Nissan 350Z ..why so cheap?

[RobM77]

Erich Stahler said:

nervous said:

the 350z is honestly the sttest car I've ever driven. hugely over-rated. if you want to be dragged along by a headache that feels like its going to high-side at any moment, by a jet ski and drive it on ice.

Really, that is interesting, I have had an eye on the price of 350z recently, especially as Evo magazine seem to rate them very highly!
Have been considering chopping my driver in for one in the not too distant future.

How did it compare to the Cerb you used to own?

What exactly was it about the handling that was so bad then?

I'm actually kinda with Nervous on that one. I thought the 350Z was a good car: cracking engine, beautiful sound and it had fantastic handling. However, the controls were leaden and devoid of feel, the interior plastics were cheap (nowhere near the S2000's quality for instance), and the throttle had an annoying jerky action that wound me up constantly.

Please do test drive one though. If you're not much into delicacy and feedback then it's one hell of a good car. It just depends on your priorities. £8k is a bit of a steal!

Edited by RobM77 on Thursday 4th September 21:26

[LotusACBC]

Erich Stahler said:

nervous said:

the 350z is honestly the sttest car I've ever driven. hugely over-rated. if you want to be dragged along by a headache that feels like its going to high-side at any moment, by a jet ski and drive it on ice.

Really, that is interesting, I have had an eye on the price of 350z recently, especially as Evo magazine seem to rate them very highly!

Have been considering chopping my driver in for one in the not too distant future.

How did it compare to the Cerb you used to own?

What exactly was it about the handling that was so bad then?

Edited by Erich Stahler on Thursday 4th September 21:25

You have to realize that the car is a glorified nissan maxima, it really is. The road noise is harsh, it bellows from the rear hatch quite loudly. The interior, while very nice, hasn't the best parts. The heated seats suck. The Bose in dash 6 cd changer is a slow nuissance that WILL go out on you so be prepared. It is not that fast at all, however on certain nights (cool, dense air: think Fall) it does wow you on occassion, but it really isnt that fast, you truly have to wind the hell out of it to get it moving, the damn thing can barely spin the rear tires on a dry day without beating the hell out of the clutch and accelerator.

On the other hand, they are relatively cheap, soar on the highway at speeds abovre 100mph that feel more like 70mph, return good highway mileage. I thought the handling was pretty darn precise for such a heavy car if you ask me, very effortless although a bit skippy (that could be the aftermarket rims and tires I had on the car though).

the thing that really sucks about them is the price for aftermarket go fast parts. Literally it would cost you almost $2,700 for a full exhaust. B&M rip shifter was almost $400, an intake for godssake cost me over $450.00. And forget if you want to put gears or a blower in/on it.

[Emeye]

Funnily enough, just as I was reading this, my mate sent me this link!

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/NISS...

Wow!

[fathomfive]

Emeye said:

Funnily enough, just as I was reading this, my mate sent me this link!

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/NISS...

Wow!

Jap import isn't it?

[Puddenchucker]

fathomfive said:

Emeye said:

Funnily enough, just as I was reading this, my mate sent me this link!

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/NISS...

Wow!

Jap import isn't it?

Yep. - Square number plate & 17" wheels of the Jap base model.

[Diderot]

By the looks of it yes.

[Redmist336]

Cant say much about the car, however the engine is stupendously good. We strapped a couple of small turbos to one in our race car and pulled 519hp at the wheels without touching the engine internals.

[Hursty25]

The best all round car i've owned! The interior is stylish, ok so the plastics aren't up to German standards, however they are good for a Jap car. The gear stick and change feel chunky and satisfying. They are known to have a lively rear end and they certainly entertain, but the rear doesn't snap, it is so progressive and easy to catch and hold with some opposite lock. Certainly a lot more exploitable than the M3 i had.
I can't comment on the standard setup and how it feels. With S-Tune springs and shocks it felt alive with good feedback through the wheel.
They are a lot of car for the money. Best in it's class for sure!

[tomTVR]

Reasons for being so cheap:

1. Its a Nissan(depreciation will be worse that bmw/porsche etc)
2. Most of the cheap ones are imports
3. It is 5 years old dont forget (imports even older)
4. Likes a drink

[nervous]

TeaVR said:

The 'worst' car you have ever driven? Harsh one thinks - but I guess it depends on what cars you have driven.

yes, it does.

[nervous]

LotusACBC said:

That has got to be the worse relation to a car such as the Z ever. I owned one and although I was dissapointed with it, it certainly isnt as bad as you make it out to be.

in your opinion. which isnt the same as mine.

doesnt make mine wrong, does it?

[nervous]

Erich Stahler said:

How did it compare to the Cerb you used to own?

What exactly was it about the handling that was so bad then?

well, the cerb was certainly no handler, so thats not really a valid comparison, but it did make up for it with a lot of things that the 350z simply couldnt do. the cerb is a car to experience rather than drive, wheras the nissan is just a car to me.

the handling is horribly tippy, it feels like it has a really high CoG (im sure it hasnt, but the feeling is that it has), which makes it feel like its going to pitch over on every bend- a fact borne out by the fact that one did tip over when one of the other editors on the mag i write for drove one in Belgium. Ive also driven a nissan development supercharged 350z, and whilst that was better, the handling and feel was still all wrong. for me.

Im not being a snob about it, I wanted to love it, and I love ricers and most nissans, but this is one of those cars that I just dont get in any way. Im an engineer as well as a motoring writer, and I can tell you that in my opinion it feels dynamically flawed in a way that I dont like. whether other people notice it, or care about it is of course their opinion.

FWIW, I also think it hasnt aged well, and the sound and interior quality are awful, but these things obviously matter less now its 8k rather than 30-something K.

Im aware of course that for some reason 350z owners are ferocious about defending 'their' brand, so in anticipation Ive donned my flame-proof pyjamas and have readied myself for being told my opinion is wrong and ste and out of order and idiotic and uninformed, despite the fact that I dont really care either way, and am just saying what I feel.

[nervous]

oh yes, everyone Ive ever driven has the traction control light coming on ALL the time, which suggests to me that the chassis isnt exactly optimised for the job. Of course, I await being told that its just an over-zealous traction system, and will of course concede to any and all fanatical, totally-unbiased wisdom.

[Shnozz]

nervous said:

Diderot said:

I quite liked mine a few years back, but I agree Nervous, it was rather twitchy in the wet to say the least and the build kwality was shocking.

god. honest injun? Ive never heard anyone agree with that sentiment before. I honestly thought I was the only one who thought they sucked.

nope. Really thought it may be a 1 car solution for me after reading the write-ups and yet walked away thoroughly unimpressed. Very very average.

[pbirkett]

Interesting to read the impressions of the 350z since its a car i've always kinda liked. When I was insuring my ITR with Sky insurance, the guy on the phone mentioned that he'd just done a good quote on a 350z, when i mentioned i liked them, to which he replied "they arent a patch on the DC2". Quite surprised to be honest...

I've noticed they arent THAT quick though considering the power, but they do weigh almost as much as a Challenger II.

[nervous]

Shnozz said:

nervous said:

Diderot said:

I quite liked mine a few years back, but I agree Nervous, it was rather twitchy in the wet to say the least and the build kwality was shocking.

god. honest injun? Ive never heard anyone agree with that sentiment before. I honestly thought I was the only one who thought they sucked.

nope. Really thought it may be a 1 car solution for me after reading the write-ups and yet walked away thoroughly unimpressed. Very very average.

well, were in the minority it seems. sorry to hear you werent happy with it tho. what did you get instead?

[Shnozz]

nervous said:

Shnozz said:

nervous said:

Diderot said:

I quite liked mine a few years back, but I agree Nervous, it was rather twitchy in the wet to say the least and the build kwality was shocking.

god. honest injun? Ive never heard anyone agree with that sentiment before. I honestly thought I was the only one who thought they sucked.

nope. Really thought it may be a 1 car solution for me after reading the write-ups and yet walked away thoroughly unimpressed. Very very average.

well, were in the minority it seems. sorry to hear you werent happy with it tho. what did you get instead?

I concluded that a 1 car solution would always be compromised and bought another elise to do the driving and an x-type to do the travelling. The latter has plenty of critics, although I am not sure how many of them have driven the car.

[nervous]

Shnozz said:

The latter has plenty of critics, although I am not sure how many of them have driven the car.

this is the internet. your expectation of actual knowledge has no place here.

[nervous]

pbirkett said:

I've noticed they arent THAT quick though considering the power, but they do weigh almost as much as a Challenger II.

what, the tank? ironically, I used to teach people how to drive Chiefans for a living- and thinking about it now- the handling and noise, vibration and harshness of that was considerably better resolved than in the 350z.

comfier too. and had a smaller ass.

[Erich Stahler]

nervous said:

Erich Stahler said:

How did it compare to the Cerb you used to own?

What exactly was it about the handling that was so bad then?

well, the cerb was certainly no handler, so thats not really a valid comparison, but it did make up for it with a lot of things that the 350z simply couldnt do. the cerb is a car to experience rather than drive, wheras the nissan is just a car to me.

the handling is horribly tippy, it feels like it has a really high CoG (im sure it hasnt, but the feeling is that it has), which makes it feel like its going to pitch over on every bend- a fact borne out by the fact that one did tip over when one of the other editors on the mag i write for drove one in Belgium. Ive also driven a nissan development supercharged 350z, and whilst that was better, the handling and feel was still all wrong. for me.

Im not being a snob about it, I wanted to love it, and I love ricers and most nissans, but this is one of those cars that I just dont get in any way. Im an engineer as well as a motoring writer, and I can tell you that in my opinion it feels dynamically flawed in a way that I dont like. whether other people notice it, or care about it is of course their opinion.

FWIW, I also think it hasnt aged well, and the sound and interior quality are awful, but these things obviously matter less now its 8k rather than 30-something K.

Im aware of course that for some reason 350z owners are ferocious about defending 'their' brand, so in anticipation Ive donned my flame-proof pyjamas and have readied myself for being told my opinion is wrong and ste and out of order and idiotic and uninformed, despite the fact that I dont really care either way, and am just saying what I feel.

I have noted from some of your posts over the years you have owned a fair variety of interesting cars and, presumably as a motoring journalist you must get a fairly wide respective
on various cars and how they handle.

I guess at the end of the day they are still a hell of a lot of car for the money, was it your own car with the top heavy feel, or one you drove briefly? perhaps you drove it after being used to something more exotic in the handling department hence the odd feel to the handling?