Rainman

Well I got this unit installed at the weekend. Very happy with the result and as for functionality there is very little this thing can't do. The iPhone integration is particularly good, which was pretty high on my list of requirements. It's installed through the existing Bose amp and speakers as a short-term measure and whilst the sound is ok it's definately missing something. I'm going to be looking at amp/speaker options in the next couple of weeks and probably going to be sticking with the Alpine brand ... unless anyone else has some other recommendations? Phil

I saw a consumer program recently about exactly this (can't remember which one) - and in an age when insurance being sold HAS to be be particularly fit for purpose and do exactly what it says on the tin, this is under scrutiny atm. The issue here is insurers selling 'protected no claims discount', but then hiking your premium beyond the 'zero no claims price' because of the claim but then applying your discount to that - the result being a higher premium even with full NCD. Right now every insurer tries their luck, thats just what they do, and some even incentivise their staff to try and successfully hike a premium for any reason. None of them like giving money away without getting something back. If you stick to your guns and don't let them ride you then you will get the due premium, they have to. And the threat of involving the insurance ombudsman and accusations of "mis-sold" insurance policies tend pull them back into line pretty quickly. I've been a loss adjuster in a previous life, I know how they work and there is a world of difference between what they will try and do, what they are legally obliged to do - The fact is that if you accept an offer of settlement, no matter what clauses you have in your policy, then you've accepted it ... you're always entitled to refuse an offer of settlement of any particular claim if you don't feel it's right. The unfortunate truth is that many people are too afraid to stand up to the insurance company and accept the first offer. You should never accept the first offer. In fact, when I think about it, throughout my life I've had bike claims, car claims, household claims, and I've always had to fight my corner at some point, it has never been simple - although more recently I've had a PPI claim which ended up being stupidly simple (those companies that advertise are all crooks and you don't need them). Even premiums are negotiable at the time of renewal. I've had Direct Line drop their pants by 300 quid below the quoted price before now. Apologies for straying off topic. Phil BTW to the OP - I would still reconsider getting your car fixed via the dealer network first, and if you want to do upgrades then do them later if it warrants it. I know it sounds like a better deal to do it now but if you have any issues with the work or the parts then you have no come-back on your insurer if it turns out that there are bigger issues yet undetected.

If they're quoting you for a repair then it will be in accordance with the requirements of the insurance company. When items are merely bent they won't straighten them they will replace them, the reason being is that bending things back can cause fatigue and potentially lead to problems later on. If a rad fin is bent it might not present a leak immediately and a fault may take some time to manifest itself. Also, a repeat incident with already weakened/compromised fittings can have pretty major ramifications a second time around - Animals run out in front of cars all the time, you'd have to be pretty unlucky but it's not beyond the realms of possibility. Hence, they play it safe so that once your repair is done they don't see you again - nothing costs a garage/insurer more than dead time spent on re-fixing something a second time around. Personally, if they're quoting £2500 for all oem parts and labour and they are not writing off your car then I'd get them to do it. Last thing you want is a repeat incident potentially causing a larger dent in the whole situation. You also might want to consider how close you were to having the car written off with current trade prices on an '04 car. If it were me and you wanted to ensure that your car retained it's max possible value, I would get it repaired via the insurer and at a Nissan garage. You're not paying for it (assuming you have protected no claims) so why care as to how much it's gonna cost? Just my two pennies. Phil

OK, thanks for the heads up. Originally I was going do it myself but I've since decided in taking it into a well established ICE specialist for fitment as it seemed to me that there are a few pitfalls around incorporating it into the Bose system and if I'm paying them to do the job then it all becomes their problem and not mine. I've given them a clear set of expectations and they've quoted on that, so it's upto them to deliver. I really can't be doing with headaches in this department, I just need it to work. When it comes to engines, transmissions, suspension, etc, then that is more inside my comfort zone, but when it comes to mucking about with removing trims and running new wires and electrics ... it leaves me cold. It's not that I can't do it, it's just that I don't enjoy pulling my interiors apart. Phil

Hi Guys, Anyone using an Alipine INA-W910R as a replacement for the Bose system? My GT doesn't have satnav so I thought I'd replace the double-din unit for one of these. Phil

If you were a dealer offering a warranty with the car then it's a good price, but it's marginally high for a standard car in a private sale - check all the price guides and they will tell you the same. Phil

If you were a dealer offering a warranty with the car then it's a good price, but it's marginally high for a standard car in a private sale - check all the price guides and they will tell you the same. Phil

I had a quote from Abbey just yesterday and it was crica 140 quid for a custom alignment - they add a little extra read tow-in compared to the Nissan spec and they say it makes all the difference. Since they're on your doorstep it's a no brainer imo. I live in Hertfordshire and will be getting them to do mine within the next week or so. I was going to go this weekend but my son decided to have something called a '16th birthday' so it will have to wait another week. If you get it done before then I'd be interested to know how it works out for you. Phil

I had a quote from Abbey just yesterday and it was crica 140 quid for a custom alignment - they add a little extra read tow-in compared to the Nissan spec and they say it makes all the difference. Since they're on your doorstep it's a no brainer imo. I live in Hertfordshire and will be getting them to do mine within the next week or so. I was going to go this weekend but my son decided to have something called a '16th birthday' so it will have to wait another week. If you get it done before then I'd be interested to know how it works out for you. Phil

Just checked the pressure and the rears were at 42 psi ! Had a chat with the guys at Abbey this afternoon and I'm going to get the bushes and allignment done. Phil

Just checked the pressure and the rears were at 42 psi ! Had a chat with the guys at Abbey this afternoon and I'm going to get the bushes and allignment done. Phil

Hi Steve, Welcome. I've just been through all this myself and bought my Z at the weekend. For a UK, non-GT The price looks about right from an independant dealer. Double check the receipts and the history and see if you can verify the mileage by looking at the service intervals, mileage on the MOT and the number of pads/tyres it's had (if there evidence is there to be seen of course). If anything it might also give you an insight into how it's been driven. Otherwise it looks like a fair deal. For what it's worth, I just paid about 1700 quid more for an 05 UK GT spec car with slightly less miles. Phil

Hi Steve, Welcome. I've just been through all this myself and bought my Z at the weekend. For a UK, non-GT The price looks about right from an independant dealer. Double check the receipts and the history and see if you can verify the mileage by looking at the service intervals, mileage on the MOT and the number of pads/tyres it's had (if there evidence is there to be seen of course). If anything it might also give you an insight into how it's been driven. Otherwise it looks like a fair deal. For what it's worth, I just paid about 1700 quid more for an 05 UK GT spec car with slightly less miles. Phil

OK, I'll recheck the tyre pressures - my first big mistake is assuming that they're correct after it's service 500 miles ago. If they're over-inflated it would contribute to the back-end coming away a little too readily. Very probable - I'll check and get back to you all. @Ken, I wouldn't say that what I'm experiencing is a problem persay. I would imagine that many owners would be very happy with the stock-handling. I am being overly critical. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a nice drive and I don't think it's horrible at all - but I do believe it could be 100% better, certainly to my own preference. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but if I do want to push-on in day-to-day driving then I will be wanting to sharpen up the turn in, stop it tram-lining (which is one of my more recent discoveries) and generally make it feel a bit more predictable and planted. At the moment I feel the way to drive it is a bit like an older 911 - steem up to a corner and get all your speed off before you turn in but try and carry as much speed as you dare through the corner, then get on the gas once you're passed the apex and can see the corner opening up. Nothing wrong in that at all tbh, it's still fun. It's odd though, as it doesn't feel like it's carrying the weight up front as I thought it would - which leads me to believe that Nissan tried hard in making it work as a front-engined car and stopping understeer. I don't find it understeers at all, but once I'm able to get on the power earlier I might find that it does - I can't really tell yet as I'm just not being that brutal with it right now. It's just the way I drive I guess - I like to be able to 'drive' through the corner from the moment all my braking is done and I've started to turn in, which means my exit speed is going to be quicker as I'm feeling the throttle earlier. At the moment I wouldn't drive it that way as getting on the throttle mid corner whilst trying to adjust my position on the road with the slightly ponderous steering doesn't provide the most confidence inspiring performance. It might sounds like I'm not enjoying the car, but really I am. Honest. The thought of all this untapped potential is great - it's exactly what I was looking for from a 350Z. It's a very very good car, but with not much effort it can be made a great car, and thats brilliant. Phil

OK, I'll recheck the tyre pressures - my first big mistake is assuming that they're correct after it's service 500 miles ago. If they're over-inflated it would contribute to the back-end coming away a little too readily. Very probable - I'll check and get back to you all. @Ken, I wouldn't say that what I'm experiencing is a problem persay. I would imagine that many owners would be very happy with the stock-handling. I am being overly critical. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a nice drive and I don't think it's horrible at all - but I do believe it could be 100% better, certainly to my own preference. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but if I do want to push-on in day-to-day driving then I will be wanting to sharpen up the turn in, stop it tram-lining (which is one of my more recent discoveries) and generally make it feel a bit more predictable and planted. At the moment I feel the way to drive it is a bit like an older 911 - steem up to a corner and get all your speed off before you turn in but try and carry as much speed as you dare through the corner, then get on the gas once you're passed the apex and can see the corner opening up. Nothing wrong in that at all tbh, it's still fun. It's odd though, as it doesn't feel like it's carrying the weight up front as I thought it would - which leads me to believe that Nissan tried hard in making it work as a front-engined car and stopping understeer. I don't find it understeers at all, but once I'm able to get on the power earlier I might find that it does - I can't really tell yet as I'm just not being that brutal with it right now. It's just the way I drive I guess - I like to be able to 'drive' through the corner from the moment all my braking is done and I've started to turn in, which means my exit speed is going to be quicker as I'm feeling the throttle earlier. At the moment I wouldn't drive it that way as getting on the throttle mid corner whilst trying to adjust my position on the road with the slightly ponderous steering doesn't provide the most confidence inspiring performance. It might sounds like I'm not enjoying the car, but really I am. Honest. The thought of all this untapped potential is great - it's exactly what I was looking for from a 350Z. It's a very very good car, but with not much effort it can be made a great car, and thats brilliant. Phil

Guys. Thanks for the advise, thats exactly what I was after. I'll make some enquiries based on the above info although I won't have time to be able to get any changes in place for for a week or so. Massive thanks, Phil

Its not the TC, thats working as intended. I've turned it off and the rear is definatey breaking loose with only mild abuse, but hey I guess it could be just my level of expectation. If I wanted a drift-monster I'd be quite happy. Phil

Hi All, Having driven about 150 miles in my 350Z I'm getting the feel for it that you just can't get when test driving. My overal impression of the handling is fairly positive, but it's a long way from perfect. A couple of things I notice are the slow-ish steering and that I can make the traction controll come on in the mildest of open-sweepers with only mild throttle input. It's currently on standard 18" rims shod with Bridgestone Potenza REO50As The kind of things that come to mind to sharpen up the steering are wheel/tyre size choices but I'm gonna just hold fire on that for a moment as I don't want to sharpen up the steering if I can make the back-end break loose so easily. Weight is obviously a factor in both of these issues but I'm not quite ready to start putting my 350Z on a diet just yet. My immediate thoughts turned to ground effects and suspension changes - anyone able to relate to what I'm describing and got some suggestions? It's all very subjective I know, but I'm interested in what other folk are doing. I did a search and couldn't find much. Phil

Actually I had realised that shortly after posting but I'm not too bugged tbh. As good as nice as the Rays are I was going to change them anyway. Lots of them about and I fancy something quite different. Phil

It's a bit overcast but here's a quick snap from the iphone. I like that the previous owner has done with the wheels. I'll get some better ones up in due course. Phil

Yeah I've had the clutch in the back of my mind from the get go and will most likely be upgrading it to something beefier as part of the overal plan. Ah no, I'm not worried about that in the least mate - whilst I'm planning on driving it in standard trim for a short while, just so I can get a grip on any issues that might arise, its going to go on a serious diet in due course. Depending on the package we end up with under the hood will determine just on how severe the diet will be as I have a power-to-weight goal and quite prepared to forego the ICE completely if it comes to it. Yup, they're REO50As so happy days it seems. Phil

When did I say that ? I didn't have to sell my Leon at all unless I was going to spend nearer 10K and I never anticipated spending that much in the first place, and if I did it would have ONLY been from a dealer (for warranty, etc). The cars folks have had on here and PM'd me about have all been well under that. I don't mean to be rude but frankly my finances are none of your business and I'll spend my money however I want and trade my cars however it want, and whats more if I feel like changing my mind (which I didn't) then I'll do just that. Sorry Vik54 but I didn't see a forum rule telling me I had to run it by you first. Mods, please, this started out as an honest 'wanted' thread - you can lock this because ppl still persist in dragging it off topic and reading stuff into things which doesn't exist.

I'd been using Parkers as a guide simply because the prices tended to be a little higher so don't get too excited, which served to set my expectations a little more realistically in my hunt for a (hopefully) honest car. There is a difference between what a dealer thinks your car is worth (guide price), what an enthusiast thinks his car is worth and what in the real world it will actually change hands at which is probably somewhere in between. That 9K price from Parkers is from a dealer and not a private sale which is somewhat less, and if you traded it into a dealer then it is less still. Phil

Have no fear, they're on their way but it was dark by the time I got it home. Phil

Hi Guys, I'm now the owner of an '05 GT with 55K miles, fully loaded except for Sat Nat. Grey metallic with black leather seats and 18" Rays which have been re-finished in a slightly darker shade of grey metallic. Got it from an independant dealer for a smidge over £8k and he happily took my Cupra in part-ex. Full Nissan service history, four new Bridgstone Potenza's, serviced 500 miles ago, taxed/MOT until November and loads of receipts and history. It's a very clean and completely bog-standard car, which was exactly what I was looking for. Parkers, with the price adjusted for spec and mileage, had it valued at just over £9K so I was happy with the price. I paid a tiny bit more than I was planning but it was definately the right car and represented a good deal being that bit newer. I found I had to up my budget a little to get away from the dross I'd been to see so far (not on these forums I might add) but ultimately ended up with a car two years newer than I'd envisaged. The only thing I'm a little nervy of is that it's heading toward 60K miles on the same clutch, but it feels ok tbh. No funny noises, smells, etc. I'd contempled that area as being the first thing in line for some kind of attention anyway. The evidence suggests that the 2 previous owners haven't been heavy-footed with it - looking at the number of receipts for tyres, brake pads, etc - assuming I do have all the reciepts. I'm assured that I have EVERYTHING but that can't be proven. Phil