Ok, although I've always been into cars and have owned a few high performance turbo cars I'm looking to buy a 300zx TT (Z32) towards the end of the year/beginning of next. Things I know I want are the a for mentioned twin turbos, T-tops and a manual box. I don't want an import if possible, but I heard the short wheel base model was never sold in the UK?

 

Now that's about the extent of my knowledge of the 300zx which is pretty lame hence me asking you guys about them and gaining some knowledge first. Things I would like to know are what should I be looking for, trouble spots, what Modifications to look out for and what ones to avoid.

 

Like I said I know my way round a car, just not this one in particular, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to the mad house

 

You will find several members in essex and if you are lucky they might even take you out for a spin. Have a look in the meets section and come along to one.

 

Have a look here

 

http://www.300zx.co.uk/tech/BuyingZ.htm

 

for tips on buying a Z.

 

The best advice is to take you time and find a good one as there are a lot out there that may need some work. The best bet is to look in the cars for sale section and have one off hte forum. They tend to have been looked after properly.

 

Best of luck finding what you want.

 

Darrell

Cheers Darrell, I recognise one or two that I see round my way, I should of said that I'll have around 5k to spend . I'll be at japfest, and i expect there will be a few owners there I can talk to.

Good stuff mate. Where in essex are you?

 

Buy a Z and turn up to the show at the top of my sig. Failing the buying one you could come along anyway. Shameless plug I know but I am past caring.

 

By the way pay your £20 and become a member. it is well worth it.

I suggest you dont limit yourself to a UK car only, imports tend to be rust free, not something that can always be said of a UK car.

 

Its simple really, buy the BEST car you can find. And remember there are some real dogs out there, which pulls down the rest. :-(

Coopers-SWB- I live in, what is today, a very sunny Southend, won't be ready to buy a 300zx till the end of the year/ beginning of next though, need to wait for some point's to come off my license, got a bit careless in my last car and racked a few up for speeding :( been a good boy since though. I'll happily pay my score when I've got my very own 300zx.

 

markstevens- The only reason I want a UK car is insurance but I don't really know how much the difference would be to insure an import any ideas anyone?

 

My old GT4 was a low mileage minter, for now I'm driving a tatty but solid mitsubishi starion, but I'm kinda use to the 220ish BHP I've got now hence the decision to buy something a little faster rather than go tuning and stressing parts. I'll have around 5k to spend and i think I'll get a good one for that. The only mods I'd like would be a decent exhaust system, dump valve, suspension set up, nice wheels and maybe a brake upgrade just discs and pads mind nothing outrageous.

There is no good reason for any difference in insurance apart from they can charge extra, so they do.

swb tt manual slicktops tend to be the best :)

On the insurance side I asked a couple of companies why it was more and they said it was because some of the parts were slightly different and therefore had to be imported. The windscreen was the only thing he could list though and I'm not sure if he said that just to shut me up lol

If you look around though you should be able to get it down to a tidy amount. Mines a manual TT with targas and they started off quoting £1200 with some companies. Got it down to £540 in the end tho, unlimited with mods declared( similar to what you be looking for) and I'm 27 if that helps any.

I'm 22 with 1 years no claims and pay £1100 fully comp on my imported tt swb manual slicktop, which is a banging price. That's with MCE insurance. There are deals to be had out there. The 2nd cheapest quote to that was Adrian Flux - £1550 tpft

Thanks guys, I defiantly want T tops though, miss the targa roof on my old 914 :( I looked around on the net for insurance as a (very) rough guide and i got it down to £682.45 fully comp. That's with 3 points, an accident 3 years ago, 4 years no claims (although I think I'll have five by the time I buy one) and I'm 28. I was pleasantly surprised :) I know I'll be able to get that down by phoning around etc to.

 

Looks like I will be buying an import after all, SWB just has a better side profile IMO.

Thanks guys, I defiantly want T tops though, miss the targa roof on my old 914 :( I looked around on the net for insurance as a (very) rough guide and i got it down to £682.45 fully comp. That's with 3 points, an accident 3 years ago, 4 years no claims (although I think I'll have five by the time I buy one) and I'm 28. I was pleasantly surprised :) I know I'll be able to get that down by phoning around etc to.

 

Looks like I will be buying an import after all, SWB just has a better side profile IMO.

the way things are shaping up on the zed prices front :rolleyes: by the time you buy you should get a cracker for £49.99

 

markstevens- The only reason I want a UK car is insurance but I don't really know how much the difference would be to insure an import any ideas anyone?

 

 

Sod all if you choose the right insurance company. I only pay £450 fully comp on mine......was paying £500 when I was 26 years old, now 28.

 

That's on an import.

 

I never wanted a UK car, whilst there are some rare low mileage examples in nice tidy condition, they are few and far between and whilst looking for my current one, every UK car I saw was hanging, rusting sills, arches, scabby undersides etc.

I must admit the condition of imports are way above a car that's lived its life over here the whole time, as I said my old GT4 was an import and that looked brand new with only 86k miles on it.

 

The more I think about it the more I want one now, but I must resist the urge to sell everything I own that's worth anything..............Mustn't I?.....

whatever the insurance companies say... as long as you are a member of this club, i reckon jdm parts will always be easier to get hold of than uk spec parts! 5k is a good amount to spend and you will find some very tidy models for that. limiting yourself to a swb may cause issues actually finding one as they are rarer than the lwb. also, you will find difficulty in sourcing many swb parts. your insurance man may have referred to the rear screen of a swb z having to be imported? (i cant see why the front screen is any different uk or jdm... maybe just the tint?)

 

Joel

I must admit the condition of imports are way above a car that's lived its life over here the whole time, as I said my old GT4 was an import and that looked brand new with only 86k miles on it.

 

The more I think about it the more I want one now, but I must resist the urge to sell everything I own that's worth anything..............Mustn't I?.....

 

once you get zed fever, theres no fighting it! give in or you will lose your mind :p

(i cant see why the front screen is any different uk or jdm... maybe just the tint?)

 

Correct, UK cars have an all round blue tint to them, whereas JDM models have a bronze tint.

 

Would love to have the patience to replace all my glass with UK spec glass. Sounds a little anal, but mades a nice subtle difference to the overall appearance of the car.