money problems

[memory gap]

hi my names Chris and this is my first post...

ok I'm 16, and i already love z cars (esp. 240z) now I've put together some money from various sources and I have $3000 set aside for a 240z, I'm hoping to spend ~$2000 for the actually car and $1000 for anything else that needs to be done. I'm not a mechanical wiz by any means and I don't know that much although my friends father said he would help me with any big problems and I can eat up lots of info from books.

Could I pull this kind of thing off without lots of big problems?

My biggest concern is living here, in Naperville a rich kid Chicago suberb, when they put salt on the roads during winter and I do not want to ruin such a perfect car as the z. Advice please!

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by memory gap

.....

My biggest concern is living here, in Naperville a rich kid Chicago suberb, when they put salt on the roads during winter and I do not want to ruin such a perfect car as the z. Advice please!

Don't drive it in the winter if they put salt on the roads. It will get eaten alive! That is why you don't see many Z's left (except on the West Coast). Your investment will deteriorate severely if exposed to road salt. Most people in the N. East park their Z's at the first hint of winter and don't bring them out until spring for this very reason.

[2ManyZs]

It's gonna be kinda tough to find a Z in the Midwest for 3K that doesn't need a lot of rust repairs. Not impossible, but it will take a lot of searching to come up with one that is repairable from a rust standpoint. 2K is going to get you a car that is going to cost much more than another thousand to fix.

I'd say, take your time looking and save up a bit more money. You could always find a car in either the southwest or west coast and have it shipped to you. The car will be in a lot better shape and will be more worthy of the time and money it takes to bring it back into decent driveable shape. You could possibly find a west coast car for 3K or less that will require very little major body work and have it shipped to you for under 1K and have a decent car that is worth the time and effort.

Sorry to bust our bubble, but even here in Virginia it is getting hard to find a Z that does not have significant rust problems.

[memory gap]

Thanks for the advice, i would be willing to fly to the west coast (thankyou air-miles) and drive it back although i would be frightened of it not lasting the long treck back. Just wondering but do any companies do a 'rent-your-own-towing-vehicle' that would accept returns anywhere in the US kind of sceme?

[2ManyZs]

All the major rental companies, Hetz, Penske, U-Haul etc all rent one ton vans. You could then rent a trailer from them and be on your way. Take an air matress with you and you can save a few motel bills as well....

[Zvoiture]

>>>>>vans. You could then rent a trailer from them and be on your way. Take an air matress with you and you can save a few motel bills as well

OOOOOOO ROAD TRIP!!! ROAD TRIP!!!! ROAD TRIP!!!!! I wanna come!

steve77

[ZmeFly]

your looking at someone here that has done the california thing twice. florida 3 times, texas once.

the last trip from cali was from la, 2174 miles or something like that. 42 hours, driving at speeds of 85 + for 15 to 17 hours a shot.

dont worrie, unless the car is total crap and you will be able to tell that right off, i wouldnt worry.

by the same token do a few things before you take the trip. inspect the car, check the brakes and lines fuel lines, hoses and such. bring a small assortment of tools with you just in case. the Z is soooooo easy to work on its not funny.

have the oil changed, if you want some new plugs wires cap rotor, bleed the brakes and check them if they feel bad. just make sure its ready and go.

my car went with no probs 100%. i only had one scare.

the idler pulley for the a/c, hehe the bearin went out and it sounded like a water pump ready to go. lmfao scared the $^!# outta me.

but hey thats the fun of it all

enjoy the ride.

if you want you can email me and i will try and find you some decent cars in the area, i know a few persons there, and can have them looked at prior to arrival. james

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by memory gap

Just wondering but do any companies do a 'rent-your-own-towing-vehicle' that would accept returns anywhere in the US kind of sceme?

Chris: Only one problelm with the rent a tow vehicle idea.........99.9% of rental companies would not rent anything to a 16 year old. You'd need to have someone over 25 rent the vehicle in their name and drive it.

Finding a good car out here isn't terribly difficult and there are many of us who live out here who can inspect a vehicle for your consideration. There are also professionals who can inspect a Z for you.

http://www.collectorcartraderonline.com/ has a few cars that might meet your requirements right now. There are other online places to look as well.

http://classicdatsun.com/fs/index.html has one listed that you might look at as well.

Good Luck in your search!

Carl

[memory gap]

You guys have been more than helpful. I think I'm going to save a few more dollars and convince the old man it's worth the trip out there. Thanks again.

-Chris

[Daniel]

You may want to check out car carriers in the yellowpages or such.I thought as did you do once that a rental would be cheapest.I found it was more expensive to drag it home on my own.The carriers will pick it up and drop it off at your house for less and its a lot easier!! HaveFun!! Daniel