New guy - Go easy on me :P

[Brummiestormer]

Greetings

[gsexr]

Cant beat a zed matey

[Mikevv]

Mike if you like throwing money away just for a stamp in your service book then stick with the main dealer.

 

Personally I have found them less than satisfactory and at double the price of a good independent too.

 

For example: When I first got my 350 I had my local Nissan dealership supply & change my spark plugs. For this I was charged around £220 and when I got the car back I found the mechanic had wrecked a new K&N sticker which was on my air filter box. This is obviously a minor thing but to me it shows a lack of respect for my car.

Later I also found that when replacing the spark plug they had stripped the threads on one of the coil pack retaining bolt holes. To fix this the "mechanic" had filled the hole with silicone and then put the bolt in. Bodge job if ever I've seen one and I have never gone back because of it.

 

 

If I can't do the work on my 350 myself I now use a good local independent garage for smaller jobs, MOT's etc and take a drive to Horsham Developments (around an hour away) for anything more serious.

 

I know that when selling my car anyone who really knows anything about the 350 or 370 Zed for that matter will be more impressed with a good service history from Horsham Developments (the Cougar Store, Abbey Motorsport, TDi, RT Performance etc to name a few more) than any Nissan main dealer.

 

Thanks, judging from your main dealer experience I'd be in the same boat as you! If someone did that to any of my cars I'd beat them silly with whatever they broke! I'm fairly sure a spark plug will fit in some rather... ummm... Uncomfortable places shall we say

 

I've heard nothing but praise from Abbey Motorsport, unfortunately it's about 100 miles away but I'll check the forums for some other recommended ones

[ZEUS]

Welcome along

[GMballistic]

Thanks, judging from your main dealer experience I'd be in the same boat as you! If someone did that to any of my cars I'd beat them silly with whatever they broke! I'm fairly sure a spark plug will fit in some rather... ummm... Uncomfortable places shall we say

 

I've heard nothing but praise from Abbey Motorsport, unfortunately it's about 100 miles away but I'll check the forums for some other recommended ones

Horsham Developments is where I go for the major stuff the local guys can't handle ~ in fact they fitted my supercharger & mapped my car plus lots more in between.

 

They're about an hour & a half away from you by the looks of it from your location so worth considering imo should you need something done that's a bit more serious than just an oil change.

Link: http://www.h-dev.co.uk/contact_us.php

 

[daveallen1999]

Hi and welcome

Edited June 5, 2015 by daveallen1999

[allaboutthepasty]

I do 10 miles each way to work too so don't take the rev needle above 3K until I'm almost there really. Just make sure you go out on a bit of a run every 2-4 weeks and open it up a bit when warmed up.

 

As a daily, lovely car to drive. Fuel consumption for me is about £70-80 per month for the commute, then whatever other journeys on top of that.

 

Downsides, due to the distance commuting, often feel like it's not getting used to its full potential at all and some sort of 3.0 TDI would be the more sensible choice, but I'm resisting that for another few years as I'm only 27! Few rattle appearing from the interior trim are slightly annoying, but I suppose you'd get that with any 10+yr old car. Only other thing is the lack of passenger / boot space. One of those things that you think you can live without when you buy a 2 seater, but is a drawback.

 

Hope you find something you like!

[OptimalKiller]

Hi and welcome mike. I hope you take the plundge and get a 350. Im sure you have done this but check your insurance on the car aswell. I think it will be a big jump from the bmw.

[jimmy.farrow7]

Hello mate

Welcome to the forum.

 

Ive had a few problems with main dealers as i have had some rubbish experiences in the last 18 months of ownership all be it little things. As soon as i got my car i put her through a full service at 49k miles, picked her up once it was completed took her home opened the bonnet and noticed oil all over the engine cover and the oil seal from the bottle was left on top of my battery cover i was not impressed!, i thought if they are not bothered in little things im not going to spend my money there.

 

Daily drive shouldnt be a problem, mine is my daily car and she is good as gold, i get her serviced at 7/8k intervals and follow the manual =). Now i take her to my local garage they are brilliant always keep me in the loop and they specialise in Jap cars.

[Mikevv]

Hello mate

Welcome to the forum.

 

Ive had a few problems with main dealers as i have had some rubbish experiences in the last 18 months of ownership all be it little things. As soon as i got my car i put her through a full service at 49k miles, picked her up once it was completed took her home opened the bonnet and noticed oil all over the engine cover and the oil seal from the bottle was left on top of my battery cover i was not impressed!, i thought if they are not bothered in little things im not going to spend my money there.

 

Daily drive shouldnt be a problem, mine is my daily car and she is good as gold, i get her serviced at 7/8k intervals and follow the manual =). Now i take her to my local garage they are brilliant always keep me in the loop and they specialise in Jap cars.

 

Thanks I'm starting to believe you guys, and think maybe an independent specialist would be preferable. Never heard of these sorts of things from a main dealer, usually the other way round!

I'm now getting excited and want a Zed, badly. Damn you all for making them sound like so much fun yet totally usable as a daily

[samsniss350z]

Welcome to the forum Mike, you'll find plenty of help & advice here.

[samsniss350z]

Welcome to the forum Mike, you'll find plenty of help & advice here.

[veeg33]

Hello and welcome

[dragon]

like everyone has said you won't regret getting a Z.

[Harryjax]

[P15UL T]

Hi mate. Welcome on board. I've recently bought my 2nd 350z. After selling my previous one 4 years ago which I owned for 5 years. I viewed 5 cars before finding my new one. A few from dealers and a few private sales. I was looking for a -06 ( lower tax ) UK spec ( cheaper insurance) , low mileage and good condition. I found it difficult to find one that ticked all the boxes and not pay too much. I found that the ones I viewed were not taken care off. If you get the chance buy one from a forum member but be quick as they don't hang around. I've been part of this site for years and the information on it is invaluable.

As a few guys have said. I would gladly buy a tracked car from any of the guys on here as they will be taken care off and maintained. At the end of the day our cars are our pride and joy :-)

 

Happy hunting

 

Paul

[Ebized]

Welcome to the forum

 

Couple of observations - good news your local BMW dealer has looked after you well, but let's face it a 318 (and other models in the range) are bread & butter stuff for the dealers. 350 ZEDs are at best 6 years old now and for most dealers have always been a pretty rare sight in Nissan garages and most of the workshop staff will be unfamiliar with them and the 370 falls in the same bracket with most being sold through the few High Performance Centres in the UK and not in nearly the same numbers as the 350s. Hence why you find most members on here will direct you to speacialists - not all may be top notch but in comparison to main dealers knowledge they are in a different league.

 

Doesn't matter what car it is - one that has only been driven for short distances is more likely to have longevity issues than those pounding up and down motorways. As others have said, good service history is a must and if it comes with petrol receipts to show 98+ octane has been used - all the better. Everyone has their own idea what "ragging" is, but even if it has been used on track providing due respect is shown to the mechanicals and notwithstanding the speeds reached, that is likely to be a whole lot better for the car than an owner who frequently indulges in traffic light grand prix and is an animal with their gear changes.

 

Quite often we see local members offering to inspect potential purchases for 'newbies' (I have done that myself several times) which can help to reassure, particularly if you do not know someone who knows about ZEDs. You can always put up an ask on here if one is tempting you

[Mikevv]

Hi mate. Welcome on board. I've recently bought my 2nd 350z. After selling my previous one 4 years ago which I owned for 5 years. I viewed 5 cars before finding my new one. A few from dealers and a few private sales. I was looking for a -06 ( lower tax ) UK spec ( cheaper insurance) , low mileage and good condition. I found it difficult to find one that ticked all the boxes and not pay too much. I found that the ones I viewed were not taken care off. If you get the chance buy one from a forum member but be quick as they don't hang around. I've been part of this site for years and the information on it is invaluable.

As a few guys have said. I would gladly buy a tracked car from any of the guys on here as they will be taken care off and maintained. At the end of the day our cars are our pride and joy :-)

 

Happy hunting

 

Paul

 

Thank you

 

I'm very fussy when it comes to cars, but I'll probably get excited and get Zeditus like all you guys

Having said that, I won't be in the market untill around Christmas assuming I control my spending, and the damned insurance behaves itself! ( it went up over £1000 in a month for no reason, so I'm gonna be having some fun haggling that later on )

If you don't mind my asking, why did you sell and get another one? Just wanted a newer model? Or maybe a new project?

 

Mike

[Mikevv]

Welcome to the forum

 

Couple of observations - good news your local BMW dealer has looked after you well, but let's face it a 318 (and other models in the range) are bread & butter stuff for the dealers. 350 ZEDs are at best 6 years old now and for most dealers have always been a pretty rare sight in Nissan garages and most of the workshop staff will be unfamiliar with them and the 370 falls in the same bracket with most being sold through the few High Performance Centres in the UK and not in nearly the same numbers as the 350s. Hence why you find most members on here will direct you to speacialists - not all may be top notch but in comparison to main dealers knowledge they are in a different league.

 

Doesn't matter what car it is - one that has only been driven for short distances is more likely to have longevity issues than those pounding up and down motorways. As others have said, good service history is a must and if it comes with petrol receipts to show 98+ octane has been used - all the better. Everyone has their own idea what "ragging" is, but even if it has been used on track providing due respect is shown to the mechanicals and notwithstanding the speeds reached, that is likely to be a whole lot better for the car than an owner who frequently indulges in traffic light grand prix and is an animal with their gear changes.

 

Quite often we see local members offering to inspect potential purchases for 'newbies' (I have done that myself several times) which can help to reassure, particularly if you do not know someone who knows about ZEDs. You can always put up an ask on here if one is tempting you

 

I had no idea they were that rare, I thought maybe as common as an M3 almost, certainly see more M3s around. Anyways I'm starting to realise that you forum guys seem to have all the answers, and I'm all ears :3 Definitely will be using a specialist now after doing even more digging, and still on the fence about "harder used" cars. Then again, how will I know if "Dave" drifted his car one cold Tuesday morning 3 years ago, if you get my drift? If "She" seems good, and paperwork is in order, I may just go for it.

 

Can you recommend any local Zed-ists in the Bournemouth/Southampton area? Obviously I'd need to chat with the seller first to see if they minded bringing along someone, and I wouldn't bring someone from here to say 150 miles away haha but you get what I mean

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[Mikevv]

Just a general post to everyone that has replied, and is going to reply.

 

Thank you very much for such a warm and informative welcome! I can see myself settling in rather nicely here, albeit with limited knowledge and a few screws loose, but hey, gotta start somewhere right?

 

Hopefully in the near future I will be a proud owner, and can start nagging you guys for parts I want upgraded

[Chris Wiltshire]

Welcome

 

You won't regret it!

 

I use mine as a daily driver and often make excuses to go out somewhere just to drive it more, haha!

[P15UL T]

 

(quote)

If you don't mind my asking, why did you sell and get another one? Just wanted a newer model? Or maybe a new project?

Mike

(quote)

 

I sold my zed after owning and customising it over 5 years it was a great car. I've since had a civic type r, a 450bhp Subaru Impreza hatchback and an 560bhp R35 GTR. I need to release some money to do a house extension so the GTR is up for sale. I spent a while looking for a car that I could run cheaply enough and still allow me to have fun modifying it :-D

 

I did want a car I hadn't had before but nothing else floated my boat. So came back to old faithful. I'm glad I did as this has been the best / most informative forum I've ever used :-)

 

Cheers Paul

 

 

[prometheus]

Hello &