Had a brain wave (with several echoes :D ). I reckon (and I do!) that the reason zeds can be bought on a BOGOF basis, is mainly because usually people wanting a supercar (like a Zed is) see it as a display of wealth/power. The branding that goes with a supercar is all-important to most people - names like Ferrari, Porsche etc. are as important (or more so) to them than the actual car. A NISSAN has no cache wrt wealth/reputation with general public and this makes them considerably cheaper.

It's a bit like buying Champagne for a wedding - you want the best name, not a really good value one which is underrated and tastes almost as good as the best. The name is king for a supercar.

 

Also, there is even less cache in driving an old Z. So price has to drop further for people who can afford to run them as they use a fair amount of juice and are generally not too cheap to maintain.

I used to work for Cowies Interleasing in fleet hire, I supplied lots of companies with Ford, Vauxhall, BMW's and Peugeots for thier Reps to use. But the big bosses always wanted a better class of car for themselves, Ferrari's, Porche's and Lambo's. When thier cars would brake down I had to supply them with a temporary car, which usually came from a small pool of cars. There was a very limited choice as to what they could have, but one of them was a 300zxTT. It was virtually brand new, but none of them except for an American man would have it, they chose to have an English or German car instead. When I asked why they refused the Nissan, the majority always said that Nissan's were unreliable, too slow and a crap make, some also said that they had never heard of it.

 

So a lack of advertising and also a lack of knowledge about this car is probably the reason for them being so reasonably priced( thank god.:D ).

 

 

Hugs and kisses

 

 

Wendy

The 300ZX was maimly built for the US market. Europe and the UK were after thoughts!

You go to the US on holiday and see how many Zs there are!...you lose count b4 you even leave the airport!:D

The 300ZX and Nissan name is very well respected in North America.

cheerz,

JEZ

Couldn't agree more, Jez, certainly when I've been there I've always heard "neesan" mentioned with a good deal more reverence than it ever gets here ...

 

And quite right too!:)

One very important factor has been omitted here - supply and demand.

 

4-5 years ago there were very few Z'ds. They were hard to come by and were 10K plus. Then came the import boom! Also, considering that they were first released in 89 making them upto 14 years old (most of them being at least 10 years old) and you have a base market price that reflects that....

 

MK IV Supras are going the same way. Its just that they are 3-4 years behind. Wait and see!

Another factor,and one i feel is the most to blame ,is word of mouth from people that have purchased a "Just In"direct from japan Z,from the countless crappy/dodgy dealers /importers that are out there(tareing the good dealers/importers with the same brush)buying grade 2-3 Zs,shipping em over ,tarting them up,then selling them on for triple what they paid,then a few days or weeks later the poor buyer finds it needs shit loads spending on it just to get it roadworthy again,so called 30klm cars that are/seem to be much more worn out than should be,eventually these pieces of crap get sold on and on etc for low prices,affecting the price of the good ones,vicious circle,Zs with good service history,in very presentable condition,obviously looked well after by the owner,especially an enthusiast, in my book is worth double that of one thats sitting on a forcourt somewhere,and the dealer not knowing jack shit about the car,just waiting for some poor unsuspecting person to buy it,and we have all read and heard about it on here at sometime!,i think though that people are now getting the message about these cars,there being more choosy,the proof being the amount of people that have recently come to this site to ask questions and get the low down before buying,i have ,like many here noticed the price fall quite a lot since around october till around end january,but the good privately owned ones are now holding there own and are fetching a better price and are more sought after,eventually the crap will dissaper and then you'll see Zs going up in price alot more,takeking all this into consideration and the above post is why they are so cheap at the moment;)

Originally posted by konrad

 

Nissan should have taken a leaf out of Toyota's book and made the Z into a seperate brand. Lexus is only really Toyota, but nobody associates them with Starlets etc and the've now got kudos.

 

Z should be a seperate brand; and even better if they'd marketted the skylines under that same brand ! :rolleyes:

 

I think they hoped the success of it would help Nissan's reputation (and it probably did a little to car enthusiasts)

Originally posted by 300z

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/evo_data/knowledge/coupes.php

 

thats how they classify them

 

I think the categorisation of cars is a bit arbitrary. I notice the Skyline is pout dwon as a Coupe/GT, but in the Enthuisiast's Companion, it's a saloon car.

 

The Z32 300ZX was called "Japan's first supercar" by a well known car magazine.

 

I take the point tho' that most cars considered supercars are built with very little extra weight and with little compromise wrt price. The 300Zx was a mass-produced car (although on a special production line in Japan where the workers were very proud of it) and there were cost savings affecting construction - so that makes it seem less like a supercar and more a GT Tourer. But there is no strict set of criteria for calling a car a supercar - it's a judgement.

 

I think the strength of the 300ZX is that it is very good on many fronts, whereas many other cars excel in some respects, while they have some serious bad points (which are seen as characteristics). There are faster cars, more comfortable cars, better handling cars, etc. etc., but the 300ZX fairs very well on many fronts AT THE SAME TIME.

They are a sportscar because my sig says so :cool:

 

Pete

Everyone knows about the Skyline because it's used in the playstation games etc. In UK the 300ZX is a rare car. Because when it comes to taste in England its conservative taste - BMWs, Mercs, Range Rovers, Porsche, and then Mondeos etc. I drive through Apex corner most days of the week - and rarely are there cars of any interest - the people of this country are sheep when it comes to taste.

The reason - I think - why 300zx is cheap (relatively) is because its a Nissan! And the 300zx was Nissans best kept secret!

But anyway - don't we want to be exclusive???

And with the Z badge (on an import) the majority of people don't know what it is!

If I had a choice to spend loads of money on a car I'd go for a Lotus Espirit for a while - the latest V8. I test drove one for fun a while back - it was a monster - but unfortunately it conked out after a few roundabouts around the outskirts of St Albans. So I didn't have to think of an excuse why I wasn't interested!!!

Geoff.

Cheap, cheap ?!? I fecking paid £15K for my import and that was at the time when an identical UK car was £19k for at least double the mileage. Oh well, it's only money. Just think about how much you pay in tax, repair and fuel. When taken in proportion, against the value of the car, I'm paying far less then you guys - LOL :D

 

Take pity on the people who bought brand spanking UK cars at £34K !!!!

Most new cars are going that way now, because people want new cars and dont want the hastle of expensive repair bills, but are willing to lose thousands of £'s selling their cars every few years.

 

Think of people with Astras, cost £13,000 new for a decent one, and will be worth less than £5000 3 years later.

 

Think of all the expensive BMW's which cost £35,000 brand new, and then 3 years down the line they are worth £10,000.

 

Stuart