I have been toying with the idea of getting a Zed, insurance is fine and I don't use a car for work so it will just be for social use. The thing is lots of cars are expensive to run and unreliable if badly maintaned, but it seems all you owners have to spend fortunes on you zed's. Are they generally unreliable or is it just the cost of parts that make them expensive toys. i really want one but I am not going to be buying a car that is gauranteed to break down and cost a fortune.

Just buy a well looked after exapmly like mine which is for sale and you'll be fine!

I really love your car and if I was in a position to buy now I would definately be in touch, although we may have to do a small amount of negotiating!

HID conversion is around £200, and is well worth it!

................... One thing that has scared me though is the comment about the lights, I really hate bad headlights has anyone found a solution for it? HID conversion, different lenses?

 

A popular myth I think.......(although some may say J-sec lights are not so good)

 

......my UK spec lights were fine when I bought the car. Just get them properly adjusted and fit decent bulbs (NOT crappy "max power" blue ones, just Osram +30% super H3s will be great) and they will work well. The inside of the lenses can get dirty, reducing light output but you can clean them.

 

I actually did the H3 HID conversion for around £200 - I have to say even though the lights were more than adequate before that they are fekking EXCELLENT now!!!

 

Richard :cool:

i got my UK twin turbo last summer 2005, it had 35000 miles and was owned by a guy called jim marshall. he (and I for that matter) have spared no expense... but having said that nothing has gone wrong with the car apart from a worn subframe bush; bushes go on any car, its natural, but oil changes etc etc have always been on time and the car has never given any problems.

It seems some of the myths have been dispelled but when trawling through other car owner sites it still seems that the 300ZX is a car for very deep pockets. I don't mind getting dirty and changing bits and bobs myself but I am not into the habbit of £1000+ repair bills for my cars, it seems that the with the Zed these are inevitable. I think the clincher might be the fuel bill though, obviously I know they are thirsty but I read somewehere that if you normally put £20 a time in you car then don't get a Zed because you need to put £50 a time in them :shock: Unless I get some evidence to the contrary I might have to settle for its little brother the 200SX in S14A guise, not as fast as I want but very tuneable and if I don't say so myself a good looking car although obviously not in the same league as the Zed :nono:

the way i see it, since this is an owners club, most people here want their cars running as best as possible, that is to say replace worn shocks and springs etc, bushes, pipes, underseal, whatever, etc not only oil changes, therefore the bills will get a bit high sometimes. some others tend to just run the cars thinking that its not worth changing such things on a 14 year old 3 grand car...

If you buy a car and then have to spend as much again keeping it running

(Not Mods) Then you have bought a fooking dog in my opinion.

 

Christ by most peoples defenition I bought a "real shitter" and I have spent fook all, and it went straight through the test yesterday :duffer:

 

 

OH Well thats another potential buyer scared off

:rolleyes:

i only use mine 9 months of the year and useualy thats only the weekends and the summer nights, dont think i could afford to run it everyday otherwise but thats only becuase of the fuel issue cos i live quite far from my work.

ive owned my zed for 4years nearly and never realy had any problems with the reliability, as far as im concererned its been one of the most reliable cars ive owned, and ive been quite lucky with my motors.

touch wood!!

Got mine in april and not stopped working on it, had about 2 good days out of it before the clutch went.

 

Im nearly there tho, will be spot on ready for next summer

I am not scared off I am still here but, I am still undecided I think the 200SX will be the safer choice for me, mainly due to the fuel costs. Although I don't use a car very much the though of a tenner lasting a day is a bit scary.

I am not scared off I am still here but, I am still undecided I think the 200SX will be the safer choice for me, mainly due to the fuel costs. Although I don't use a car very much the though of a tenner lasting a day is a bit scary.

 

dont ever buy zeds for mpg/economy.... :)

 

look at it this way...what you save in buying it at the start can go into the extra fuel you burn

 

just look at other jap sports motors on sale...most are saloons lack the spec of a zed and cost £3k more....this is a GT...great style, great drive and great performance...thats what GT stands for....Great Three.... only kidding :D

I am not buying one for economy mate, but its so hard to buy one when there is so much talk of how expensive they are to own. Look at it this way if you look on a scooby owners forum the owners will tell you that the scooby is thirsty and clutches and piston failure are expensive and not exactly un common. However if you read through this site and other car site whenever the Zed gets mentioned the general reply is just "they're expensive if they go wrong". This worries me because it makes me think that they go wrong in general and anything that does go wrong costs a fortune.

I've had no problems at all with mine in three years.

 

But if you're looking for a car to only put £20 of fuel in at a time, a 300ZX probably isn't for you. The S14A is a nice car - but any high performance car can go wrong and cost a lot to own. And any older high performance car will probably have been hammered sometime in its life.

hey i only put £20 of fuel in each time...!

 

twice a day tho lol

................... However if you read through this site and other car site whenever the Zed gets mentioned the general reply is just "they're expensive if they go wrong". This worries me because it makes me think that they go wrong in general and anything that does go wrong costs a fortune.

 

Most Japanese performance cars cost £££££s when they go wrong - even the 200sx. However Japanese cars are more reliable than most in the first place, even the 300zx despite some scary stories here ;)

 

Like I've said, just fuel and rear tyres are the only major expense I've incurred running a 300zx. Then I kind of knew that before I bought it as you just expect a 3 litre twin turbo to drink more than a bunch of medical students during happy hour.......

 

In fact whilst we have said the ZX can cost a fortune to fix, there are many experienced traders here that can help out and their costs are not actually that bad.

 

Richard :)