MidnightRacer Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Morning All. Long story short. Recently had a little boy (the missus not me), The zed has been put away for winter and I've bought a Shed to run about it. The problem is that come spring time when I would normally bring the Zed out I'm not going to be able to because we need 2 cars with 4 seats because of the little dude.. I'll be buggered if I'm putting up a "new baby forces sale" ad so I was thinking that I might leave my Zed in the garage for a year or two until I can investigate disabling the air bag for a forward facing child seat. anyway, all that aside, I was wondering what your thoughts on long term storage was. The tyres are due for replacement so I'm not too worried about flat spots but I'm not sure if its worth unloading the suspension by putting it on stands? I'll also do all the usual fluid changes etc and will hopefully get to fire it up every few months but is there anything glaringly obvious I've missed? on a side note I did see a box you could buy to disable the air bag but I believe these were discontinued.... any info on these appreciated! Cheers Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Just sell it and buy it/another back in two or three years time when it's half the price. Or loan it to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Depreciation???. I would sell early next spring and then if the bug is still, 1 year, 2 years etc down the line get another at what will be a lower price, or get a later model with the money put aside when you are ready. That is head and not heart so, your decision at the end of the day....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidnightRacer Posted November 5, 2012 Author Share Posted November 5, 2012 Is it really "worth" selling though. it doesn't owe me anything and being an import its realistically worth about 5 grand tops, at this money I'm not sure its going to loose much more..... I'm also not sure in a few years time I'm going to be able to buy another one as clean or low mileage as this either and I've grown to love it in a strange sort of way..... I suppose you are probably right but I'd kind of like to keep it and preserve it for future generations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Home Slice Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 If your going to keep turning it over every month or so then the fuel could spoil over time, V-Power etc... loses its octane rating relatively quickly. It leaves the refinery at over 100RON and drops over a couple of weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 If it's only idling then any old rating will do, you won't be using knock control at that point If you can start it up and heat it through thoroughly every few months or so, then I don't think I'd do much to it. Grease everything that moves on the suspension side up, all bushes etc and leave it on the wheels. Yes, you leave the suspension under load, but if you unload it you'll leave parts open to the atmosphere that normally aren't. Flat spots are flat spots, you can deal with those later as you correctly say, seeing you need new tyres regardless. I wouldn't bother changing any fluids during the rest, maybe do an oil change before you stop using here and just check everything else is at the correct level. There's things I'd do before you take her out of storage and back on the road (oil again perhaps, certainly brake fluid, maybe clutch fluid too, possibly coolant if I was feeling very anal) but other than that she should be fine to sit there in theory for a couple of years even if you do absolutely nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyBoy Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 I'd say garage it, the depreciation wouldn't worry me too much If yours is a good example. Personally (from my extensive experience in financial forecasting, or not...) I think that Zeds will stabilise in price sometime in the not-too-distant future. The cheaper they get, the more will get ruined and crashed by chavs (stereotyping perhaps but we can already see this happening), and the rarer a 'good' Zed will get. When you combine this with the fact that the 350z is aesthetically aging very well and looks set to continue doing so (much better than the 370, sorry guys) I think they'll soon achieve modern classic status along the lines of something like an 8 Series, where solid ones are still worth actual money despite the comically thirsty engines and relatively low hp/litre. Just my 2p and I could be completely wrong, but it's one of the reasons I chose a Zed in the first place, because I think unlike a lot of their rivals they'll stay desirable into the future. Not that I'm planning on ever selling mine, but I'd like to think I won't look like a berk driving it in 5-10 years time, as I would in say, a 986 boxster. DB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Keep it and just take it out every so often for a proper run, as the main danger will be forgetting how good it actually is. Not mechanically how good it'll be (imho) This has happened several times to various mates with ridiculous supercars in their garages, they've ended up going to sell and on the test drive changing their minds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 If it's only idling then any old rating will do, you won't be using knock control at that point If you can start it up and heat it through thoroughly every few months or so, then I don't think I'd do much to it. Grease everything that moves on the suspension side up, all bushes etc and leave it on the wheels. Yes, you leave the suspension under load, but if you unload it you'll leave parts open to the atmosphere that normally aren't. Flat spots are flat spots, you can deal with those later as you correctly say, seeing you need new tyres regardless. I wouldn't bother changing any fluids during the rest, maybe do an oil change before you stop using here and just check everything else is at the correct level. There's things I'd do before you take her out of storage and back on the road (oil again perhaps, certainly brake fluid, maybe clutch fluid too, possibly coolant if I was feeling very anal) but other than that she should be fine to sit there in theory for a couple of years even if you do absolutely nothing. The only thing I'd add to that is probably leaving the handbrake off to prevent it from sticking and make sure the battery doesn't go flat. With regards to the petrol, keep the amount in the tank low whilst it's stored (as Ekona says any rating will do at idle) and stick a full tank of fresh stuff in when it comes out of storage to minimise any dilution issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidnightRacer Posted November 5, 2012 Author Share Posted November 5, 2012 All super suggestions chaps thanks! I'm a bit fortunate that my brother also owns a 350 zed so maybe I can convince him to let me have my speed fix every now and then! Its definitely a keeper as long as I have the room for it, I just wonder how long I can go without digging it out! Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bounty Bar Kid Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Kids eh? They just ruin all your fun. Especially when they stare and point at you then proceed to say "that's the one officer!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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