Is this 350z too cheap?
Discussion
Hi all,
Still looking to get the first track car!! have been trawling the pages and seen this 350z:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
It's a repo, but FSH up to 101k, currently 110k. Looks in decent nick, but i'll be looking to strip out the interior anyway. I've never actually bought a car for myself before - so looking to y'all for advice - looks good to me, will probably give them a call tomorrow, but i'm not overly sure everything to be wary of.....
tyty,
JaGe
Still looking to get the first track car!! have been trawling the pages and seen this 350z:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
It's a repo, but FSH up to 101k, currently 110k. Looks in decent nick, but i'll be looking to strip out the interior anyway. I've never actually bought a car for myself before - so looking to y'all for advice - looks good to me, will probably give them a call tomorrow, but i'm not overly sure everything to be wary of.....
tyty,
JaGe
Possible reasons for low price:
- High mileage
- MoT history has advisory for a suspected knocking sound coming from front suspension strut - or could be the banana arms?
- If it's going to be road-registered, you will be paying the higher Mar 2006-on £570 annual tax without the benefit of the 2007-onwards 'HR' engine (although you do get the 296hp RevUp over the original 276) - not a reason not to buy, but a reason 2006 cars may be cheaper
- Dent in front driver's side wing and rust on the arch
- Dent in the rear bumper
- Doesn't have the GT pack, good for a track car
In terms of things to look for, I think some of the the 2006 'RevUp' engines had an oil consumption issue, but don't know the details. Check for rust underneath, but don't be too worried about the W-brace itself if that's rusty, as it's easily replaced.
The service history sounds adequate, service intervals are 9k miles and it only reached 101k last year, so it's not significantly overdue its next service.
Overall I could see it being a good choice for a trackday car based on info shown, but I have no idea about buying a reposessed car or that specific car.
https://www.350z-uk.com/ seems to be a reasonable source of info.
Here's some advice on tracking a 350Z I got from a professional racing driver who's had two of them:
If you plan to track it:
1) Invest in real brakes. Even the optional Brembos don't have enough thermal capacity for real track work when stock. I am not sure if upgrading the pads, fluid, going to slotted rotors, and adding brake cooling ducts is sufficient. It may be for some tracks like Brands Indy that are easier on brakes.
2) Add an oil cooler.
3) Think about a differential cooler.
4) And for fun/performance, go to a square wheel/tire package, run a stiffer front sway bar, put in a LSD that actually works, and add negative camber to the front end (via aftermarket upper control arms). This transforms the car into something much more balanced. Going stiffer on the springs makes it more nimble as well. The stock shocks are actually not horrible for body motion control, but they don't offer the smoothest ride. They seem to have a decent amount of low speed compression damping, particularly at the rear.
Mostly they are, indeed, pretty robust. After the MR2, it is my second favorite car I've owned.
- High mileage
- MoT history has advisory for a suspected knocking sound coming from front suspension strut - or could be the banana arms?
- If it's going to be road-registered, you will be paying the higher Mar 2006-on £570 annual tax without the benefit of the 2007-onwards 'HR' engine (although you do get the 296hp RevUp over the original 276) - not a reason not to buy, but a reason 2006 cars may be cheaper
- Dent in front driver's side wing and rust on the arch
- Dent in the rear bumper
- Doesn't have the GT pack, good for a track car
In terms of things to look for, I think some of the the 2006 'RevUp' engines had an oil consumption issue, but don't know the details. Check for rust underneath, but don't be too worried about the W-brace itself if that's rusty, as it's easily replaced.
The service history sounds adequate, service intervals are 9k miles and it only reached 101k last year, so it's not significantly overdue its next service.
Overall I could see it being a good choice for a trackday car based on info shown, but I have no idea about buying a reposessed car or that specific car.
https://www.350z-uk.com/ seems to be a reasonable source of info.
Here's some advice on tracking a 350Z I got from a professional racing driver who's had two of them:
If you plan to track it:
1) Invest in real brakes. Even the optional Brembos don't have enough thermal capacity for real track work when stock. I am not sure if upgrading the pads, fluid, going to slotted rotors, and adding brake cooling ducts is sufficient. It may be for some tracks like Brands Indy that are easier on brakes.
2) Add an oil cooler.
3) Think about a differential cooler.
4) And for fun/performance, go to a square wheel/tire package, run a stiffer front sway bar, put in a LSD that actually works, and add negative camber to the front end (via aftermarket upper control arms). This transforms the car into something much more balanced. Going stiffer on the springs makes it more nimble as well. The stock shocks are actually not horrible for body motion control, but they don't offer the smoothest ride. They seem to have a decent amount of low speed compression damping, particularly at the rear.
Mostly they are, indeed, pretty robust. After the MR2, it is my second favorite car I've owned.
Edited by samoht on Saturday 28th September 19:40
samoht said:
Possible reasons for low price:
- High mileage
- MoT history has advisory for a suspected knocking sound coming from front suspension strut - or could be the banana arms?
- If it's going to be road-registered, you will be paying the higher Mar 2006-on £570 annual tax without the benefit of the 2007-onwards 'HR' engine (although you do get the 296hp RevUp over the original 276) - not a reason not to buy, but a reason 2006 cars may be cheaper
- Dent in front driver's side wing and rust on the arch
- Dent in the rear bumper
- Doesn't have the GT pack, good for a track car
In terms of things to look for, I think some of the the 2006 'RevUp' engines had an oil consumption issue, but don't know the details. Check for rust underneath, but don't be too worried about the W-brace itself if that's rusty, as it's easily replaced.
The service history sounds adequate, service intervals are 9k miles and it only reached 101k last year, so it's not significantly overdue its next service.
Overall I could see it being a good choice for a trackday car based on info shown, but I have no idea about buying a reposessed car or that specific car.
https://www.350z-uk.com/ seems to be a reasonable source of info.
Here's some advice on tracking a 350Z I got from a professional racing driver who's had two of them:
If you plan to track it:
1) Invest in real brakes. Even the optional Brembos don't have enough thermal capacity for real track work when stock. I am not sure if upgrading the pads, fluid, going to slotted rotors, and adding brake cooling ducts is sufficient. It may be for some tracks like Brands Indy that are easier on brakes.
2) Add an oil cooler.
3) Think about a differential cooler.
4) And for fun/performance, go to a square wheel/tire package, run a stiffer front sway bar, put in a LSD that actually works, and add negative camber to the front end (via aftermarket upper control arms). This transforms the car into something much more balanced. Going stiffer on the springs makes it more nimble as well. The stock shocks are actually not horrible for body motion control, but they don't offer the smoothest ride. They seem to have a decent amount of low speed compression damping, particularly at the rear.
Mostly they are, indeed, pretty robust. After the MR2, it is my second favorite car I've owned.
wow - this is a really helpful & detailed answer - thanks - High mileage
- MoT history has advisory for a suspected knocking sound coming from front suspension strut - or could be the banana arms?
- If it's going to be road-registered, you will be paying the higher Mar 2006-on £570 annual tax without the benefit of the 2007-onwards 'HR' engine (although you do get the 296hp RevUp over the original 276) - not a reason not to buy, but a reason 2006 cars may be cheaper
- Dent in front driver's side wing and rust on the arch
- Dent in the rear bumper
- Doesn't have the GT pack, good for a track car
In terms of things to look for, I think some of the the 2006 'RevUp' engines had an oil consumption issue, but don't know the details. Check for rust underneath, but don't be too worried about the W-brace itself if that's rusty, as it's easily replaced.
The service history sounds adequate, service intervals are 9k miles and it only reached 101k last year, so it's not significantly overdue its next service.
Overall I could see it being a good choice for a trackday car based on info shown, but I have no idea about buying a reposessed car or that specific car.
https://www.350z-uk.com/ seems to be a reasonable source of info.
Here's some advice on tracking a 350Z I got from a professional racing driver who's had two of them:
If you plan to track it:
1) Invest in real brakes. Even the optional Brembos don't have enough thermal capacity for real track work when stock. I am not sure if upgrading the pads, fluid, going to slotted rotors, and adding brake cooling ducts is sufficient. It may be for some tracks like Brands Indy that are easier on brakes.
2) Add an oil cooler.
3) Think about a differential cooler.
4) And for fun/performance, go to a square wheel/tire package, run a stiffer front sway bar, put in a LSD that actually works, and add negative camber to the front end (via aftermarket upper control arms). This transforms the car into something much more balanced. Going stiffer on the springs makes it more nimble as well. The stock shocks are actually not horrible for body motion control, but they don't offer the smoothest ride. They seem to have a decent amount of low speed compression damping, particularly at the rear.
Mostly they are, indeed, pretty robust. After the MR2, it is my second favorite car I've owned.
Edited by samoht on Saturday 28th September 19:40
I didn't see the MOT advisory note, would rather spend a bit more and have the peace of mind! even though it will be a track car. Does the lack of GT pack make it better as a track car because if you plan on modding & tracking, the GT additions are just a waste of extras & money - or is there another reason?I have a friend who tracked one of these. He spent a fortune on proper brakes and suspension but fundamentally it’s a heavy lump of a car for track work and it was never much fun.
This isn’t someone unused to speed, he used to run a Z4M coupe and likes his bikes too.
He’s got an MX-5 now and is really enjoying it. Food for thought maybe?
This isn’t someone unused to speed, he used to run a Z4M coupe and likes his bikes too.
He’s got an MX-5 now and is really enjoying it. Food for thought maybe?
JaGe said:
I didn't see the MOT advisory note, would rather spend a bit more and have the peace of mind! even though it will be a track car. Does the lack of GT pack make it better as a track car because if you plan on modding & tracking, the GT additions are just a waste of extras & money - or is there another reason?
If you're going to change the seats and strip the interior (GT pack has subwoofer), there's no difference AFAIK, just that GT pack cars tend to go for a little more money perhaps.However if you're keeping the stock seats, then the non-GT pack cloth seats sit you lower, hold you better (leather is slippery), and must weigh less (without all the electric motors and heater). So in that sense it's a better option.
I wouldn't personally dismiss the car purely because there was an advisory on the MoT test - the owner might have fixed it since. But it'd be something I'd look out for on the test drive, to check if it is still present and bargain accordingly if so.
Actually, the car doesn't currently have an MoT, expired in June, which is probably another reason it's cheap - presumably you wouldn't be able to test drive it on the road and if you took it away it would have to be to a garage for a test, which it might or might not pass? Unless Repossessions UK are going to put a ticket on it?
As far as the front ARB goes I can't really comment as I'm not the one with the experience of driving these cars on track. I know that the standard thing is to stiffen up the end you want less grip on, & I understand why, but I also suspect things aren't always quite that simple; sometimes a stiffer front end can just keep the whole car more upright and you gain more from that maybe? Or perhaps it's to optimise traction out of turns? I can't really say.
Stepping back to the question of a Z33 as a track car or something else, I saw that my friend did start by saying "I think they're great cars. Not as nimble-feeling as an FD. More of a GT car with good feel and grip. But you can change it to be significantly more agile and balanced." . So some level of agreement there I guess.
OnTheEdge said:
Why a stiffer anti-roll bar at the front, do these suffer from oversteer in standard form that needs taming?
You put a thicker rear ARB for Oversteer not a front one. He has mentioned some Negative camber so i guess that's what the thicker front arb kicks in with....its never just one thing as I'm sure you already know
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