Hi,
Last bank holiday Monday I picked up my new 350Z. I've been reading here and looking for the right car for months. I looked at others who's online description wasn't what it seemed when I turned up to view it. I was after:
Pre end of March 06 car (Cheaper tax band)
Gun metal grey or Chilli Red
GT Pack with BOSE, Rays, Heated electric seats
Good condition interior/exterior
Service History
Under £8K
I called a few 06 cars but was predictably told they were in the higher tax band. Eventually I called one and was told it was the cheaper tax band and was an 06 model.I called on the Saturday and found out it was 2-3 hours drive away in Derbyshire Regardless, I told the gent I'd come and view it on the Bank holiday Monday and he agreed to open up for me. I chanced it and booked a one way train ticket for me and the misses....
Whenever viewing a car I do an initial walk around and decide if its worth looking at further. It was gleaming and I didn't see anything immediately other than a couple of age related marks, and importantly, no spraying had been done. Upon further inspection I failed to find anything that would put me off, so I spent a couple of hours pouring over everything from the buyers guide. The car:
2006 model (early march so was cheaper tax band)
Full Nissan Service History
GT Pack
Refurbished Rays
ONE owner from new
Lots of receipts and money spent (including over 1K for part exhaust replacement)
Excellent exterior (few little marks)
Spotless interior
I started the car from cold and looked for any dodgy engine bay work (mods, rounded bolts, trim missing, etc) and checked for rattles, smoke, etc. Everything seemed perfect and the temperatures reflected normal. The salesman was a lovely chap and let me take it for a test drive with the misses on my own. The car was faultless, gearbox seemed good, engine pulled hard, no clutch slipping and all the interior features worked. I was very impressed. The only thing I noticed was the clicking from the rear axle which seems to be an easy fix for me (grease D/S splines).
After a lot of haggling, I got it for £100 more than I wanted (£7,650) to, but he'd already dropped the price a lot. The deal was done and she drove back perfectly and I was BEAMING. I've driven it to work every day and in the evenings and found hardly anything wrong with it.The battery was naff so I bought a new Bosch one from Euro and fitted it.
Here are some pictures:
Current issues with it:
No Bluetooth adapter. the cradle is there so I just need to buy the adapter now.
Some age related marks (noticeably a scratch on the underside of the sill but you can't see it
2x medium sized spots on the roof where the paint has been chipped. This needs sorting so it doesn't rust!
Slightly rough idle (you can only feel this when sat stationary and could just be a dirty MAF?)
Slight juddering when pulling away from standing in first (again could eb a slightly dirty MAF)
Other than that, she is perfect and I love it. Some questions:
What Head unit would you recommend? I want one with Android connectivity and be able to plug it in to charge and play music, use the phone features. Preferably touch screen and double din.
Those who have done the sports CAT, plenum spacer and re-map, would you say it is worth the money? I'd probably get the parts from Horsham, fit myself and get them to do the re map.
Mirrors - there are 3 positions for the switch. Does one of them auto fold the mirrors when you turn the engine off? If not is this possible other than pushing the button each time to fold them in?
Whens the next meet in the Southwest? I'm in Somerset!