Rx8 & V35 Leather Trim

[danny_tq]

Hi guys,

new to this forum, I'm thinking of buying my first sports car in the next 3 months

I was thinking of choosing between a Mazda rx8 or v35 coupe...350z was out of equation due to it being a bit more expensive and onl being a 2 seater, what do u guys think?

I love the look of both, but it took me a while to get used to the v35 look, but now I really like it.

My budget is low 30's and unfortunately all the cheaper v35's dont come with leather.

I had my eyes on this one:

http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars/priva...amp;Make=NISSAN

How much would it cost to install after market leather on the v35 coupe ne ideas? and is it worth it? the standard interior looks kinda cheap without the leather IMO

Edited December 27, 2007 by danny_tq

[rs73]

I thought you'll need to budget around mid 40ks for a nice RX8 with leather trim, $30k-ish would probably get you an early release of RX8 with not much options on it. My bro had an Revolution version RX8 and it cost him like $64k 2 years ago.

If you can buy RX8 with leather, then the comparison would be 350Z, but a late model V35 would be about high $30k to mid $40k depending on km and transmission & trim level (e.g premium or non premium, auto or 6sp manual). low $30k is easy to get for a 4 door sedan. But if you wanted a coupe, even in auto you'd be searching for quite some time to get the early 2003 model.

I'm a bit sceptical with aftermaket leather as you'll either have mis-matched door trim or you'll have to go all the way with door trim, rear seat etc, and fake leather I heard could cost about $3k-$5k installed depending on qualty and real leather would be $7k-10k so dunno if you wanna spend $30k on a non premium V35 and spend another $7k on a non factory leather, you'll probably be better of save up and budget around $35-38k to get a nice auto with premium nd leather pack incl on road costs...

[rs73]

Also I had a look at the link you showed me. Nice looking car, but most likely a non-premium model (no leather).

Bear in mind that if you buy a premium model in the 1st place they come with suede/leather interior and a lot will come with Bose stereo that sounds much better than the stock form. Remember that V35 has an integrated factory dashboard so putting an aftermarket sound system would be almost impossible, so it's worth to go with a better stereo that you can live without installing any aftermarket amps or subwoofer (if you're not a die-hard audiophile).

[G7]

03 Rx8's have had a few recalls so make sure they have had them changed prior to buying. underpowered and fuel guzzlers.

the link you sent- that car has been sold a long time ago- but those dam importers leave it there to create interest only. O yeah Rx 8 leather is really plastic like.

My personal experience with those importers I dont find anything sincere or genuine about them. I found their cars to be rough aswell. You will know what I mean when the time comes.

Dont forget your up for approx 4K for transfer fees/ duty 3%/ and insurance.

Edited December 27, 2007 by G7

[rs73]

That reminds me when I was trying to find a replacement for my old '93 R33 auto (wanted a manual), went around looking for a locally landed R33 manual and despite all the bell and whistles and bling on the web advertisement, when I see the car in flesh 99% of them are in pretty much in poor sorry condition. That was about 4 years ago, but I think it's still the same case now, although if you plan to buy a 2-3 yr old vehicle there's a chance the condition will be better than a 10 yr old car.

oh yeah and as G7 mentioned don't forget insurance. I'm 35yo Rating 1 for 3 years, excellent driving history, and quoted by Justcar with a value of $35k = $1070 a year in a high risk melb suburb. Best quote is from Dawes $1067 but I'm not sure how good they are as I've never heard Dawes insurance personally. If you're much younger than me and has less than excellent driving/insurance history, expect that quote to grow to up about $2k on average that I've seen people been quoted, more if you're in Sydney. That's a lot of money to pay every year, but as you own an import you'd better get yourself insured because parts and repair can be very expensive if something happens *touch wood*.