Buying a 350 T or C?

[mach1]

OK, I'm sure that this has been done to death on here, but I've searched the archives and couldn't find anything so here goes....

At last I've scraped the money together to buy a used 350 to use everyday. I drove one on Saturday and was instantly hooked, so I have 2 immediate questions.

1. Any hints or tips on what to look for, known problems etc.

2. I like the idea of the Targa top. Has anyone got experience of one of these? How do they compare in terms of noise, water ingress etc.

I've read plenty of reviews, but I'd really appreciate the opinions of some real owners.

Thanks.

[targarama]

Common things to look for - speak with the last owner and try to get a feel for whether they were a real enthusiast who will have taken care of the car (esp. when engine cold). Check FAQ for more common faults. Also look for various mods which happened in the 'early years' - load cover, rear screen 'dimple' to allow opening (dimple in the body, not the glass), better glovebox closing/finger hook to open, sun visors. Of all these the load cover is the most useful.

Targa - no reason for them to leak. Early models (side clips) were not as good as later models (front/rear clips). Depending on car and how well fitted the panel is it will be completely silent up to 80 at least - with careful adjustment 100-120 is possible without any whistling. Above this they do whistle (mind you, reading various mags, lots of convertibles such as the new model SL55 make a noise from the roof above this speed).

Buy the best condition you can afford, there are some tired cars out there.

BTW pet hate time - WTF do people put photos of their car for sale up on places like Pistonheads without vacuuming them out. I see so many with drivers' floor mats looking quite skanky. There was a Chimaera ad posted the other day - the mats looked awful and all they needed was a vacuum, scrub. Personally I use an additional rubber mat in the winter in all my cars.

[TheArb]

Keep a contingency fund.

I heard an unsubstantiated rumour that the T350T is being phased out btw. Might become a collector's item.

[Mr Freefall]

mach1 said:

OK, I'm sure that this has been done to death on here, but I've searched the archives and couldn't find anything so here goes.... At last I've scraped the money together to buy a used 350 to use everyday. I drove one on Saturday and was instantly hooked, so I have 2 immediate questions. 1. Any hints or tips on what to look for, known problems etc. 2. I like the idea of the Targa top. Has anyone got experience of one of these? How do they compare in terms of noise, water ingress etc. I've read plenty of reviews, but I'd really appreciate the opinions of some real owners. Thanks.

1. Any hints or tips on what to look for, known problems etc

History of the car. The main dealer stamp is good, but see if you can get the actual invoice for the service too. Also, for the 1st year, there will be some items done under warrenty to the car. If you have a real enthusiast, they will be able to produce ALL the receipts for the car, even the one for the warrenty work, as dealers have to bill the factory for this work. This was you get a real sense of what the car has had done.

Throttle bodies. Ask if the car has a de-trottle chip, this was used on some cars with worn throttle bodies. If you are unsure the dealer that services the car will know. If it has, you might need to change the throttle bodies soon, or get referbed ones.

Make sure you have the additional expansion water bottle, some early cars do not have this, and ran hotter because of this.

Last tip, is when you got to look at the car, see how festidious the owner is about the warn up. If they just get it out the garage, go down the road and floor it within a couple of minutes, odds are it has not been looked after very well.

There are some nice cars out there, and a STD GOOD T350 will be around £25-27k depending on milage. For the 3.6 Red rose converson you would get one for £29-30k for the Tuscan S engine T350, £33k +. For dealer Prices generally add £3k or more to the privare Prices

Power
Std 3.6 = 350bhp
Red Rose 3.6 = 375
Red Rose 4.0 = 405 + engine is blueprinted.(only 8 made to-date)

The extra power from the redrose 3.6 was from bigger injectors, bigger bore exhuast and remapped ECU.

If you are not too worried about the colour, and want a Std T350, go for the best you can get with your budget, Red Rose varients, are more rare and come with a premium to the price.

Mr F

[S6 GON]

Look at my T350T up for sale in the classifieds, comes with the 3 Year warranty.

[mach1]

S6 GON, fantastic looking car but sadly out of my price range.

I'm looking at around the 28k mark.

[ibroker]

Have a look at this guy. This is my ex car and I know he is up for a deal

[ulr]www.jasonbarker.co.uk/performance_cars/performance_cars.htm[/ulr]

[rev-erend]

This one caught my eye the other day :

www.prestigemotorcompany.co.uk/GetDealer.do?did=19672&pageid=2

Black with black wheels, 25K .. moody.

[mach1]

Seems a bit cheap for a dealer. I might give them a shout, although I'm a bit wary about buying from a non-specialist.

Is that moody as in "mean and ...", or "dodgy"?

[jt13355]

Probably so cheap 'cos its in nebula black and cant sell it cos of the colour.

If you havent seen that colour just imagine black paint covered in silver purple and gold glitter, definitely a stevie wonder specced car.

Hideous but thats just MO

The Yellow one looks a resonable deal tho

[mach1]

I haven't seen Nebula Black in the flesh, and by the sounds of it I don't want to! (No offence to anyone that has one, it just wouldn't suit me)
The yellow one looks like a good deal, but I couldn't live with the colour.

Ideally I'm looking for a T350t in either good old racing green or maybe Venezian Blue. Having said that, I'd look at any car that came along at a decent price.

I keep checking the classifieds & dealer sites, but if anyone out there hears of a similar car up for sale please let me know.

[rev-erend]

I think the dealer was just selling it for a friend.. it was/is at a private price not a dealer price.

[targarama]

jt13355 said:

Probably so cheap 'cos its in nebula black and cant sell it cos of the colour. If you havent seen that colour just imagine black paint covered in silver purple and gold glitter, definitely a stevie wonder specced car. Hideous but thats just MO The Yellow one looks a resonable deal tho

It is what is known as an acquired taste

[_deejay_]

mach1 said:

I haven't seen Nebula Black in the flesh, and by the sounds of it I don't want to! (No offence to anyone that has one, it just wouldn't suit me) The yellow one looks like a good deal, but I couldn't live with the colour. Ideally I'm looking for a T350t in either good old racing green or maybe Venezian Blue. Having said that, I'd look at any car that came along at a decent price. I keep checking the classifieds & dealer sites, but if anyone out there hears of a similar car up for sale please let me know.

Nah, you want a reflex charcoal car - green in some lights, black in others and purple when the sun's shining!
I keep toying with selling mine ('04 with remaining full warranty) but am not brave enough to advertise it in case someone wants it!