RichieK Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Hi all, I'm thinking about buying a 350z to use as a daily driver - I can cope with the fuel bills, tyre cost, servicing etc and from what I know the reliability is pretty good. The only thing that has put me off is reading a few posts about stone chips and rust...? I'll be doing about 14k a year, a lot on country roads, a lot of overtaking etc But I dont want to be left with a rusty stone chipped shed at the end of it I have a Y reg Imprezza with 90k on the clock, I drive it in all conditions and only ever jet wash it twice a month and there's not one tiny bit of rust or one stone chip. I also have a VX220 and the stone chip and osmosis (fiber glass's own version of rust) is terrible, I had to get a full respray after 2 years of the above driving. I never got a photo of the stone chips on my VX, but this is pic is about average for every VX, mine was a lot worse after only two years: I can't be arsed with another car that cant stand up to a daily drive... so is the 350z a good choice for daily abuse? Many thanks, Richie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 On the face of that then sadly the 350z isnt the car for you. The paint is woefully thin and chips far too easily. However most of it it taken by the bumper, so if you budget getting it sprayed and paintshield on it, you should be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieK Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Thanks Chris, If it's just the front bumper that chips I could maybe cope with it. On average, are we talking 5-10 small chips a year? ...or 100+? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisballuk Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Stone chips build up quickly and I don't even tailgate. mine is 5 years old now and the front bumper and bonnet really needs a respray, there are hundreds of stone chips. It has 76,000 on the clock. I would say if doing the same mileage you would want the front resprayed every 2 years before it looks shabby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Welcome Along Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeroy Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I've picked up exactly 63 stonechips on the bumper and bonnet this year. Most are between .01 and .8mm but there are 7 bigger than 1.0mm and 3 of these are over 3mm. What you have to do is analyse how and where you drive and take a view on how much stick the Nissan paint is going to take Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Can you not get some clear vinyl to protect the front end? Got to be cheaper than a respray! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rm cya Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 regardless of car, youre going to get stonechips. unless you use a bonnet bra. id rather have stone chips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I use my zed as a daily driver. Its costing me about £860 a month to run including fuel & estimated depreciation cost. So, certainly not cheap. In fact it would be cheaper for me to get a mortgage on a house next to work and live there in the week. Fuel costs and depreciation are the biggest costs for me. I do about 26,000 miles a year, and im getting about 24->25mpg on super unleaded. So, its something like £20 a day on fuel alone. Depreciation will vary depending on what model & year you buy, but looking at some of the prices recently, mine has plummeted in value a lot more than I expected and what I factored into my £860 a month figure, so that monthly cost figure may be a lot more yet for me. Insurance on zeds isnt cheap. You`ll find something like a Imprezza WRX will be cheaper to insure as its 4wd. Even Porsche Boxsters, BMW M3`s and even the new Skyline GTR were coming back cheaper on the insurance for me. Outside of that actual servicing costs are cheap. Cost me less to service my zed then my missus`s 307 HDI cost to service. Spares will obviously cost more than "normal" cars, but you can get 2nd hand bits and even new bits cheaper via the traders on here. All in all I dont think the zed is any more expensive to run than similar cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev T Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Paintsheild ( or similar ) to front = no stone chips ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisballuk Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Think i may get some of that stuff fitted after a respray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I had a VXR220 so I feel your pain. The Zed isn't quite as bad, but the bluff end doesn't really help matters too much sadly and it can get quite irritating if you want it to be perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gudzy Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Insurance on zeds isnt cheap. You`ll find something like a Imprezza WRX will be cheaper to insure as its 4wd. Even Porsche Boxsters, BMW M3`s and even the new Skyline GTR were coming back cheaper on the insurance for me That's not my experience. I always planned on getting a turbo/ wrx impreza but found insurance was going to come out about double for the Subaru as it did for a zed, so I got the zed instead. Convertible Zeds were about double the cost of a coupe insurance wise for me though, so a convertible zed would be comparable to an impreza wrx in my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MITZ@CougarStore Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Welcome to the forum... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 you could always paint shield the front bumper for around £400 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronzee Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Welcome to the forum. Think everyone has answered questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MK-Ultra Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Hello and welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freebird Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Get a silver one and you wont even notice the stone chips I had a silver VX220 and now i have a silver 350, i dont actually like silver cars. But it must be said it does cover up a lot lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BladesGrant Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Could get the car wrapped rather than spraying it every couple of years or paint shield as people have said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.J Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Maintenance, I wouldn't say it's much dearer than my previous cars (Audi TT 225, Clio Cup). Fuel; Since I bought mine (last summer), I've not reset the OBC, and it's showing an average of 27mpg, which is above the book average slightly. Insurance; It's a little dearer than my TT was, but only £100 a year. Road tax; Depending on the year you go for, mine is in the lower tax band (£240ish, rather than £460ish) Servicing; No different to any other, in my experience. Plugs, oils, filters etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 My Zed has done a few miles, very reliable and hardly any stone chips....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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