Reliability and Maintenance

[v3euk]

Hey,

I'm thinking of buying a Noble M12, there a little out of my price range, so i'll need to take out a loan. Wondering how reliable they are as cars and what sort of costs i'd be looking at for maintenance, as this is a major factor in whether i buy or not. I have been looking at Nissan 350Z's for my next car, a completely different type of car i know. But i was just running insurance quotes for cars, i saw a nobel and i was amazed at how cheap it was.. £700 for the year (i'm 20). But as i say, they are a little out my price range, and a big loan is required, so if there going to be a high likelyhood of any major failures or costs, i may not risk it.

Edited by v3euk on Saturday 11th July 02:17

[alex s]

v3euk said:

Hey,

I'm thinking of buying a Nobel M12, there a little out of my price range, so i'll need to take out a loan. Wondering how reliable they are as cars and what sort of costs i'd be looking at for maintenance, as this is a major factor in whether i buy or not. I have been looking at Nissan 350Z's for my next car, a completely different type of car i know. But i was just running insurance quotes for cars, i saw a nobel and i was amazed at how cheap it was.. £700 for the year (i'm 20). But as i say, they are a little out my price range, and a big loan is required, so if there going to be a high likelyhood of any major failures or costs, i may not risk it.

If things are tight, I would go for the 350, noble is a lot more expensive(potentially) to run.

[Alfa_75_Steve]

alex s said:

v3euk said:

Hey,

I'm thinking of buying a Nobel M12, there a little out of my price range, so i'll need to take out a loan. Wondering how reliable they are as cars and what sort of costs i'd be looking at for maintenance, as this is a major factor in whether i buy or not. I have been looking at Nissan 350Z's for my next car, a completely different type of car i know. But i was just running insurance quotes for cars, i saw a nobel and i was amazed at how cheap it was.. £700 for the year (i'm 20). But as i say, they are a little out my price range, and a big loan is required, so if there going to be a high likelyhood of any major failures or costs, i may not risk it.

If things are tight, I would go for the 350, noble is a lot more expensive(potentially) to run.

To be fair, he's a 20 year old student, so highly unlikely to be anything other than an internet fantasist.....

[v3euk]

alex s said:

If things are tight, I would go for the 350, noble is a lot more expensive(potentially) to run.

They were my thoughts. I've found some service prices on a specialists websites. Are there any well known faults that occur? Or major work that needs to be carried out on a regular basis? I have been looking a lotus aswell, and a few reviews say on a lower budget, it's a good alternative.

Edited by v3euk on Saturday 11th July 02:17

Alfa_75_Steve said:

To be fair, he's a 20 year old student, so highly unlikely to be anything other than an internet fantasist.....

May be true, i can definitely afford the car, with a little help from the banks, i'm just worried about how much more it's going to cost me to keep running, espically as a main car, i don't drive far, but i live out in the sticks, so reliability is important.

Edited by v3euk on Saturday 11th July 02:20

[alex s]

v3euk said:

alex s said:

If things are tight, I would go for the 350, noble is a lot more expensive(potentially) to run.

They were my thoughts. I've found some service prices on a specialists websites. Are there any well known faults that occur? Or major work that needs to be carried out on a regular basis? I have been looking a lotus aswell, and a few reviews say on a lower budget, it's a good alternative.

Edited by v3euk on Saturday 11th July 02:17

Alfa_75_Steve said:

To be fair, he's a 20 year old student, so highly unlikely to be anything other than an internet fantasist.....

May be true, i can definitely afford the car, with a little help from the banks, i'm just worried about how much more it's going to cost me to keep running, espically as a main car, i don't drive far, but i live out in the sticks, so reliability is important.

Edited by v3euk on Saturday 11th July 02:20

Forget the Noble, very easy to get service bills in the 1,000's remember it was a 50K hand built car, so it is never going to be anywhere near as reliable as a jap car. ( I should know, i have an alfa and a lexus as well - guess which one is the most reliable out of the 3!! )

[wessexrfc]

Rule of thumb - if you can't afford it, don't buy it!!!! its a toy not a house

[v3euk]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll leave it until i can fully afford it i think.

[snuffy]

wessexrfc said:

Rule of thumb - if you can't afford it, don't buy it!!!! its a toy not a house

Another way to look at it is : If you think you can just about afford it, you can't. And I'm talking from experiance - at 23 I bought my first Esprit and it almost had me in the poor house.

[F.C.]

Reliability should be better in the Lotus (be careful there are a lot of ex "race" cars out there).
The downside ironically is that the Lotus will probably cost you half as much again as the Noble to insure. (I speak from experiance here).
The Noble is a rewarding car to drive but if you abuse it it Will abuse your wallet in return, (not to mention all the stuff you will inevitably want to modify / improve along the way) .
The Lotus is also a rewarding drive; though a little asthmatic by comparison (I run an Exige 240 now)in the Go department, it does however have the edge (flame suit on) in the handling department.
F.C.

[TOENHEEL]

I think a Lotus would be the sensible option, they are a lot cheaper to maintain and also a good progression before moving onto a Noble. I obviously dont know what cars you have owned in the past so you may find the Noble a piece of cake to drive.

[v3euk]

Thanks for the insights. I've just got back from viewing a Noble, beautiful car - hell to get in, had to move the seat fully back to actually get my knees in then move it forward to reach the peddles properly. However, i think its not quite "pratical" enough for me at the moment, maybe when i can afford it as a second car is the time to buy. I don't think it would like all the speed humps around my area, and also the slightly dodgy city centre parks. I think i will most likely go for the 350Z first, to get used to the power, as this is a pretty pratical car. I've never really driven anything with much power. So i think this is a sensible option. I then may move up to something like a Lotus, or maybe a Porsche. Then finally onto the Noble, as i've got alot more driving experiance, and also hopefully a steady income to fund maintaince etc

[wessexrfc]

v3euk said:

Thanks for the insights. I've just got back from viewing a Noble, beautiful car - hell to get in, had to move the seat fully back to actually get my knees in then move it forward to reach the peddles properly. However, i think its not quite "pratical" enough for me at the moment, maybe when i can afford it as a second car is the time to buy. I don't think it would like all the speed humps around my area, and also the slightly dodgy city centre parks. I think i will most likely go for the 350Z first, to get used to the power, as this is a pretty pratical car. I've never really driven anything with much power. So i think this is a sensible option. I then may move up to something like a Lotus, or maybe a Porsche. Then finally onto the Noble, as i've got alot more driving experiance, and also hopefully a steady income to fund maintaince etc

Goodman, you've got your head screwed on. Trust me there is plenty of time to build up to the car you really want. I started with an Esprit and the maintanance scared the pants of me to the point of not being able to injoy it. Once you get to own the car you want(even the Z350) remember to have some saving in reserve for the unexpected. BOL and drive safe.

[madasapig04]

im 22 and got a 3r grat car for the weekend but you defantly need a othere car but if you do have a othere car get one yes they do cost a bit to run but no heavier then a 350z as i have had a r32 but they need a roof over them. but when the sun is out and your in the lakes there is nothing beter the a v6 and the turbos whistling ppppppphhhhhhhhhtttttttttt!!!!!!!

[skylinecrazy]

madasapig04 said:

im 22 and got a 3r grat car for the weekend but you defantly need a othere car but if you do have a othere car get one yes they do cost a bit to run but no heavier then a 350z as i have had a r32 but they need a roof over them. but when the sun is out and your in the lakes there is nothing beter the a v6 and the turbos whistling ppppppphhhhhhhhhtttttttttt!!!!!!!

You make no sense.

Learn to speak English.

[NobleGuy]

Judging by the conversations I've had with the garage who have worked on a few Nobles, they are of the opinion that stuff starts to break routinely on them after they reach a certain age/mileage (mine's got 30K on the clock, now 6 years old). My experience would tie in with that opinion. My first two years of ownership cost me (relatively) next to nothing - no issues whatsoever to speak of other than very cheap minor things.

The last 15 months however has cost me around £10K (gearbox, clutch, diff, both turbos, intercooler and a power upgrade). It sounds like you might have already decided not to, but go in with your eyes open if you do change your mind. Personally I run a crapped-out mile-muncher to cover me for rainy days and the winter and (if you can stand the strange looks from colleagues who know you own a Noble but then turn up to work in 1996 Proton Persona with bent and slightly rusty doors ) would encourage you to do the same.

[fhwong]

I too am looking for a Noble, but I am not 22 and don't need a loan!

But it will be my first car, however I am going in with my eyes full open.

What sort of milage are saying that things start going wrong? 30K? That seems very low.

I haven't seen any high milage Nobles around either do they even make it to 100K?

Thanks

[NobleGuy]

fhwong said:

I too am looking for a Noble, but I am not 22 and don't need a loan!

But it will be my first car, however I am going in with my eyes full open.

What sort of milage are saying that things start going wrong? 30K? That seems very low.

I haven't seen any high milage Nobles around either do they even make it to 100K?

Thanks

There was one, can't remember who's it was now that had done in excess of 70K miles, and that was some time ago now.

[honestbob]

It's Jools's. Think he had close to 90,000 on it!