Buying my first Z

[womblingfree]

So I've looked at a few now. I have about £12,000 to spend £3k of which is my current car which has made me look at Trade px for a quicker purchase.

 

Today I looked over a seemingly good condition 05 Japanese convertible Fairlady import. It was an odd spec, electric seats and sat-nav but no cruise-control and it didn't seem to have Brembo brakes either. Also it seemed to have an after-market exhaust.

 

Here are the brakes and the exhaust.

 

 

 

A couple of other things putting me off were that everything was in kmph and the the sat-nav buttons were all in Japanese. Also it has had none of the 350Z services P1, P2 or P3 in the UK, just a service at a Renault garage marked as 'M1' and another at a Nissan garage marked as 'Value Service'.

 

Other than that I was offered a decent px price and it seems in tidy condition with a pretty low mileage. Waddaya reckon?

[Zugara]

If you dont "feel it", walk away....

[Will370z]

Doesn't sound like the one. There are plenty of nice z'd out there for the money don't settle for something you may regret, keep looking till you find the right one.

[ATTAK Z]

Leave it ..... there are plenty better

[womblingfree]

If you dont "feel it", walk away....

 

Oh, I'm feeling it

 

I'm just wondering what kind of brakes and exhaust those are and whether the lack of the main services makes it a particularly risky proposition? Changing into 2nd seemed a bit 'crunchy' as well.

 

It's a lovely looking car though and I'm tempted to take a punt.

 

Doesn't sound like the one. There are plenty of nice z'd out there for the money don't settle for something you may regret, keep looking till you find the right one.

 

For £12k I'm looking for an 04/05 GT with under 30k miles. Only found two with such a spec in the past month and this is one of them. The fact he's willing to part-exchange makes it pretty appealing.

[jollyranchers]

you will struggle getting something decent with under 30k miles for a 12 k budget for a decent 04/05 imo , you might get lucky tho

 

plenty with 40k ish plus in your budget on an 04 plate

[racinggreen]

brakes are the standard ones for import cars and the exhaust looks exactly like mine.

 

nothing wrong there with either IMO.

 

I have 52 reg cost just below 9K.

 

Hope this helps.

[womblingfree]

brakes are the standard ones for import cars and the exhaust looks exactly like mine.

 

nothing wrong there with either IMO.

 

I have 52 reg cost just below 9K.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks

 

Is it a straightforward swap to change a Japanese sat-nav DVD for a UK one? I've also head I should check the underneath has been properly sealed for British weather, which seems odd as Japanese weather can be just as bad.

[bodyboarder]

I think you can get alot better for you budget to be honest.

[ATTAK Z]

 

Is it a straightforward swap to change a Japanese sat-nav DVD for a UK one?

You really don't want either tbh

[Ian]

Brakes are standard JDM & the exhaust is a Fujitsubo

[racinggreen]

swapped sat nav system out completely for a new system which I fitted where the bose player was as it was all japanese and useless.

 

New system was about £170 from e bay which had everything ( dvd, cd, tv, radio, sat nav, card reader, bluetooth, touch screen etc etc).

[womblingfree]

I think you can get alot better for you budget to be honest.

 

For just shy of £12k it's: 23k miles, 05 reg convertible, electric heated leather seats, Bose + disc changer, sat-nav (albeit useless ) bodywork in great condition. I've only seen 1 UK car in this price range that comes anywhere close.

 

The main thing that's pushing me towards this is that he's offering me a decent PX for my very scratched Ford Mondeo which I'd otherwise have to fix up for £700 and then sell before having the full £12k.

 

Brakes are standard JDM & the exhaust is a Fujitsubo

 

[womblingfree]

you will struggle getting something decent with under 30k miles for a 12 k budget for a decent 04/05 imo , you might get lucky tho

 

plenty with 40k ish plus in your budget on an 04 plate

 

My search has been continuing!

 

I've just found a UK, 27k miles, 05, GT in my price range (actually a few hundred quid under).

 

The good; low mileage, GT and 05.

 

The iffy; a few minor scratches, a very little ding in the bodywork. It's had it's P1, P2, P1 (at around 8000 miles) but then there's nothing until 19k miles which isn't the P3 but a service by some non-Nissan bods. It's now at 27k miles so it'll need the P3 I presume. Also I could hear a slight clicking from the back and the front tyres have been replaced with no-brand jobbies. I think I could notice the gears being a bit less than smooth between fourth and fifth as well. More minor, the struts on the boot need replacing as they don't hold it open and the passenger side window doesn't go up and down without holding the button down continuously (is that normal??)

 

I wonder is it worth a punt at that price??

[un1eash]

Window is normal, UK cars only have auto up on drivers side.

 

Service would be a slight concern and the clicking could be the common rear axle problem which will cost a couple hundred to fix.

 

From what ive read on here mixing tyres is not recommended and from driving RWD cars for the past 7 years no brand ditch finders is a big NO NO.

[dyla350z]

Im not a fan of dealers,the warrantys arent much good,the only benefit of a dealer is if the car falls to bits in a couple of wks you have some protection,for 12k you will get a low milage,05/55 maybe 06 mint fully spec moter with full nissan history,there is a great looking red 350 0n ebay,i sells within your budjet,your not just buying a car your buying into a hobby,good luck with your search.

[womblingfree]

Window is normal, UK cars only have auto up on drivers side.

 

Service would be a slight concern and the clicking could be the common rear axle problem which will cost a couple hundred to fix.

 

From what ive read on here mixing tyres is not recommended and from driving RWD cars for the past 7 years no brand ditch finders is a big NO NO.

 

So realistically I'm looking at a bill for around seven or eight hundred pounds for two new tyres, P3 and greasing the axle?

 

Might be able to get him down to £11k if that's the case. Do we think it's worth a punt for an 05, GT with low-mileage for that price? From what I've looked at so far I'd er on the side of yes, but be good to hear from those with experience.

[lrh]

I could hear a slight clicking from the back and the front tyres have been replaced with no-brand jobbies.

You're looking at £500 for starters to resolve those two issues!

 

Really these cars should be bought on condition not mileage. A daily-driven car with 50k miles and full history will be better than a neglected weekend car with a rusty exhaust (another £300+ to sort). Plenty of these cars in the US that have done 150-200k miles with no issues so high miles are not an issue

[womblingfree]

Really these cars should be bought on condition not mileage. A daily-driven car with 50k miles and full history will be better than a neglected weekend car with a rusty exhaust (another £300+ to sort). Plenty of these cars in the US that have done 150-200k miles with no issues so high miles are not an issue

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

There is another that's pretty much the same all round but without the issues I've mentioned but it's a grand more.

[womblingfree]

Right, after months of searching I think I've found the one. It fits all my criteria perfectly, exceeds them in fact.

 

The only slight worry is the service history. Its all been done at Nissan dealerships but it goes;

 

P1 - 4891 Miles

P2 - 8789 Miles

P1 + A/F - 11620 Miles

P1 - 17266 Miles

PDI Oil & Filter - 20308 Miles

Level 3 (P3?) Service + Plugs + Diff Oil - 25792 Miles

 

The seller explained that an L3 is the service given to Z's over 5 years instead of a P3. Is this correct? Otherwise will I have to pay out for a P3 straight away? Another explanation for two P1's in a row was the low-mileage, it's an 04.

[lrh]

Nothing wrong with that history as long as the brake fluid and coolant were done as part of the L3? The "Level" services are generic fixed-price services that dealers do for older cars.

 

Don't get hung up on the P services, they don't even include brake fluid, coolant, plugs which are all age related extras on top:

 

P1 = Oil Change

P2 = P1 + Air Filter

P3 = P2

 

Again the biggest worry will be a rusty exhaust and brake discs, plus how recent the tyres are? These are all £400+ items.

[dyla350z]

Great looking red 1 on ebay,mines not for sale but your welcome to come for a spin in my55 gt,if by your username suggests in sw19 you are only 20 mins away.

[Shaun1982]

Mines for sale if your interested,probably doesnt match your criteria but have a look if you wish

[nicon2k]

Mines for sale if your interested,probably doesnt match your criteria but have a look if you wish

 

Mine is too, if your interested.

 

http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=41467

[womblingfree]

Nothing wrong with that history as long as the brake fluid and coolant were done as part of the L3? The "Level" services are generic fixed-price services that dealers do for older cars.

 

Don't get hung up on the P services, they don't even include brake fluid, coolant, plugs which are all age related extras on top:

 

P1 = Oil Change

P2 = P1 + Air Filter

P3 = P2

 

Again the biggest worry will be a rusty exhaust and brake discs, plus how recent the tyres are? These are all £400+ items.

 

Hey, thanks a lot

 

Actually he's just had new pads, the rear tyres have been replaced in the last 3 months with Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta's, which I've read good things about. There are Bridgestones on the front which I'd replace with Vredestein's when it came time. The exhaust certainly looked shiny enough.

 

Hopefully I'll be joining you all on the roads asap