Downgrade or give up?
Discussion
*Al* said:
Is it a software issue? They can require updates.
Dunno Al, but I dont get why it would be OK for the last 10 months but then give me the hassle it has. I've had the gearbox serviced and have disconnected the battery, but it has not helped. I honestly can't see it being a cheap fix and I have other issues demanding attention after that.... 
DickP said:
As someone said before, why not a quick hatch like an RS Clio? Keeps some practicality if you're buying a house too!
Even though I have not had the greatest of luck with Renault, the one I'd seriously consider is the original 172 Cup. Lightest, best PWR, and cheapest to look after, but I dont see many around now. If theres one thing I did like about them it was that the most compliant versions soaked up imperfections in the road.Fair few replies here, thanks guys....
That was 2013, I had a Clio 172 Phase 1 that I spent £2k making it good as new again, when it went and blew the head gasket and overheated the engine. It still worked, but I PX'd for the 350Z thinking if I were going to fork out huge amounts of money to run a car it may as well be something a bit more special.
Unfortunately the 20 MPG average at a time SUL was nearly the most it's ever been, and doing 40 - 50 miles a day for work meant that it was costing lots in petrol, but also stuff like tyres and brakes can be very costly and towards the end of ownership I was facing possible unemployment.
I chopped it in for a Puma, which was actually a lot of fun, and it handled much better than the 350Z!
I know what you're saying about the Auto thing, if it were a manual I'd probably not have any issue with it in the first place. I also have to say a small part of me feels that actually autos are too uninvolving when on a fun drive, although they are absolutely brilliant for the boring day to day stuff.
I've got to be honest though, motorbikes don't really appeal to me even though I CAN see the appeal. I've always just been much into cars generally, just a personal thing.
te to go wrong IMO and would be very dull to drive after the Z4.
I do remember when I had my MX5, and I used to thrash that, and she was generally cool with it. However, put my foot down even for a second in the Z4 and she's grabbing door handles and curling up on the seat 
That's why a turbo car would probably be even worse! Quite often, if I say I'm hooning she does stays at home 
Seriously though, I still maintain my most fun drives were in the cars with 100 - 150 bhp and lightweight.
I'm pretty sure a late MR2 would be a pretty damn reliable and cheap to run thing.
I think its starting to look obvious where I'm leaning towards
Loyly said:
You have! Is it not the case that you chopped the Clio in after spending loads of money on it? Did the 350Z not go because it was expensive to run? You probably know as well as anyone what the costs of chucking a car for a cheaper one are. If the Z4 were a manual I'd have urged you to fix it, but I struggle be similarly enthused for an automatic.
As for traffic around here, Newcastle can be an irritation at rush hour and the constant road works are st, but it's nowhere near as bad here as it is down South!
If I were you, I'd be tempted to get a motorbike. Buy a cheap runner for commuting and get a nice bike for having fun on. A little money goes a long way with bikes, they're more fun than cars and you can avoid riding it and piling the miles on for every day stuff. You're not far from some of the best biking roads in the country, and it could finally be the change you need to break your cycle of car buying!
Yes, busted. As for traffic around here, Newcastle can be an irritation at rush hour and the constant road works are s
t, but it's nowhere near as bad here as it is down South! If I were you, I'd be tempted to get a motorbike. Buy a cheap runner for commuting and get a nice bike for having fun on. A little money goes a long way with bikes, they're more fun than cars and you can avoid riding it and piling the miles on for every day stuff. You're not far from some of the best biking roads in the country, and it could finally be the change you need to break your cycle of car buying!
That was 2013, I had a Clio 172 Phase 1 that I spent £2k making it good as new again, when it went and blew the head gasket and overheated the engine. It still worked, but I PX'd for the 350Z thinking if I were going to fork out huge amounts of money to run a car it may as well be something a bit more special.
Unfortunately the 20 MPG average at a time SUL was nearly the most it's ever been, and doing 40 - 50 miles a day for work meant that it was costing lots in petrol, but also stuff like tyres and brakes can be very costly and towards the end of ownership I was facing possible unemployment.
I chopped it in for a Puma, which was actually a lot of fun, and it handled much better than the 350Z!
I know what you're saying about the Auto thing, if it were a manual I'd probably not have any issue with it in the first place. I also have to say a small part of me feels that actually autos are too uninvolving when on a fun drive, although they are absolutely brilliant for the boring day to day stuff.
I've got to be honest though, motorbikes don't really appeal to me even though I CAN see the appeal. I've always just been much into cars generally, just a personal thing.
Slow said:
Not read the thread after the first post so excuse me if this isnt what you are looking for but why not a E46 of a 328/330i variety? Coupe,saloon,touring or convertible so all body styles covered.
I have a estate e46 330i which I paid £400 for. About £300 later it had a mot and a set of coilovers (chinese stuff to replace 4 shagged shocks and 2 snapped springs). Its not exactly a sports car but it is still fun to drive on the twistys.
I've already had an E46 328i. I don't really fancy another one though. Still too much sI have a estate e46 330i which I paid £400 for. About £300 later it had a mot and a set of coilovers (chinese stuff to replace 4 shagged shocks and 2 snapped springs). Its not exactly a sports car but it is still fun to drive on the twistys.
te to go wrong IMO and would be very dull to drive after the Z4.Johnnytheboy said:
This.
She won't come round to you driving fast later, and you'll end up doing 40 to garden centres wearing a hat.
While its quite often a tempting option She won't come round to you driving fast later, and you'll end up doing 40 to garden centres wearing a hat.
I do remember when I had my MX5, and I used to thrash that, and she was generally cool with it. However, put my foot down even for a second in the Z4 and she's grabbing door handles and curling up on the seat That's why a turbo car would probably be even worse! Quite often, if I say I'm hooning she does stays at home Seriously though, I still maintain my most fun drives were in the cars with 100 - 150 bhp and lightweight.
Baked_bean said:
I read the OP and it could have been written by me!
I currently have a Z4 coupe and am moving into a house so need to free up some cash...my car is for sale but I do already have a company car so my need isn't as great as yours.
I have also had a large bill of around £1500 which prompted me to sell as I can't be dealing with bills like that whilst moving house.
Exactly, I don't have a company directors wage at all so I really don't need anything that even vaguely resembles expensive to run. I'm not convinced you could say these cars are cheap to run, even though they are relatively good on fuel for the size of the engine, they do seem to pop up with lots of little moderately expensive faults. These might be 10 years old but they are still pretty complex machines - maybe not by modern standards but still.I currently have a Z4 coupe and am moving into a house so need to free up some cash...my car is for sale but I do already have a company car so my need isn't as great as yours.
I have also had a large bill of around £1500 which prompted me to sell as I can't be dealing with bills like that whilst moving house.
I'm pretty sure a late MR2 would be a pretty damn reliable and cheap to run thing.
I think its starting to look obvious where I'm leaning towards
Seaweed said:
Sell it and buy yourself a banger to use until you have settled into your new home. Bangernomics is fun.
It's an option certainly. Will have to get the Z sold first and see how the ground lies.GM182 said:
If there was nothing wrong with the car would you still want to get out of it?
That's an interesting question. The answer is, probably not. If I am 100% honest though, I will say that the thought of yet another new toy appeals at least a little bit. 
The problem is, I think I would have had to sell it anyway next year depending on the use it got. It made a good sports car for the commute, but if I'm not doing that any more then it seems a bit overkill as a weekend car, insomuch as its an auto (I have to say I *do* miss having a manual on fun drives out), and probably a little too at the luxury end of the spectrum... lovely car for long distances and road trips, but I do those very rarely.
Unfortunately, I don't really rate its handling on British roads. On some roads, you can really push it, but on others, it feels nervous and unsettled, its quite inconsistent, and to be honest, even after a year I don't feel completely used to it. I actually felt my E46 was more confidence inspiring despite being a very dull car in comparison. Even with "just" 265 bhp, I also feel its too fast for the roads most of the time, and on those roads you can fully exploit the engine, you are doing ban speeds easy.
So yes I may have kept it, but I think it became more a case of "better the devil you know". However, facing this much of an outlay and potentially continuing to do so, will eventually, as the bloke in the post above said, f
k your life up eventually.The cars I always seem to miss also tend to be light, small and powerful-ish. I have a real yearning for a light, not too powerful car again. I may be back, but only if I've got a few quid to burn.
RedAndy said:
cheap but genuinely usable (reliable with minimal simple maintenance needed) cars to play with while you're skint:
Primera GT
MG ZS Diesel
Celica 190
Almera TDi
MR2 mk3
Impreza wrx bugeye estate (the unloved one) (not an STi)
MX5 (this IS PH after all!)
Honda HRV
Suzuki Swift
Mazda Xedos6
Xedos 9 Miller S/c
Xtrail 2.0 petrol
All drive nicely - good steering and handling. got some poke. Not daft on fuel, tax or insurance.
none will catch a Porsche 911 Turbo 'round the Nurburgring. none will be Showroom condition. but they are cheap and good. you can't go far wrong with one (unless its shagged to start with, but you can avoid those ones).
I've been running my Primera for 18 months and done 22k in it. it cost me £350 and a set of tyres.
Thanks Andy - funnily enough I've had a Primera GT - was OK until some tPrimera GT
MG ZS Diesel
Celica 190
Almera TDi
MR2 mk3
Impreza wrx bugeye estate (the unloved one) (not an STi)
MX5 (this IS PH after all!)
Honda HRV
Suzuki Swift
Mazda Xedos6
Xedos 9 Miller S/c
Xtrail 2.0 petrol
All drive nicely - good steering and handling. got some poke. Not daft on fuel, tax or insurance.
none will catch a Porsche 911 Turbo 'round the Nurburgring. none will be Showroom condition. but they are cheap and good. you can't go far wrong with one (unless its shagged to start with, but you can avoid those ones).
I've been running my Primera for 18 months and done 22k in it. it cost me £350 and a set of tyres.
t wrote it off by rear ending it on a rainy Monday morning.I anticipate that the Z will be gone at the weekend, and I have decided I'm most like to look for a Mk3 MR2. If anyone has any advice about these, I have started a thread here: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Thanks all for the replies, they have been very helpful
@whitegoodman - interesting post. I didn't think the MR2 was supposed to be unreliable? To be honest re: the Z4 if I thought that the gearbox was the only thing that's going to need sorting I would have maybe considered sorting it, but I know there are other things that will need sorting too (water pump is basically a time bomb waiting to happen, another £500, among the faults I already know about).
That being said, I'd kind of be a liar if I said that there wasn't a temptation for a new toy, and really its looking less likely I will need to use a car daily as I'm looking to move even closer to work than I am now, so the car will be relegated to a toy in that case anyway. I personally think the Z4 is a little too much car for that anyway especially in auto guise, which is why I kind of want a lightweight little car again. Plus the fact I am moving means I will have less money to run a car. I still want to be a petrolhead, its been the habit of a lifetime, but I dont want to worry about it too much either. Big bills I am becoming increasingly allergic to!
@TheJimi - tell me about it! Everyone I know comments on how unlucky I am. I must be dedicated to the cause to still bother
@Jazzybee - I am hoping that I will feel the same way, and to be honest, my most fun cars were some of the less powerful ones. I'd go for another MX5 but I've had 2 and the rust thing had one of them meet its maker! What I've noticed as well with cars such as the Z4 and 350Z is they are heavy and kind of blunt, and too powerful to actually grab by the scruff of the neck on the road, you just can't do it. I'm looking forward to going back to a car where you can. I think thats why I've enjoyed stuff like Mk2 Golf GTIs, MX5s, Pumas and the like so much.
That being said, I'd kind of be a liar if I said that there wasn't a temptation for a new toy, and really its looking less likely I will need to use a car daily as I'm looking to move even closer to work than I am now, so the car will be relegated to a toy in that case anyway. I personally think the Z4 is a little too much car for that anyway especially in auto guise, which is why I kind of want a lightweight little car again. Plus the fact I am moving means I will have less money to run a car. I still want to be a petrolhead, its been the habit of a lifetime, but I dont want to worry about it too much either. Big bills I am becoming increasingly allergic to!
@TheJimi - tell me about it! Everyone I know comments on how unlucky I am. I must be dedicated to the cause to still bother
@Jazzybee - I am hoping that I will feel the same way, and to be honest, my most fun cars were some of the less powerful ones. I'd go for another MX5 but I've had 2 and the rust thing had one of them meet its maker! What I've noticed as well with cars such as the Z4 and 350Z is they are heavy and kind of blunt, and too powerful to actually grab by the scruff of the neck on the road, you just can't do it. I'm looking forward to going back to a car where you can. I think thats why I've enjoyed stuff like Mk2 Golf GTIs, MX5s, Pumas and the like so much.
Xaero said:
That's life OP, you have to give up some pleasures for the greater good sometime. Moving from a flat to a house is a nice enough upgrade in life anyway and is a lot more difficult to achieve than running a fun car.
Very true mate, to be honest, I am glad for the year I had with the Z4. It was an absolute pleasure when it was working, but I have to say it wasn't perfect either so I will look back with fondness and move onwards. I am looking forward to other aspects of my life improving which is definitely more important to me now than a car; certainly not the case in the past, but I'm getting older! white_goodman said:
I can't remember exactly went wrong with it. They're not really that unreliable but there are a few common and potentially expensive faults and his suffered all of them meaning
that what looked like a bargain buy turned out not to be (I believe it was the cats and something else). He buys a lot of French, German, Japanese cars and Volvos but as far as I know never another Toyota! Just thinking about your luck but as late an example as you can afford would mitigate this and if you can manage without a boot then go for it, you are more dedicated than I.
I sympathise with the Z. I had a mk4 Golf GTi a few years ago that was a complete disaster and forced me into a new Polo TDI and then a Jeep Grand Cherokee (always wanted one) that superficially looked good but was a complete money pit that I kept fixing only for it to break again expensively a few weeks later. I should have cut my losses with that one a bit sooner but I let my affection for the car cloud my judgement. That was replaced by a new Toyota Auris for her and the newish Civic for me. Both really dull cars but we needed some time where we didn't have to worry about constant breakdowns and repairs. I hope that we have finally found some equilibrium with a newer MPV for her (much more suitable than a small hatch as a family car) and my MINI (much more fun than the Civic) for a similar net cost per month.
I have owned some great fun cars as well though that have been totally worth it, so don't give up on owning something fun/interesting, just stay within your means financially. The nice thing is that there are great cars available at all budgets, so whatever your budget, you don't have to drive a dull repmobile.
I've had a bit of a read and the main threats seem to be from early models before 2003; oval bores causing pre-cat disintegration which then get sucked into the engine destroying it. I've also heard that subframes can be a problem, and about £400 to replace. If that's the worst that can happen, I can certainly live with that. I would be looking for a facelift as they do have a number of beneficial changes.that what looked like a bargain buy turned out not to be (I believe it was the cats and something else). He buys a lot of French, German, Japanese cars and Volvos but as far as I know never another Toyota! Just thinking about your luck but as late an example as you can afford would mitigate this and if you can manage without a boot then go for it, you are more dedicated than I.
I sympathise with the Z. I had a mk4 Golf GTi a few years ago that was a complete disaster and forced me into a new Polo TDI and then a Jeep Grand Cherokee (always wanted one) that superficially looked good but was a complete money pit that I kept fixing only for it to break again expensively a few weeks later. I should have cut my losses with that one a bit sooner but I let my affection for the car cloud my judgement. That was replaced by a new Toyota Auris for her and the newish Civic for me. Both really dull cars but we needed some time where we didn't have to worry about constant breakdowns and repairs. I hope that we have finally found some equilibrium with a newer MPV for her (much more suitable than a small hatch as a family car) and my MINI (much more fun than the Civic) for a similar net cost per month.
I have owned some great fun cars as well though that have been totally worth it, so don't give up on owning something fun/interesting, just stay within your means financially. The nice thing is that there are great cars available at all budgets, so whatever your budget, you don't have to drive a dull repmobile.
As for the whole situation, well, as a fair few people on here (maybe even yourself) will probably already know, I have been here before, many times! It's a bloody disease being a petrolhead
braddo said:
Not having to commute by car is one of the best things that a petrolhead can do - it removes driving from the daily grind and makes it just for pleasure and errands. It makes such a massive difference. You don't mind getting up early on the weekends for a hoon when you're not spending 10 hours a week doing the daily grind in a car.
Mk3 MR2 would be what I would do in your position. If you need more than 2 seats it would be a RX8. Those two, along with the MX5, are the three massive bargains for cheap driving fun these days.
Thats my thinking mate! Mk3 MR2 would be what I would do in your position.
If you need more than 2 seats it would be a RX8. Those two, along with the MX5, are the three massive bargains for cheap driving fun these days. There's an estate about half hour walk along the river from work I'll probably move to. If I can't be arsed to walk, a bus will get me there in 2 minutes.I will never need more than 2 seats ever, so the MR2 seems ideal.
Wills2 said:
A bloody V6? I despair at this forum at times, they're for Toyota camrys, the BMW N52B30 is a stunning piece of kit, smooth a babies bum and revs out so keenly, gorgeous engine.
Moving on to your OP, who is going to want a Z4 with buggered auto box without paying buttons for it?
My 350Z sounded massively better, just saying Moving on to your OP, who is going to want a Z4 with buggered auto box without paying buttons for it?
Dunno but not my problem any more
Mr Tidy said:
Gutted to hear that TRD - you seemed to be really keen on your Z4C when you first got it!
Get onto Z4Forum - someone on there is looking for an Auto Sport Coupe!
Then go looking for a 325ti - it's like a 4 seater Z4 (I have one as a daily)!
A 325ti with 100K miles went on A/T this week with a trader for £1,295, but they have been cheaper!
Property goes up, cars tend to go down!
Car already gone mate.Get onto Z4Forum - someone on there is looking for an Auto Sport Coupe!
Then go looking for a 325ti - it's like a 4 seater Z4 (I have one as a daily)!
A 325ti with 100K miles went on A/T this week with a trader for £1,295, but they have been cheaper!
Property goes up, cars tend to go down!
I did really like the car, and I will always have fond memories of it. Shame it had to go that way.
I've got my sights on a decent looking MR2 on ebay.
Well I went and got one; a 2003 MR2 with 73K on the clock, the condition of it was really very good indeed for the price - £2k. Why didn't I do it sooner? What an absolutely hilarious little car it is. Makes the Z feel clumsy and paunchy. OK its not fast but wind it up and it goes well enough. It is unbelievably good fun, very exciting to drive without actually going all that fast! Can't stop thinking about the drive home back over Hartside today...
Unfortunately not driven the manual to compare, but in hindsight, it would have been the better choice. The novelty of it was fun for a while and it was always good to go to work in. However, it was more complex, the car more thirsty I assume since I barely ever got more than low 20s MPG, and I did sometimes wish I had the manual on a fun drive... and of course, this problem would never have occurred. Still, its a car off my bucket list.
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