Anubis

I find it feeling quite heavy, but a powerful solid lump of a car. Like everyone has been saying it does give you an illusion of speed - test driving at 90MPH when I thought I was doing just 60MPH (I slowed right down of course). It's like going 500mph in a jet liner - your going really fast but you don't notice it (when cruising in the zed).

I got back into my hot hatch afterwards and it feels totally different. My current car is quick (206 GTi 180) but like the Type-R, you have to rev the nuts off it whereas the 350z glides up the revs by itself. It feels solid and totally comfortable going on the upper-end of limits (hot hatches make me feel like I am constantly racing people because of the nature of revving them to death).

The zed certainly isn't the fastest car, but as said it is an extremely good GT cruiser that is suited to long distances. Hot hatch I guess is like a big go-kart that you can nip around in corners with, etc - the zed just feels more grown up and is a real sports car.

Hmmm...tough decision. TBH, I wouldn't be too impressed if someone put a deposit down on my car and then started wanting extra stuff afterwards (it feels threatening rather than negotiating). However, like I said, if you don't ask you don't get. If the chap says no, try and do a "sub-deal" and say you will pay 50% of the cost for those changes to ease the burden.

Ignore the other bloke trying to sell you the other car. There is always going to be a "better" offer on the table as time goes on. You're obviously happy with the zed you put a deposit down for so stick to it (why run the risk with another one - where does it end?!). Otherwise in 6 months time you could be telling yourself its another 2-3k less than now and if you had only waited, bla bla bla - thats not the point of a sports car - you get it to have fun in it and never see a car as an investment!

Thinking of doing the same as you, i've got one dealer to knock some money off a car but i still dont think its enough, going to ring today and say if he sells to me for 13.5k then hes got a deal, if he doesnt then ill keep looking

Can you let me know what response you got? Any considerations or slight increase on offer?

The market is @*!# at the moment but traders still need to make a profit so they need to sell but i doubt their is £2.5k clear profit in £16k cars at the moment......

Agreed - I would say trade in for a good 56 one is around the £13k mark tops. I'm going to have to see. The thing that puts me in an excellent position is I actually have all the cash right now - no waiting for finance or loans, etc (I've saved for ages so I can buy one so I'm not looking to blow the lot cos someone else wants to be greedy).

Hi guys,

I'm looking at some 56 plate GT Uk cars with around 15k miles on them and looking for an idea of value based on my budget.

The dealers are selling them at £16k. Lets assume, all is fine with the cars - would it be unreasonable to offer £13.5k or would I be expecting a "laugh in my face" response. I know on personal trades, many of them are people's pride and joy and would likely get different responses depending on the individuals desire to sell, however with a trader it is just stock that can't be sold. Where would you draw the line at being cheeky?

I always have the moto of "if you don't ask you don't get..."

Nice find!

I'm looking for an Azure one though around 15k miles. Plus I can't buy until May time (I'm in that painful stage of looking every 5 mins wishing time to go faster) - I need to get my 4th year NCB, tax my current car before selling it on, etc - which is all in May.

Oh well...good things come to those who wait so I am told.

Thanks for the comments and thoughts guys.

It's good to hear some views. If the car is an older model, then I don't mind too much about the rear clusters - I can easily pay for LED one's and swap them over. I'm getting the feeling that the 'older' model would be more value for money if no newer versions are in the same price range.

The important thing I will be looking out for is obviously the quality of the car, so it's likely I will probably be aiming for the 287BHP version. If the right 'new model' one came along in the same price range then I would obviously go for that but it won't be a 'must have' option for me.

I just don't want to get into a situation of 2-3 years down the line I wished I had gone for the newer model.

Any way, I have to say that after driving the zed it does have a feeling of a 911 about it. The best way I could describe driving a zed is mix both a 911 and a Golf R32...well, thats what I thought. Could be wrong...

If anyone else has more thoughts on which version they would take then please keep commenting. I will be checking up on this thread...

Thanks Again.

Hi guys,

I'm looking for some advice from existing members since you know the car very well.

I had my very first test drive in a 287BHP '06 zed today that had the older version interior (with GT pack). I asked the dealer if he can feel any real difference in the engine upgrades and he stated that the 313BHP feels a lot quicker than the 287BHP I drove. I'm not sure (as with all dealers) if I would take his word on this, because obviously 313BHP is the latest which is more money for his future sale.

If you had £15k (tops) to spend on a zed (looking for either 287BHP or 300BHP), what one would you go for (please try and set aside biased views based on your own car - what would you choose now if you could)? I plan to mod the car with all the Nismo stuff too (this isn't in my £15k budget).

Also, I compared the two interior styles (old and new) and checked out the 'new better feel' plastics in a brand new 08 model and the older 06 one - the black stuff feels exactly the same. The only thing I could see in quality is the center console - but is it really worth the extra £2-3k when buying 2nd hand?

I've checked the FAQ's and read tons of posts of comparisons, so I know the differences - I would like an opinion based on what you feel about the zeds you drive. For those of you who have an 'older' version (287BHP), do you feel a bit gutted at the extras the 300BHP one has to offer? If you had the chance, would you pay an extra £2-3k to have this stuff on your cars with the power upgrade? Would you now go for an older model and save a few thousand or stick to your guns and get the newer model?

I can't afford the 313BHP since I want to also mod this in the future (prices are still just out of the £15k band so I'm not even considering this).

Please feel free to comment so I can make a judgement call...

Thanks.

Thanks Alex and Sarah. I will look into this later today (at work atm).

Hi,

I contacted Envy on their email address on their site (sales@envyperformance.com), however no one has got back to me.

Does anyone know their forum username so I can PM them for a quote?

I'm planning to get a zed in around a month, however I'm also budgeting for a fair few mods straight away. Nismo V1 aero kit, exhaust, JTW pop charger, B-pillar covers, etc.

I was originally going to get the stuff from ESR, but now they have gone Envy seem to be the next best place to go (unless you guys can tell me otherwise)...?

I'm only after the real Nismo products.

Thanks everyone for all your warm welcomes.

I haven't been in a zed yet (apart from car shows and constant gawping when I see one in car parks), but hope to book a test drive soon.

As for my current cars ride - yes it is fairly hard. I have to think twice when I see road signs for speed bumps or average size pot holes in the road (go over them very slowly). Obviously not going to be stupid and drive into pot holes in a zed (or any other car for that matter), but I am hoping that it is a little more comfortable than the GTI 180.

Not expecting Rolls Royce comfort, but I also don't want my spine smashed to a million pieces after passing over a stone on the road.

i'm guessing you missed the post about bigphil suffering ill health and has subsequently closed his ESR business

what!

I hope he is ok...the man seems to be a legend around here. Isn't there anyone else that can provide Nismo bits and bobs like Big Phil (also without the stupid stealer price increases)?

ESR had such amazing prices and amazing products. Hope there are other traders on here willing to take my hard earned cash in the summer.

The main thing is I hope Big Phil gets better.

post some pics of the £15k

lol...I don't have it stacked up in piles of 50's in my house.

Its just a 'boring' (I use this word loosely btw) number in my savings account. It took so long to save up! As sad as it sounds, I even gave up going out with mates at times so I could save - trust me, I'm dedicated to the 350z thing.

I don't know if it's just me, but I hate the idea of having debt (i.e car loans) - especially during a recession. I told myself that if I wanted a zed that much, I will have to work for it and save it up - so when I finally hand over the cash I know every penny was earnt with hard work and I could drive away with no finance or bank loan.

However, my bank account has not taken into account a certain Big Phil yet...this is when it will get interesting.

Darren. but you probably know us all by now

Yer I kind of do. Hope I didn't come across as some stalker type weirdo! I've been on a few forums (used to be part of the GTR one for a few years), but I can honestly say this forum has a good community feel. Everyone helps each other out, which is brilliant.

I hope one day I can help a few people out, but for now I shall remain as another newbie.

Hey everyone!

I've been lurking on these forums for about a year now and have only just decided to say hello - so...."hello!"

I've read posts, tech specs, the lot - I'd just like to say a big thank you to everyone here really.

After a year of constant saving I finally have around £15k to spend on a zed - but I'm holding out until around April because that's when I get 4 years NCB. I'm also predicting that the 350z should go down in price a little bit more since its closer to the 370z release date and dealers may want to try and shift them off the courts asap - especially during our lovely recession.

I've also been in contact with Big Phil already (few months ago) about mods, so fingers crossed I have some pictures for all of you with nice shiney Nismo stuff.

I first got interested in cars years ago when I was only 18. I remember having a ride in a certain 'famous' Nissan R34 GTR Nur spec (530BHP) - since then I have been hooked on cars, particuarly geared towards performance. I've also been lucky enough to have driven a Murcielago, F430 and a 911 Turbo on a track and I hope to take my future zed to the Ring this summer.

I currently drive a 206 GTI 180. Nice and quick and handles very well but my god I can see what people say about French reliability (ride is flipping hard too) - after almost 3 years of ownership I'm getting fed up of taking the thing to a garage over such silly little things (CD player broken, axle nut fallen out, random error messages that pop up on screen, etc). Its been a good ride - but I'm looking much more for a 'wow' factor that I'm hoping a zed can provide and my first proper sports car.

I live in Bedfordshire and my real name is Darren.

I shall no doubt keep reading all your posts and thanks again for such a great forum.

Well done.

I read all the posts, but couldn't figure out how much you started from - can you tell me?

You got it for £14.5k, and it was originally....?

Once we know this, a lot of newbies (like me) know how much of a discount we can really get.

(Btw, hello everyone).