Nissan 350Z ..why so cheap?

Nissan 350Z ..why so cheap?

Author
Discussion

hbwold

290 posts

206 months

Thursday 4th September 2008
quotequote all
Looking at the glass's guide the 350's are dropping around £800 a month and thats been consistent since July...so if this trend carries on, which more than likely it will, then there will definately be lots of relatively cheap 350z's on the market. With the new tax laws and fuel prices less people are buying cars like this which is a shame.

The thing is dealers get hold of these cars either through auctions or part ex's .etc. and when they see the depreciation figures they'll just want to sell it cheap and get rid of them asap as they know that it'll only get worse. Plus its not a nice feeling having a car like that in stock and seeing it sit on you pitch for weeks on end with no interest.

nervous

24,050 posts

229 months

Friday 5th September 2008
quotequote all
Erich Stahler said:
perhaps you drove it after being used to something more exotic in the handling department hence the odd feel to the handling?
actually, that's the clincher. I drove it staright after doing a 3 hour journey in what Id previously believed to be the worst handling car in the world, my sagaris. so for the 350z to be worse was really going some.

Ive driven 5, and they were all the same, including the dev. car. Its a shame, as I do love that engine- in the micra 350z we had a month or so ago it made easily my favourite noise ever- but somehow in that the giant omnibus thats the 350z it just loses all its charm.

GlenMH

5,204 posts

242 months

Friday 5th September 2008
quotequote all
hbwold said:
Plus its not a nice feeling having a car like that in stock and seeing it sit on you pitch for weeks on end with no interest.
Weeks?? I know of one dealer in the south west that has reputedly had one for a YEAR!

Glen

Surfr

629 posts

194 months

Friday 5th September 2008
quotequote all
Paul_Dids said:
I did something similar when I saw a cheap RX8 in the paper the other day... turns out for 8 - 9k you can get a very nice one indeed!
I just did exactly that smile

snorkel sucker

2,662 posts

202 months

Friday 5th September 2008
quotequote all
owned a zed for 9 months- decided to sell last year due to increasing mileage and depreciation worries! there are some absolute bargains to be had out there right now, as the OP points out.

Imports are the cheapest, and, if registered as PLG you only pay £180 tax...no difference between the import and UKDM models, just do your usual homework and you'll be fine.

They are a bit of a marmite car, and i think nervous tells a fair story of why he doesnt like them. The engine sounds glorious- has a very artificially created noise at low revs which is great when round town. It kinda dies off a bit mid range, but the top end sounds great- even better with an induction kit (the best on is the cheapest- JWT- £90). A nismo exhaust, while pricey, really wakes it up. The 280bhp model is a bit lacking top end, but has enough mid range grunt to make it interesting. Its not as fast as it looks, or as it should be- think top end hot hatch territory.

Handling is pretty good IMO. The first time i drove it down a b-road, it felt massive and cumbersome. However, once the tyres were changed to a decent set, it was poised and predictable and not at all scary. The ESP was well judged and, in the wet, i didnt find it scary at all- that, however, is down to individual driving styles- if youre not smooth, it will bite. I disagree with the tail wagging ability in the dry- yes, it needed some provocation, but its got massive rear tyres and bags of grip, so of course you need to give it some stick! Compared to my S2000, hanging out the tail was a breeze, and made me relish, rather than fear, oversteer.

Yes, the interior is shockingly plastic, but the heated seats worked, my Bose never faultered and there were no rattles at all. It was DIRT cheap to service- I got the big, P3 service, done for well under £300 and you know the engine is going to be bulletproof.

these cars arent sports cars, they are GT cars, and as such wont give you the balance of a boxter, or the deftness of an S2000. What they will give you is character and entertainment, and, at sub 10k, the only bad thing i can say about them is that they will soon be snapped up by scrotes who will end up in a hedge, backwards.

its a shame cos they are a great car (and incidentally, i got 26-27mpg for the duration of mine) and id have another in a heatbeat

Adz350z

112 posts

201 months

Friday 5th September 2008
quotequote all
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.
Had my Z for about a year, build quality isnt up to my s3 but its alot more fun (tail happy) Every one has an opinion, but i dont understand how you can mock a cars build quality when you have a cerb !!!!

OJ

13,909 posts

227 months

Friday 5th September 2008
quotequote all
Amazed at the comments on twitchy handling. Can't comment on the road practicality of it, but I had a go in one on track in the wet a couple of years ago and I'd rate it as one of the best balanced cars i've ever driven. I found I could throw it at a corner, let go of the wheel and literally steer it with the throttle.

Obviously that doesn't comment on the cumbersome/high-cofg arguments, but nonetheless I'm surprised

nervous

24,050 posts

229 months

Friday 5th September 2008
quotequote all
Adz350z said:
but i dont understand how you can mock a cars build quality when you have a cerb !!!!
forgive me, where did i say the cerb had even part-way decent build quality? im pretty sure youll find im fairly realistic about these things.

Erich Stahler

2,878 posts

269 months

Saturday 6th September 2008
quotequote all
nervous said:
Erich Stahler said:
perhaps you drove it after being used to something more exotic in the handling department hence the odd feel to the handling?
actually, that's the clincher. I drove it staright after doing a 3 hour journey in what Id previously believed to be the worst handling car in the world, my sagaris. so for the 350z to be worse was really going some.

Ive driven 5, and they were all the same, including the dev. car. Its a shame, as I do love that engine- in the micra 350z we had a month or so ago it made easily my favourite noise ever- but somehow in that the giant omnibus thats the 350z it just loses all its charm.
So you think the Sagaris is the second worst handling car in the world, I am even more surprised by that! I thought the Sagaris was considered to be the most developed TVR ever in the handling department?

To be honest I find my Cerb a pretty sharp handling car, I have Gaz shocks and custom springs to suit the car. Im no expert racing driver or motoring journalist but I can fling my Cerb down Paddock Hill, and associated bends, at Brands hatch with almost casual ease - so if only a mildly tweaked Cerb can handle that well surely a Sagaris should be pretty good straight out of the box?

Having said all that its all very subjective and down what you make your comparisons with.







sniff diesel

13,107 posts

211 months

Saturday 6th September 2008
quotequote all
swerni said:
The RX8 has slumped in price far more that the 350z for good reason.
Don't forget the RX-8 was some £3k cheaper to buy in the first place.

Adam B

27,143 posts

253 months

Saturday 6th September 2008
quotequote all
nervy - which mag do you write for?

V12Les

3,985 posts

195 months

Saturday 6th September 2008
quotequote all
Why so cheap!?...because its a piece of st that hardly anyone wants.Girls or limp wristed office workers car.

fido

16,752 posts

254 months

Saturday 6th September 2008
quotequote all

its also 2 version old now - pre-2006 has 287 bhp , 2005/2006 has a tweaked engine pushing 300bhp - i can't find the latest 313GT for much less than 20k, though that's still 7-8k off the new price.

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Saturday 6th September 2008
quotequote all
swerni said:
The RX8 has slumped in price far more that the 350z for good reason.
Yes, massive oversupply relative to the 350Z. Mazda sold a lot more because they were more keenly priced and much more practical, and right up until the first lease and company cars flooded the market the residuals were excellent.

bad_roo

5,187 posts

236 months

Saturday 6th September 2008
quotequote all
I am quite at a loss as to how anybody who professes to write about cars for a living could proffer that opinion.

All I can surmise is that
a). You haven't driven very many cars
or
b). your point of view is horribly out of step with most informed opinion.

I don't think the answer is a).

I guess that sometimes it pays to realise when your opinion is a bit off on certain things. I like Peugeot 607s. What do I know?

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Saturday 6th September 2008
quotequote all
swerni said:
If you want to be practical you buy a mondeo or vectra.
If I could live with the 350Z's degree of impracticality, I'd want a pukka sports car, not a GT.

swerni said:
all the reviews always rated the 350z higher than the RX8.
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupe/112_0403...
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Compar...
http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.as...
http://www.whatcar.co.uk/car-review-video.aspx?RT=...
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_tes...


I can't be arsed digging more out, but there were plenty of other reviews that came to the opposite conclusion. EVO were big fans of the Z, though, and I completely understand why individuals might prefer one approach or the other.



Edited by otolith on Saturday 6th September 17:04

snorkel sucker

2,662 posts

202 months

Saturday 6th September 2008
quotequote all
V12Les said:
Why so cheap!?...because its a piece of st that hardly anyone wants.Girls or limp wristed office workers car.
i just love some of the rubbish that gets written on here sometimes! i am not a woman, nor in any way limp wristed that i know of, yet i had a zed...

hmmmm, interesting. maybe im yet to unearth my true sexual preferences...


nervous

24,050 posts

229 months

Sunday 7th September 2008
quotequote all
Erich Stahler said:
So you think the Sagaris is the second worst handling car in the world, I am even more surprised by that! I thought the Sagaris was considered to be the most developed TVR ever in the handling department?
thats not saying much though, is it? Handling is not what theyre known for, and I purchased the car with my eyes wide open, but it was so unbareable that it had to go.

erich said:
To be honest I find my Cerb a pretty sharp handling car, I have Gaz shocks and custom springs to suit the car. Im no expert racing driver or motoring journalist but I can fling my Cerb down Paddock Hill, and associated bends, at Brands hatch with almost casual ease - so if only a mildly tweaked Cerb can handle that well surely a Sagaris should be pretty good straight out of the box?
Im told that they can be made ace, with nitrons etc. Certainly some of my friends that have them maintain its possible to transform the car, and I totally trust their opinion. Im hopeful one day Ill get a go in one, as I dont want to dislike anything. Mine wasnt great, but still not as bad as the Saggy though. Tramline-tastic, even after the re-done geo etc.




nervous

24,050 posts

229 months

Sunday 7th September 2008
quotequote all
Adam B said:
nervy - which mag do you write for?
Total 911 (http://www.total911.co.uk/) and Road (www.roadmagazine.co.uk)

nervous

24,050 posts

229 months

Sunday 7th September 2008
quotequote all
bad_roo said:
I am quite at a loss as to how anybody who professes to write about cars for a living could proffer that opinion.

All I can surmise is that
a). You haven't driven very many cars
or
b). your point of view is horribly out of step with most informed opinion.

I don't think the answer is a).

I guess that sometimes it pays to realise when your opinion is a bit off on certain things.
is this aimed at me? if so, im fairly sure my opinion is legitimate, by virtue of the fact that I formed it for myself, based on my experience. thats pretty much how i form nearly all my opinions. Im also fairly sure that Im not obligated to keep my opinion 'in step' with that of others, else it wouldnt be my opinion. do you see? you think its a good car, but that doesnt mean I have to.

however, if Im going about this opinion forming thing all wrong, please do let me know. Im only too happy to keep you happy.