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Roadster. Yes or no?


Webbz

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Looking for a little advice please. I can't decide whether or not to go for a 350z gt roadster. I can get the car for £10,500, it's done 21,000 miles with two owners and a full history.

Although the car is on a '07 plate it seems to have the first spec engine as it red lines at 6500 rpm. I thought the engine had its first upgrade in '06.

Any advice would be appreciated.

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Yup thats a first gen car, i.e. 2003-2006. The mileage is very very good, though, but not £11k good. You could buy a real 2007 HR (gen 3) for that money, albeit a coupe rather than roadster.

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He's going to knock £500 off with 6 months RAC warranty and its got a brand new set of Pirelli's on it. Noticed a slight musky smell but he put it down to the fact that the hood needed airing off as it had spent most of the time in the showroom with the top down. Took it for a test drive in the rain today and there are no leaks.

Should the smell be a concern or does it sound like the top could just need airing off?

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even at £10.5k it's too much money. It's just a late registered 2005 roadster, nothing special plus you'll be paying the higher tax on an older car with none of the benefits. Keep your hard earned money for proper 2006 of HR 2007 if you're happy to pay that much on tax and the initial outlay on the car.

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Miles too expensive. It's an eight year old car that's only done around 2000 miles a year as well, I'd bloody hope that the servicing is spot-on too as that's very low miles, which means you might well have a few gremlins left to sort out.

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I agree with what the above say.

 

Im a bit puzzled though as I thought the facelift (alloy knobs, revised front bumper etc) was done in 2006 and this is a 2007 reg car. I can only presume it was just late registered, which is a shame as you will get stung with the higher road tax, and yet get none of the benefits from the higher road tax 313 model which came out mid-2007.

 

As for the price, the roadster prices are pretty mad atm. My mint 2007 313 roadster was up at a dealer last year for £12k, and yet on ebay at the moment i see various dealers trying to sell 05 plate & 06 plate cars, even 54 plate cars for £10k upwards. But then again its summer, when the prices of convertibles goes up by about 15%. Still, there does seem to be quite a few out there to look at.

 

The hood smelling strange dont make sense. If its had the hood down for a long time in show rooms then surely it should all smell fresh, and also if its been folded away in the boot a lot, look out for creases etc.

 

I never had any problems with the hood leaking, although I have heard some had it leak from the front top of the door windows. The biggest 3 problems I was aware of is that the the big elastic bands - one each side of the roof on the underside loose their elasticity which puts pressure on the motor and the final stage motor starts to struggle - so the roof gets about 2/3rds back then sticks a bit. This also happens if its too cold. The other problem is the metal support bar over your head on the underside of the roof has a thin piece of metal trim which folds around it which holds the roof tight. This seems to start pulling back and breaks away from the support bar. This can affect the operation of the hood too.

 

If you buy from a dealer, then be aware the hood is not covered under warranty as its not classed as "bodywork", so any repairs to it would have to be done as a "good will gesture" by the dealer.

 

Final thing id say, is if you are looking at a 6 year old car make sure the service history is correct. It may have only done 20k miles, but there are stuff which needs changing at time intervals - in particular check brake fluid change, spark plugs etc...

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Im a bit puzzled though as I thought the facelift (alloy knobs, revised front bumper etc) was done in 2006 and this is a 2007 reg car. I can only presume it was just late registered, which is a shame as you will get stung with the higher road tax, and yet get none of the benefits from the higher road tax 313 model which came out mid-2007.

This isn't even a facelift revup car, it's a standard DE one so you get all the downsides of the higher tax and the crappy interior and lower rev limit with absolutely zero benefits. It was made in very early 2006 at the latest.

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Im a bit puzzled though as I thought the facelift (alloy knobs, revised front bumper etc) was done in 2006 and this is a 2007 reg car. I can only presume it was just late registered, which is a shame as you will get stung with the higher road tax, and yet get none of the benefits from the higher road tax 313 model which came out mid-2007.

This isn't even a facelift revup car, it's a standard DE one so you get all the downsides of the higher tax and the crappy interior and lower rev limit with absolutely zero benefits. It was made in very early 2006 at the latest.

 

That's what I meant its not even a facelift one which should have been mid 2006 onwards! And yet its registered in 2007. Not a good sign!

 

If I remember correctly up until about 2006 demand exceeded number of cars but then the financial crash came along and Nissan ended up with a load of old stock cars which they were struggling to shift. I'm guessing thus could be one.

 

 

 

 

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I would have to say no. I`m not a fan of soft tops think they ruin a nice car and you have to put up with not having a proper roof all through the winter and bad weather just for the odd occasions when we do get a bit of nice summer weather (which in Manchester is never) and you can drive around with the roof down (unless you`re one of the types who drives around with the roof down in the middle of winter just to show that they`ve got a convertible). We don`t get the weather in this country to make it worthwhile, I`ve had an MGF for the last 8 years or so, although, the last 3 It`s just been sat in the garage but when it was on the road the number of times the weather was nice and we had the top down I can count on one hand and even then the wife complained about the wind messing her hair up. Although in some cars the convertible does look nice in a 350/370Z I think the coupe looks far nicer.

Edited by Wayne370Z
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I often find that roadsters, that were not originally built as roadsters, but are coupes converted in the whole are not that pleasing on the eye. In terms of driving with the top down in winter, its less of a showing off thing and more of an enjoying the drive thing. I have driven with the top down on a cold day not to show off but to just enjoy the head room, the experience of having open sky above you as you shift along the road - it really adds to the experience, its not about showing off.

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I often find that roadsters, that were not originally built as roadsters, but are coupes converted in the whole are not that pleasing on the eye. In terms of driving with the top down in winter, its less of a showing off thing and more of an enjoying the drive thing. I have driven with the top down on a cold day not to show off but to just enjoy the head room, the experience of having open sky above you as you shift along the road - it really adds to the experience, its not about showing off.

Agreed, I have driven a few convertibles, none that im proud of, but for me its driving at night with the roof down, and ive no idea why :shrug:

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I often find that roadsters, that were not originally built as roadsters, but are coupes converted in the whole are not that pleasing on the eye. In terms of driving with the top down in winter, its less of a showing off thing and more of an enjoying the drive thing. I have driven with the top down on a cold day not to show off but to just enjoy the head room, the experience of having open sky above you as you shift along the road - it really adds to the experience, its not about showing off.

Agreed, I have driven a few convertibles, none that im proud of, but for me its driving at night with the roof down, and ive no idea why :shrug:

 

I just find driving a coupe or with the roof up kinda clostraphobic these days, let me drive in the elements. :)

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That's what I meant its not even a facelift one which should have been mid 2006 onwards! And yet its registered in 2007. Not a good sign!

 

If I remember correctly up until about 2006 demand exceeded number of cars but then the financial crash came along and Nissan ended up with a load of old stock cars which they were struggling to shift. I'm guessing thus could be one.

 

Yes, mid 2006 was the turning point for Zed's (and for a few other marques as well). It's not unusual to see a pre facelift on an 06 plate but to see one on an 07 plate is quite unusual. Nissan stopped making the 03-55 plate models in November 2005 so there's obviously a story behind this one. At best it could have been on display in a showroom or at worst it could have been sitting around exposed to the elements at the back of a garage...we'll never know.

 

 

Pete

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It sounds as though this particular Roadster may not be the car for you but I am with HaydnH in thinking that Roadsters are actually great fun :thumbs: I enjoy driving with the roof down in Spring and Autumn as well because, with the heater and/or heated seats on, you feel lovely and warm and you still get the fun of being 'en plein air' B)

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