nowhereboy

The problem has never happened again anyway guys and ive done about 1500 miles since posting this original topic!

Forgot to answer the original question... I'm with the majority, those wheels are hideous.

I didnt no this! So why does it rattle in the first place then? Any ideas?

Mine also rattles when turning off the ignition sometimes. I was a little worried it might be serious but the guys on here put my mind at rest.

I got the cutting out problem with the original aerial too! Not sure whats up with it. Its not like it looses reception it just cuts out. How much are the stubbys?

Had a bit of a nightmare getting the decals on as they both stuck to the backing, got their in the end tho, doesn't look to bad. The aerial was a cheap 3 quid ebay job and still looks way better than the stock one. Reception is just as poor as it was before. My radio keeps cutting out, it has done since I bought it. Super frustrating! Car looks much nicer from the back without the wiper tho, deffo worth doing

I'd be interested to see some more links to sub £1000 wheels. I will be in the market for a set of alloys soon and can't justify spending nearly 2 grand for wheels and tyres.

Mine is even worse than yours mate, must be quite common. I'm planning on trying to paint it or something first. I'd be interested to see what these cost to replace too.

Mine definitely has a mechanical sort of oil/petrol kinda smell when giving it some beans.

I like it. Not sure it will work well on your colour car tho. Would look good on the black or silver ones.

You guys will be sick of me banging on about this!! I need to get my car checked over for peace of mind, I bought it a month ago from a random used car supermarket kind of place. Everything is running sweet at the minute but I fancy getting it serviced and looked over anyway. I was hoping to get down to falcon performance this weekend but I'm not going to have the time, it's going to cost a decent amount more there too for petrol and then there's the inconvenience of spending the day in middlesbrough Would you get your car serviced at a standard garage? My local garage have always been fair with me and charge good prices, I trust these guys but just don't know how much they know about the car. Is it really going to be worth the extra £££ and inconvenience to get it looked over by a specialist? Or shall I save my visit to falcon for when the cars getting re mapped and modded? My car has done 58k, anything in particular I should be getting checked out at that mileage? I'm quite keen to do an oil change as I don't know what's in it currently. I'm considering just getting a very minor service and quick look over at my local garage and spending the rest of my cash on a wheel refurb! Is that such a bad idea? I plan on taking it to falcon for a proper service/new exhaust and a map once I get back on my feet with my finances in a months time or so.

I must be honest I've only had one friend actually say "thats a nice car" and be interested in it. None of my other friends have even bothered asking about it and I feel its as if they want to pretend like they don't give a crap about it when they secretly like it, its pretty weird. When someone heard my car had broken down in the first week of me owning it they said "should have bought a golf". I've had the car a month and it's already been keyed. Every tw@ and their crappy hot hatch wants to race me and middle aged men in audis/BMWs feel the need to fly past me like a lunatic if I have overtaken them at a little bit of pace on the motorway. I've noticed everyone feels the need to out man you when you drive a Z. its pretty annoying actually.

I'm In the Newcastle area, I'll keep an eye out for this car on the roads!

Absolutely fuming about the keying incident but like you say, nothing I can do. I'm so careful where I leave it too, that was the first time I'd parked it in a public place. I'm not even going to bother getting it sorted TBH, it will only happen again no doubt, I'll just see what I can do with some detailing as its not very deep thankfully. I'm booking it in with falcon for next weekend anyway for a good service and once over. I'm going to get a couple bits and bobs that need sorting off Zman too. Who do I have to PM around here to get some owners club stickers?

You need more drugs

Cheers guys. I'm at work so can't google at the minute, I'll check that out when I get home. Given all the info I've told you do you think I should take it for a good once over before spending money on mods? I want the peace of mind but at the same time the garage I bought it from has apparantly serviced it and checked it over and I dont want to waste my money. Plus I'm really keen to get modding. Decisions......

A lot more driver focussed great handling car, space can be an issue. I had more fun in the stook than the zed. But zed was more practical. Difference in how the power is delivered really makes both cars a very personal choice. Go and try one at least before discounting it. Power isn't everything. More driver focused maybe Elise or vx. But your compromise is space and creature comforts. I test drove an s2000 before getting the Z. I found the s2000 excited me the most but I prefered the comfort in the Z. In the end I decided I'd pick up either car, which ever one came up for sale for a good price closest to me first. Turned out to be a Z.

Thank god! Cheers man. I'm going to take it to falcon this weekend coming. I was planning on refurbing the wheels and getting the roof wrapped but that can wait till another month now. To be honest when I bought the car I was dubious because of the price but I was desperate as I needed a car for work and this was the only Z within 150 mile from me.

S2000

I'm based in Newcastle. If anyone is local and fancies having a look that would be awesome. And fellsteruk you raise a good point actually, thanks for the input! A full once over is first on the agenda when I get paid! Mods and paintwork can wait.

Thats a good question isn't it... haha. Probably not to be honest. I guess my main worry comes from having got the car so cheap, it's like I'm just waiting for something to go wrong. I feel like it was a bit too good to be true now looking at other Z's on auto trader. The cheapest one on their with the same age, spec and millage is 7,000!! Maybe I just got lucky. Hopefully a good service will calm my paranoia.

I've been thinking of upgrading the Z recently to a newer model. I've only had mine for a month or so and I love it but I'm super paranoid that something is going to break on it and cost me a fortune to repair. Maybe you guys can give me a little insight? Much of this stems from the fact that I got the car pretty cheap... 5,700 for an 04 with 55k on the clock "full history" and that was from a dealer. The car has no warranty and every little noise it makes has me thinking the engine is going to give up at any minute. It also needs a little work, the front bumper needs painted as its stone chipped to hell and someone decided to key it after leaving it in a public car park for the first time last night, so that also needs sorting too, the wheels could also do with a refurb. I'm kinda torn between spending the cash to get it to the standard I want or just selling up and putting another grand or so down and getting a newer one. What do you guys think? In the meantime Im going to get it in for a full service and a check over for my peace of mind. Is there anything in particular I should ask the garage to check? I'm mainly paranoid about the engine tho it pulls well and sounds awesome, it makes a slight mechanical knocking sound when I turn off the ignition, it litteraly only lasts a second as the engine stops ticking over but I'm not sure if that is normal or not? It doesn't sound super healthy to me. So far I've found my ownership of this car fun but pretty stressful and frustrating. I can't seem to leave it anywhere without it gathering unwanted attention. The car park I left it in yesterday was in a nice area, in a village near my house and it still managed to get keyed!!! I'm furious about this but thats another story anyway.

Ahh that looks mint! Going to call a few local shops tommorow and get some prices. I don't fancy trying that myself.

Heres a couple more recent pictures. Hopefully wont be staying like this for long.... Just used a clay bar for the first time too, I'm impressed!! Was proper satisfying.

Ahh thats not too bad. I might get the roof done and tint the windows, then refurb the wheels in a dark colour. Then try leave it alone for a while after that. It's cost me too much money already really haha.