nickfrog Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 Hi there. It looks like I will be buying a 350Z in the weeks to come as they are becoming seriously cheap. I am looking at a 2004 UK GT for around £11K / £12K depending on mileage. If anyone's selling, feel free to contact me. I nearly bought one when the came out to replace my 98 2.5 Boxster but the lack of rear seats did not work for me at the time. It's either that or a 130i M SPORT or a 2003 FL 2.7 Boxster for similar money. I have a few questions: TRACTION IN THE WET I have driven one at Bedford several times and while it was fine in the dry, the wet weather traction was very very low. If felt like it would not get any heat in the tyres. It was a major issue. Maybe this was down to the fact that I had the very tractable low torque Boxster then and I don't know what tyres it had but is it specific to a particular tyre or down to the way it's set up ? Are there any tyres that will improve wet traction, even at the detriment of outright dry grip ? CONSUMABLES I know it's really dependent on driving style but what can I expect in terms of MPG, brake pads / brake disks / clutch / tyres life expectancy ? INSURANCE I used to pay £500 for the Boxster (£400 excess, 40 years old next week, 8 years NCB, no points, "safe" area). Is the Z likely to be more ? Thanks a lot. Nick Quote
chippy Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 Hi Nick It's me from 'the other side' as well! Good luck with the hunt, looks like my 2001 box is going next week for a 2006 350z. cheers Paul Quote
nickfrog Posted April 24, 2009 Author Posted April 24, 2009 Hi sweetheart, Did you sell the lens in the end ? Nick Quote
Maccaman Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 Hi Nick & to the forum. If the car still had Bridgestones on you would definitely found a lack of grip in the wet. Tyre guide here:- viewtopic.php?f=60&t=5589&hilit=+tyres Quote
H5 Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 Hi and welcome to the club 1. Traction in the wet is generally pretty good. I've never had an issue and it's not something that is reported. There standard Bridgestone RE040's they put on the earlier models really aren't that great. A sticky set of Toyos / Michelins / Falkens usually sorts it out nicely. 2. MPG - late teens to mid 20's depending on general driving. On a run, 30 mpg plus. Tyres, who knows, big variable. Mine are about 10k gone and fine (Toyos). Rest of the parts are reasonable. Brake components from Nissan are a fortune. Aftermarket are better and less cash. 3. Insurance? Join the postcode lottery..... We have a couple of insurance traders, try them for a quote. Quote
Shuck Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 Hi nick, in terms of insurance I think you'd be paying a bit less then the £500 you were forking out for your boxster. On the tyres front, Maccaman has it covered. MPG wise, I'm looking at getting about 22-24 on a weekly trundle about, work and back with only a tiny bit of dual carriageway roads. Not sure about the other bits like brake pads or clutch, only had mine for 5 months. Quote
nickfrog Posted April 24, 2009 Author Posted April 24, 2009 Wow, thanks for the welcome. All I need is the car now... I just got a quote for £377 with Elephant with a £350 excess, protected NCB, which is really good TBH. Quote
chippy Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 Hi sweetheart, Did you sell the lens in the end ? Nick Yes mate, went for stupid money - 750 quid I think. Not bad when it costs me 600 or so! I never really though it was that sharp anyway, so you didnt miss out. I ended up buying a lovely 100-400mm IS, but I'm 750 quid short on what i need for the 350z, so it looks like i'm now going to have to flog it. Real shame as it's a great copy. It'll sell really easily though as I missed out on loads of auctions on fleabay before I finally bit the bullet and spent the extra to get one. I was hoping to get one for 800 or so but ended up having to spend 920 for it. Did you get yourself sorted in the end? Quote
nickfrog Posted April 24, 2009 Author Posted April 24, 2009 Hi sweetheart, Did you sell the lens in the end ? Nick Did you get yourself sorted in the end? No. Things have changed for us as a family. We are going back to the UK (long story) so I'll be renting L lenses for the Motorsport jobs I have to do, Le Mans Series mainly. I'll buy a 300mm L F/4 when prices go back to "normal" level. Have you found a Z ? How much? Quote
chippy Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 Yeah I'm off to test drive this one tomorrow:- http://www.belroyalmotors.com/Used-Cars/350Z-3.5-V6-313BHP-GT-Pack/ They offered me £1,500 off for cash sale, with the bonnet resprayed for free and 12 month warranty. The original garage I bought me box from is buying it back off me. Just taken the Mrs out for tea and she's going to cover the £750 that I'm short so I can keep the 100-400mm Quote
nickfrog Posted April 24, 2009 Author Posted April 24, 2009 Sounds good. I really lke the colour, it works well on this particualr car (but not on many others). I take it those prices were not subject to VAT to start with ? Quote
chippy Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 No VAT, and we dont have road tax here either. Instead we now have GST (similar to VAT @ 3%) plus VRD on new cars - vehicle registration duty. Anyway....couldnt sleep last night - looking forward to the test drive Quote
richt Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 Hi Nick. Did you go and see this car? It's not a 313bhp car, as the advert says, still good colour though!! Quote
nickfrog Posted April 27, 2009 Author Posted April 27, 2009 Oh no. This is getting stupid. I have spotted a 2007 130i M LE with 12,500 miles at £15K. Many thanks for the many welcome, this is one friendly place.... not sure if I deserve them though in case I leave the brand before joining it.... Quote
Beavis Posted April 28, 2009 Posted April 28, 2009 to the forum, get a zed and be different there is a bazillion Beemers on the road. Quote
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