onkyblocks Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Hi, Ive been look at a 350z for a while and have been waiting for one to become available near me. There is one near me for sale and ive been trying to work out the cost of it. It would cost me £100 a month on finance and the insurance is around £600 a year. I wouldnt get very many mpg as I would be doing short journeys, I used a fuel calculator using my yearly miles I do on my current car and worked out it would cost arround £100 a month on petrol. Its the lower tax band (£280), ive also looked at the cost of tyres £180 or so a tyre, not sure how often I would need to them though, ive read they tear through them? I only will be doing 2-3k miles a year. Any idea how much extra money I will need to know about when buying one of these? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundy Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 One bit of advice bud, if you are trying to budget this car and are worried about maintenance and fuel....it might not be the car for you. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetSet Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Front tyres should last 18 -20k, Rear ones in the region of 10k. Some will get less than that, depends how you drive really. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onkyblocks Posted May 3, 2014 Author Share Posted May 3, 2014 Im not really worried about it, just trying to work out how much its going to cost me a month as I still want to have some money left over to mess arround with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onkyblocks Posted May 3, 2014 Author Share Posted May 3, 2014 Front tyres should last 18 -20k, Rear ones in the region of 10k. Some will get less than that, depends how you drive really. Pete Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nictry Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Not wanting to put too much of a downer on your plans but I picked up my new one a few weeks ago, since then and despite me getting it for a good price (in my opinion) I have spent around £1500 on exhaust, brake discs/pads, rear bushes (and it may need CA bushes too!) gearbox, diff and engine oil and from reading a lot of threads on the forum nothing I have done is that unusual for a newly acquired 350 the only difference is when you need/choose to have the work done! Not saying you shouldn't buy but just factor in these are def not cheap cars to run and just thinking about finance/insurance/fuel is probably not the best way to do it. Good luck whatever you decide Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Budget for: Fuel 97+ @18mpg Tax and insurance you can figure out Maintenance @£1500 pa That's a ballpark, most will be less but better to over guess than under. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Get yourself a lovely low mileage Ultra Yellow GT4, with almost new tyres and a few mods already done, like a full stainless dual exhaust, discs and pads with less than 10k on them, and a few body mods and a nice in car PC all for £8k or near offer. Currently sorn'ed, but for the right offer, it will have a full service and MOT thrown in too. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Welcome to the Forum .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMT Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 (edited) I'm reasonably newish but now had a good bit of experience and I also did the 'I wonder how much..' thing at the start. It can all rack up, tyres on the rear if you've a partial right foot and if you get say accidents like nails... 2 rear, 2 nails, few months apart, not even using the dearest tyre it can rack up costs. Fuel, god don't make me think about how much I spend lol, servicing is ok but find a specialist and even then if repairs are needed it can be costly depending. Engine is strong though just keep that oil in check. Its not major league stuff but from the time I've owned it, it does seems to creep into the 'if you have to ask...' category of running costs lol. Oh....and welcome! lol If you go for it, you will love it though! EDIT - Also realised the mileage you put, tyres should be ok. Just watch the fuel and general insurance/tax. Its still a fair amount for something you won't be using that much Edited May 4, 2014 by AMT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudman Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Have spent about 4k on mine. Uprev, new bushes, Y Pipe, pioneer ICE, fitted parking sensors and a load of other things could probably have got a Porsche Caymen but love the Zed so much and such a great drive. She's not cheap but the feeling I get when driving is priceless 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJRamze Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Much of what people are suggesting here are non essential costs however as with every standard car things can be improved. I've spent the whole day hooning it round the Welsh mountains and managed around 20-23mpg for the day. I say budget for 20 mpg. Servicing is reasonable. My mechanic did my last one for 140 I would recommend budgeting for a set of tyres every year and 2k on fuel. Your mileage may be 2-3k a year now but when you get the zed it will go up. You'll look for reasons just to drive it m Sent from my One using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 The running costs are going to be the least of your problems once you contract Zeditis In 2009 I paid £10K for my Zed and have since spent nearly the same on mods (not added it all up yet, too scared) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 How long is a piece of string? You have worked out and got answers to general running costs, mpg, servicing, tyres etc Just factor into the equation could you afford to do a clutch for example? Not trying to put you off but make you aware of something that could easily wear out and not a cheap fix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 (edited) What i did was knock up a quick excel spreadsheet. That way you can work out pretty much the exact costs over 12 months and each month. For my 2007 HR zed I was doing about 25k a year in it as a daily commuting vehicle so I was spending £450 a month on fuel alone. Tyres would last me a 12months and cost about £650 a set. Tax was nearly £500, insurance was £900, servicing came to about £200, I added £200 for other little bits and the biggest cost by far for me was depreciation. You can roughly work this out by seeing what cars like the one you are getting tend to sell for but a year older with a bit higher mileage. I lost £6k on mine in 12 months. Overall my zed was costing me £1200 a month when I worked it out. Thats not including any finance as I paid cash for mine. I also was "lucky" in that I didnt need a major service or have anything such as a clutch go. As a new buyer, id try to find one which has recently had a P2/P3 service as thats the more expensive one. The minor services are very cheap and easy to do yourself. If its got a new set of tyres, then you are saving £650 or so alone there, although try and make sure they are not el cheapo tyres and something like falkens or bridgestones etc. If your buying from a garage 9/10 they will just stick the cheapest on in order to sell the car. Pre 2006 will be cheaper road tax, although lower power cars. And if your buying an older car then depreciation wont be such an issue as the majority of the cars drop in value will already have happened. Good luck! Edited May 5, 2014 by rabbitstew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 I think you guys might have put him off haha........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big_joe Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Get a car with decent tyres and brakes recently done......they are expensive maintenance items so pay a little more to get a car with them done recently. Avoid cars with suspension knockin noises or negotiate as required.....a nackerd compression arm ball joint (common) will cost you £250 for a new arm plus fitting if you can't do it yourself. MPG is pretty crap as you'd expect for a large engined, heavy-ish car. I'd say on the whole they are on the upper side for general maintenence costs so buy wisely. On the plus side they don't seem to suffer many mechanical issues so what extra you pay in replacables you might save on mechanical repairs vs a different car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Trouser Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Front tyres should last 18 -20k, Rear ones in the region of 10k. Some will get less than that, depends how you drive really. I'm on my third set of Bridgestones and each set lasts between 25-30k. But I do zero motorway miles and rarely any heavy braking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onkyblocks Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 (edited) I havnt been put off, just trying to find one thats in pretty good condition and not a japanese import is pretty hard. I went to look at one near me today that was £7000 but it was in bad condition, the paint work hadnt been looked after, was dull and not shiny, the alloys were all bubbling and the front tyres needed replacing. In the engine bay you could see the engine drive belts had started to crack and were worn which needed to be changed. The seats in the car were all damaged and the gear stick was really badly scuffed. Just trying to find one thats in good condition then see how it goes from there Edited May 5, 2014 by onkyblocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth29 Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Dont be put off, it will be great and if you can do bits of servicing and maintenance yourself you will save a fortune, especially if you can can get a zeditus jab. Mine is bone stock and I love it. Have you thought about a cat D or C if you're on a budget? Mine was cat C due as both front wings were damaged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ostego Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 I thought getting a zed would be a straight forward investment of around 8k.... after an extra 3k+ in expenditure zeditis is still consuming my brain and every pound i see on my paycheck is then calculated in my brain as tokens for what i can then do to my car! Would never say buying a zed was a mistake, but retrospectively i wouldn't say that buying a zed is a smart idea for anyone working on a budget! You can plan certain costs in your head, but once you have the car there will always be extra costs that you will incur whether it is mechanical or just desire to make your zed perfect in your eyes! Never underestimate the power of zeditis! It is talked about very jokingly on the forums, but it is genuinely a serious condition! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHEZZA Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 I thought getting a zed would be a straight forward investment of around 8k.... after an extra 3k+ in expenditure zeditis is still consuming my brain and every pound i see on my paycheck is then calculated in my brain as tokens for what i can then do to my car! Would never say buying a zed was a mistake, but retrospectively i wouldn't say that buying a zed is a smart idea for anyone working on a budget! You can plan certain costs in your head, but once you have the car there will always be extra costs that you will incur whether it is mechanical or just desire to make your zed perfect in your eyes! Never underestimate the power of zeditis! It is talked about very jokingly on the forums, but it is genuinely a serious condition! This is true in my case I thought I'd spend a few quid on mine this year to tidy the zed up.not going mad on modding but more mechanical and just general tidy up, replacing knackered bit n bobs. Started with the usual suspect of a stubby aerial and have now just ordered a new exhaust, Cheers Tarmac. ! As well as quite a bit of mechanical stuff. My wish list is slowly getting shorter. Like you say to to make the zed perfect in my eyes. Up to now Ive spent about 3k this year, though I've had my zed for about five years and other than a couple of sets of tyres and servicing that's all I've ever spent in that time so not too bad I guess. Great cars though and I think it's money well spent as I don't plan selling anytime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samsniss350z Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 If you're only doing short journeys in it then I'd be inclined to take it for a blast down the motorway or an A road every week or two. Nothing does more damage to an engine than short runs when it doesn't have chance to warm up properly. Its a fairly big motor so it going to take longer to warm up properly than a 1600. Your MPG will suffer on short runs as well, I can virtually double my MPG when I go on the motorway as compared to trundling round town which gets me about 18MPG. if you're able to do a basic service yourself I'd consider changing the oil every 3K or 6 months (which will probably come sooner than 3K). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamdc2 Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Def hold back a bit of dollar for tidying up the Z when you get it. I was lucky that a friend did a full service inc belts and all fluids when I bought mine. Then other bits like gearknob as mine was worn, refurb alloys as rays were peeling bad and decent exhaust (OEM was blowing a little). All adds up but worth it as all those changes really makes the Z feel like your own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzzzz Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Def hold back a bit of dollar for tidying up the Z when you get it. I was lucky that a friend did a full service inc belts and all fluids when I bought mine. Then other bits like gearknob as mine was worn, refurb alloys as rays were peeling bad and decent exhaust (OEM was blowing a little). All adds up but worth it as all those changes really makes the Z feel like your own. +1 It is the things you do to improve it that costs. My experience is - Year 1 New exhaust (~£400) + free service, spark plugs and fan unit (warranty) from Nissan (P3 service + plugs normally ~£350 from Indy) Year 2 Service + bits and bobs (~£500) Year 3 The year I planned to sell it ! But I couldn't find a good enough alternative so decided to keep it for another couple of years.... New convertible roof (~£700) New tyres (~£700) New leather finish on steering wheel (~£100) Refurbished wheels (~£160) Paint correction (~£200) A service later in the year Wow, I better make sure the wife doesn't see this ! Though the depreciation is low now that it's 8 years old, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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