rmgthatsme

Nice looking car! That front bumper and side skirts seem to be the same as the ones on my Japanese import though I don't have the rear spoiler on my 2004 roadster. Love the look on mine though the front spoiler has collected an awful lot of stone chips...be warned! Hope you have heaps of fun

Have only had the car a few weeks so still adjusting but a couple of weekends ago, got up early to clean the car and then go for a burn along the coastal roads and met an MX5 going in the same direction. We glanced over at each other's cars as I drew parallel and the sheer bliss we had on our faces at the prospect of the road ahead said it all. Truly a memorable moment from a kindred spirit!

@Zugara Yes the second link of the door interior shows some of the bits I'm missing. Thanks mate! I'm off to Shanghai tomorrow but will try to post some pics of my door interiors at the weekend so others can compare with theirs and maybe show me pics of their door inners so I can compare and see what I need (show you mine if you show me yours ) to purchase from the dealers. Thanks again for the kind help!

Could anyone who has a 2004 roadster (or coupe if the doors are the same) please post a couple of pics showing the interior door detail of the weather sealing strips. I think my recently acquired roadster is missing the relevant trim and I want to be able to see what is missing so I know what I need to find. Thanks

I work for one of these multi billion dollar multinationals in a corporate role and we swallow up competitors of various sizes from time to time. There can be many reasons for doing this e.g. penetration into a market where the target is entrenched e.g. through having a sustainable moat such as a dominant brand, entrenched sales or distribution network, technology IP, under valued assets etc. and it would cost more to fight than buy. What I might suggest you openly do for the time being is...nothing! Privately, study the company. Try and learn of their behaviour in past cases if any. Each company has it's corporate DNA and often follows the same behavioural pattern. Try to understand the motivation for the acquisition. With a clear understanding you can best plan your actions. What someone working in a recently acquired company would do if the reason for acquistion was securing a dominant brand is very different from the actions to be considered in the case of purchase for the value of a distribution system. Also depends very much where you are in the corporate food chain in terms of your function and your level in the heirachy. Please also have a quiet night out with the missus or GF and get a second opinion. Not from your workmates as they are naturally biased or in an unsettled frame of mind. Get a 3rd party view from someone who is divorced from the situation and who only has your interests at heart. Many acquisitions work out very very positively for the target's employees. Remember, your company was acquired for a reason and you need to identify the value your firm provides to the new parent company. Understand the value and you will be a lot better positioned to make an advantageous personal career strategy. Hope this helps mate! (and sorry to sound like a consultant )

All these cars make no "sense" at all and thats their charm. Comparing these 2 cars is always going to be heavily biased to one or the other as they appeal to the heart rather than any real logic don't you think? I love my recently acquired 350Z roadster and the way it has suddenly caused my 2 lads to be interested in going down to the shops with Dad. Wouldn't want the Z4 as I don't like the way it looks but a neighbour has one and he has the same goofy grin when he gets out of it as I do coming out of the Zed so I guess it also ticks all the right boxes. Lots of test drives of both?....

@PickledSushi, thanks for that great step-by-step explanation. Will give it a go at the weekend as a first approach and if this fails will then look into wrapping. Cheers

When people talk of using crayon do they mean a wax crayon or a coloured pencil (crayon means different things in different places)? If its a wax crayon, what stops this coming off onto hands, clothes etc? Hope this deosn't sound like too idiotic a question. Has the use of a black indelible marker pen ever been tried or would the somewhat glossy nature of this material show up against the matt base? Thanks all!

@ds2000, thanks mate for taking the time to run through the process with me. Will also google around for furhter knowledge. I feel I now at least have a basic enough understanding to enter into a discussion with a bodyshop and not seemng clueless. Thanks man, much appreciated!

thank you very much for the detailed posts about your experiences. Seems to be that unless i can see some of the shop's previous work it may well need a bit of luck to find a decent place. I should plan on 2 to 4 weeks without the car and shouldn't care too much about how many coats etc. Is their having one of those all enclosed paint booths & ovens a must for a good result or would you say this is less important than a good prep?

@ds2000 thats really helpful, thanks . I'm wondering why they all seem to say it will take 2 weeks to a month to complete. Guess I will have to go back and ask for more details now that I'm a bit more clued in.

If you're coming out my way for a holiday sometime, makes sense to get your eyes tested here (free by a certified opt.) and get your specs made. Really cheap and every brand and fashion you can imagine as it seems almost the entire local population wears specs. Getting so much to be the norm that you even get people who don't need specs wearing them as a fashion accessory! My wife got her lasik work done on her eyes 5 years back in Hong Kong for the equivalent of about 2k by one of the best eye surgeons. Must say it was a bit odd sitting out in the private waiting room and being able to see the surgery in real time on the TV screen Surgery worked a treat though!

Its mainly the bumper/bonnet and leading edge of the side skirt (in the wheel arch). I am concerned that for pearlescent white, I will end up with badly matching panels if I don't do a full respray. I don't intend to do it now as it's not too bad at all but am trying to gain a little knowledge in preparation. Any ideas on how many coats of paint & clear would be involved in a decent respray and the time taken if it is to cure properly with baking?

Just got mine a week ago and I hope you have every bit as much fun as i'm having

New Owner of a 2004 pearl white roadster. I am thinking of getting a respray a little later on due to stone chips and just started asking around on prices for a total body respray in the same colour. Could anyone outline what would constitute a decent respray i.e. how many coats of paint and clear, oven baked etc. How long should all this take? The reason I'm asking is that we have been quoted as long as 2 weeks to 1 month for the work and prices ranging from the equivalent of 1,000 quid to 2.5 times this (OOOh that pearlescent paint's tricky stuff to get right...) so a little confused by the variation in timing and costs. Could I get the benefit of someone's experience what would constitute a decent respray (outside panels only), the process and how long it should take? Have never had any spraying done so a total noob in this area and afraid can be spotted as one a mile off

Hey there Bockaaarck, I am and you may indeed and I wholeheartedly concur Total bliss somewhat diminished when I had my second visit to the pumps yesterday after the first fill up a week ago rather painful! Will have to ease off the boy racer antics (2nd childhood) and give in to the pleasures of the more leisurely (and possibly age appropriate) top down cruise for which the weather here in Hong Kong is purrrrrfect. Cheers mate!

What rims are these Hi Winkj, Like Ian said: Enkei GTC 01's. Came with the car and were one of the selling points. They're in a gunmetal finish which I really like! Never ceases to amaze me how much knowledge is on this forum, I'd never in a million years be able to look at a photo of a car on the other side of the world and identify the rims with such authority...

Thanks everyone for the comments and the welcome. My missus is a peach and her suggestion about the car is only one more example that confirms it. Lucky beggar or what! We now return you to your normal channel

Good Luck with your search. I've only had my 2004 JDM roadster for a week. I bought the first one I saw and am having a fantastic time so really hope it all goes well for you too. Amazing cars and genuine value for money performance.

OK fortified by a bowl of muesli, went out at 08:30 to the Zed armed with my bucket and a sh!tload of Megs goodies (car wash, clay bar, detailer, paint restorer, premium wax, interior finisher etc...). at 15:30 was shagged but satisfied having not stopped for anything incl. lunch. Took my younger boy for a blast on the mountain roads stopping for photos which follow. Having spent the whole day crouched over and detailing the car, about the only bit of me which hasn't seized up now are my fingers Here are the photos: http://s964.photobucket.com/albums/ae127/rmgthatsme/Zed/

The roadster is definitely not girlie... but then im biased! +1 ... only girlie if you usually drive with the top up; otherwise obviously extremely manly! (proud 1 week owner of a white 2004 JDM roadster)

ahhh i remember the typhoon warnings Yeah, we still get a day off from work when they blow hard enough ... the typhoons that is

Hopefully pics to come (weather permitting) this weekend after I get all the crud off since it's been tipping it down all week since I got the car

Another Hong Kong regular visitor here. Used to work on ships heading in and out of there and Yantian. I've wasted alot of money on Nathan Road over the years! Anyways, sounds like you got yourself a nice purchase Hey my Dad was a ship's captain working out of HK and doing the south east asia run. Hong Kong's a great place and a perfect place for car spotting if you like exotics; Lambos, Masers, Ferraris, Porches etc. wall to wall and if you like Jap kit, the local lads love customizing them with bits from Japan. Haven't realy ever liked Jap cars until I saw my Zed in a dealers, looks sort of "meaty" almost reminds me of a modern day reincarnation of a Healy 3000 ...

Hello Mate, Not Chinese but my missus is from Hong Kong and I speak Cantonese plus some Mandarin. I went to school and Uni in UK (a lot longer ago than i like to remember )