Looking at this 280z for first project car, need advice

[Zedyone_kenobi]

http://www.testdrivemylife.com/my ramblings/6-top-tips-for-a-tip-top-blog

 

Take a look at my website. I point all new shoppers to my questionare located in the  'so you want a new car' post. It will make you ask yourself some hard questions, and if you are quite honest with yourself, you will feel better about your eventual purchase.

[Rob1972]

http://www.testdrivemylife.com/my ramblings/6-top-tips-for-a-tip-top-blog
 
Take a look at my website. I point all new shoppers to my questionare located in the  'so you want a new car' post. It will make you ask yourself some hard questions, and if you are quite honest with yourself, you will feel better about your eventual purchase.

Excellent advice - but not to be read or contemplated with the kids jumping on the sofa. Find time and a quiet place with a beverage to think clearly!

[charliekwin]

The #1 bit of advice I would give (and I've had just one project car for two whole years, so clearly, I'm well-qualified to be giving out advice!) is to buy a car that's running that you can drive. The world is littered with dead projects where well-intentioned people took on either more than they could handle, something they didn't want, or both. It is so easy to let a project get away from you, especially if it's your first time doing this. A car that you can drive at least gives you a reminder of why you're going through the trouble to begin with, and if you decide you're actually not that interested in it after all (which happens a lot) will be far easier to sell.

[JSM]

10 minutes ago, charliekwin said:

The #1 bit of advice I would give (and I've had just one project car for two whole years, so clearly, I'm well-qualified to be giving out advice!) is to buy a car that's running that you can drive. The world is littered with dead projects where well-intentioned people took on either more than they could handle, something they didn't want, or both. It is so easy to let a project get away from you, especially if it's your first time doing this. A car that you can drive at least gives you a reminder of why you're going through the trouble to begin with, and if you decide you're actually not that interested in it after all (which happens a lot) will be far easier to sell.

This is very good advice.  The only flipside to this is there is a huge amount of people who don't know what they are doing and if you do it could pay off.  Waiting out the seller and lowballing the asking price could warrant you a very good purchase. 

And the flipside to my advise is the demand for Z cars have gone up so quickly it's hard to wait the sellers out now.  Even ZX's are bringing decent money.

Edited February 27, 2017 by JSM

[beefpatty]

2 hours ago, Zedyone_kenobi said:

http://www.testdrivemylife.com/my ramblings/6-top-tips-for-a-tip-top-blog

 

Take a look at my website. I point all new shoppers to my questionare located in the  'so you want a new car' post. It will make you ask yourself some hard questions, and if you are quite honest with yourself, you will feel better about your eventual purchase.

This was a great read, thanks! It helped narrow down what I'm looking for.

25 minutes ago, charliekwin said:

The #1 bit of advice I would give (and I've had just one project car for two whole years, so clearly, I'm well-qualified to be giving out advice!) is to buy a car that's running that you can drive. The world is littered with dead projects where well-intentioned people took on either more than they could handle, something they didn't want, or both. It is so easy to let a project get away from you, especially if it's your first time doing this. A car that you can drive at least gives you a reminder of why you're going through the trouble to begin with, and if you decide you're actually not that interested in it after all (which happens a lot) will be far easier to sell.

As I've looked more and more I've decided this is probably the best idea for me. Get a running car that I can enjoy while I do work on it on the side. Nice to see someone with more experience feels the same!

20 minutes ago, JSM said:

This is very good advice.  The only flipside to this is there is a huge amount of people who don't know what they are doing and if you do it could pay off.  Waiting out the seller and lowballing the asking price could warrant you a very good purchase. 

And the flipside to my advise is the demand for Z cars have gone up so quickly it's hard to wait the sellers out now.  Even ZX's are bringing decent money.

Sometimes, I feel like I missed out on the golden age of buying project Z's. It seems like they've only gotten rarer and more expensive, but I'm still just a newbie so I could be wrong.

[Rob1972]

Excellent choice. I've had my 240 for 19 years and I am ashamed to say I have used it more as a table than a driver. It's been thru three cycles of up / down (the downtime coming as a result of sitting idle) while I raised my family and only now am I able to focus on a regular basis and really deepen my enjoyment. I've put more miles on in the last three months than I have in those 19 years. As Charliekwin said it is SO easy to put it off and get to it next year. And I tend to be pretty disciplined about projects. Don't be me!


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