ThreadLock Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 There are an awful lot of problematic areas that are constantly mentioned on this forum. Does that mean that I have bought a car that is going to be a nightmare to keep on the road? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 There aren't many problems with the Zed really. RevUp burns oil, some g'box problems on older cars, but that's it really. Considering you just bought a decent looking 300ish BHP RWD car for fairly little money, I don't think there's too much to complain about. Why not add some info about the car you bought and the concerns you have so people can address your fears? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreadLock Posted September 20, 2014 Author Share Posted September 20, 2014 (edited) I've just bought an imported 2003 Auto with 32,000 miles on the clock. Having bought and sold many a car (mainly performance) Id question the mileage but it drives and feels very tight and everything underneath looks like new! Its been lowered by about 25mm I think, drilled and grooved discs at the front (non brembo). Induction upgrade and earthing kit under the bonnet and cat back exhaust upgrade. I changed out the rear pads last week as they were rattling over every bump only to find that they had loads of meat on them. I replaced them anyway in the hope that the new set would be a better fit, but they still rattle like mad! I believe there is an anti rattle kit that can be purchased? I get a slight antifreeze smell in the cabin every now and again, but I have no fluid loss and no gunk or water signs in the oil. No wet carpet so no leakage from the heater matrix and temp is constant with getting up to temp fairly quickly and staying put. I used to have a supra that had the same but every specialist that I took that to found no fault. My concerns are that there are a lot of posts about common problems that seem to occur every week for someone. By buying Jap or German all the time I thought I was going to buy into a solid car on this occasion? Fingers crossed I have? Edited September 20, 2014 by ThreadLock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 You do have an 11 year old car so have to expect that things will be wearing out and feeling the effects of time, and like most cars it all depends upon how previous owners have looked after it. But on the whole feedback is generally good about longevity. What we find is that perhaps some owners buying Zeds have not fully appreciated that the cost of maintenance and running the cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleR Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Your car will be fine. Apart from the odd creak or squeak here or there, it'll hold up well providing its looked after, like any car. They're rather solid, but when you have a community with X number of thousands of people with the same car, you're going to read about the odd problem people are having. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Welcome to The Land of Zed. Did you not read this before buying it... http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/22880-guide-for-new-memberspotential-buyers/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Think its swings and roundabouts, 3 years in one year I spent £1300 in servicing and parts and others it's been £200 max. Clutch is a biggy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 its fine, in 2 and half years and 24,000 miles the only things needed doing other than tyres and brakes has been a rear wheel bearing and a new exhaust to replace the original that had a hole in it. not bad for an 11 year old car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreadLock Posted September 20, 2014 Author Share Posted September 20, 2014 Ah cool guys... Like I said, its like new underneath. Even my mate said wow when we put her up on his ramp. Its been a weekend car and over here in Ireland (I'm a geordie for the record) there is no salt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreadLock Posted September 20, 2014 Author Share Posted September 20, 2014 Its the Road Tax that is the killer for these cars over here hence why they hardly get driven. 1800 Euros for the year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZEUS Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 (edited) I've owned my 11 year old zed for over 4 years and it's never missed a beat, only costs have been servicing it but you get that with all cars. It's on 107 thousand miles too! Edited September 20, 2014 by ZEUS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamic Turtle Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 On the upside the main components are very strong along the powertrain. My clutch was replaced at 48k and the car lives a hard life on road and track (5-6 circuits a year). There is absolutely no way I would risk doing this with something German. The only annoying problems I've had with the car have been wear & tear related - in the context of a nine year old car. Funnily enough all of them have been carbon brush related; cooling fans (£400 pair), throttle body potentiometer (£100) and a window motor (£150). Suspension bushes wear down too (shocking!). But I believe these are things that most manufacturers build into a engineering/pricing model to generate spare parts revenue and simply a fact of life for all motorists. If I'd thrashed a 986 or E46 like this I would be much poorer by now. I like sleeping at night knowing that I will never have a £5k repair bill for the Zed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allaboutthepasty Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Had my 03 near enough a year now, on 65K. Few squeaks from cold going over bumps on winters mornings. Airbag light came on which was fixed by fiddling around with the plug under the seat. Next maintenance is a throttle body clean as it cuts out on startup when warm if you don't dab the throttle, will cost me a fiver for the carb cleaner. Overall, not much really for a 10 year old car. Just look after the engine and gearbox by using good quality fluids at the recommended intervals and you'll be fine. Go on absolutely any specific car forum and you'll hear the horror stories. For a 300bhp sports car, the prices for parts really aren't that bad either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crb Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 I've had mine about 14months now and I've spent about £1000 on necessary repair work inc break switch, battery, pads & discs and banana arms (white line bushes). But I've probably spent the same amount on non essentials like uprev, plenum spacer and many "pretty" parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjt Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 I think that if you go on any car forum you are going to see some problems listed, but on the whole the 350Z seems to have less common 'traits' than most, and if you do need to replace something you can always for new and used parts way cheaper than Nissan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 You have bought a car. Like every other car on the road if you buy it at the wrong time or hold onto it long enough it will be troublesome. Not being patronizing as you've obviously got car history but it's just the fact I've come to realize. EVERY last car on the road can and will be a pain in the arse at some point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 You have bought a car. Like every other car on the road if you buy it at the wrong time or hold onto it long enough it will be troublesome. Not being patronizing as you've obviously got car history but it's just the fact I've come to realize. EVERY last car on the road can and will be a pain in the arse at some point! Unless you by from rEvolve of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 You have bought a car. Like every other car on the road if you buy it at the wrong time or hold onto it long enough it will be troublesome. Not being patronizing as you've obviously got car history but it's just the fact I've come to realize. EVERY last car on the road can and will be a pain in the arse at some point! Unless you by from rEvolve of course Sadly not! I've had 2 warranty claims on the 8 I've sold. Both of them straight back in and fixed. Used cars breaking is just a fact of life.....it's how you deal with it that counts. You can send a car out as honest as you like and within 5 miles it could break down. You could buy any one of the most uberpampered zeds from on here and they could have a problem within 10 minutes. Bradders, CalZed etc al can attest to that.......no probs on the test drives....shagged within a week. I've come to realize with cars you just do your best and never assume that nothing can go wrong. As for the zed The axles can click The bushes can creak The links can knock The W brace rots More than one engine has thrown a piston this year alone. Idling problems Burning oil problems Noisy Fuel damper Camshaft position sensors knackered Window motors break And I bet you'll find the exact same list for nearly any car on the market. Most of the stuff above has nothing to do with the legendary 'bullet proof engine' (although that bullet proofness is getting more and more suspect if you ask me). Its just serviceable parts that wear and tear. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 You have bought a car. Like every other car on the road if you buy it at the wrong time or hold onto it long enough it will be troublesome. Not being patronizing as you've obviously got car history but it's just the fact I've come to realize. EVERY last car on the road can and will be a pain in the arse at some point! Unless you by from rEvolve of course Sadly not! I've had 2 warranty claims on the 8 I've sold. Both of them straight back in and fixed. Used cars breaking is just a fact of life.....it's how you deal with it that counts. You can send a car out as honest as you like and within 5 miles it could break down. You could buy any one of the most uberpampered zeds from on here and they could have a problem within 10 minutes. Bradders, CalZed etc al can attest to that.......no probs on the test drives....shagged within a week. I've come to realize with cars you just do your best and never assume that nothing can go wrong. As for the zed The axles can click The bushes can creak The links can knock The W brace rots More than one engine has thrown a piston this year alone. Idling problems Burning oil problems Noisy Fuel damper Camshaft position sensors knackered Window motors break And I bet you'll find the exact same list for nearly any car on the market. Most of the stuff above has nothing to do with the legendary 'bullet proof engine' (although that bullet proofness is getting more and more suspect if you ask me). Its just serviceable parts that wear and tear. I agree Paul, sorry shameless promotion (which it was meant to be - and not negative as it may have seemed) on my behalf and good on you for responding in full. I do have a possible mission for you, probably best via PM though, which I'll drop you soon. It might involve a favour and also never mentioning a facemask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 You have bought a car. Like every other car on the road if you buy it at the wrong time or hold onto it long enough it will be troublesome. Not being patronizing as you've obviously got car history but it's just the fact I've come to realize. EVERY last car on the road can and will be a pain in the arse at some point! Unless you by from rEvolve of course Sadly not! I've had 2 warranty claims on the 8 I've sold. Both of them straight back in and fixed. Used cars breaking is just a fact of life.....it's how you deal with it that counts. You can send a car out as honest as you like and within 5 miles it could break down. You could buy any one of the most uberpampered zeds from on here and they could have a problem within 10 minutes. Bradders, CalZed etc al can attest to that.......no probs on the test drives....shagged within a week. I've come to realize with cars you just do your best and never assume that nothing can go wrong. As for the zed The axles can click The bushes can creak The links can knock The W brace rots More than one engine has thrown a piston this year alone. Idling problems Burning oil problems Noisy Fuel damper Camshaft position sensors knackered Window motors break And I bet you'll find the exact same list for nearly any car on the market. Most of the stuff above has nothing to do with the legendary 'bullet proof engine' (although that bullet proofness is getting more and more suspect if you ask me). Its just serviceable parts that wear and tear. I agree Paul, sorry shameless promotion (which it was meant to be - and not negative as it may have seemed) on my behalf and good on you for responding in full. I do have a possible mission for you, probably best via PM though, which I'll drop you soon. It might involve a favour and also never mentioning a facemask. Oh mate I know you weren't having a pop! I've just had this epiphany about cars recently and so many people ask 'is the zed reliable'. That's such an easy question to answer now - no they are not. But neither is anything else. It's almost better to judge a car on how cheap it is to fix rather than how reliable it is in the first place. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 I still have that side mission, not that exciting but still a mission! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Any time bud just drop me a line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyg Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 (edited) Its the Road Tax that is the killer for these cars over here hence why they hardly get driven. 1800 Euros for the year! Only 230 a year for a pre 06 import Edited September 21, 2014 by Dannyg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 How's that work? I thought that all vehicles were taxed based upon their engine size in Ireland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreadLock Posted September 21, 2014 Author Share Posted September 21, 2014 From the back end of 2008, yes all cars are based on engine size and emissions. Pre 2008, they decided that they would just rip off anyone with an older car and try and force them to buy new. Something to do with building up car revenue in the country. So get this, I had a 2008 RX8 that was cheap on TAX but used 3 to 4 tanks of fuel a week to do the same amount of trips as I do in my Z that only takes 1 if I'm gentle. Also, if you look up the emission stats for the two cars, the Z is cleaner. So which do you think is better for the planet? But yet, I'm stung with 1800 Euros because my passion is cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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