RatedR

Thanks to all on here that recommended Mitz and CS. Took a trip to Leicester to see him and the team yesterday morning, everything was sorted and flying back up the M1 later afternoon with the Zed running as well as it's done since I bought it. Absolutely sound guy, felt like nothing was too much trouble. Even had the dealers Service Desk rang me for a follow up on my original visit while I was over, so gave them the "feedback" they richly deserved for their prices and invention of unnecessary work!

Common theme here I know but I cannot praise Mitz and the team at CS enough. Was made aware of them via this forum after being quoted crazy prices for MOT failure points by a main dealer. I took the Zed out of the dealers garage, drove it down to CS and didn't look back. I could talk price, friendliness, explaining the work being done or even pointing me towards the best breakfast places, everything was absolutely spot on. And Mitz is a funny guy - even stayed cheerful after his death ride in my Zed down to the tyre place before my pads and discs got seen to! I'm by no means local but this was absolutely worth the trip. Had a P2 done while the Zed was there in fact, and she was a pleasure to drive back up the M1 rather than the dog she'd been on the way down. Brilliant job from start to finish, and thanks everyone on here that recommended them to me as well Steve

Bowing to popular opinion! I've dropped Mitz a PM. Learned more about my Zed today than in the last 18 months of ownership. Thanks for your replies chaps

Cheers all. I'm in Leeds and used the Evans Halshaw Nissan near the city centre. Not so near to you CS but the prices on your site are a bit of an eye opener! I don't know as much as I should, I admit that :/ The full MOT refusal list is ; Offside rear fog lamp & Offside rear direction indicator insecure -- replace rear bumper shell and spray -- £505 Nearside and offside front brake pads less than 1.5mm thick -- £121 Offside rear brake pads less than 1.5mm thick -- £181 Rear exhaust has leak of exhaust gases and noise in excess of standard silencer -- intermediate pipe & silencer -- £763 These are parts and labour prices. Can't help feeling that I'm getting rinsed a bit! Car is back at home for now without the work done so I can try and get a look at the bumper in the light tomorrow.

So my 57 plate Zed failed it's MOT today. Not entirely unexpected as I knew the front pads were due to be changed but theres two failures that I really know nowt about and as I've been quoted the thick end of £1200 just for those it'd be good to get some input! 1) Some time in the last fortnight the offside rear fog lamp and indicator have been knocked slightly inside the bumper. Don't know if someones backed into me or what, bumper itself doesn't show any damage and the lamps still work, but it's failed on the unit being insecure. Now, the garage has said the only option is to fit a new rear bumper shell and spray it - a £500+ job! No other way to get at this fitting and secure it? 2) Exhaust failed on leak of exhaust gases and excess exhaust noise - recommendation is for a new intermediate pipe and rear silencer + fittings = £760. Car has had a full main dealer SH (I'm the second owner) and this place is the only one for miles near me so wary to take it elsewhere. But does the first issue sound legit? And is the price 'on-point' for the second issue? Any feedback appreciated at this stage. Pulling my hair out at this!

Cheers all for the feedback. I've paid for a HPI and history check on it and everything has come out 100% clean, I don't really have any barriers on this now and the seller seems like a genuine guy. Have got a very keen sports car enthusiast making the trip with me for a second opinion so all in all getting very excited now (he actually put me onto looking at Zeds in the first place at the back end of last year). Am going to a couple of local-ish dealers tomorrow to test drive 07 plate Zeds to get my eye in for the trip on Sunday

Looking for some advice here I think from you seasoned Zed-buying veterans So the story is - looking for a Zed since I got the budget up to what I needed recently, and always thought I'd go with a dealer for security. Been to test drive a couple but knew in the back of my head there were reasons why I didn't truly want them, be it bodywork, high mileage, etc. This week I've seen a Zed that is absolutely perfect for me, I've fallen in lust without even seeing it outside of photographs in all honesty. But it's a private seller. And they are 200 miles away from me. Bear in mind I've only ever owned 1 car and it was bought brand new from a dealer (mainly because it came with a years free insurance) so for many reasons I'm quite nervous about this. I feel like I am going out on a limb a bit with the distance and it being private not trade. The Zeds I've seen, I haven't truly inspected like a pro because I knew I didn't really want them. This one I do, so I'm looking for any tips or ideas of things I should be checking for beyond the usual generic advice you get on websites that don't apply to any specific car? For example where exactly do I find the VIN on these cars? Should it begin JN1-B-Z3 as suggested by http://courtesyparts.com/vin.php (it's a UK model 2007 with GT)? I thought I was prepared for all of this until I've come to the point where there is a car I truly want to buy, and don't have the fall back of going to moan at a local dealer if the car isn't as expected . So any guidance would be really appreciated and rewarded with awesome pictures aplenty if and when I actually land the beauty

What can I say - I've been given a good education since I registered and started reading here glrnet had a look already, great condition, but I'm making an effort to move away from silver for my next car!

I've got my finance through now so in the last week the hunt has began in earnest. Done a couple more test drives and settled on getting either a 06 or 07 model. Rejected a couple already and got a shortlist of a further 4 within 30 miles of me to go check out so looking forward to that, I've also stuck a post in the Wanted section in case anyone has a treasure they are selling. Cheers all for the welcome! Nice to see a couple of other Yorkies in here as well!

Budget : 9k - 10.5k top-end I've been doing some hunting locally (Leeds area) and done a couple of test drives (had one of the salesman going a bit on an icy B-road yesterday morning!) but the ones I've seen so far aren't quite on beam what I am looking for. This will be my first Zed so hoping for some help and maybe an idea if I'm over-reaching a bit for my budget! I want a 06 or 07 model car realistically. I like the facelift and newer interior and will just have to live with the higher tax rate. Mileage -- I'm thinking 40,000 or under, I can hear my Dad in my head now telling me about the resale value, just like he did for my first car 9 years ago! I'd be willing to look at up to 50,000 on the clock but only if it reflected the lower end of my budget tbh, I know the engines are really good, but right or wrong the higher numbers just put me off. Was gonna say the Sat Nav option would be nice but I've found some less than complimentary posts about the factory fit so ultimately not fussed either way in that respect. Colour! Thought about this a bit. Figured I would only ever want a black. When I went for my last drive I took a GM Grey out for a spin and they had a blue on court as well, and I liked 'em both! I'd love to see one of the orange ones in the flesh, rather than pics - wondering if it's a bit marmite? But strikes me as something I'd potentially like. So, black preferred but blue and GM grey very nice too and need to get round to seeing a local-ish orange. No silver, I need a change! I guess to get the ball rolling - thoughts on this one - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... 440596173/ ?? Almost forgot - I tried a forum search for this but no joy, what's the quickest way to identify if a car has the standard OEM wheels or the Rays? Either every one I've seen has the Rays or I am missing a trick. I know what the Rays should look like but no idea on the OEMs and if they are easy to spot. Cheers!

Tried to pm but don't seem to be allowed buddy, I'm just an oppressed n00b here If you think you've got some wiggle room in the price drop me a pm with your e-mail address and I'll get in touch that way. I'm definitely looking to buy in the next week or so.

Cheers, I figured that but then doubted myself when the poster above said it would be in the lower bracket! I'm interested, it's the colour and ballpark price I'm looking for. Am I right in thinking this is a 2005 model that was first registered in 2006 rather than the '06 facelift model, judging by the bhp that you've listed?

Beautiful car buddy, pretty much exactly what I'm looking for but out of my price range. Hope someone snaps it up

Don't know if I'm missing the terminology but does "registered late" mean it comes in at the 200 or 400£ road tax bracket?

That's what I'm leaning towards at the minute - halfway up the budget. Trying to find a black one that ticks all of the boxes!