collegekid
02-19-2011, 03:30 PM
Hi guys, first off I wanna start by saying dont kill me if this is in the wrong section. I dont have a Z yet and I've started to look around and see some Z's, some dont run, some have high mileage and are way overpriced, and some are just beat down cars ready to die. I also want to note that I'm lookin for a 2+2 and I found only a few suprisingly. I went to go look at one 2+2 today and it seemed decent. My absolute limit for the car itself is $4,500 and I am aiming for something about $4,000. I want to note that I printed out the "What to look for when buying a used Z" post and I went against that checklist. So here are the facts/specs of the car.
1990 300zx 2+2
-Champagne/gold color, all original paint and body
-straight frame
-T tops and black leather interior
-Upgraded Cd player
-Automatic
-88,794 miles on original engine and transmission
-No rust
-previous owner before the current owner had injector #1 replaced
-Driven for fun, hasnt really been driven since August 2010 besides starting it a few times over winter
-Asking price of $3,500, I do not know if it is firm or negotioable, I just went to check it out
What I've noticed
-Car had a dead battery when I first went to look at it, so it didn't even start the first time. I went to go see a supra nearby and came back in 45 minutes when the owner had it started. I am going to use the fact that the battery needs to be replaced for negotiation purposes.
-Engine is pretty dirty but its a given for these cars
-Has a rough idle, I mean really rough idle, neither one of us knows what is causing it.
-It has a really bumpy ass ride on completely flat roads. I do not know if all Z's are like that or what?
-The car itself is not registered nor insured because the owner wanted to sell since last summer, so the owner drove it around the neighborhood at speeds under 40 mph, so it has not gone through all the gears like the "What to look for...buying a Z" article suggests, but I want to note that I want to do a manual swap soon. The auto transmission seemed faulty because it took about 3-4 seconds for it to switch gears. Is that normal or is that tranny gonna blow up or something?
-Has a low windshield crack but passes inspection
-Everything else seems to be in order, I had the car kept on for 45 minutes just to make sure there were no overheating problems even though the owner insisted that it has never overheated. I know idling a car will not tell you if it can overheat or how it handles on highways but I did what I could with what I had.
-Underneath the front right bumper/fender, there seems to be bent and scratched plastic that looks like the car ran over something.
I have asked around with friends and they say with all these thngs that I've noted, a good starting point is $2,000 and for me not to pay over $3,000 for it. None of my friends have Z's but they have cars in the same price range as me. I want to ask the opinions of actual Z owners. What do you think a good price range for this car would be? Note that I have a $4,500 budget, so if I do get it for 2-3 grand, do you think it will be a good DD after throwing in the other $1,500-2,000 into it? I need a car that will survive 600 mile trips on the weekend occasionally because I intend to use this car in college this fall, and it is 300 miles away.
I am not going to post pictures or give out the owners information, but if you want to look for yourself, it is on craigslist.org in philadelphia cars and trucks, search 300zx and it is the february 12 Nissan 300zx Near Excellent (West Philadelphia). Any and all advice is sincerely appreciated. Thank you
1990 300zx 2+2
-Champagne/gold color, all original paint and body
-straight frame
-T tops and black leather interior
-Upgraded Cd player
-Automatic
-88,794 miles on original engine and transmission
-No rust
-previous owner before the current owner had injector #1 replaced
-Driven for fun, hasnt really been driven since August 2010 besides starting it a few times over winter
-Asking price of $3,500, I do not know if it is firm or negotioable, I just went to check it out
What I've noticed
-Car had a dead battery when I first went to look at it, so it didn't even start the first time. I went to go see a supra nearby and came back in 45 minutes when the owner had it started. I am going to use the fact that the battery needs to be replaced for negotiation purposes.
-Engine is pretty dirty but its a given for these cars
-Has a rough idle, I mean really rough idle, neither one of us knows what is causing it.
-It has a really bumpy ass ride on completely flat roads. I do not know if all Z's are like that or what?
-The car itself is not registered nor insured because the owner wanted to sell since last summer, so the owner drove it around the neighborhood at speeds under 40 mph, so it has not gone through all the gears like the "What to look for...buying a Z" article suggests, but I want to note that I want to do a manual swap soon. The auto transmission seemed faulty because it took about 3-4 seconds for it to switch gears. Is that normal or is that tranny gonna blow up or something?
-Has a low windshield crack but passes inspection
-Everything else seems to be in order, I had the car kept on for 45 minutes just to make sure there were no overheating problems even though the owner insisted that it has never overheated. I know idling a car will not tell you if it can overheat or how it handles on highways but I did what I could with what I had.
-Underneath the front right bumper/fender, there seems to be bent and scratched plastic that looks like the car ran over something.
I have asked around with friends and they say with all these thngs that I've noted, a good starting point is $2,000 and for me not to pay over $3,000 for it. None of my friends have Z's but they have cars in the same price range as me. I want to ask the opinions of actual Z owners. What do you think a good price range for this car would be? Note that I have a $4,500 budget, so if I do get it for 2-3 grand, do you think it will be a good DD after throwing in the other $1,500-2,000 into it? I need a car that will survive 600 mile trips on the weekend occasionally because I intend to use this car in college this fall, and it is 300 miles away.
I am not going to post pictures or give out the owners information, but if you want to look for yourself, it is on craigslist.org in philadelphia cars and trucks, search 300zx and it is the february 12 Nissan 300zx Near Excellent (West Philadelphia). Any and all advice is sincerely appreciated. Thank you