ebay car

[mrcow]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4552905406&category=6187&sspagename=WDVW#ebayphotohosting

i know how much yall like people posting asking if they should buy this car.

well i am going to try and check it out at lunch today. I wanted to ask on here if yall see anything strange about the car or a reason to stay away.

The hood is kind of throwing me off. it has the vents and doesnt seem to close all the way (it could be they didnt close it for the pictures). Also there are a lot of random wires going around. i guess thats from his CB setup. the engine compartment looks like a mess so it should be quite a project.

thanks in advance for any advice.

[Mike]

It looks like the hood is simply unlatched. I would ask him why all the parts are in the box. And, check for rust on the floorboards and bottom edges of the exterior. Also, look under the battery compartment for rust-thru.

Judging from the rusty master cylinder caps and appearance of the engine, I believe this car might have some rust issues. But, I could be wrong. Make sure you lift up the carpets and jute material to see the metal underneath the drivers and passenger seats.

You can buy a rusty car and fix it up.... Most Z's of this kind of shape (and cost) will have some kind of rust anyway. But, if there is a LOT of rust and it's worn through you will have a lot of work to do.

IMHO, the worst area to fix is under the battery.

[mrcow]

checking for rust is the number one item on my list.

The car was donated to them so i dont know how much of a history i will be able to get, kind of scares me but oh well. rust/extensive body work scares me but, before i even saw this car, i was planning on doing a full rebuild of everything so that doesnt worry me.

[texasz]

I've been talking with this guy via email for a couple days and he's supposed to check for rust today. I would be interested to hear what you find though as I do not have a lot of confidence in the seller's knowledge based upon our emails.

It does not seem to be too bad of a car...depending upon the rust. No worries though, I am not buying it...I was just passing the info on to someone I know who wants a Z car but he probably will not buy it either.

[mrcow]

if you dont mind me asking, why is he not buying it? wrong year, price, the amount of work, just not the right time?

did the seller have any history on the car? what was wrong with it when it was parked 6 years ago? i sent the guy an email and he hasnt responded. however, i called the guy 30 mins ago and i plan on going see the car at lunch. so i guess i can just ask then.

[mrcow]

Well i went and saw it during lunch. It looks like a pretty solid car. It had a very very old undercoating on it. The undercoating had worn off and there was rusting along the frame rails and floor pan. The battery and wheel wells looked alright. It is definitely a 30 year old car without much done to it over the years. Everything on the car looked 30 years old. The paint and interior are in decent shape which translates to, good enough to live with until you get the time and money to redo it all. assuming the price doesnt spike before the end of the auction i plan on trying to win it. so keep your friend away!!!!!!

The guy knows zero about cars so dont expect much info from him. Although, he is a very nice guy. He is definitely not trying to rip anyone off. He was shocked at how high the auction has gone. Basically he said his ebay ad lacked info because A. he doesnt know anything about cars and B. since its a charity it is better to be very general in his statements because if he says "yes it has A/C" and then someone buys it and some part is missing or it doesnt work they cant come back with marvin zindler to sue. ha ha

[texasz]

I had considered buying it myself but it has gone higher than I would pay at this time (I have one project and 2 parts cars already and it would have only been to fix and resell for a profit to help fund my project). As for the guy I know, I just got an email back from him and he could not hold out for a Z any longer and bought a 240SX at the end of March so he'd not even looking any longer (not a friend, just someone I was keeping an eye out for a Z since he asked me several months ago). So you are in the clear as far as me being involved in any bidding. Best of luck to you!!

I'm a little shocked at how high it has gone also considering the information he provided in the austion and the kind of response I got to my questions (supporting the fact that he does not know anything about cars). Maybe they are some local people like yourself that were able to go and inspect the car to see for themselves what it's condition is. I don't know.

By the way, he still has not sent the additional info/pix to me that he said he would.