Rymansl2

I'm looking for a Z32 300zx thats under $7,000 preferably. Theres a guy that I know that has a 300 that his mom is selling for $3000. I wanted to know if its worth taking a look at. Here is the description of it.

My mother is the only primary driver of this 90 300zx - she is the second owner - the first owner was a rich computer engineer in North Carolina who had had it custom ordered and put the high performance computer in it.
Aside from loaning it to me or my brother-in-law when we needed a car at various points, she has been the only driver. It had 60,000 miles on it when she got it, and she has put something like 160,000 miles on it... all driving like a soccer mom never going over 3000 rpm (a crying shame... she yells at me when I drive it and shift at red line...). It gave a few problems from the ignition system that have been fixed (a couple of coil packs went bad), but is in good shape now. It's black, and the paint is still shiny. Black leather interior (full leather, even the door panels, though the door panels have suffered some shrinkage. The first owner had custom ordered it and had leather put over everything that didn't have leather already. The leather on the steering wheel has been pulled off because it had cracked, but it is the stock steering wheel underneath and you can't even tell). It runs really nice with a tight clutch - leaves black marks shifting into second very easily All in all it is a very nice car - just needs to belong to someone who doesn't mind periodic maintinence to keep it up and replace stuff as it wears out. A/C works too.

So all in all it has about 220,000 miles on it.

That seems like a lot of miles to me and idk if it'll last that long. But $3000 is pretty tempting

entropy31

yikes, 220,000 miles!!!! if your budget is $7k, look for something '93+ with closer to 100k on it. and '95 is arguably the best year.

hoov100

95 IS the best year, try and go auto 2+2 with t-tops it guarantees fun.

entropy31

BOOOO!!!! 2-seater slicktop manual is best!

Rymansl2

so that many miles is too much? is the car not gonna last too much longer even if it wasn't beaten on?

hoov100

if it was takin care of, then it wouldnt be bad, but it sounds like it was a little beat on..


e my green 95 auto 2+2 with t-tops sold for $43k new, your sold for like $20k and those wheels are ugly..

entropy31

there are people still driving z32's with 200k+ no problem. but, as with anything, the more miles, the more likely it is problems will arise. just makes more sense to get something with lower miles.

Rymansl2

Yea I can understand your suspisions, but what exactly makes you think that it was beat on?

Rymansl2

I agree but when a $3000 dollar 300zx in good physical condition was offered to me, i thought why not investigate

hoov100

you get what you pay for for z32's i paid $4k for my black NA with 151k miles that was nearly perfect, just look around and be patient..

entropy31

it's worth a look for sure. just be very thorough when you check it out. i would ask for records. and unless they have something to prove it was done recently, the FIRST thing to do if you bought that car would be to have the timing belts changed. of course, that goes for any z32 over 60k miles anyways.

hoov100

i wouldnt change it until its time to, my z31's timing belt lasted 10 years of abuse before i changed the oil pump, and it still looks good, its not stretched or nicked or anything, people are just paranoid about it..

entropy31

problem being, how do you know when it was last changed? unless the previous owner provides you with a document that proves when it was done. no way to tell if they did it when they were supposed to, and on a car with 220k, thats 3 times it should have been changed already, getting close to 4.

hoov100

im not saying on that car, but the car appears to have been taking care of i wouldn't worry as much

Rymansl2

When I go to test drive it and check it out. Besides the timing belt, what should I look out for?

And should I have it looked at by a mechanic or something first before i buy it?

entropy31

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

http://www.zhome.com/Buying/forthgen.html

http://www.twinturbo.net/ttnetfaq/FA...urchasing.html

if you are asking this question, then yes, that is a good idea.

Rymansl2

lol thanks.

Well I'm not sure its going to be a bum car. It actually sounds like its in pretty good condition but I just wanted to be safe. I just dont know how I would go about getting a mechanic to look at a car that I do'nt even own yet...

entropy31

i looked at LOTS of cars that "sounded" like a good deal. took me almost 2 years of searching to find the right z32. and it is very common for people to take cars to a mechanic prior to purchasing.

Rymansl2

ok so if i do buy this car, will it be expensive to maintain if things do go wrong? are 300zx parts expensive?

snwbrderphat540

yes.....

take care of it very very well, and tehn you wont have to worry about that very often

entropy31

a z32, especially one with high mileage, is not a good only car for someone on a budget. the old joke is you should always have $2000 set aside if you own a z32.

Rymansl2

Well thats good cause thats how much money I will have left over if I buy the $3000 one. I'm selling my current car to my brother for 2 grand so I'll have $5000. If this one doesn't work out then I'll just look for a Z32 that has less miles and is around 5 grand.

hoov100

yeah, i remember when the timing belt stretched on my z32, destroyed the convert, trans and bent 13 valves as well as blowing one of the head gaskets..

MikeZ

the 95' is all powerful
thankyou for listening.

Rymansl2

Well I'm on the prowl again... I just decided not to get it cause thats just way too many miles even for 3 grand. I'd end up spending a ton of money in repairs if I bought it. So if anyone knows anyone in the SC, GA, or NC area with a Z for $5000 or less then hit me up haha