matth76

Cheers Martin.

Nice one Neal. Good luck with everything. One big question - which is faster, the Astra VXR or the 350z??! I know you must feel it more in the vxr due to the turbo but be interesting how it compares. Also which version of 350z did you have - ie the 276bhp model etc? Cheers Matt

My car was on at £19k a year ago. It is definitely not a seller's market. Took them a year to sell it - I finally took it off their hands at £12k dead on with 2 yrs extended mfr warranty, full service mot etc, very good condition, 55 plate, just over 30k miles, full service history. My car is only one year older than the one you are looking at and offer what ever you feel is reasonable. They will always laugh in your face even if you offer only £1000 less. Offer 13k and settle at 13.5-14k - that to me is not unreasonable at all. If it is a main dealer they are likely to want to shift it. No harm in asking at all. But as said above definitely start low. Its a buyer's market.

Yes a new one will be in the region of £170. Well over priced for something that only lasts 3 yrs!! Every single Z I looked at before I bought mine had peeling lacquer on top. I simply got some metal polish and a very fine wire wool (only about 99p) and a cotton cloth and it reveals the proper aluminium underneath to leave it very nice. 10mins of a bit of polish is far better than getting another new knob.

Thanks CS.

Hi Does anyone know a good paint specialist (who people have used before and can vouch for) in the south east, ideally in Sussex, but willing to travel to surrounding areas like Hampshire and Surrey? Thanks for any info.

The TR1's are known to have quite soft side walls compared to the oem Bridgestones or Michelins. Prob try them next. But sounds like you must have a problem with something else too as well as the tyres. I've gone round bends very fast and it handles like rails (Im on stock bridgestones which some don't like but are actually very good compared to some cheaper makes). My tc has never kicked in apart from occasionally when I pull out from a junction near my work but my last car just wheel spun on the same junction so at least I know the tc is doing its job when needed. Sounds like you have a camber or alignment problem. Try taking it to another garage to check it.

I got my 55 plate GT with just over 30k miles on it from a nissan dealer for 12k with 2yrs extended mfr warranty, so I'd definitely want to be knocking that second one down to below 11k. The first one looks nicest but very over priced. That's 3k more than what I paid for mine and only a year younger.

By "flushing" do you mean using some of the Redex stuff you can buy in Halfords or similar, or getting a garage to do a professional job?

That is well within limits. Only start to worry if you are using more than a litre every 1000miles.

Just realised the sound does not appear to happen when actually pressing the brake pedal. It sounds when I am "coasting" to a halt slowly. Could it be rear "drop links" and does anyone know if rear drop links are covered under warranty? Seems odd that they would need replacing in only 3.5 - 4 yrs.

According to 350z-tech you get good gains from just fitting the mrev2 on its own to a mark 1. Although most with a mark 1 only fit the plenum spacer on its own. However if you have the mark 2 rev up engine you really need the mrev2 AND plenum spacer. Although Im sure someone else will provide all the facts.

Mine squeal very slightly when it has been a wet night, and more often when reversing and only when going slowly. Normal braking doesn't cause any noise.

If you have the "key code" you should be able to code it to your car with just that. Although Nissan, like Fiat (who are extremely bad), seem to be very naughty and hang on to the key code so only they can code the car. With any brand new car its the customer's right to demand the key code in case they lose their key. Every single car I have ever owned always comes with a key code (long string of characters, sometimes in white writing on a strip of black plastic). Anyway if you haven't got the code you can take it down to any nissan dealer and for a very small fee (should be small because you already have the key) and they will program it to the car. Will only be the cost of half hour labour at the very most. Getting mine done tomorrow actually.

Its supposed to be an 80ltr tank but you'd only ever see that if you were running dead empty, which is never good for the engine. Most I've put in was just over 65 ltrs but I always fill up when I hit the red zone.

Unless it's azure blue and mine I personally went for a 55 plate because it has the highest torque output out of all three models and is nice and new but avoids the £400 tax Plus I was put off by the "oil consumption" issues I've heard about with the mark 2 (296bhp) model, although very rare it would still be at the back of my mind after having spent a lot of money buying the car. So my choice was down to either a late 276 model or the newest 309bhp model. But I decided to save the dosh (and get an azure blue which the new model doesnt come in) and go for the mark 1.. very happy with it.

Hi My brakes creake when braking while reversing and very slightly but not as noticable moving forward very slowly. What is likely to need doing? New brake pads? No noise what so ever when braking hard at normal speed. Is there a brake sensor (or dashboard light) on the 350 to let you know when brake pads are approaching their limit as on some cars? Are brake pads not covered in a full service and mot? My car was serviced only 1000 miles ago. Thanks for any info.

Very nice. I've considered this in the past but am waiting to buy a new house so possibly in the future. Absolutely love the looks and very very rare - even more so than the Z. I've only ever seen one Z4M coupe and loved it there and then. For around £19k very good value for money and far cheaper (age for age) than an E46 M3 which is very common unfortuntely and slower too (although M3 owners will of course disagree with) due to its much heavier weight and is less focused than the Z4M. Enjoy it mate.

For £20k you can get the 313ps 350z only 1 year old. I think all the £20k brand new 350z's have run out now but they're a lot cheaper than they used to be.

I really like the look of it - it's different and stylish which I always like.

Did you get any pics? I've always liked the R34 GTR. But the cheapest is around £18k and would be a fair bit older than the current Z I own. I do far prefer the look of the Z but the R34 GTR has an extremely good engine (true you can get a GTS to the same performance standard but it costs £££, whereas the GTR has it out of the factory). However Im thinking the 370z will be my next car (the self healing paint is a very good selling point!) and 0-60 in 5.1 secs very appealing. Will need to see it in person though but none in the UK yet.

I'd also be interested to know if anyone has one and can provide more info - price, sound (at idle, cruising on motorway, and flooring it), difference in drivability etc. Ive seen only two or three on Youtube and they sound very nice and look similar to stock which I like. If anyone has ever seen "Overhauling" they always use this exhaust system.

Hi The Nismo race cars use high flow panel filters in a similar stock air box and not a CAI. Was just wondering if anyone had used a high flow panel filter and how their car felt and sounded afterwards? I expect minimal if no gains due to the ecu and probably no sound difference etc but does it rev more freely through the rev range? Thanks for any info.

Thanks guys. Are you running the ISO "thermal" spacer or "basic" spacer? I'm erring towards the Motordyne as it seems quite widely used. How much are Motordyne ISO thermal 5/16" spacers from Envy normally? And how many hours fitting do you think it would take a garage to fit? 1-2 hours? How much can I expect my insurance to go up by? Do Admiral accept mods like this? How should I best describe this mod? On my last car they weren't able to understand what an exhaust manifold (6 branch/headers) were so it was just classed as non-standard exhaust system. However not sure what a plenum spacer would be classed as?

Thanks guys. With just the 5/16" plenum can you "notice" the difference on the road? And is it just a simple ecu reset after install?