after having the zed only 10 month of having my zed, the last 5 months have taken its toll on me. After putting up with everything from blown pipes and radiators to warped heads and gaskets and blown big end bearings the last straw has reared its ugly head

 

after a gentle drive to guildford i was sitting in traffic, as a big lorry went passed, i saw a small plume of blue smoke. at first i thought othing of it, but after looking down at my oil pressure gauge it was reading exceptionally low for my car. i pulled over to layby only a few hundred yards down the road, stuck my head out of the window and gave the engine 3/4 revs only to about 4.5k after the 2 rev that blue smoke that i thought was the passing lorrie was actually from my zed, after only a few more revs lo and behold i had a small cloud all to my self of the dreadded blue smoke.

 

after forking out over 6 grand in 10 month, thats it ive had enough. and in all honesty ill never have another. this car has let me down to many times and i just dont trust the dam thing or any other of its kind.

 

as soon as i have finished writing this thread im of to the autotrader sight to by myslef a she of sum variety, probably a diesel, no i aint that miffed, but something that i can rely on on getting me from a 2 b no questions asked.

 

i will probably still come on the site occationally, and all the mates i have made thanks to this forum i will still keep in touch with.

 

its been grand chaps and chappettes, and i hope none of you suffer the heartbreak and misfortune this car has brought me :cry:

 

No where do they hide the skylines in the trader?????? :shock:

 

CheerZ

 

Nick

gutting .. I don't know what to say.

 

really sorry to hear this ...

Sorry to hear the bad news mate, dont make any harsh decissions.

FFS, nick, feel for ya mate! :cry:

I'm well aware of the probs you've had with your z.

It really does seem like one thing after another.

It's the Reading meet next week, i'll get ya a pint! :duffer:

Aw Nick - really sorry to read this mate! I know you've had a real run of problems with the car this year and it's a PITA. Just really bad luck bud! :(

 

What are you going to do with her? Sell as is, fix or break?

 

Steve :)

the thing is which really pisses me off is that shes worth sweet FA with an engine that isnt sound which really hacks me off.

I feel for you m8, sounds like you have had a real nightmare. At least you have tried and have give it your all to try and get it working.

Good luck with what ever you decide to do.

normally i would break it, cause ive got alot of quality parts on it, but i just dont have the time or space. i just dont have the funds to fix it nor the space to store it till i can afford to fix it.

 

its going to have to go as it is, so if anyone is interested the car is

 

L Reg ( registered as a Oct 93)

J spec 2+2 TT

Manual

Red - laquer has started to peel on n/s/f wing and typical wear on rear spoiler

59000 miles

 

I have completed the following modz and repairs since ive had it

 

respray of both doors and rear quaters

Second hand heads with fully reseated valve ( whcih took fcuking ages to do, by myslef i may add)

Big end bearings

UK spec rad

egr and air con removal

Megan racing down pipes and decats with HKS super dragger pipe

Apexi induction

JWT chip

Blitz sbc id 3 boost controller and Power ID 3

Blitz 17" type 3 split rims ( which retail at £2K without tyres)

4x new bridgestone SO3 tyres

few momo interior bitz

new MOT and TAX

Changed the injectors and rail

Various hoses

Water bypass by Z tech

 

err and thats all i can think off at the moment.

 

does anyone have the foggiest what its worth coz i dont have a clue, and to be honest am not expectin much

 

cheerz for all your kind comments

 

nick

oh and i forgot brand new RPS clutch and a apexi tub timer

feel for u mate , i had a few probs with mine , buit not as bad. do u know whats actually wrong with it this time mate? and what price u lookin on it ?? can u email me at kkarlosg@hotmail.com

really sorry to hear its gone that way mate. ive owned my Z for just over 2 years and once or twice ive seriously considered getting rid of it just cos of the money spent to get it fixed. i think youve made the right decision tho if this is how you feel. good luck with selling her. :(

Know how you feel mate mine cost me a bomb, its still smoke snow and again, it still ticks now and again, the gearbox thuds now and again, oil pressure reading was spot on not its is all over the place, it leaks boost the list goes on and on. Been looking at getting a normal car, my shed had put me off these cars, but there seems to be far decent ones on the road now, mines one of the last nails lol.

sorry to hear of this nick,met you at ryans,always happens to the best mate,either way good luck with what you do!

 

cheerz greg

A run of bad luck or what? But you have made the correct decision, as my father in law always tells me " never throw good money after bad".

 

I'm very sorry this has turned out this way , and you're left with a bad feeliing about the Zed. Maybe when the financial soreness has gone you'll find a good one (they are out there!)

Mmm Spares. :)

 

your not gona get more than 1500 with a fokked lump. even with the goodies.

Sorry to hear all this Nick - it was nice to have met you last year and good luck with whatever it is you decide to get in the future.

Gutted for you bud

Hi Nick

 

Bad luck mate and you have my sympathy. I must admit to having similar feelings about mine at the moment, even though I haven't yet spent anything like as much as you. It does seem as though the list of jobs to do grow faster than you can do them !! However there is definitely a point where you have to say 'enough is enough'

 

Good luck on your next purchase and remember its only a lump of metal in the end...

 

Gareth

gutted to here this nick, sounds like you have quite a bit of kit, id find a way of breaking it yourself, you'll get alot more than selling it whole with all the extras

Nick,

 

Gutted to hear your tale - it's amazing how much these foooking cars can get you down ... :cry: I had a similar adventure with a Porker about 10 years ago that ruined my finances for a good year or two... :(

 

Without wishing to sound too much like a vulture (boo hiss), if you decide you need to get shot, can you send me a PM/or e-mail with your e-mail or phone number, so we can talk? Cheers.

 

My e-mail's johnboyz32 (at) hotmail.com, by the way.

 

CheerZ,

JB.

Nick I feel for you, Ive had the same thought for a long time, but I decided I am so far down the road at aprox ten grand, I wasnt going to be beat. I thought if sell the car it would be to some guy who will pay next to fook all and will get the bargin of a life time at my expense, and I might as well have bought a new car in the first place.

 

Listen just as a thought, how much would Baggins charge you for putting it right?

after much consideration i have come up with the following options for the zed, all have one thing in common which i will reveal at the end

 

1 sell as it is ( which to be honest will be biting my nose off to spite my face)

 

2 Find a good second hand engine and stick that in

 

3 Find a recon "short engine" (ie block internals and heads) and link it up with the new bits off mine

 

4 by a fully reconned engine and stick that in

 

5 do a full rebuild my self - which i prob wont, as far as im concerned once an engines had it, its had it!

 

Option 2 is looking like the most cost effective at the moment and less time consuming

 

oh and the common factor, its still going for sale, unless i go the fully recon route, which to be honest i dont think i can afford, but wish i had done that in the first place! doh!

 

anyway, thank you to all who have posted on her, out of all the owners club ive been apart of, ive made the most friends on here

 

cheerz chaps

 

nick

sorry to hear about your run of bad luck!

 

i know exactly how it feels.........mine cost me about 5 grand in the first year.

 

got it from a garage as a part exchange car, only to find out it had blown headgasket! went to get that repaired which cost £1200......whilst it was in the garage the exhaust fell off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! another £300 gone!

got it back and every water pipe you can think of either fell off or split (getting frustrated by now!).

 

and then.........lots of james bond style smoke screen effect from the exhausts. decided at that point to go to a specialist, not the backstreet garages id been using. it was diagnosed as a very poorly engine that needed throwing out!

so due to a lack of funds i had to wait couple of months untill i could afford the £1500 for the engine replacement.

two months later and £1500 in my pocket i set off to the garage for my new engine..........auto gearbox packed up on the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my words were kinda like..."oh thats annoying" (or something like that).

 

anyway new engine and gearbox eventually got done and all was good, or so i thought.

auto blew again!!!!.

 

anyway after much thinking i decided to repair her once again, but this time i fitted a manual gearbox. the end result.................its actually running lovely, and i got a couple of grand back from the garage i bought it from in the first place!

 

so i know its cost you a fortune but maybe for the sake of having a recon engine fitted it sounds like the car would be pretty good after that. so you could keep it (if you got any time for it now?!), or you could sell it for probably a decent price.

 

anyway whatever you do i hope it works out for you!

 

GAZ!

cheerz gaz, always nice to know that it works out for some people.

 

problem number 2 has arrisen this morning, the missus! not only have i got to contend with my self, but i got her breathing down my neck now! arse

 

at the end of the day its all about money. if i can find 2.5k i need for a full recon then ill probabaly keep it, but i cant see me finding this money when ive just bought a house

 

never mind

 

cheers mate

 

nicki

Bloody hell nick don't no what to say!! All that work you put in to her.. Like you say theres a point when it has to stop plus you getting a house too..

 

Good luck with what ever you do..

 

Jay

Nick what exactly is wrong with her. Is it the tubs or what.

 

I have an engine that I was going to rebuild for when mine goes pop. I'm waiting for new Gasket set for it at mo. Had it checked out and the compression is spot on. Slight wear in big ends, but would have balanced and new shells for ya, would suggest you do the head gaskets before its installed. You can have it mate for £850 if you collect it.

 

You see I've decided having spent a fortune on mine that when she blows I'm going 5.5 V8 next time. A lot of labour but cheeper than the crap you'll get for £1400 from so called brakers.