Rockunrollaz Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 hi guys i have a 911 cabriolet (2000) but running costs are becoming unbearable, its a super car but every time it needs something doing its allways a £1000 or there abouts ,,,, ive got a nurburg ring trip planned soon and am a little afraid of taking the 911 in case of breakdown or if i crash it ect... would a 350z be a more sutible ring car, are they reliable and able to take a good spanking ? ive since they where built allways fancyed a 350z but it never progressed i went down a test drove an 07plate gt coupe today and loved it , really rapid and loads grip, ive heard somewhere you can have rear seats put it also , which would help with 2 small children.. whats your thoughts guys am i going to be happy getting out of my 911 and having a 350z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom187 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Welcome! Cant get any rear seats unless you get a 350 GT which are import only I believe. 350z are reliable generally, if your looking at an HR (will have twin intakes) they had alot of changes and all for the good IMO. The facelift Zeds had the RevUp engine and some where known to burn oil I believe so thats something to bear in mind. Personally I wouldnt touch it if its not a HR but thats just me, I have driven all 3 engines and I prefer that one. Top end service is going to alot cheaper that what you're used to. I would ring up your local nissan garage to get your prices locally for servicing. Finally if you do get one, make sure you dont run it on 95 ron fuel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Which 996? S or non-S? 2 or 4? I wouldn't go from a 911 of any sort to a 350Z personally, but if financial needs must then it's a fine car. It'll take Ring bashing happily, but don't expect it to be much cheaper to run than a 996 as long as you stay well clear of OPC prices. A Zed coupe will feel a lot more taught than a 996 cab when driven hard though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragon Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 +1 on previous comments Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockunrollaz Posted February 21, 2012 Author Share Posted February 21, 2012 its a carrea 4 silver done 97k , it is mint but all my moneys tied up in it , this way i could sell it (15k ish ) buy a 350z for 7k ish and have some money back in the bank and still have a fun car , and if i do have a miss hap on the ring ive not lost all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac@TarmacSportz Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 its a carrea 4 silver done 97k , it is mint but all my moneys tied up in it , this way i could sell it (15k ish ) buy a 350z for 7k ish and have some money back in the bank and still have a fun car , and if i do have a miss hap on the ring ive not lost all 996 then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zugara Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamic Turtle Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 It will be a lot cheaper to insure and service a 350z compared to a 996, as long as you avoid the (mostly crap) Nissan dealer network, as a previous poster said. They don't suffer from catastrophic issues like IMS failure, and expensive problems like RMS leaks. The 350z engine is very tough. Gearbox failure is rare and the clutch can last a very long time (75k+) if looked after. Fuel costs and tax will be similar to a 911, unless you go for an VQ35HR engine (maybe tough to find for £7k with moderate mileage), in which case the latter will be £460. Also, despite the Nissan badge, they are much rarer than 911s (which are ten a penny in London, frankly) and have a curious exclusivity factor for that reason. And as much as I love the 350z, the 996 is nearing the bottom of its depreciation curve, so you are selling at the trough, despite the high servicing costs. See how much 911SC, 964 and 993s go for nowadays? Prices are starting to tick up a little...928GT or 968 instead maybe? Awesome cars IMHO. Sorry Zedders, but I love Porsche and I'm sure a lot of you do too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neilp Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 It will be a lot cheaper to insure and service a 350z compared to a 996, as long as you avoid the (mostly crap) Nissan dealer network, as a previous poster said. They don't suffer from catastrophic issues like IMS failure, and expensive problems like RMS leaks. The 350z engine is very tough. Gearbox failure is rare and the clutch can last a very long time (75k+) if looked after. Fuel costs and tax will be similar to a 911, unless you go for an VQ35HR engine (maybe tough to find for £7k with moderate mileage), in which case the latter will be £460. Also, despite the Nissan badge, they are much rarer than 911s (which are ten a penny in London, frankly) and have a curious exclusivity factor for that reason. And as much as I love the 350z, the 996 is nearing the bottom of its depreciation curve, so you are selling at the trough, despite the high servicing costs. See how much 911SC, 964 and 993s go for nowadays? Prices are starting to tick up a little...928GT or 968 instead maybe? Awesome cars IMHO. Sorry Zedders, but I love Porsche and I'm sure a lot of you do too the 2006 revup de engine cars also incur higher tax at 460 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetSet Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Welcome ive heard somewhere you can have rear seats put it also , which would help with 2 small children.. A one off, he's been trying to sell it for a while. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NISSAN-350Z-G ... 500wt_1413 Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neilp Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Welcome ive heard somewhere you can have rear seats put it also , which would help with 2 small children.. A one off, he's been trying to sell it for a while. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NISSAN-350Z-G ... 500wt_1413 Pete and quite frankly the worst bodge job ive ever seen. Those seatbelts are more likely to kill someone rather than save them I'm sure one person on here did have proper rear seats fitted which looked oem, cant remember who now though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT4 Zed Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 As covered already, the zed is quite capable and very durable but the runing cost will be similar to your 911 albeit you avoid the stealers. It will be fine as stock for the Ring but for serious longterm fun you will need to improve on the brakes and suspension. Powerwise it will be less so than the 911 but there are a few improvement to be had as NA at reasonable cost and more if you were to go for it anbd go FI. IMO SC-ing is the best route if you want to keep the engine stock. In the end it comes down to what makes financial sense for you. You can even go wild and strip out the zed for a road legal track car and use the rest of the money for a sensible saloon/estate for mundane duties. This is very apealing now given how low you can get a decent 03 zed for Forget about 2+2 seat setup. I have seen a thread in the states where it was well executed but its very limited and probably unsafe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Welcome Along Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andlid Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 maybe look at one of these is what the lads are saying for 4 seats, http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Cars-/9801/i. ... 6.c0.m1538 they go under skyline on some add places. I'd need to fi it in some way probably a vortech setup to get some umpfh out of it, probably would need a good few upgrades to suspension, brakes etc also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Perhaps also worth mentioning that if you do have a mis-hap on the Ring, you're potentially going to lose far more than just the car: At best you'd have damage to the scenery which I believe sits in the thousands of Euros range per section right now, and at worse you could have hundreds of thousands of Euros worth of liability towards others if you manage to take them out as well, given that you'll have no insurance for the Ring. What I'm really getting at is that trying to save a few £K in case of an incident at the Ring is really a drop in the ocean compared to what the actual bill will be if you do have an incident, and as such you'd be better off just driving it in something you enjoy and just accept that if something bad happens, you're screwed. If you're that worried, an even better option would be to trade down to something still fun like the Zed, and use the spare cash left over to hire something from RSR and use that to drive round the Ring in. You've still got excesses to pay if you get it wrong, but at least you're limited as to how much you could have to pay if the worst comes to the worst. I personally wouldn't consider swapping cars just to drive the Ring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 This sounds spot on for you - Zed credentials + rear seats + lower tax + loads of mods (or not if you must get down to your preferred budget). Stunning look car too viewtopic.php?f=32&t=57078 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andlid Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I think i would like an airbag... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK350z Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I did exactly what your proposing for exactly the same reasons! Miss the 911 dearly, but the 350 can't be underestimated! It's got performance and character. They are cheap as chips to run (mine costs me about £350 on service and bits + tyres PA) that's compared to £2k + tyres a year on the porker! It will never replace the 911 but is a fantastic substitute whilst money is needed elsewhere! Zed's are really well built and you won't regret buying one I promise. Try and get yourself a well spec'd UK GT, if you can stretch to a 313bhp then do it. That's my only regret, I should have spent a bit more. We're you on 911UK.com? Cheers, BK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamic Turtle Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Nice selection of cars you have there BK. Particularly the GTV and Fiat 20v. Funny how you see a lot more of the former than the latter around these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK350z Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Thank you! Your right, they are both unfortunately disappearing fast. Costs of maintanence against value of the actual cars mean they are being scrapped when they go wrong:( I lusted after both of them as a 17 year old petrolhead! Cheap as like these days. Build quality wasn't ever an issue, sense of occasion and feel good factor 10/10! The Z is similar in feel good factor and has a chassis that doesn't disappoint! Cheers, BK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamic Turtle Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Thank you! Your right, they are both unfortunately disappearing fast. Costs of maintanence against value of the actual cars mean they are being scrapped when they go wrong:( I lusted after both of them as a 17 year old petrolhead! Cheap as like these days. Build quality wasn't ever an issue, sense of occasion and feel good factor 10/10! The Z is similar in feel good factor and has a chassis that doesn't disappoint! Cheers, BK Not true - I still see a lot of Spiders/GTVs around London, but the Fiat 20v is exceptionally rare. Point about servicing noted though. Perhaps the GTV has aged better. I'd personally be very happy to scoot around in a red or black GTV Cup. Off topic, saw an absolutely glorious LHD 2.7 911 carerra RS in Tunbridge Wells yesterday. Lime green! utterly immaculate. Must be worth a fortune... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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