RE: Nissan 350Z: PH Buying Guide

[SarGara]

vtecyo said:

Always wanted one, and could buy one now... but you can't get a downhill bike in / on it. So I can't have one.

o rly? http://boofsquire.com/

[StradoZ]

vtecyo said:

Always wanted one, and could buy one now... but you can't get a downhill bike in / on it. So I can't have one.

If you can stretch your budget, do what I did and get a banger for this! (mk1 Yaris is like a tardis) ... I bought it for my wife ... honest.

SarGara said:

o rly? http://boofsquire.com/

Nice idea but it looks like they stopped selling them in 2011.

[Shnozz]

Test drove an early one after evo raved about it and couldn't see what the fuss was all about. I was looking to combine my everyday Toyota Celica shed and an S1 Elise that was a plaything at the time.

Felt neither torquey as my previous TVR's had felt, didn't feel free-revving, as the Elise felt, felt heavy, a bit lethargic and nothing all that special, aside from a lasting memory of fantastic brakes for a heavy car. I came away disappointed.

Still loving the looks of them a few years later I took a second revision 350 cabrio on a test drive and what a difference it made. The revised model revved so much more cleanly, felt more urgent and grin-inducing. Cracking car and I'd be more than content to own one - felt more fun than the Boxster S I had for a few years in between as a daily.

[SarGara]

StradoZ said:

Nice idea but it looks like they stopped selling them in 2011.

Hmm good point. Ok the next result in google!
http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/56306-the-last-word-r...

[Ocellia]

...then, there's the Skyline 350GT 'version' with 4 seats, for us older, more sedate folk?

[vtecyo]

SarGara said:

o rly? http://boofsquire.com/

A 3kg road bike yes, and 18kg, muddy downhill bike - no.

ETA: My Mrs has a Panda but it's very small inside. Could rack it I guess.... But I doubt she'd want to drive a Z

Food for thought though.

[j_s14a]

daveco said:

One of the nicest sounding six cylinder engines out there (next to the Mark V R32 and M3 of same vintage).

Really?! They just sound like a humdrum, modern V6. Doesn't sound anywhere near as nice as 3.2 Alfa V6 of similar vintage, or the VW VR6. And we haven't even got to straight or flat 6's.

At least it sounds nicer than its GTR stablemate, which is truly one of the most boring sounding GTs in existence.

[Jayyylo]

I think the main drawback for most is that they aren't practical enough to be an everyday car and they aren't special enough to be a weekend car. While they might be a good drive, the general consensus is that it's too heavy so it'll always be very compromised where it matters. And of course, no matter how much you don't want to be a sheep and you want something a bit different, the M3 sets a very high bench mark in this category if you're spending approx. £10k.

[Martin350]

Jayyylo said:

the general consensus is that it's too heavy so it'll always be very compromised where it matters. And of course, no matter how much you don't want to be a sheep and you want something a bit different, the M3 sets a very high bench mark in this category if you're spending approx. £10k.

Doesn't it weigh almost exactly the same as the M3..?

[Jayyylo]

Martin350 said:

Jayyylo said:

the general consensus is that it's too heavy so it'll always be very compromised where it matters. And of course, no matter how much you don't want to be a sheep and you want something a bit different, the M3 sets a very high bench mark in this category if you're spending approx. £10k.

Doesn't it weigh almost exactly the same as the M3..?

They are probably +/- a passenger to each other but it seems the M3 carries it's weight better and it isn't such a common criticism whereas the weight topic often comes up when talking about the 350z. Admittedly I haven't driven a 350z so I have to go by what others say, however the reason I haven't driven one is because the practicality issued ruled it out of my potential cars list.

I'm sure someone will be along with the figures soon but there is no denying that the M3 is king of this sector if you want a RWD drivers car with the benefit of some practicality.

[wolves_wanderer]

Jayyylo said:

Martin350 said:

Jayyylo said:

the general consensus is that it's too heavy so it'll always be very compromised where it matters. And of course, no matter how much you don't want to be a sheep and you want something a bit different, the M3 sets a very high bench mark in this category if you're spending approx. £10k.

Doesn't it weigh almost exactly the same as the M3..?

They are probably +/- a passenger to each other but it seems the M3 carries it's weight better and it isn't such a common criticism whereas the weight topic often comes up when talking about the 350z. Admittedly I haven't driven a 350z so I have to go by what others say, however the reason I haven't driven one is because the practicality issued ruled it out of my potential cars list.

I'm sure someone will be along with the figures soon but there is no denying that the M3 is king of this sector if you want a RWD drivers car with the benefit of some practicality.

I had the idea to get an M3 and lose the shed but the ones that I tried for similar money to what I paid for my 350 were pretty ropey imo. Although if you need 4 seats you wouldn't be looking at a 350z in the first place, I bought the car I preferred and kept the shed for 4 seat duties (not an option for everyone I appreciate).

[Bryans69]

Had a 350z Roadster for 8 years. Started out as wife's everyday car before she handed it over to me when kids came along and she wanted something a bit more practical. Very much a 'muscle car'. Great fun, but not particularly delicate. Finally replaced last year for a Boxster S (which would have been my choice in the first place)

Good points -
Fun to drive
Good for long distance
Reasonable boot
Torque engine
Not very common
Generally reliable

Bad points -
MPG - don't ask
Not a nice engine to rev- better using low down torque
They have a problem with the radiator fans seizing. Nissan want £1200 for new fan units. Can be fixed yourself, but you need small hands!

[itchy1977]

I've had mine for 2 months (Black '05 UK car with GT Pack + Factory nismo Kit). Absolutely love it. Sounds great, comfortable etc.

Issues:
Check the rear axles don't 'click' (mine did, had to fix mine by re-torqueing the nut and re-greasing axle, £40 cost)
CD player skips, common issue
Rear boot gas struts can fail sometimes (mine seem fine)

Other than that it's been trouble free. Attracts lots of attention, and a lot of car for the money. Great value. Just bought a JWT Pop Charger that when fitted should make it sound even better!

[simundo777]

daveco said:

One of the nicest sounding six cylinder engines out there (next to the Mark V R32 and M3 of same vintage).


I couldn't help but think if they had a different badge (and nicer interior) they'd be held in the same high esteem as the E46 M3.

Come on really!!?

I'm a huge fan, i've owned three but the engine sound is certainly not one of the greats, not even close.

Currently own an E46 M3 and it over shadows the 350z in every respect unfortunately.

[Ferosferio]

daveco said:

I couldn't help but think if they had a different badge (and nicer interior) they'd be held in the same high esteem as the E46 M3.

I have to disagree. Whilst the 'big' Z is a great car, the M3 is dynamically superior, and by some margin in my experience. My use of the word 'big' is obviously a bit tongue-in-cheek but the 350Zs I've driven have always felt bigger and a tad more crude than the M3. The Z is more of a GT whereas the M3 can comfortably carry out GT or 'Sports' car duties. As far as the interior is concerned, again, I found the M3 to be a bit better here both with material quality and how it was screwed together.

It's easy to draw parallels between the 2, hence why the comparison is always made but, in my experience, the M3 is the better car out of the box.

[Tomatogti]

StradoZ said:

vtecyo said:

Always wanted one, and could buy one now... but you can't get a downhill bike in / on it. So I can't have one.

If you can stretch your budget, do what I did and get a banger for this! (mk1 Yaris is like a tardis) ... I bought it for my wife ... honest.

The only problem with this is some of the best roads I've driven have coincided with some of the best MTB trips I've done.

[Jonstar]

Drove one extensively recently, what a car. Blows the z4 and rx8 into the middle of next week for being an event to drive. Sounds better than an m3 imo and feels significantly more special. I know the Germans ultimately are more efficient, poised and err quality, but in terms of fun, I think the 350z has the measure of them. Drive one, evo and tiff/Vicki can't all be lying!

[NelsonP]

I had a 350z for a few years and loved it. A mate of mine had a 3.6 996 at the time and whilst in all honesty the z wasn't as good, it wasn't as far off it as you might assume.

Common faults are well documented in the forums and Nissan issued TSBs for them so lots got fixed under warranty. Worth checking this if you can when buying one.

I think the 'heavyness' is definintely true and results from a few things:
- 1500kg (so fairly heavy, but less than the M3)
- Steering - good, but fairly heavy
- Suspension - there is something in the way that it has been tuned which makes the car feel heavier than it is
- Gearchange - short, heavy throw
- Engine - torque drops off pretty fast >5000 rpm, which means that it its often not worth pushing it to the redline

Exhaust noise is great. Lots of exhaust clips on youtube. But clear that Nissan did not waste much money on NVH engineering (vibrating gearstick, lots of tyre roar etc)

[daveco]

Ferosferio said:

daveco said:

I couldn't help but think if they had a different badge (and nicer interior) they'd be held in the same high esteem as the E46 M3.

I have to disagree. Whilst the 'big' Z is a great car, the M3 is dynamically superior, and by some margin in my experience. My use of the word 'big' is obviously a bit tongue-in-cheek but the 350Zs I've driven have always felt bigger and a tad more crude than the M3. The Z is more of a GT whereas the M3 can comfortably carry out GT or 'Sports' car duties. As far as the interior is concerned, again, I found the M3 to be a bit better here both with material quality and how it was screwed together.

It's easy to draw parallels between the 2, hence why the comparison is always made but, in my experience, the M3 is the better car out of the box.

simundo777 said:

daveco said:

One of the nicest sounding six cylinder engines out there (next to the Mark V R32 and M3 of same vintage).


I couldn't help but think if they had a different badge (and nicer interior) they'd be held in the same high esteem as the E46 M3.

Come on really!!?

I'm a huge fan, i've owned three but the engine sound is certainly not one of the greats, not even close.

Currently own an E46 M3 and it over shadows the 350z in every respect unfortunately.

To my tired ears the 350/370Z sounds infinitely nicer than the M3 until the latter approaches the rev limiter.

And as someone else said I may have missed out on other silky sounding sixes such as the Stuttgard flat six and Alfa's offerings...my bad!

[Shnozz]

Having had second hand experience of an E46 M3 I'd suggest the running costs are a far few miles adrift.