Thursday 24th January 2013

You Know You Want To: Nissan 350Z

Big miles but less than four grand for a 350Z? That's got to be worth a look!

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The recent announcement by Nismo of its 344hp upgrade to the 370Z caused us to waste... ooh... a good 15 minutes combing through the classifieds to find drool over second-hand examples of the standard car, and another 15 minutes looking at its predecessor, the 350Z.

From here, you'd never guess how leggy it is

Naturally, the first thing we did was to find out how little cash you could buy one for – and the result astonished us. £3,750, was the measly answer. For a rear-wheel drive, 276hp coupe that’s under 10 years old, that seems an exceptionally reasonable figure.

So, what’s the catch? Well, the example you can buy for that price does have a big one: miles. 182,152 of them, to be precise. In other words, 20,000 a year, for all nine years of its life. Golly.

The big question, then, is how much faith you put in that fabled Japanese reliability. The good news is that the 350Z seems to have plenty of that, with most owners reporting good things. Whether the same applies to a such a high-mileage example will depend largely upon how well it’s been cared for, but the signs are promising: full history until 20,000 miles ago, and regular servicing by a Nissan tech since then; fresh gearbox and diff oils, full four-wheel alignment, and recent rear discs and pads. And for those among you who subscribe to the theory that a pricey tyre brand suggests a careful owner, feast your eyes on the two new Bridgestone Potenzas at the back end.

You might from here, though...

Faults? Not many, if the ad is to be believed. The front end stone chips should ideally be treated before they start to rust, but their presence does at least confirm that the car’s probably spent most of those miles on the motorway at unstressed cruising speeds, rather than being revved to within an inch of its life on a country road. There’s a tear on the driver’s seat, but that’s no biggie, and... er... that’s about it, actually.

So while the mileage is daunting, the signs are there that they might not be cause for too much concern. And when you consider that this is a rear-drive coupe with a great chassis and a sonorous V6, that can hit 60 in under six seconds, that price is sorely tempting. Naturally, we’d advise caution and a very careful inspection – but it’s such a great proposition that we’re finding ourselves struggling not to pick up the phone. Please, someone, get it bought – before we do something daft!

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NISSAN 350Z
Price: £3,750
Why you should: Fast, reliable, fun-to-drive, and handsome - what's not to like?
Why you shouldn't: It's been to the moon and back. Well, nearly.

[Dale Lomas]

My favourite colour, and the Rays wheels too. Nice. Good job I already bought the 328i!

[Ved]

I do 20k a year in a lazy V6 so this could well be worth a look. The fact it does that mileage suggests it's for work and has to be well maintained simply for the chap to do his job.

Surely he'll take £3500

Edited by Ved on Thursday 24th January 11:25

[Kong]

350Zs are great value these days, you can buy a facelift model with the 313bhp engine for £8,000 - that would be my choice.

[Finlandia]

Pah, it's not even been to the moon, let alone back. Average distance to the moon is approx. 240,000 miles, so nearly 60k short on its way there.

[Mr Gear]

I like 350Zs. Nice, heavy controls make it feel like an old-fashioned musclecar... in a good way.

Christ-knows who does those sorts of mileages in a car that will struggle to crack 25mpg though!

But at this price, it would make a great toy.

[over_the_hill]

Mr Gear said:

I like 350Zs. Nice, heavy controls make it feel like an old-fashioned musclecar... in a good way.

Christ-knows who does those sorts of mileages in a car that will struggle to crack 25mpg though!

But at this price, it would make a great toy.

someone who gets a fuel card or mileage paid

[AllyBee]

That's my lunch break gone then - off to the Classifieds we go.

[Ved]

Mr Gear said:

Christ-knows who does those sorts of mileages in a car that will struggle to crack 25mpg though!

One of us

[TinyCappo]

£42K in Fuel!

[Captain Muppet]

Ved said:

Mr Gear said:

Christ-knows who does those sorts of mileages in a car that will struggle to crack 25mpg though!

One of us

I have an MX5 that struggles to do 25mpg.

I'm off to the bank at lunchtime...

[dukebox9reg]

Personally I would say not as pretty but you can pick up the convertibles really cheaply now as well.

Black and Tan definitely work in it's favour

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

[P-Jay]

I adore these things and have done since I first saw one. Sadly I've always been too poor and done too many miles to make it work.

But who knows what tomorrow brings...

[dukebox9reg]

TinyCappo said:

£42K in Fuel!

At todays prices? Remember 8 years ago the fuel was around 80-90p wasn't it?

[pilchardthecat]

over_the_hill said:

someone who gets a fuel card or mileage paid

Or who would rather spend it on fuel than depreciation on a shiny new diesel

[MDMetal]

Mines sat at 25.1mpg at the moment and I spend half of my time in 30mph zones and a few weekends a month on the motorway, so not that bad. Recommended super-unleaded though obv....

[Mr Gear]

TinyCappo said:

£42K in Fuel!

Exactly!

[Dan_1981]

I've been really really tempted by one of these for the last month or so.

The Evo is fantastic at what it does but servicing is expensive, and I need to release some cash for the wedding and erm.... a new car would be nice.....


Please stop running articles like this and peaking everyone elses interest!

[andy97]

I was only thinking about these the other day. Could it be a good basis for a weekend toy and road usesable occasional track day car?

Or even the basis for a race car project?

[VeeDub Geezer]

Always liked the look of these. The price they're changing hands for now can't be ignored.

[300bhp/ton]

Love the look of these. Although I seem to recall 2 years or more back claiming prices of these would continue to plummet. Just look at how cheap 200SX's and 300ZX'x went/still are.

Great bang for buck car. Although slower and less exciting than some US offerings that cost similar these days.