amstrange1

Any interest at £50?

See, I'd disagree with that. Look how good the XK looks. Just the normal one, ignoring the stunning R version. Then look at the XF. It's a muscular, handsome beast. And the XJ. Revolution of the name, but it works so very well. All great cars, yes? Then why isn't there one on every corner? They should have done better with what they've got. Much better. The financial reports for JLR suggest that as a business they're doing very well, as does their continued expansion and lengthy waiting lists for new models. They're not out to compete with the likes of the VW Group for world domination in terms of overall sales - they just don't have the manufacturing capacity. Nor should they try to - a cheapo Ford Focus rival from Jag would be pointless and at total odds with the brand, whereas a market-topping premium A4/3-series/C-class rival might. Doesn't mean it'll trounce the others in sales figures, but if they're selling all they can build and are making the business more profitable - I'd say they're doing something right.

2004 (’54) Azure Blue 350Z GT – UK car with Rays alloys We’re expecting an addition to our family next month, so sadly it’s time to sell my Zed. :'( 80,000 miles 12 months MOT 2 months tax Specification • Rays Forged Alloy Wheels (mint, in anthracite) • Standard wheels with winter tyres also available • Rear parking sensors • Heated Electric Leather Seats • Bose Sound System • Cruise Control • Xenon HID headlights • Climate Control • OEM Bluetooth adaptor for stereo • OEM Nissan Boot divider • OEM Nissan Cargo net • OEM 350Z branded floor and boot mats • Stainless steel exhaust (sounds great, but nice and civilised on the motorway) I’ve got a pile of invoices for work done since 2009, some of the highlights are: • Clutch done just before 50k • DS2500 pads front & rear • Print-out from Abbey Motorsport for 250bhp @ wheels (Circa 290bhp @ flywheel) • Recent new Vredstein Ultrac tyres all-round (~7mm tread) • Recent new rear discs • Full P3 service last time round • HPI clear (certificate supplied) • New rear wheel bearing (genuine Nissan from ZMANALEX) I bought this is as having full service history, but I only got the history from 2009 onwards when I purchased the car. Having traced it back through a few owners, I established that Marshalls Nissan Cambridge lost the service book and history when selling it in 2009. They did provide copy invoices for work they’d done on the car and a new service book, and assured me that it was an approved Nissan sale with full Nissan history at that point. I had the (most expensive) full P3 service done after I bought the car just to be sure all was good. Boot struts replaced with SGS items, so the tailgate stays up. Boot poppers also work properly too! Pain in the neck (literally) if these haven't been sorted. No nasty CV/driveshaft noises from the rear, and tyre wear is perfectly even - so the other common 350Z issues are also fine. The car drives really nicely, I spent ages trying to find a decent condition blue one on Rays so I’ve tried to pamper it! It’s always fed super-unleaded without fail – Shell V-Power wherever possible. If it goes for the full asking price I’ll throw the winter wheels and tyres in for free. Picture below to show what it looks like on them. They're Nokian WR2 winter tyres, which I've had very good experiences with winter testing cars at work in northern Europe, and have used on all my cars since. I’d also consider part-ex with cash my way for a cheap motor to use whilst I wait for my replacement Dad-wagon to be delivered. £6750ono

I still reckon it'll have a knock-on effect. Value of a 2012 car will take a pasting because of the new model being released, and it'll ripple all the way down the years 'til you're right at the bottom of the market where value is purely dictated by condition.

Both V6 and V8 sound distinctive. The V6 sounds much nicer than a stock 350Z does! The price puts it in a different market to the 370Z though, will be really interesting to see how well this sells, as JLR marketing/business strategy seems to have been on the money the last few years.

Yuck! Whether it's got the 350's motor or not, there are hundreds of dad-wagons I'd rather have!

To be honest, I did feel the same after doing some research before buying a Z. I ended up paranoid that I was going to need to budget for clutch/flywheel replacement every few years, driveshafts would need replacing as service items, tyres would wear unevenly and that the boot would keep landing on my head all the time. Only the last bit seems to be true!

I agree! I think the SGS struts are slightly longer and slightly more powerful than OEM ones, so that the poppers have a harder time of pinging the tailgate off the latch. But it seems that if you can adjust the latch and re-tension the poppers then it's all good!

That link was for a box of 1000 hence the high price Yeah, it's for a massive box of them - but it was the only link I could find to the actual ones I used. I'm sure the similar sized stuff on eBay would do the trick too!

The actual ones I used are 3M Bumpons: http://www.vikingtapes.co.uk/p-758-3m-sj5027-bumpon-protectors-79mm-x-160mm.aspx But I'm sure that anything a similar size/shape will do. They're 8mm tall and 16mm diameter.

Did you try adjusting the boot latch?

I got mine from someone at work, I'll see if I can find out the supplier - these are automotive grade parts, so the adhesive's half-decent.

This is what I did to mine: The springs on mine were fine 'til I fitted new SGS gas struts, after which the springs were no longer strong enough to clear the boot latch. The fabled 'penny trick' was only partially successful, so I tried the above method instead. They're little self-adhesive nipples used by kit car builders and the like, added to the end of the spring. By making the spring assembly 3-4mm longer with this nipple, the spring is compressed more when closing the boot and thus the additional pre-load helps to pop the boot open properly. Took all of 20 seconds to fit, and worked a treat.

Nice! Is the bright orange Pop from Warwickshire? Sure I've seen that just down the road from me.

Rear diffs and clutches can be an issue on them, most of the other stuff should be okay though as far as I'm aware. Engine is a DW12 PSA diesel engine, used widely in Fords; Citroens; Peugeots etc. so has proven reliability.

I thought that a lot of the air suspension issues were basic ones like seals leaking etc, but the main dealers will only replace complete parts rather than stripping down a £500 module to replace a 50p o-ring. L322 are supposed to be a lot more reliable than the P38 I thought too?

Bear in mind that a car on full slicks can behave very differently to on road tyres - you can usually push much harder but get less warning of the car about to break-away. Some trackdays will only let you use slicks if you've got a full rollcage, and some not at all. Most of the open-pit trackdays I've attended have been relaxed about use of slicks, presumably because the open-pit nature of the event means those on slicks can take their time getting the tyres up to temperature before going hell for leather - whereas an event run in short sessions might not give you enough time to get heat in the tyres. A trackday isn't a race, so I'd be tempted to use the ditchfinders and spend my cash on some good rubber for the road and trash the cheap stuff on track.

If you're using it on the road, it might be worth driving a RR Sport and RR back-to-back. The former handles much better! Lots to go wrong, but lots of places to buy bits from for them - so it's not as scary as main dealer prices all the time.

And yes, the gravel needed weeding!

Hockey puck is a good shout, though I've been using the wood option on my other cars for yonks.

Open to offers.

Now sold, thanks.

Can someone actually give me a link to where they're cheaper please? I paid £75 for these, so assumed £65 was a decent price. If anyone wants to make me an offer I'm all ears.

Brand new set of Pagid pads (front and rear) for Brembo calipers. £65ono £50 plus postage, or collection from near Jct12 M40 in Warwickshire.

Pagid front brake discs for use with Brembo calipers. Brand new. £135ono plus postage, or collection from near Jct12 M40 in Warwickshire.