Looking at buying a 240Z

[JoelH]

Hi folks,

I'm new to the site and looking at buying a 240Z. I might go see the one listed here this week. http://newyork.craigslist.org/wch/car/586810217.html

By looking at the pictures, does it look like to you guys the driver side mirror is missing?

I'm in New England and trying to find a daily driver and would like to get one that has been restored or refreshed already. I don't mind paying a fair price but I really don't want to overpay. I don't have to have a completely stock car but would prefer the body and interior to be stock. The guy with this ad says it has non stock seats. How hard are stock seats to find and replace?

Any comments on the car in the ad or in general appreciated. If you don't want to post them in the thread a private message is fine.

Thanks!

[WingZr0]

Hi JoelH and as always welcome to the Clob Bro

It does seem the drivers mirrior is missing but those are always easy to

find along with stock seats.

You might even want to use the search function for Z432 seats like these or

seats in general.

Thread Link ->http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29564&highlight=seats

Store Link for seats ->http://www.zccjdm.com/

Other than that from what I can tell from the photos that Z looks extreamly good from

outside and in engine bay for that price.

It may be a great idea to talk to the seller first in detail about how the

paint and body work and other work was done before you make the trip.

The more you now before hand, the better.

~Z~

[BRE-240Z]

Hello, and welcome to the club.

There is a high price of admission on that car, but it sure looks good. Do you have more detailed photos? By the way, you're right, I don't see a driver's side mirror...but that's easily remedied.

[mriz]

Joel welcome ,that looks like a real nice 240. If you are new to Z cars make sure to ask him for more pictures of the car such as hatch,rockers,frame,battery tray,interior. Find out about the electrical ,heater,gauges ,charging system ,ect... Has the suspension been redone? Was it rust free or repaired? Look in the picture gallery here and you will see the trouble areas or search "rust" . Go in with as much info as possible. If you get to the point of writing a check let me know and I'll see if I can go with you as a second set of eyes . Jim

[geezer]

Hi Joel, welcome to the club. You say you might go see it. It is a lot of money for an older restoration (going on 18 years ago) and I would not consider buying it without a complete inspection by someone knowledgable, to verify its condition. The true condition of these cars is not readily apparent to someone who does not know what to look for. That is a generous offer by Jim to go with you to look it over, if he can. That's what makes this club the best, the willingness of the members to help out when they can! Did you ask how old the pictures provided are? Use the "SEARCH" function on this site to learn all you can and find out what to look for. There are many threads covering this in detail. Being an educated wary buyer will save you a lot of money and grief. Remember Z's are like buses, there will be another coming along in a few minutes.

[JoelH]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Jim, that is certainly a nice offer and if you pm me, I'd like to talk to you more about that.

The owner did the work himself before he had a family and basically he says the wife wants him to get rid of it. It's only had 2000 miles in 18 years so I doubt it gets out of the garage at all these days.

As far as rust he said he saw some surface rust on the pillar but he wasn't specific. He replaced much of the sheet metal but not the rear quarter panels. He replaced the floor pans and fenders at least. The pics are from last fall so I was going to talk to him tomorrow and ask him more about the car and ask for more pictures. He was at his son's hockey game so he was a little busy. He did say he thought the clutch master cylinder needed replacing and that doesn't seem too bad but that and the missing mirror raised my eyebrows a bit.

There seem to be several z's out there to pick from but this one is the only one I've seen so far that was within a reasonable driving distance.

I really didn't want to pay this much and I wouldn't pay $12k but I don't mind paying a bit more for a turn key car.

Anyway thanks for the help and Jim thanks for the offer!

Joel

[JoelH]

Has anyone used the auto appraisal people to check out a car? There is one I've found that will do an inspection for $379 and provide a report and pics within 72 hours.

Anybody had a good experience with any of these?

[SteveJ]

Has anyone used the auto appraisal people to check out a car? There is one I've found that will do an inspection for $379 and provide a report and pics within 72 hours.

Anybody had a good experience with any of these?

Given the choice of checking out the car with someone from this site and using an appraisal service, I would choose the former.

With the appraisal service, you may or may not find someone who knows Datsuns, especially given their age. Even if they know old cars, are they familiar with old Japanese imports? Every car has its weak points. Would Joe Blow Appraiser know about the rear end clunk? U-joint play? Specific rust points?

[JoelH]

Good point Steve. I just talked to the owner and he's sending me more pictures this afternoon. It is missing the driver mirror. He put some 280ZX mirrors on it and he said they were junk. He has soom 280ZX power mirrors that are not installed but I told him I wanted to go back to stock mirrors and he said they could be swapped out. Not sure if that is possible but maybe. He said the non stock seats could be changed out easily.

He said there was surface rust on the driver's side door pillar but that's it. He did say the car hasn't been registered since 1991 and he has only driven it on a couple of side roads near his house since then. That gives me pause. I could understand if the car was a real collector car but the non stock stuff I think takes this one out of that category so why would you put all the money and time into the car and not drive it? Maybe someone here can explain that but it just strikes me as odd.

[JoelH]

Good point Steve. I just talked to the owner and he's sending me more pictures this afternoon. It is missing the driver mirror. He put some 280ZX mirrors on it and he said they were junk. He has some 280ZX power mirrors that are not installed but I told him I wanted to go back to stock mirrors and he said they could be swapped out. Not sure if that is possible but maybe. He said the non stock seats could be changed out easily.

He said there was surface rust on the driver's side door pillar but that's it. He did say the car hasn't been registered since 1991 and he has only driven it on a couple of side roads near his house since then. That gives me pause. I could understand if the car was a real collector car but the non stock stuff I think takes this one out of that category so why would you put all the money and time into the car and not drive it? Maybe someone here can explain that but it just strikes me as odd.

[JoelH]

Sorry for the double post but I don't see where I can delete the first message.

[Carl Beck]

As for the car ask about in the original Post - no way a street mod'ed car, refreshed 19 years ago with the issues mentioned so far - is worth anything close to $12K. If it was $5K I might go look at it.. only because it is close...

In the Street Mod. class - you can buy a much higher quality example. Keep looking.... or wait until it sits there for the next three months, with no buyers then offer him $5K if it checks out and runs well.

FWIW,

Carl B.