350Z buying guide?

[malross]

Hi all,

I'm considering upgrading to a 350Z (original model) and am looking for a buyer's guide for second hand examples with tips of specific things to look for. My googling so far has drawn a blank, so does anyone know of one? Any help/advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Mal.

[martinmac]

Hi Mal,
As you will have discovered there are lots out there and a few dogs. There are a few issues to address to get a good one. Sent you an e-mail bud with some info.
Martin

[Dakkon]

I have heard of some having clutch problems, but nothing specific.

I bought mine 18 months old from a Nissan dealer, so far the car has needed, petrol, tyres and standard servicing, fantastic car, will be getting a brake upgrade for a trip to the ring next spring.

[malross]

Cheers for the responses, guys.

Dakkon said:

I have heard of some having clutch problems, but nothing specific.

I bought mine 18 months old from a Nissan dealer, so far the car has needed, petrol, tyres and standard servicing, fantastic car, will be getting a brake upgrade for a trip to the ring next spring.

Is yours the 276bhp or 296bhp model, Dakkon? I've not heard anything about significant differences between the two, but I'm curious anyway. The one I'm considering is the 276bhp model.

Cheers,

Mal.

[Dakkon]

malross said:

Cheers for the responses, guys.

Dakkon said:

I have heard of some having clutch problems, but nothing specific.

I bought mine 18 months old from a Nissan dealer, so far the car has needed, petrol, tyres and standard servicing, fantastic car, will be getting a brake upgrade for a trip to the ring next spring.

Is yours the 276bhp or 296bhp model, Dakkon? I've not heard anything about significant differences between the two, but I'm curious anyway. The one I'm considering is the 276bhp model.

Cheers,

Mal.

Mine is a 53 plate, so 276bhp, however the 276bhp car has more torque than the other two engines so in the real world the performance difference is really not that noticeable.

Buy one and enjoy it, if you buy a UK car get the GT Pack, to get leather, 6 CD Bose and rear spoiler.

[martinmac]

There are a few warranty issues that are quite common, clicky rear axles and skipping bose are the two most common. Also heard of a few problems with Rays alloys. Service history is essential.
On the good side, its a great car and there are lots of mods available with UK and US suppliers giving very good prices.
The Bridgestone tyres are IMO awful and especially at this time of year will give you problems.
Lot of car for the money though and a great drive.

[malross]

How serious is the clicky rear axle? Is it actually damaging to the car, or just an annoyance? The links I've seen to a technical bulletin on the topic are out of date (they go to a non-existent site).

Cheers,

Mal.

[martinmac]

Its not a problem other than annoying the hell out of you. Some garages grease and turn them. Again something to check on the history. Mine is 2 years old and no problem so far.
Servicing is cheap depending on where you live. They CAN be reasonable economical and at £14 for a good one they are affordable. Plenty of lads 19 yrs upwards own them now although I am towards the other end f the scale.

[IanZ]

Mine will be for sale shortly if your interested

[GlenMH]

We are enjoying ours!

Get over to www.350z-uk.com and have a root around as there is a whole heap of information on the faults mentioned above and a couple of others,

Glen

[Toady1]

martinmac said:

Its not a problem other than annoying the hell out of you. Some garages grease and turn them. Again something to check on the history. Mine is 2 years old and no problem so far.
Servicing is cheap depending on where you live. They CAN be reasonable economical and at £14 for a good one they are affordable. Plenty of lads 19 yrs upwards own them now although I am towards the other end f the scale.

19 and own one! bloody hell! insurance must be a killer at that age for one!

[Tim S]

There's a load of info here: http://forums.350zukownersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=6342 . It might force you to register before you can see the thread - can't remember.

I've had mine for a year with no issues whatsoever. The standard brake fluid and pads aren't really up to track use but that's easy to fix. The original fitment Bridgestones are good when new but go off quite badly when more than half worn.

[martinmac]

Toady1 said:

martinmac said:

Its not a problem other than annoying the hell out of you. Some garages grease and turn them. Again something to check on the history. Mine is 2 years old and no problem so far.
Servicing is cheap depending on where you live. They CAN be reasonable economical and at £14 for a good one they are affordable. Plenty of lads 19 yrs upwards own them now although I am towards the other end f the scale.

19 and own one! bloody hell! insurance must be a killer at that age for one!

Some of the lads are paying 2.5k plus a year although it would scare the hell out of me.

As for the Bridgestones, the one thing I would recommend is changing them very rapidly before winter. Dont mind being overtaken but not by my own back bumper. They are run flats and dont like wet or icy roads.

Edited by martinmac on Saturday 8th December 22:26

[Puddenchucker]

martinmac said:

As for the Bridgestones, the one thing I would recommend is changing them very rapidly before winter. Dont mind being overtaken but not by my own back bumper. They are run flats and dont like wet or icy roads.

The Bridgestones fitted to the 350Z are not run-flats, but they do have very stiff sidewalls.
However, as you've said they do not like cold wet roads.

[martinmac]

Sorry, I missed the stress on the irony, I hate them. To clarify my views, the Bridgestones give all the downside of runflats, tramlining and awful grip and no advantage. Your tyre company will love you when you take them in, almost worth using an unpopular dealer to get your own back. I have just thrown away 4 with 7k on them. MP sports make driving so much better.

[malross]

Just wanted to say thanks again to everyone for the tips. I checked the car out last Friday and it seemed to be in pretty good nick. There was the odd mark consistent with its age, but it didn't seem to have any of the common faults.

So... providing everything goes to plan, tomorrow I sell my Mini to a dealer who offered me 7k for it last week and then this weekend, I go and get myself a shiny new... errr... second-hand 350Z.

Can. Not. Wait.

Mal.

[martinmac]

Great stuff Mal, sure you wont regret anything. See you about bud.

[Pierscoe1]

martinmac said:

Hi Mal,As you will have discovered there are lots out there and a few dogs. There are a few issues to address to get a good one. Sent you an e-mail bud with some info.Martin

Could you post up with said info please, as I'm after a Z too and would like to get as well informed as possible.... thanks

[JKay]

Hey Mal

I have heard something about the 350Z's having a tracking problem which causes feathering, and hence need re aligning every month.

I have googled this but cant really find any good info on it (ie whether it was fixed for later cars, the cause of it, how common etc etc etc), other than that quite a few people have experienced this from what I can see

Hope this helps

[Puddenchucker]

JKay said:

I have heard something about the 350Z's having a tracking problem which causes feathering, and hence need re aligning every month.

Earlier cars with a particular specification of Bridgestone RE-040 suffered from tyre feathering - an uneven wear pattern that caused the front tyres to become noisy when braking at low speeds.

This is fixed by a one off tracking adjustment and fitting new front tyres. Several 350Z owners have had new front tyres supplied under warranty as a result of this.
Later cars had a revised tread pattern RE-040, which seems to have cured the problem. From early this year 350Zs have RE-050 tyres fitted.

Plenty of info on this and all other known problems with the 350Z on www.350zukownersclub.com