Stutopia

I'm on the Fylde Coast, seen lots of good about L & G, is the nearest good place to me, anyone know anywhere recommendable a little closer to Blackpool at all?

Is Blackpool far enough up! I'll keep look around here, thanks again for the info.

Thanks for the info RT, was thinking it would be more like £1500 after the quote, those prices are a bit beyond what I wanted to spend. I guess I'll take the repair for £400 and start researching the vinyl to get the colour change I'd like at a future date. As for the seagulls, guess ill just have to stick to feeding them dry rice

I noticed some small issues with my Zed's GM paint, couple on the roof and one on passenger door, each no bigger than a minor cigarette burn. I sent some photos off to a body shop and also asked if they would de-badge whilst it was in there and pop on my new shiny black Zed badges. Got a quote of about £400 to paint the 2 full panels and pop the badges off. This got me thinking, what if I get the whole thing resprayed, it would take care of the small stone chips on the front as well and I always wanted blue or black, now's my big chance. Questions: 1) would a full colour change have a catastrophic effect on the resale value? 2) might a smart repair job on these marks, followed by a vinyl wrap be a better idea? 3) how long does a wrap last if you take care of it? 4) any other suggestions on tackling these that I haven't thought of? 5) is it legal to shoot seagulls if they cr@p on your car? Please ignore the tatty door handle, they're next on my list.

that looks amazing, the black is so good washed mine the other day, bird sh!t across the roof inside about 10 minutes, I was so pleased it was just a quick wash and not the full detail - I'd have been screwin'

I wanted a blue or black soooo much, but a combination of only 33k on the clock of a GM grey and me being massively impatient, meant it never happened. Good luck with it, a black popped up days after I bought my grey, fuming! Having said all that, it still looks awesome, drives awesome and I don't really notice the colour when I'm burning off rude boyz at the lights. I do cast envious eyes at other Zeds, but I never start mine up and feel anything but love for her. Good luck and try to do what I failed to, stay disciplined! Or maybe a vinyl wrap.....

Welcome, the blue is such a great colour. You're not wrong about the pennies!

Hi

I too changed my gaiter today, from black to this red 'un and I also popped on some new valve caps, also in red, but no photo. Not strictly today, but yesterday had a proper HU installed... and changed the battered old OEM gear knob for this little fella. Some really impressive, and severely advanced, mods posted on here. I hope I can reach those kind of skills one day.

Welcome! Bit of a noob myself, me and the Zed have our 1 week anniversary on Thursday, absolutely love it so far. I also bought a gun metal 54 GT, with 33000 miles and I paid a chunk more than £6k - so I'd say you've done way better than me! The first thing I changed was the worn gear knob, Steve @ Redline sold me a nice one ( http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/160-redline-styling/ ), quick delivery and I am very pleased with it. Great service. There's a few pictures in his customer photos section to peruse a load of knobs.

Thank you.

Really glad someone's posted with good comments on this unit. I just picked up a Pioneer AVH-X2500T which I believe is pretty much the same, but slightly cosmetically different. Sounds like you're well pleased with it, so I'm hopeful I'll be the same! However, the company that fitted it today couldn't get the steering controls working, so I'm taking it back on Wednesday as they think they know what they need to do differently. Just in case they don't figure it out, do you know which adapter this HU requires to make it all singing and dancing with the Bose amp/stereo, and particularly the steering controls? Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. PS - Hope you don't mind me asking, I don't mean to hijack the thread, but it's so close to my HU I had to ask.

That is sensational, I may throw away my dreams of stick on black vinyl. I wonder if the bloke would be willing to go through it all again? Bet the price goes up now he knows what he is in for!

I'm thinking of doing something similar to hide a multitude of sins on my centre console, I like the look of this. Sorry for the barrage of upcoming questions. Any lessons learned you could share? Where did you source the material/adhesive? Is it special automotive? Did you consider a contrasting colours to the rest of the interior? I quite like aubergine, but then again I'm weird. http://www.fabric-online.co.uk/media/Aubergine_Suede_xl.jpg

Didn't see the suede mods, will find, thanks for the other tips and soooo quickly.

My 2004 GT has a less than perfect centre console, from the triple gauge surround, sat nav lid, stereo surround, gear surround, right back to the rear cubby there are a few scratches and marks. This is the sort of thing which drives me nuts, so I'm considering some options. (1) seen some dash conversion kits from USA, bringing the 06 onward interior to my 04. These look great, but aren't cheap. Anyone sell/source them in the UK? (2) carbon fibre/vinyl pre cut wrap kits for self install. Not sure cf interior is my first choice, but it would definitely be better than the marked plastic I have. Anyone advise me how skillfull you need to be to complete a great looking job with this type of solution? Or should I just buy yards of it and cut to fit? (3) some sort of upholstered covering, maybe suede or thin leather type material. Would be a professional job, same cost as option 1 you reckon? Any other suggestions/links/northern based companies would be greatly appreciated, I'm certain I've not thought of everything.

You're not wrong. I was just reading the fantastic "how to wash your car" guide at: http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/2663-a-simple-guide-to-car-detailing/ I always thought washing a car meant finding a disused petrol station and asking someone there for the premium hand job. Looks like I was all wrong!

Have you a link to a walkthrough/guide by any chance? I did search but couldn't find one. I found stuff on removing the 350z badge and the burger but I want to keep them. The previous owner has stuck a Nismo badge on the boot, and as far as I can see there isn't a single Nismo product in the car. Not only that, it's faded and looks guff. Last but not least, where I live there's a strong possibility some enterprising 14 year old with a screwdriver and a single figure IQ will try and pry it off, making a monkey's breakfast of the whole backend.

So. Firstly, thanks all for the info and answers and knowledge I've picked up on here, ultimately it has led to the inevitable purchase of my very first Zed! Hopefully a couple of photos will appear below, better to follow. Picked her up today, little different to the rental Fiesta 1.25 I've had the last month (not bad little cars BTW). She's a 2004 GT and covered a little over 33k. Nearly 100% stock aside from a Nismo badge on the back (how do you get them off?) and a Scorpion exhaust. However, a new evo-r gearknob has just arrived and some cf door handle covers are en route (thank you to Steve @ Redline), also booked in for a new AV unit on Monday - can anyone live without bluetooth? Can't see me doing much more to her than a few more cosmetic tweaks, but I have heard about this Zeditis thing going around... Thanks again everyone who's chipped in on my posts thus far, you made me buy this. PS - Anyone else noticed the incredible sound these babies make?

I really want one. Even if it was slightly wide in the channels, possibly even slightly domed, to reduce obstruction of the gear stick. I'd pay over 20 English pounds. It'd have to be a chrome finish, maybe brushed aluminium.

Anyone got/seen a metal plate style gear stick boot in a Zed, like you see in Lambos or Ferraris? In case I didn't explain myself, picture here: http://www.wi4x4.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1424 I want one!

I'm so excited its unreal. Getting some of the more expensive questionable bits looked at this weekend and hopefully take her home next week, all done. Thanks all for comments and suggestions, the feedback, knowledge and excellent community here on the forum has meant I have a lot more confidence in my decision to buy a Zed. Broke my cherry and ordered my first bit of customisation from redline, but I'm not turning this into one of those nob comparison threads just cause I've sent for a titanium one! I'll post some pics of my very stock Zed once I've given her a once over with a microfibre and some leather treatment. Then I have some plans...

Have done. Ta.

UK. Got no photos. The ad has been taken down on account of my interest.

Thanks for the quick responses all, particularly the blow-by-blow Keyser) some things for me to to think about. Having read the written report (the extracts of which are above) I was concerned about a couple of things that appeared to be more than simply age combined with lack of use. However, the conversation I had on the phone with the guy was so much more positive. He consistently pointed out that the car was in good shape for her age, that he'd seen quite a few, and that although the stabiliser frame was corroded it was still solid and again would be expected at the age. I guess it's a question of what he was willing to say to me on the phone, and what exactly he was willing to sign his name to. Your comments have been helpful. I'll have a think. The roof glue spots were tiny, it makes them sound like puddles on here.