I know its a common subject at the moment, but I thought it might summarise peoples experiences for the many new zed owners that are coming along.

 

My personal experience as many know is first a standard zed with boost jets for 4k that was an utter nightmare, autobox broke, rebuild engine,etc,etc

 

My second zed though was a gem. 5.5k no problems at all, lots of money already spent on new high spec engine, basically all the modding done already.

 

I'd now never buy a standard car. Its often considered sensible to buy a bog standard car so you know its not been trashed or had silly mods, but I think they are too old now and will often require new auto boxes, turbos, rebuild, etc.

 

EDIT : TO MAKE MY ANGLE CLEAR: I'm not implying that under 3.5k is a shed. I choose this amount because its what I consider the asking price for a bog standard zed in reasonable condition (NOT a shed). Cars that have upgraded turbos, autobox, and or engine rebuild generally go for more than this.

I've put the divide as 3.5k, as less than this is very very cheap for a 40k sports car that will do 175mph! by bad experience I mean had to replace a major component at expense.

 

Forgot to mention you can vote more than once. Also if you spent 4k a couple of years back I'd count that as a 3.5k now ie a cheap one :)

I spent under the 3.5k and got a real minter, but have only owned it for a short while (2 weeks today)

 

So far only spend £40 on spark plugs, and my Aiv valve is gurgling, thats it.

Its interesting to note theres as many 'people who have spent over 3.5k and had to replace something major' as there is 'people who have spent less than 2.5k and not had to replace anything major'.

A lot more people who have spent more and not had to replace a major item, predictable I guess but I think its good to stress the fact. At least it gives people a realistic budget to go for. Although saying that , I think I'd consider getting one that was a little cheaper if it meant I had some money in reserve?

 

I must admit I'm surprised at how few people who have spent less have not had to replace a major item. I expected there to be a lot of people who had bought cheap and payed the price.

 

I'm Not

:D

Fair one Mick! By the way I don't mean to sound predudice to people spending less money , and I'm also not bundling those people up with 'undesirables'!

 

I spent many many months rebuilding my first zed engine in a wet and windy stable over a freezing winter. That was after spending out on a reconned autobox and resealing the turbos! What I'm trying to say is although it was great to learn about engines and the zed, it was also pure torture at times, fingers sticking to freezing metal and so on! As a result and from what other people have said on here over the last year, I always try to talk people into spending a bit more on a car to avoid this.

 

I also often wonder if because of the general milage of zeds that a major item replacement is on the cards one way or another. I thought the pole would be a good way of seeing if it was actually the case and to let people who are buying see either way. TBH it looks like its just down to the usual judgements of the nick of the car, and a bucket full of good luck!

 

 

I still think that the Zed is one of the best value and most desirable road cars out there. You just have to get a nice one to avoid having hard to diagnose problems. Then again its exactly the same with all other performance cars. The zed just seems to be a be in a price bracket that belies its general maintainance and running costs, and I think this can backfire on new owners if they've got to deal with fixes as well.

i got mine exactly a year ago, uk car 1992 with only 36k miles and fnsh and 1 famous owner. never had a single problem. i paid 6.5k i guess i paid over the odds but i'm happy, i got one of my dream cars an it looked like new.

Where's the, 'Spent more money than God, and then bought another?', option?

Yeah ive spent a packet too! Mine blew up same day I bought it - damn thing never got me home!

luckily ive not had many probs, just a fualty MAF. Spent a few grand on mods though, mainly cosmetic.

Paid £4350 for my manual tt swb slicktop last year fresh import from a dealer [importer] he was asking £6000 for it but couldnt shift it he had it on the forecourt for 6 months.Only had starter motor problems and cambelt change .

paid £4500 2 and a half years ago on a solid car with afew scratches here and there. drove it flat out for 18 months then took it off the road for mods,the only probs have been the water pipes behind the cambelts that go to the block,rad hose,power steering res.Just spent 2.5 on mods and its still not finished!!Still runs ok though(ithink!!)

Bought my first zed for £3900 fresh import auto tt looked the nuts had no probs with it but got it stollen and written off

 

Bought my second zed last year for £2000 uk tt manual was a lovely driver untill driver side turbo siezed up spent £1400 having another pair of turbos fitted, then got code 34 det senser gone + started running on five cylinders poss coil pack, gave up on the bloody thing after spending fortunes on mods

 

Now on my third zed paid £3500 another uk manual tt which has just started to develop a few problems poss prop bearing and exhaust fumes getting in car.

 

So moral of the story is dont buy a zed lol

 

seriously they are old cars so what ever you pay something is bound to go wrong unless you find one thats been built from ground up, so expect to spend some money replacing something, luck of the draw, and i always draw the short straw

 

with my luck i could fall in a barrel of tits and come out sucking me thumb lol :)