Nissan says: what's a 280z?

[Stickerman]

79 was the first year for the Datsun by Nissan badges, all cars from 1979-1983 had them. The 1984 and later had only Nissan badges

[sakijo]

From my experience, 1983 was the change-over year. My friend had a 1983 pick-up that was badged Nissan, but we always had to provide the VIN to get the correct parts. It seems that some parts were labeled under "Datsun" and others under "Nissan" in the parts book.

[mars23z]

The other day i went to the Nissan dealer to look at a 350z. I purposly drove around the dealership and parked right next to the 350z that was right in front of the showroom. After ten minutes and 4 salepeople walking by a sales lady finally came up to help me. Not ONE person even made a reference to my 260z. Now I am a car salesperson my self and I couldnt believe that they didnt even know what I was driving. That was a missed oppurtunity for "breaking the ice" I mean who doesnt like to talk about their car? I would have been like WOW an old Z or something ,anything. Oh well a lot of people just dont know, but in the car business you should at least aknowledge a cool car when you see it . Chris

[mgood]

Chris, maybe you don't have such a cool car to them? It looks great from the Avatar. What part of PA are in, I in the south hill of Pgh.

[mars23z]

No im sure my car is cool . Im in Meadville about 90 miles north of you.

[bigoak]

The other day i went to the Nissan dealer to look at a 350z. I purposly drove around the dealership and parked right next to the 350z that was right in front of the showroom. After ten minutes and 4 salepeople walking by a sales lady finally came up to help me. Not ONE person even made a reference to my 260z. Now I am a car salesperson my self and I couldnt believe that they didnt even know what I was driving. That was a missed oppurtunity for "breaking the ice" I mean who doesnt like to talk about their car? I would have been like WOW an old Z or something ,anything. Oh well a lot of people just dont know, but in the car business you should at least aknowledge a cool car when you see it . Chris

Same experience here. Was out in my Z31 to test drive some vehicles.

Pulled into the Nissan dealership, parked it right out front and nothing...not a sniff.

Pulled into the Mazda dealership down the road and I had 2 sales guys drooling all over my vehicle. Got total respect and actually made me want to deal with those guys so much more...

[Darbji280z]

I've come to the conclusion that Nissan hires idiots. We need some of these real Nissan/Datsun people in there. I've given up on the dealers in NW Indiana. I'll find what I need online. I don't have time for them to decide what the hell "datsun" means.

[deadflo]

I know the official name changeover took place with the 1984 models, but I swear I have seen a 1984 300Zx that actually said Datsun somewhere on the body.

The early 79 model 280zx's made in late 78 have a rear badge that says Datsun 280 ZX, the "by Nissan " bit was added to those made in 79.

My Nissan parts counters in Spokane both have 240Z guys that work there. one has been there since 1974 and owns a low VIN 240-Z.

When we were kids we used to phone parts stores and ask for parts like Muffler Bearings, I hadn't thought about that for awhile. The other joke I remember was asking for an upper radiator hose for a Chevy Corvair.

[Mike]

You may also notice that Courtesy helps to sponsor this site...

Nope, Courtesy doesn't sponsor this club. I've tried asking them to help out but I get no response. If anyone knows the guys at Courtesy, I would love to get some help.

Sorry, I don't want to hijack this thread. I have actually received a pretty good response from the Nissan dealerships in the area. When I talk about the 240z, I usually get the typical response, "Oh, I knew someone that had one of those cars...." It also helps to talk with the parts manager at any particular Nissan dealership. They are typically older and know more about a wide-variety of Nissan/Datsun vehicles. The managers are usually pretty good about giving discounts as well. ALWAYS ask for a club discount and tell them about our website. The biggest discount I've received is 20% due to this relationship.

-- Mike

[deadflo]

Here is an 84 I found on the web today..note the dual badges!

[Arne]

I have actually received a pretty good response from the Nissan dealerships in the area. When I talk about the 240z, I usually get the typical response, "Oh, I knew someone that had one of those cars...."

Mike, I agree, and I wonder if part of the reason might be that the number of surviving S30s here in the Pacific NW is proportionately rather high, so the dealer people are still used to seeing them now and then. After all, here in my area (population about 300,000) it's not at all unusual to see an S30 driving around, and 280ZXs and old 510, 210 and the like are just as common.

[bigoak]

Mike, I agree, and I wonder if part of the reason might be that the number of surviving S30s here in the Pacific NW is proportionately rather high, so the dealer people are still used to seeing them now and then. After all, here in my area (population about 300,000) it's not at all unusual to see an S30 driving around, and 280ZXs and old 510, 210 and the like are just as common.

Yeah, that makes sense. S30's and S130's (even Z31's for that matter) are rarer than hen's teeth up here in the snow/salted road tundra...

We do have a few good dealership guys though. Willowdale Nissan and Brantford Nissan are both active in helping find parts when necessary and their pricing isn't egregious. The goods guys are out there...somewhere...