18" or 19"s, all have around a 3-4 litre engine so probably use the same amount of oil, and all all will have front discs around 330-350mm so will be broadly similar. the only extras I can see are that M3 discs are drilled and grooved, and are around 3 times more expensive than a similar sized standard BMW disc. moral of the story is for gawds sake don't use a main stealer, unless its a warranty repair you aren't paying for, or you had some servicing thrown in when you bought the car. All other cases, use an independent! my 911 cost no more to run than my zed but it takes a lot more oil almost 9 ltrs iirc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 wow that's a big sump! I presume as a result of the flat 6 engine? but even so, even if decent oil is £50 for 5 litres, that only an extra £30 or so in oil each year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Mine was the same, I used to buy it in 20L (4x5L) so I had enough for top ups and a change! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumping350 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) interesting convo ive been looking at Porsches recently quite like a 996 turbo I saw however like you unsure if the outlay will warrant any difference from the zed, and also if the 996 is crap (I have no idea on Porsches) i do have a supoercharger for the zed sitting in my living room so im sure i could cope with running costs hmmmmm Edited May 12, 2015 by jumping350 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 996TT is a proper supercar. Stock it's a weapon, tuned and it's a monster. The 996 may be by some margin the ugliest 911, but it's a better steer than anything that came before it. Like for like, of course: I wouldn't say that a 996 C2 was better to drive than a 2.7 RS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumping350 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) Don't say that to me Dan this one I've seen has been made to not look ugly....real dilema now!!! I was hoping it would be awful and the notion can exit my head Edited May 12, 2015 by jumping350 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martybhoy Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 Topic is beginning to open up a bit now. It's fair to say that sourcing most, if not all, parts ourselves is going to be the best option certainly with a zeds. In regards to servicing costs though even at infiniti (where my z is going next month) my service is just over £100. I can't believe the amount of oil needed for that 911 I'd love to upgrade to something with a bit more badge However for bhp/running costs I still haven't seen something equal to or better than a supercharged zed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) simply supercharging a zed will indeed be pretty cheap servicing wise, only thing you'd really need to do is maybe change the oil a little more often, but you could continue to use the standard discs and pads, and standard tyre sizes. However, most really fast cars have the associated beefed up components to deal with the extra speed, and its these heavy duty components that cost extra to maintain and replace - dustbin lid brake discs, multi piston brake calipers and huge pads, and wider tyres. As well as heavy duty clutches, transmissions, differentials, fuel pumps, cooling systems and the like. Really if you supercharge a zed, you should also swap the clutch, put on a big brake kit, run wider wheels and decent tyres to put the increased power down, upgrade the cooling system - and if you do all that then the servicing costs will be comparable to a car that had 450bhp to start off with, possibly more as all the upgraded parts on a supercharged zed would be aftermarket, whereas all the parts on a powerful BMW will be manufactured cheaply and in great numbers. As an example, the calipers and discs on an M3 will be quite pricey yes, but the costs of most big brake kits is eye watering. similarly, a wider M3 wheel may be pricier than a standard 350z wheel, but to get the same width rim in the aftermarket will again be ruinously expensive, as they don't have the economies of scale in production. Edited May 12, 2015 by brillomaster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) Was going to say that as Brillo said, the faster you go the faster you need to stop, most guys putting big power through skylines also upgrade brakes, clutch, fueling etc which runs into thousands. But they dont have to pay so much as turbo cars are much better set up from the start to make big power gains. In terms of bhp/running costs, any supercharged VX220 would drive away from a supercharged Zed - using half the fuel - guy on here just bought one actually quite recently, Daryl was it? Edited May 12, 2015 by coldel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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