This is my second Z and of course it's giving me grief, does anybody run these cars day in day out without problems for work or business etc.

 

I love the cars but sometimes I don't altogether trust it to get me where I'm going, I've run big Scorpio Cosworths, Omega's, 944's and Supra's (older shape) and I never got that " I'm about to strand you in the middle of nowhere" vibe from any of them and they never did.

 

What I would like to know really is have I been unlucky or are all Z's inherently unreliable and should they be kept strictly for the weekends.

I ran my car for 3 years with no problem. It has 170,000 miles on it and I am starting to do an engine change and the compression is low.

 

The only other real problem I had was a leaking radiator.

well my dad has put 10k on his Z and the only trouble has been a misfire which we fixed in the end by cleaning up the injector wiring harness.

well my dad has put 10k on his Z and the only trouble has been a misfire which we fixed in the end by cleaning up the injector wiring harness.

 

daily runner here, Ramsgate to Canterbury. only breakdown was a PTU just after i bought it

Thanet

 

I have put just over 20K on mine in the past year unfortunately. The only time that I have had to pull over is when my fan belt snapped and this was my fault because I did not get the ancilliary belts changed when I should have. Other than that and my old battery going flat, nothing.

 

The trick with the Z is to keep on top of them when it comes to services. If you do that then you should, YOU SHOULD, be ok provided you don't buy one that has not been looked after in the past.

I use mine daily going to work, and have done for the last 8 months, never had a problem. The first thing I did when I bought mine was to have Jeff TT change my cambelt and auxillary belts. Since then I have changed the rear axle oil and transmission (autobox) fluid. Using fully synth oil in the engine, changed every 3,000 miles.

 

I have yet to check the spark plugs yet, car has almost 60,000 miles on the clock. I may do that this weekend when I put those lovely blue silicone hoses from Smithy on.

 

Cheers,

 

John

113,000 miles on the clock

 

in my reciet drawer for maintenance I have receipts for about £14,000 including a rebuild @ 60,000 miles which cost £6k (new short engine and turbos)

 

In my ownership, (98,000 - 113,000) I've had to

 

replace master brake cylinder (around £300)

replace temp sensor (£20quidish)

replace starter motor (£200)

replace exhaust (£530 mongoose)

Battery (£40)

new stock disks and pads all round (£450ish)

 

On top of that its the usual maintenance, every 6 months (3,000 miles) I have engine oil change, gearbox oil changed, rear diff oil checked, (changed every 12 months) .

113,000 miles on the clock

 

in my reciet drawer for maintenance I have receipts for about £14,000 including a rebuild @ 60,000 miles which cost £6k (new short engine and turbos)

 

In my ownership, (98,000 - 113,000) I've had to

 

replace master brake cylinder (around £300)

replace temp sensor (£20quidish)

replace starter motor (£200)

replace exhaust (£530 mongoose)

Battery (£40)

new stock disks and pads all round (£450ish)

 

On top of that its the usual maintenance, every 6 months (3,000 miles) I have engine oil change, gearbox oil changed, rear diff oil checked, (changed every 12 months) .

 

Bloody el mike, sounds like you bought brand new gear there, or was it for company expenses? ;)

I'll generally replace with new or recon, had problems with 2nd hand parts before with the MG. I've included cost of fitting as well in the overall price. Its a lot more reliable than my MG, that was off the road for 3 months out of 12 with problems.

...coming up to 4 years ownership, it's been off the road for 2 days - waiting for a water pump from MJP. I do about 18k miles each year, it's never been serviced by a garage (I do it - diy), and the only stuff that's been done is the usual - oil changes, bulbs, belts, brakes and the prop and gearbox supports.

 

Don't want to tempt providence but it's been a great car and very reliable.

 

...but it's a Jap NA...

 

cheerz

 

Jack

Paul

 

Sent u new email have u got it or have I been given wrong address again?

 

Thanet

Paul

 

Sent u new email have u got it or have I been given wrong address again?

 

Thanet

 

dunno mate, ill check when i get in.

 

sent you another to the email address you posted the other day tho - you got that one??

I have 2 zeds and

 

Have gone through 3 auto transmissions

 

2 fuel pumps

 

2 Fuel pressure regulators

 

2 sets of rear suspension.

 

2 Water pumps ( went and did belts at same time)

 

Tie rods, wiper motor Fan clutch on My UK car

 

Manual conversion after third Auto box went.

 

All the problems I had on the first have happened to the second in time.

 

+ all the usual normal maintenance(countless tyres) and now starting to mod.

 

 

Unreliable as **ck but sweet when running well.

Hi Thanet

I did 23000 miles first year of ownership with no probs. If like some I had only driven the Z at W/ends & done 3/4K a year that would equal over 5 years trouble free car.

Since this was one & a half years ago, I have now got bills over £6K!!! Recon autobox

New engine/rad/brakes,pads & discs, even the tyres wear out fast! I aint no mechanic too boot!

Arthur

Very unreliable in my experience, love it to bits though, echoing other members, when it runs sweet theres nothing better but I dont think I'll ever be able to trust the car, but this is what I have come to expect though!

 

Rough with the smooth and all that!

As I've only had mine 7 months I can't say with the certainty of others here. However there seem to be more posts for "reliable" than not.

 

When I first considered buying one most reports said these cars are generally reliable if looked after properly (It is a Nissan, afterall).

 

I have spoken to people who have owned 2 or 3 Zeds in succession and never had any problems. I get the impression those with highly modded cars have the most problems............

 

Richard ;)

Think I must have the most reliable Z in England?

Had it 5 years now & although it has a very gentle life on the school run only faults

are : 2002 High idle

2003 brake light bulb

Is this a record?

96/N TT Man

It's a Nissan.

(It is a Nissan, afterall).

Hi, now had my 94 UK spec for 1 year, No mods, just a great car as it was when it was designed. Why mess with something that is a true pleasure to own and drive just as it was when it was built (my first car was a Capri and spent a fortune on it). If you want to spend your cash on your Z then I really admire you guys and I like some of the stuff you have done to them (some look s***t but we all have our own likes n dislikes). Ok just gotta say i bought mine from a guy who was about 55 and had cherished the car, it has now done 10200 miles, 18000 miles of these in the last year since I have owned it and has been great. I expect it will do the same again with the same reliability as long as i keep servicing it. I have to go with the opinion that if you look after it....it will look after you (a bit like a women, but then again they cost a fortune). I never go over 3000 revs until warm, always cruise the last few miles of a journey and love doing 140mph at some point along the way (bit like a shag). Oh yeah one more thing .....Mobil 1 every 6000 miles (good lubrication = less friction).

Cheers

Ady

Only had a PTU failure, a dead battery and a knackered clutch (my fault!) in 7 years. Not my daily driver now but still very confident in it...

 

Steve :D

ady. Yes!

Why mess with something that is a true pleasure to own and drive just as it was when it was built (my first car was a Capri and spent a fortune on it). If you want to spend your cash on your Z then I really admire you guys and I like some of the stuff you have done to them (some look s***t but we all have our own likes n dislikes).

It does seem that the reliability of the Z is linked to the modifications that are done on it. Leave it stock and it will go for years without any problems. Start screwing around with it and you will soon pay the price. Anyone thinking of buying a Z who reads this forum would be scared to hell about buying one, after reading all the horror stories of blown turbos, etc. It hardly seems worth it in the long run, messing with dump valves, more boost, etc., just for a few extra horse power and acceleration.

It seems ridiculous that many people have spent 5 or 6 thousand pounds over a couple of years on repairs. Either they dont know how to take care of a car properly or the car was never designed to do what they are asking.

 

John

 

It seems ridiculous that many people have spent 5 or 6 thousand pounds over a couple of years on repairs. Either they dont know how to take care of a car properly or the car was never designed to do what they are asking.

 

John

 

Or John, some people have just been damn right unlucky, I got my Zed checked out by Geoff from Zedworld, and the problems that I have had, ie. Blown turbos, knackered clutch bands could nto have been detected upon test driving.......I agree, if they were on their way out then I would have noticed, but I diddnt drive the car stoopidly hard and over a few months and 1500 miles they went!!!!

 

Just bad luck......and perhaps the previous owner abused it.....said he diddn tthough!! :o :nelson:

It hardly seems worth it in the long run, messing with dump valves, more boost, etc., just for a few extra horse power and acceleration.

It seems ridiculous that many people have spent 5 or 6 thousand pounds over a couple of years on repairs. Either they dont know how to take care of a car properly or the car was never designed to do what they are asking.

 

John

 

in a word... *****x, so whats your hobby then? thats all it is to those of us who mod them, it a hobby, and its fun. So what do you spend your hard earned on then? computers? fish? trainspotting? what ever you spend it on it doesnt matter to me as at the end of the day its a hobby, you spend your money on what interests you, i'll spend it on what interests me, just dont slate the way pepole spend their own cash when they do it doing something they like.

 

Would you rather i kept my zed stock and took up snowboarding? in which case id have to fork out loads of cash to do that. In your book that would also appear to be 'ridiculous' as id be spending money on a hobby!

I notice you've got an NA there Mr Dixon. Not that it means anything............

Dunno about leaving that filter on though, it might blow your engine.........

Had mine just over 5 years and had 2 coolant leaks and 2 clutch pins snap- due to the fact I have an uprated clutch (which is now slipping and will be replaced shortly).

Apart from that it's been fine.

Dave.