stanski

Thanks Polarbear I agree - I have always driven my cars everyday - its far too much money to have stored away - oh well if you can aford to do that great - you appreciate the special days out more but the best bit is knowing your driving a cool car everyday! Appologies for the next bit. I used to be into Classic cars - had a 1958 Wolseley 15/50 - and later 1958 Armstrong Siddeley 356 Sapphire (all 16 feet of it). In a previous life I used to work shifts and those cars were used everyday / night as required - sod all heating in them but otherwise great. But anyway there you go - dont keep em in a glass case use em . So far I am doing about 34,000 miles a year- of course I could change jobs but where is the fun in that! This working from home - broadband / laptop lark will never catch on in the business world will it? Looking forward to going to Scotland in the New Year hopefully in a Z ragtop - WesterRoss top scenery up there- just wondering if there is enough space for my waterproofs,hiking boots,jerrycan? I can drive with the roof off and tie the boots to the aerial if need be -there sorted! just open the doors once in a while to let the rain water out.

Very rude of me but forgot to mention - erm Merry Christmas and lets hope Santa brings me a nice shiny 350Z. All the best for 2008 Stan

Thanks Steve_b - that was another question I forgot to ask are seats nice and firm keeping your spine upright? Firmer the better I say. Even my dealer (erm Nissan Dealer that is) suggested I save it for special days and use something else for day to day - trouble is I love my cars and I like to use them for what they were designed for - i.e DRIVING!! Okay decision made drive at 55mph , dont put aircon on - keep roof up no passengers and just the ipod for tunes , pump tyres up to 40psi ! Now all I need to do is work out how I cant afford one and then buy it! Thanks again for all your suggestions and advice its very much appreciated Stan

Hi Newbie to forum - sorry for noddy questions - but reading these posts it looks like the front end is very partial to the stone chippen effect? So either get that funky plastic film on the whole front £400 and 4 year guarantee - what happens after that - if its starting to get all yellow and peeling away etc what happens then can they remove and apply a fresh one or is the paint duff underneath by then with the adhesive slowly softening after that time? For my last 3 cars I have discovered the wonderous powers of Mer - (sorry ex Classic car man - holds the rust together better) Its just the dogs that stuff - last 2 cars 4x4's with 700 mile a week trip to work, however applying a goodly amount every couple of months means you dont need to wash it as often and also keeps bird poo at bay. Last car I only had a week and some idiot decided to scatch the back bumper as they were driving out of a spot behind me - of course I was gutted by all the black scratch drag marks on my bumper - fortunately the day I bought it I had applied Mer. I washed the bumper to see how bad the damage was and used some Mer on a rag and wow - it was just black plastic off the offending other cars bumper - and the whole lot polished off - no damage at all This also happend to my mate when he had just took delivery of a new scooby - I polished off with some Mer and same thing however just a tiny scratch that he touched up. I think MER just seals the surface well and makes it quite slippy (bit like Mcguires ) but its just the best gunk ever! I swear by itl Troble with Jap car paint is its just too damn thin - they are so obsessed with saving weight on a car and just put a slither of top coat on - why dont they make it as touch as the undercoat?

Ooer Sounds like a German Olympic swimmer? Whats one of those then Trev? Stan

Yikes what a top looking machine! Oh too many choices - think I should pretend I have a stack of cash and buy one of each , black, Night blue and gunmetal - they are my fave colours ..... I love black but its a real dog to keep clean especially with the mileage i do a week , gunmetal is looking like the obvious choice but that blue is just stunning. (Like those alloys Stuey BTW) P.S. can you get an electric aerial instead that fits instead of the standard bee sting job - its just too much of a scroat temptation is'nt it?

Hi thanks - yes I know what you mean - you test drive it and well next thing your justifying selling your dog to get that last extra £10 to buy it! Fatal. When I had an MR2 roadster - (I know its just a toy compared to the Z) but no weight to it and trying to get it up the slope to my house one bad winter - must have been fun to watch took me 40 mins to get it on the drive! Dont you love performance tyres!

Hi I am new to the forum. Thinking about buying a roadster - hopefully? Does anyone have a decent picture of one in Nightblue - hav'nt seen one anywhere ? Thanks Stan

Hi thanks for the welcome everyone thats very kind of you. Sorry Radiohead erm I mean Squarehead - top tip - don't have a few erm sherries before going on 'tinternet!! The spell checker on the site is terrible!! Ok where to start? Thanks for that inside info on motorway life with the Z. Thats the kinda thing I am not gonna find from a 30min dealer test drive. I did'nt know about that Shell C Card - these things are usually just trade are'nt they - will have a look at that next week - that Shell station in Mold is usually the cheapest around I have found. Unfortunatley it can take me between 2-3 hours home as I leave about 4pm and of course hit the worst traffic M56/M60 junction at Sharston then anticlockwise to Sunny Bury - its that extra bit thats a killer - cheadle/Stockport piramid and of course the obligatory BMW driver is doing at least 120mph with just side lights on and oops theres yet another smash - oh well whats another hour - I love sitting in the car for ever! (Sorry I am ranting) I work at the old council offices in Ewloe (Opposite St Davids Park Hotel) - Must be fate! Oh and thanks for posting that pic of the cheeky little black number Z- looks the dogs ! (I just love black cars) The Bala run sounds really good. Ok so far its gonna cost me a fortune - unfortunately I cant afford to keep the Pathfinder and also get a Z - its a part ex job however I will be getting a sub £2K VW transporter van for all my practical stuff(dont ask) so maybe I can use that for work 1 or 2 days a week to save a few bob - you see I am already justifying it to myself - as if I did'nt know posting a question on a 350Z forum - what the answer would be Incidentally already booked a test drive in Jan. Local dealer has a new demo on order so will ring me when it arrives. Thanks again for all your advice its really useful - hope to be turning up in a Z maybe next year if I can get da dosh !

Hi Thanks for the replies. - ok so I had a typo - 20 mpg not mph! Blimey if I did 20mph in the Pathfinder - I would probably get 55 mpg out of it!! (And arrested !) Anyway - looks like common sense is going to be thrown out of the window - a friendly bank manager and erm an even friendlier petrol station will be my new friends - there is of course the small matter of coughing up the dosh to buy it oh and the £300 tax and of course the insurance and the worry of some scroat taking a shine to it.... Nissan Micra diesel it is then.........not in this lifetime! I hav'nt driven the ragtop yet is it okay on long motorways journeys or is it tiresome - sorry to be a bit Radio4 here but I have to think practical thoughts - its 1 hour in the morning and 2-3 hours drive home. If all I can hear is the engine and tyre noise then I am likely to be either tone deaf or fall asleep and end up in a ditch on the M56! Radiohead - why dont we rent each others houses Monday-Friday and cut our journeys down!!! Thanks Stan

Hello everyone - found this site by accident - glad I did! Just wanted to ask if I am being a total idiot for wanting to buy a 350Z roadster! I live in Lancs - and work in Ewloe (Queensferry North Wales) yes I know! 65 miles each way. Currently drive a Nissan Pathfinder - fab vehicle - very comfy and built like the proverbial brick convenience, 18K service intervals £360 average service cost, still on original tyres after 53,000 miles (12 months.) Average between 36 - 40 mpg on motorway. Trouble is I hanker after a fun car again. yes you guessed it - a 350Z roadster. Soooo what to do - mph is likely to be high 20's on motorway and servicing is 9000 miles at about £220 a pop! Sod all luggage capacity (Not a major problem I had an MR2 Roadster for 3 years - theres more luggage space in my jeans back pocket! Good car though). Front is likely to look like a spotty teenager after 3 days with stone chips and I will likely be buying new tyres every other month - so am I being a reet idiot still wanting one or will common sense prevail and I will end up buying a diesel Renault Megane (yaaaawn!) Help me see the light ......... (On another note- I see people are not too keen on Mazda RX-8's on this site - shame I had a brand new one of those when they came out - I can tell you its the best car I have ever owned - best build quality - goes like a rocket, runs on rails, sounds like a washing machine on fast spin inside, fab suicide doors work well and the damn things is actually practical) So I am used to dismal fuel econonmy! Does anybody else run a 350Z on long daily journeys on the motorway ? Thanks in advance for your erm advice. Stan