Rick_1138

Yeah but it's the next 500 miles I worry about lol. Going from a 35 mile commute a day to a 65 mile one and halving my fuel economy, not sure I'm playing this game properly, oh and adding 100 to rent with a move. Hmm at least it puts a smile on my face whenever I see it

Well took the brave pills n placed a deposit on the 313 GT car with nismo kit. Barring any shenanigans with tesco I should be sorting out collection next weekend. I took the car out for a brief test ride and it felt crisp and tight, didn't have the twitchiness or looseness that the other car had in the steering, felt more compliant and even over bumpy potholed roads the 18" wheels didn't crash or anything. Car has good recent service history, only questions are clutch and plug changes, clutch may be needed but it felt okay not snatchy or any slipping, plugs could be easy enough to change in a weekend if needed. Checked all the bits worked like air con, sat nav came on and was in English always a plus! Rear boot stayed up easily, though the button was a pest to find haha. Main jobs are swap the induction pancake filters back to standard boxes, I always feel they never make a massive diff tbh, get wheel centre caps and give a damn good wash, always best way to bond I find. Then put fuel in it so I get into the rhythm of coming from a 45mpg diesel to a 25mpg super unleaded car! Oh god

Yeah thats the car, haha, i have a rival for the sale, i said Hi lol

HaHa, so youre the guy in oz who the salesman told me was interested in her I was looking at this very car on saturday morning. Torn between it and one in Kintore which is an earlier 260bhp car. I do like it too, and dealer was helpfull but admitted he isnt too knwledgable about the oily bits on these things hehe. He was trying to sign me up right there by telling me someone else was interested but i said i am not rushing and if its gone its gone. The one in kintore is nice too, but i do like the body kit and its only 4 miles from me rather than some 250 like most of them hehe. Hopefully we wont fall out battling over it haha

Thanks for that Z Hopeful, you are mirroring much of my thoughts. The road tax is in the high band, but tbh if you cant afford an extra £250 a year, then i shouldnt be looking at the car. I will need a test drive of the silver car to see what its like, no rattles, odd shimmies, noises that seem unusual etc etc. Just a case of sorting out the pennies next and making my decision. Hopefully be sorting it by next week, barring the kemnay car doesnt sell, as apparently there is a guy in Oz looking at the car when he comes back lol, whether thats true or not was funny when i said to the salesman "well if its gone its gone" he seemed deflated i wasnt buying on the day.

Had a look at a couple of them now, i dismissed the M3 as the insurance is £120 more a year and the possibility of a big bill is more likely in the long run i feel. Also i prefer the look of the 350, i like a car that looks a bit different. However the plot thickened last week when a silver 313 GT with Nismo pack appeared at a local dealer, so i went and had a look, car looks quite nice, its an 07 plate done 43k miles and is at £11.650, dealer will take off £650 but i pay road tax, so about £400 off. Car looks straight, some scruff marks inside on the interior but that would clean up, a crack on a little bit of the door interior but nowt massive, black interior with NAV. The main downfalls are, all the centre caps are missing from the alloys (Not Rays the other standard type) which isnt a big issue but would be a fiddle to fix unless easy to source nissan centres. The front of the side skirts behind the front wheels have paint rubbed off from stone wear which again i can fix easily with airbrush. The car has an aftermarket exhaust which i believe passes MOT's, induction system has got pancake filters and stainless pipes fitted but the original system is in the boot so i can turn back to original. The other car is the gunmetal one with toffee leather, its a 55 plate, sitting at £8750 done 38k miles, its a standard early car with the smaller power engine, but i think is a nicer condition, but the bright silver car has some options i would prefer. So its a decision game now, do i save some £2200 and get the older car and tweak the car to how i want it to look, or buy the newer car that is slightly more tired looking inside (though i can detail it so would bring it back) but pay more tax a year and have a mahoosive rear spoiler haha. Also are there any major diffs between the 313 gt engine and the early 260bhp etc cars? parts wise i mean. Cheers folks.

Yeah I thought it m8ght j7st be tramlining with the slightly larger wheels as I say it didnt feel wonky or anything. Will see what next week or so says

Was out in the z on monday and it was good to drive n sounded crisp but issues I found were the seat seemed to be pushing my back out like the lumbar support was way too much and I couldnt find way to adjust it, an odd thibg but would annoy me. The other thing was the car seemed sort of nervois or twitchy through the wheel like I was making constant miniscule adjustments all the time. But the car turned in fine etc but going in a straight line I felt the car wasnt relaxed but could be cozim used to the audi. Test driving an e46 m3 on monday as nice one locally. Then decision time

Well i had a look at a few cars on sunday and went to look at the local 350. Had a good look all round the car and could see no rust, bubbling or mismatched paint, which was a good start, all panels seem straight, no ripples or dents. Had a seat in the car and found it very comfy, the seats worked correctly after i found out the forward motion was electric...looked for a handle for quite a while haha. All looked tidy inside, but as we still have a good coating of ice n snow, i didnt start it or ask for a run, will be going back next week when i am off and the dealership owner was fine with that. Had a look at a mk2 TT at another local dealer, but its £14k, 2.0T but is a bit poverty spec with half leather, no quattro etc, the diesel TT had all the options and was newer by 1 year but was £16k and too much. The 350 sitting at just under £9k would save £4k over an equivelant TT near me, and £4k buys a lot of fuel for a year. The proof will be in the pudding, and i could find i dont like the driving position of clutch etc etc, so will try a few of them next week and see, there is a 123d near me too, but its metallic orange, need to see if i can live with that colour, the toffee interior on the zed is actually quite nice in the flesh, i just dont like the tan bit on the steering wheel, but i could always swap with a black one over time.

Well mulling over things at the weekend i am pretty settled on one of 3 options. A 350z, a 135 or 125i coupe or a Mk1 Audi TT sport (the 240 bhp one). All 3 can be had for about £10k in reasonable nick circe 25-50k miles on them. So just need to get a seat in them and see which one i like the most. Not too fussed about fuel, will probably be adding about £100 - £150 a month to my current bill changing from diesel to a larger petrol car. Just dont want to get something i am going to hate in a year, but i have operated larger engine cars before (2.8) and that was when fuel was about £1.25 a litre. I just want something that brings a smile to the face when i want o have a play etc.

Well one of my last cars was an Integra Type R dc2 which i fully restored, so used to odd coloured seats hehe. There is a metallic grey car nearby (60 miles) but its £12.5K, with lower mileage (22k) as the car only 7 miles from me that is up for about £9k ( circa 38k miles). A black car near me is £10k but has done some 60k miles. There is a lovely black car 09 plate in newcastle but that is also £13k so more than i really want to spend but within budget if over 4 years rather than 3 for a loan. Just depends how the orange leather looks in real life, as its a sort of orange toffee colour in the pics, but i can change the gearknob to a NISMO\titanium affair, and get handbrake retrim kit, steering wheel wouldn't be that hard to get re-trimmed just removing the thing with airbags is always fun adventure in not bashing your face in with compressed airfilled bag

I might regret orange leather seats though lol. Hopefully fuelbills wont ruin me, but its not a huge issue with 70 miles a day need to think hard about the cist of a 25 avg mpg car

Thanks for the friendly welcome folks. Hopefully going to have a look at a local gunmetal car on sunday. I have only sat in a 370z black edition so want to see what seats are like to be in and the likes of head room, is it dark inside etc. I sat in a Mini Coupe the other day, was like sitting in the cupboard under the stairs! Only issue with this one is it has the orangeish leather seats, gerknob and steering wheel panel, i could live with the seats but the steering wheel and handbrake look bad. Spose i could retrim, next near car i like is £4k dearer, so you can do a lot with £4k! Like buy a house i hear the GF cry......sigh

Thanks for that, much the same thought process as myself. Why would i have to get a convertible z4 though? Would be a coupe i am looking at, though its about £12k for the silver one i liked. Will have a look at a 350z at the dealer i bought the audi from at weekend if its still there, get a seat in it, they may even let me test drive as they let me away in the audi last time, and i bought it.

Yeah i am seeing a fir few about, though up here, setting Auto trader at 200 miles only takes to Glasgow, then its national, go about 250 miles and the numbers jump up lots, but id rather not be doing 400 mile round trips to see cars too often. I am pretty open in my spec, colour wise i am happy with silver, black or blue, interiors almost all have leather and bose i have seen. Allow wise i can always buy a set of aftermarket rays and fit them for summer use

Hi all, My name is Rick and i was directed here from the PH forum after looking for info about possible car change, one of the buying options is a 350z and was told this is the place to be . I am 30 and live around Aberdeen in Jockland, currently punt about in a 2.0 TDI A3 which is nice n all, if a bit glum. Past chariots have included prelude VTEC, Integra Type R DC-2, couple of MR-2's, 318IS, a VR6 mk3 golf....yeah..i know....and various rot boxes of my youth. However i am now at a point where i am looking for something more fancy and to keep for a few years. The main candidates are: 1 series coupe BMW 125i or 123d, Z4 3.0 SI Honda Civic Type R 350Z GT Audi TT Mk1 sport or TT Mk2 VR6 So some scope for choice. There is a few 350z's near me, all of which i think are GT cars (leather and bose) but some dont have rays alloys? One i have seen is sitting at £9k with 30k miles, dark silver, only issue is seats are an odd sort of vindaloo\bad day in loo colour of yellowy brown. other than that looks lovely. But there are 2 £13k cars bit further away one silver with red leather seats or a black car with black interior. However not sure they are worth an extra £4k. So lots to think about...also moving from a 35 mile commute to a 70 mile commute....and getting a 3.5 v6...MADNESS hehe. Hope to get lots of info and make my choice, 350 or Z4 are the desired choices, but sanity may dictate a disel euro box