hey guys! how y'all doin?

 

for quite a wile now iv seriously been thinkin n makin plans to buy a 300zx for next year (yeh i no thrs ages left but i gota start saving sometime!) so i thot i mite as well get some help from those with experience (even tho itl probly be jus a tiny bit biased). y next year? cos il b 21 and il have 1 yrs no claims bonus........hopefully.

 

i hadnt even heard of th car a year a go but since iv seen it n read bout it am hooked, i jus realy realy want 1! thy jus look.....WOW:D!!!! unfortunatley i havnt had a ride in one yet. iv jus got some questions really n some concerns.

 

-FUEL: how much for a full tank n how many miles will i get out of it? i dnt expect it to be economical but then i dnt wanna sacrifice a yrs worth of takeaways either.

 

-INSURANCE: i live in (pretty central) leicester, car wud probly b parked in th street, n its most likely gonna be a standard spec TT i go for. will i need to sell a kidney on th blakmarket to pay for it?

 

-COST: i no these cars r cheap for wot they are n wot they used to go for brand new but unless tht tree in my garden blossoms £50 notes in the spring am not gonna be lookin towards th top of th range. on average how much would i need to spend to pick up a reliable 90-93 TT, bodywork dsnt have to be mint but i dnt wanna be lumbered with failing parts left right and centre.

 

-MAINTENANCE: some of th things iv read on this site scare me! am realy being put into two minds now cos everythin seems to go wrong with th z. i understand that ppl only ask for help wen thy in trouble thts y thrs so many negative things iv read but the costs to have them repaired are pretty steep.

 

sorry for th super long post, please guys help me out here.

at the moment my hearts set on a z, but if things dnt work out my alternative wud b n MR2.

 

THANX

Hello mate,

 

I'm pretty new to the 300 myself so i can't really quote on all the questions youve asked.

 

Fuel. Erm enough said.

 

Insurance. There is some fantastic deals out there, just do a search of the forum.

 

Cost. I don't really want to answer this as said i've only owned mine for a couple of months

 

Maintenance. If you buy one that's got a service history, not just a couple of bits of paper with jap writing on it and even better from an enthusiast (off the club).

 

As for a ride in one, No problem, you'll just have to wait til mid jan when i get it bak (getting minor mods and all lovely for next year)

 

Rich

FUEL: On a long run I got 32MPG driving at 60ish for virtuall all the way. I got over 320 miles to a tank. The tank is 72 litres. Normal smaller trips I only get about 18MPG. If you havent experienced that low MPG it will be a big shock. Think less than 50 miles for every £10 of fuel.

 

INSURANCE: When I was 21 and got my Z, Tesco was cheapest. They do online quotes, but I had 4 year NCB at the time and was just under a grand. Make sure you get a quote for a UK (300ZX) and a Japanese one (Fairlady) If you put 300ZX on the online quote it will be UK spec. Use the Nissan Fairlady to get an Import quote, I think you will be shocked at the difference.

 

COST: 300ZXs are getting cheaper, but it is getting harder and harder to find good ones, especially UK spec ones. UK ones are lucky to have less than 100,000 miles on now and need to have been looked after very well to be rust free. You get what you pay for. The more you pay the better quality it should be. £5000 should get you a good one now. 2 years ago £5000 only got you an OK one.

 

MAINTENANCE: Your car should have good history. Its no good having 3 good owners who looked after it very well and the last owner couldnt care much as damage will be done. These are very reliable cars. People now mod them quite a bit and with the more serious modding comes less reliability. It tends to be the modded cars who get the most serious problems. Dont forget these cars are on average over 10 years old. When you where in Primary School these car had just been released, think of it that way. At over 10 years old parts will fail, but the most serious ones would have probably been changed any ways. There are people on here who can help keep the costs down with quality used parts or alternatives to Nissan parts. Again history is handy here so you can see what had been changed.

 

Happy hunting.

 

Stuart

Hi Mate

Ive had my Z for two & half years

 

Fuel: went to blue water from Folkestone 100mile return trip in 100 minutes! Dont count cost! Need for speed.

 

Insurance: at 21! you need to shop around.

 

Cost: can be kept down, some work can be diy, alot of parts can be got cheaper than nissan prices. Having said that! Tyres cost £100+ each. I thought I got a good one, did 23000 miles first year which to some who own a Z is about 4 years of motoring!

Since then I have had, new rad, replaced engine,recon auto gearbox, three sets of tyres and a list of other bits!

My opinion is they are expensive to run drive & maintain!

 

Having said that! I do smile everytime I take it out :)

Good luck

Arthur

@ 21 with 1years ncb I pay £1200 a year third party fire and theft, the other questions have been answered :)

If you need a 300zx non turbo in pristine condition give me a call in the new year mine's up for sale.

 

If you want any pictures mail me alex@tcsoho.co.uk

 

Happy Christmas!

If your looking at spending around 5k - take a look at Scoops' car in for sale - its a minter!

 

As for running costs...... well I've spent 20k this year, but at least 85p of that was on upgrades. But dont worry about it.... it'll be fine ;) :D

Hi Ya5een

 

The Zed is indeed an expensive car to run, but well worth it.

 

I use mine as everyday transport, can't bear to have it and not drive it!!

 

Fuel is the biggest cost - average 18mpg (around 220-250 miles per tank) but I've had nearer 25 on a 250 mile trip (at 90-ish on m'way plus final 40 miles a/b-road thrash).

 

I've had mine (UK auto TT, 67000 miles, full nissan s/h) since June and aside from the usual 60k problems (PTU, waterpump - both under warranty though) it has been ok. I think the general opinion is that these are still reliable cars if looked after and not modded too much.

 

I have the oil changed at between 3-4000 miles and use good synthetic stuff + nissan parts

 

It seems the people who have the most problems here drive modded cars. And as someone said, they are at least 10 years old now so some items do break with age, especially on such a high performance car.

 

Insurance will be high at 21, but if you have another car you can get classic/2nd car insurance. UK cars are cheaper to insure in general.

 

Happy hunting

 

Richard:)

cheers guys uv all been a great help :)

 

thanx for th offer alexporsche but unfortunatly i aint gonna be able to afford one til late next yr, n defo not befor am 21 which wil b in october. still, love to c pics of ur z so i will mail u.

 

maybe am jus crap at searchin but cant find anythin on Scoops' car, anyone got a link for me?

 

if i do settle on a z its almost definatly gonna be a second car cos of th fuel costs involved (even tho i probly wnt b able 2 resist takin it everywer!)

 

do th imports really cost alot more to insure than UK spec z's? anyone know y this is? RichardSmith how does the 2nd car/classic insurance work?

 

anyone els in leicester with a 300zx apart from chunk300zxtt?

iv seen one (black/blue hard to tel at night) a coupla times parked up on stavely road.

 

oh yeh, jus seen th top gear clip, :D made my day hehe

 

thanx again guys

have a look at the burnout clip if you wanna see a modded one:D

come on guys! arnt we all supposed to be dedicated enthusiasts/owners.

 

i no its xmas n all that but i still need ur guidance n input (if uv all soberd up yet)

 

cant find no burnout clip steve, got a link?

Here's the thread with the burnout clip mate : http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26569 Enjoy :cool:

 

Scoops' car thread: http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26563

 

I guess insurers hike up import policies as some new parts are more difficult to source (in their eyes :rolleyes: ) as they'll only use Nissan parts. Complete scam IMO :mad:

 

I've got mine on a second car policy to save money (not classic unfortunately as I'm not old enough :mad: ). I have a cheap runaround for work etc, keep the miles off the zed too.

 

Good luck

 

Pete

oh man! th burnout clip dnt work :mad: was lookin fwd to it as wel

Hi Mate,

 

I would personally look at a decent MR2 turbo for the moment. I had one up to about a month ago. I now am awaiting the arrival of my Zed from Japan.

 

The MR2 tubs are as fast as a Zed, cheaper to insure and although they love a drink, will not kill your bank balance like a Zeds thirst will, and at 21 you will need all the dollar you can find for insurance anyway! They are about as relaiable as cars this quick get also. And lets not forget, it looks like a baby Ferrari!

 

I better add this now as I don't wanna be bombarded by ppl claiming I am saying the MR2 is a better car, I certainly am not, but I think you must all agree it would be a better option than a Zed if you are under 25.

 

I found for myself that the Zed was a the obvious car to progress up to from the MR2, especially seeing you can pick a good'un up for half the price of a Supra.

 

I just can't wait to get behind the wheel for the fisrt time and experience what all you lot on here say about the joy of driving a Zed:D

 

Good luck in your car hunting and I am sure which ever of these cars you choose you will have a blast in them.

 

Justin:)

Originally posted by Justindorville

Hi Mate,

 

I would personally look at a decent MR2 turbo for the moment. I had one up to about a month ago. I now am awaiting the arrival of my Zed from Japan.

 

The MR2 tubs are as fast as a Zed, cheaper to insure and although they love a drink, will not kill your bank balance like a Zeds thirst will, and at 21 you will need all the dollar you can find for insurance anyway! They are about as relaiable as cars this quick get also. And lets not forget, it looks like a baby Ferrari!

 

I better add this now as I don't wanna be bombarded by ppl claiming I am saying the MR2 is a better car, I certainly am not, but I think you must all agree it would be a better option than a Zed if you are under 25.

 

I found for myself that the Zed was a the obvious car to progress up to from the MR2, especially seeing you can pick a good'un up for half the price of a Supra.

 

I just can't wait to get behind the wheel for the fisrt time and experience what all you lot on here say about the joy of driving a Zed:D

 

Good luck in your car hunting and I am sure which ever of these cars you choose you will have a blast in them.

 

Justin:)

leave him alone he wants a z

(hes a bloke not a girl)mr2?

 

steve

Originally posted by ya5een

oh man! th burnout clip dnt work :mad: was lookin fwd to it as wel

 

The burn out clip doesnt work because I had to remove it so I could put the drag race clip up. I can put the burn out one back up if you want.

IS an Mr2 turbo as fast as a zed ????:confused:

Originally posted by gavo

IS an Mr2 turbo as fast as a zed ????:confused:

 

If you are talking about 0-60 times then they certainly are.

 

Infact the later Rev 3 models with the revised rear lights are probably a bit quicker.

 

I do however think that thge nearer they got to 100 mph then the Zed would have the upper hand due to the superior grunt form the 3 litre lump.

 

I am not trying to start a Zed versus MR2 tubs thing here though.

 

I think they are both fine cars, but as I was saying earlier, if you are a younger driver then due to insurance etc, the MR2 is probably a better choice.

 

Cheers,

 

Justin

can u put em both up please SRRAE, love to c em!

 

thanx again for th great input guys, been loadsa help, still would like to know how th 2nd/classic car insurance works...

 

n anyone els in leicester with a 300zx apart from chunk300zxtt?

iv seen one (black/blue hard to tel at night) a coupla times parked up on stavely road.

my classic car insurance states that

 

you must be the owner driver of second car

5000 miles a year

uk spec only

not to be used to and from work

no no claims needed

mine costs me £210 per year

 

steve

thanx steveo

 

is ther a minimum age needed to take out classic car insurance?

wot do u mean by no no claims bonus needed?

which insuranc company is ur policy with?

is it difficult to find a standard uk spec zed which is in relativly good condition?

 

Yaseen

Originally posted by ya5een

is it difficult to find a standard uk spec zed which is in relativly good condition?

 

Yaseen

 

No not at all, so long as you like RUST!!!:D :D ;)

mine is a j reg uk without a spec of rust

you must get what you pay for

there was more rust on my old import

and it cost three times at much to insure

and i had no idea of the so say millage/killometers all the history was in slanty eye gobbledegook.

get a uk with history.

 

steve

Originally posted by ya5een

thanx steveo

 

is ther a minimum age needed to take out classic car insurance?

wot do u mean by no no claims bonus needed?

which insuranc company is ur policy with?

is it difficult to find a standard uk spec zed which is in relativly good condition?

 

Yaseen

 

 

i dont think there is a minimum age

you use your no claims on your outher policy

i think my company is chauser.

 

steve

ok, i understand stevo, thanx

 

i think id much rather get a uk zed which is bit rusty (n has its paperwork in english) than n import n pay loads extra insurance. cos ther pretty rare cars and so many owners have had them modded is it very difficult to find a standard zed??

 

is ther n MR2 forum like this one wher i could find out some more information?

 

anyone seen a betta lookin one than this yet?? i aint!

http://www.ztoyz.net/yellowint1.jpg

Be better if it was all yello,

every one on 300zx.co.uk thinks yello is the best and fastest colour:dance: dont u agree?

I have a week off nx wk and might be going up to Tamworth for a day, if u want a spin let me kno.