M333KS D Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 hi folks, not long joined the website as i have just decided that i am going to be purchasing a 350z in the very near future, i have a couple of questions if you would be so kind as to help me out, now i know that imports are cheaper to buy than uk cars, but would you reccommend having one? if not on what grounds?? and also i cannot seem to get an insurance quote under £2800 for an import, but for a uk one i can get it for £900 (i am 22 by the way, 5 yrs ncb) does anybody have any experience of getting insurance premiums lower than this?? i would prefer to have a uk model for obvious reasons, but i didnt really want to be spending more than 16-17k and i want a gt model cheers folks m333ks d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 Hi & welcome to the forums! Have a good search around on these here forums as there is a wealth of information that had been built up already! Might be worth having a look on Pistonheads Classifieds as well as a few bargains to crop up every now and again Whereabouts are you based? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennydies Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 I was going to get an import until I had a bad experience with an importer. I eventually bought a UK for £1000 more than an import which was offset against my insurance savings over a couple of years (admiral seems to be cheap for 350z's). I decided early on that I was not fussed about the GT version. 1) It is rare to get the opportunity to use the cruise control 2) With a 3.5 V6 under the hood belting out so much heat I would have never switch on the heated seats 3) The bose stereo is awful and is hard to wire up after market HU's to the existing bose speakers. 4) Leather seats are nice but burn your legs/arm when in the sun. 5) You adjust your seat rarely you dont need an electric motor to do it (is also expensive to replace if goes wrong. The only one I miss is not having the Rays Alloys. My pennies worth anyway...I guess I am going to have most people with GT's disagree with me now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beavis Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 Hi and Welcome to the forum And Moved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 and enjoy the forum. Check out the jdm section on here, plenty of info and also the insurance section. There is a few members with imported Z's, bonsai being a trusted importer and also a member on here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 Welcome aboard! As already said, there's a very useful section for all things JDM/Import. Worth looking at as the UK cars are/were either GT, non-GT or the GT4 limited edition but there are lots of different specs for imports, some of them lower than the UK non-GT. Anecdotally, I don't recall anyone complaining that they made a mistake in buying a JDM or saying they wouldn't do it again. I may be wrong though. On the other hand, I know plenty of owners delighted with their imports. A bit of research on here should lead you to a decision and any specific questions will be willingly answered. Enjoy the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 Don't worry about going down the import route, just be careful about your choice of importer. I am delighted with mine, as are many others on here. Have a good search across the site and I'm sure all your questions will be answered. I know I am a lot older than you, and that makes a difference to insurance costs. However, there are a fair number of insurers that are happy to provide cover for imports at a reasonable cost. My premium at the moment for the Z is a lot less than the last premium I paid for my Honda Prelude, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickya Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 Welcome Insure imports through e.g Adrian Flux Insurers & there is hardly a 10% difference in premium compared to UK model Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 Try Bell/Admiral/Elepahnt for insurance, I was 22 when I got mine & they only wanted £900 for an import. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xStric9x Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 hi folks, not long joined the website as i have just decided that i am going to be purchasing a 350z in the very near future, i have a couple of questions if you would be so kind as to help me out, now i know that imports are cheaper to buy than uk cars, but would you reccommend having one? if not on what grounds?? and also i cannot seem to get an insurance quote under £2800 for an import, but for a uk one i can get it for £900 (i am 22 by the way, 5 yrs ncb) does anybody have any experience of getting insurance premiums lower than this?? i would prefer to have a uk model for obvious reasons, but i didnt really want to be spending more than 16-17k and i want a gt model cheers folks m333ks d Hi buddy and welcome. I'm going to tell you what i would do if i had £16-£17k(and its only my opinion) Firstly i would'nt be looking at a gt model, yes you could buy a uk version but you would be looking at 53,04 and doubtfully a 54. I would be searching for a non gt and looking at an 05 or 55, reason being is that they will still have the nissan warranty left on them, as mentioned leather, bose etc etc(gt) are not everything they are cracked up to be. I have an 04 non gt which i bought a short while back and still had warranty left, nissan replaced all 4 rays alloys and two brand new driveshafts, god knows how much this would have cost out of warranty . Sure you will have a good time hunting, but the only thing i would advise is ...... take your time to find the right one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixy Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 I got my car from Jurgen at JM-Imports - it wasn't so much the fact that you can get a cheaper car because in reality they are not that much cheaper to buy - the reason I imported was because I could get exactly what I wanted colour wise etc with extremely low mileage - there are simply more cars to choose from in Japan. I had no problems at all with the process and my car was immaculate. feel free to pm me if you have any queries. www.jm-imports.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 hi folks, not long joined the website as i have just decided that i am going to be purchasing a 350z in the very near future, i have a couple of questions if you would be so kind as to help me out, now i know that imports are cheaper to buy than uk cars, but would you reccommend having one? if not on what grounds?? and also i cannot seem to get an insurance quote under £2800 for an import, but for a uk one i can get it for £900 (i am 22 by the way, 5 yrs ncb) does anybody have any experience of getting insurance premiums lower than this?? i would prefer to have a uk model for obvious reasons, but i didnt really want to be spending more than 16-17k and i want a gt model cheers folks m333ks d Hi buddy and welcome. I'm going to tell you what i would do if i had £16-£17k(and its only my opinion) Firstly i would'nt be looking at a gt model, yes you could buy a uk version but you would be looking at 53,04 and doubtfully a 54. I would be searching for a non gt and looking at an 05 or 55, reason being is that they will still have the nissan warranty left on them, as mentioned leather, bose etc etc(gt) are not everything they are cracked up to be. I have an 04 non gt which i bought a short while back and still had warranty left, nissan replaced all 4 rays alloys and two brand new driveshafts, god knows how much this would have cost out of warranty . Sure you will have a good time hunting, but the only thing i would advise is ...... take your time to find the right one. Its also worth bearing in mind that whilst I would agree the GT extras aren't worth the premium (at least on a new Zed) others have found non-GT's hard to shift when they come to sell on. The market wants GT's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xStric9x Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 What about this one? http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/232690.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronzee Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Welcome M333KS D, lots of information here to help you to. Happy shopping. Have you taken one or a few for a test drive yet??? Sure you will have a good time hunting, but the only thing i would advise is ...... take your time to find the right one. 1000000% agree with this!!!! I have an 04 non gt which i bought a short while back and still had warranty left, nissan replaced all 4 rays alloys and two brand new driveshafts, god knows how much this would have cost out of warranty . Totally off topic, but xStric9x, you say you had driveshafts replaced, do you mean driveshaft or the axle assemblies??? If driveshaft or axle assemblies why where they replaced?? Had my driveshaft replaced, and I've just pawned out a big lump of dosh to replace one of the axle assemblies. Oh and M333KS D, don't let this scare you off. Cars are just components that can be replaced easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lomoto Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 What about this one?http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/232690.htm that one looks a bargain price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 What about this one?http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/232690.htm that one looks a bargain price That could be great buy at that price and 4 months to check for any faults to get done under the warranty - make sure the servicing has been done correctly so Nissan can't use the excuse of not paying up on any warranty claims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M333KS D Posted September 7, 2007 Author Share Posted September 7, 2007 thanks for the replies guys, all very helpfull, the reason i want a gt model is that i am currently going from a bmw 330ci sport, and obviously this is fully loaded (electric leather seats, full harmon kardon stereo etc) so i just want to match the interior best i can, i know that sounds a bit vain, but hey, thats me, ha ha. il give you guys the run down of my problem, : i got a quote from elephant for insurance on a uk model which is £950, then i got a quote on an import that was uk spec, this then jumped up to £2800. and that is the cheapest i can get a quote for in an import no matter how much i search, so unfortunatly, the import route for me is looking very unlikely, which tbh is a pitty because i have seen some "perfect" cars for great price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 have you tried privilege Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M333KS D Posted September 7, 2007 Author Share Posted September 7, 2007 yes, around the same price, i just think they dont like me, ha ha ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M333KS D Posted September 7, 2007 Author Share Posted September 7, 2007 What about this one?http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/232690.htm that looks perfect, and i can assure you that if my bmw had of sold by now i would be going to look at it, thanks for the heads up though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixy Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 don't give up on the insurance just yet. I take it you've tried Adrian Flux? Also try Keith Michaels PLC. I got some wildly varying quotes from all over the place for both uk and import cars. Tesco who were my current insurer at the time wanted about £1,500 plus a tracker! Keith Michaels was about £600. Oh and try RAC as well. They gave me the best quote but unfortunately I couldn't insure with them using the vin number and didn't have a reg number at the time or I would have used them for definite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xStric9x Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Welcome M333KS D, lots of information here to help you to. Happy shopping. Have you taken one or a few for a test drive yet???Sure you will have a good time hunting, but the only thing i would advise is ...... take your time to find the right one. 1000000% agree with this!!!! I have an 04 non gt which i bought a short while back and still had warranty left, nissan replaced all 4 rays alloys and two brand new driveshafts, god knows how much this would have cost out of warranty . Totally off topic, but xStric9x, you say you had driveshafts replaced, do you mean driveshaft or the axle assemblies??? If driveshaft or axle assemblies why where they replaced?? Had my driveshaft replaced, and I've just pawned out a big lump of dosh to replace one of the axle assemblies. Oh and M333KS D, don't let this scare you off. Cars are just components that can be replaced easily. Clicky driveshafts where replaced under warranty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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