Nissan 350z purchase advice ~

[peterg]

The old Datsun 240Z up to 300ZX etc were called Fairlady then it was carried over to the 350ZNissan Fairlady history    

[Mark Stanton]

wonder why that name didn't catch on in the UK        

[perksy]

Fairlady Z     CLICKY HERE

Kudasai                

[stu999]

QUOTE

I can see several in that list so he needs to make sure whether any car he looks at is an import or not  

Interested to know, why is that, then?

[tex]

i wouldnt buy a jap import mate - there is a lot of legislative differences between cars that is not common knowledge - yes they have right hand drive - thats where it stops. dunno why people do it.. we have made cars for japan and the parts are very different which will make getting parts not as easy - and invariably more expensive.

[DavidC]

350Z for less than £15k will be a jap import. The visual differences between the Jap and UK cars are the small lip spoiler on the boot for UK cars and obivously the number plate recess in the rear bumper is square for Jap cars, rectangular for UK.

However, I seem to remember the original road tests over here when the journos could only get hold of imports, and they hated it. The UK car has a different suspension setup for the UK roads, therefore the UK cars are siginificantly better than the Jap cars, IMO.

Oh, and I think the UK cars are manual only.

[peterg]

Well, I'd want to know if I had a UK supplied car or not as (although in this case any manufacturer warranty is probably expired anyway) imports 'may' have a shorter warranty period, they could have different specs and could use different parts as well....

This car isn't likely to have been brought from Belgium or similar to save a bit of money but it will be from Japan where they often buy a new car every year so could be very different spec to a UK/European car.

It wouldn't necessarily stop me from buying one, I'd just like to know as much about the car as possible  

all IMO  

[cast iron]

There are 3 engines!!

The early ones - mine were 280BHP

Then there was a special edition yellow on 300BHP

Then the later ones had the rev limit lifted and a few engine tweaks and were also 300BHP - look for a bonnet bulge

I did 18K miles in mine in one year and just about managed on the standard tyres, no brakes or anything else required part from an oil change

the best bit was it did 28MPG

I'm not talking too much about speeds on a public forum but they are electronically limited to 150MPH and apparently dont stop accelerating until you hit the limit      

Big differnce on Jap imports is that they do not have any rustproofing wax. The UK cars come from Japan anyway with some engines coming from the USA.

I would definitely have another  

[Emma]

It went OK up Harewood!!!!  

[tex]

It went OK up Harewood!!!!  

shhhhhh

[tex]

Well, I'd want to know if I had a UK supplied car or not as (although in this case any manufacturer warranty is probably expired anyway) imports 'may' have a shorter warranty period, they could have different specs and could use different parts as well....

This car isn't likely to have been brought from Belgium or similar to save a bit of money but it will be from Japan where they often buy a new car every year so could be very different spec to a UK/European car.

It wouldn't necessarily stop me from buying one, I'd just like to know as much about the car as possible  

all IMO  

if you were wanting to spot easily a jap car - the biggest 2 give aways are

a. no rear fog light - (not law in japan) add on one usually on rear

b. square licence plate holder - long and thin here

when people are saying *could* use different parts - they DO use very different parts.. nearly all, right down to brake lines, screens, different plastics, handbooks obviously, dash board navigations are usually in japanese.. etc

we send jap cars - well just stopped actually this week back to japan (Qashqai) - if they made that one as it is for here it would be a much better car than the ones we get - the japanese managers DEMAND much tighter quality targets than EU cars tolerances are tighter etc.. the sat nav in the QQ (or Dualis as in japan) has 3D sat nav with 3D buildings on the map as well - you drive around them on the map - give us that detail in the UK ones!!! lol

[felters]

Friend of mine had one. Fabulous car - lousy dealers. Went back to a M3...

[RichP]

On the board this morning at work - email me if you want the pics and phone numbers etc:

NISSAN 350Z FOR SALE

Location: NTCE-UK (Nissan Technical Centre UK)

Name: Steve Martin

Unfortunately the time has now come to part with my beloved 350z. I have owned the car since March 2006 when I bought it from a colleague at NTCE. Unlike many other imports on the market, this car was purchased brand new by another colleague whilst on assignment in Japan, so there are no pieces missing from the cars history. Specification: Version S (sports pack), Registered in 2003, 3 owners from new (all Nissan development engineers), Gunmetal Grey, 3.5 V6 engine with six speed manual transmission, 57k miles from new, MOT until January 2008, Tax until June 2008, Last serviced in August 2007, Extensive history, 18" RAYS Forged lightweight alloy wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport tyres (front 6mm / rear 4mm), Brembo brakes with Ferodo DS2500 pads, Electronic Stability Program (ESP / VDC), Carbon cloth seats, UK spec rear bumper, UK spec boot spoiler, UK spec exhaust system (for that trademark sound!), UK spec cockpit module trim (incorporating knee cushions), UK spec boot tonneau cover, Genuine Nissan 2006MY LED rear lamps, Genuine Nissan carbon lower front spoiler, Genuine Nissan embroidered 350z mat set, including boot mat, Boot luggage net, UK spec JVC KW-AVX700 DVD head unit with colour reverse camera, Thatcham CAT-1 approved META M999T alarm/immobiliser, Tracker, Chrome front indicator bulbs, 350z badges, Stubby aerial, Personalised NISSAN number plate included. In November 2005, the car was fitted with a new engine as part of a buy back scheme operated by NML (Nissan Motor Ltd), where the old engine was required for research and development purposes, which were in no way due to part failure or misuse. This work was carried out on behalf of Nissan by Menard Engineering Limited (Formally TWR Arrows F1). The following parts were replaced with new: - Bare engine assy - Timing chain and auxiliary belts - Thermostat - Exhaust manifolds - Intake manifold - Air intake mass airflow sensor - Clutch - Flywheel - Clutch cover - Air filter - Throttle body - Exhaust shields - Spark plugs. With the incentive payment received from this scheme, a CD009 spec transmission was purchased from RJN motorsport to replace the original transmission, which was starting to develop signs of the typical syncromesh problems that can occur in the 350z. Needless to say, there have been no such problems ever since. This car has been kept and maintained in superb condition in every respect. If I am totally honest, there are only a few minor points with the car, which altogether aren´t uncommon amongst other Z´s. These include some stone chips on the front bumper, which I have touched up, and there is a small chip on the leading edge of the bonnet, which I have also touched up. I also have a selection of spare parts that can be included depending on the final sale price of the car. These include, brand new UK spec dampers, UK spec indicator stalks, and some general service parts (i.e. brake pads etc.) Please feel free to call or email me for more information. For sale at £14,650 ovno.

Cheers

Rich

[a4gom]

Cheers Tex.

Rich I've forwarded the info to my friend and will see what he says.