I am 16 years old, and I have just acquired my driving permit.  I am searching for a 280z as a first car.  I have read up on many forum posts already and people have said that it is not a good car to start on as it is old and would require a lot of work and unsafe, but here is my situation.  In my family we have a corolla that is in great working condition and it could be given to me as a car to learn to drive on and as my daily driver.  People say to learn to drive on a safer car such as the corolla, but I want to acquire a 280z.  Would it be wise to purchase a Z as a first car?  I have the corolla I can always fall back to, so would it be smart to purchase?  I have a budget around $8k for a 280z, would that be enough to get a running 280z that is rust free? Im not that mechanically gifted, but I am willing to learn and am motivated to do so.  I am also fairly patient.  Another thing, how cheap are parts for this car?  Any information would help, thanks for your time!

Drive the Corolla. Save your money and, if you have space, buy a 280Z in good condition and store it for later. You can then spend time learning about your car and what it will need. Keep saving and slowly restore it to a road worthy vehicle. By that time you will have enough driving experience hopefully to appreciate the old Datsun. Definitely not a First Car IMHO...

3 minutes ago, wheee! said:

Drive the Corolla. Save your money and, if you have space, buy a 280Z in good condition and store it for later. You can then spend time learning about your car and what it will need. Keep saving and slowly restore it to a road worthy vehicle. By that time you will have enough driving experience hopefully to appreciate the old Datsun. Definitely not a First Car IMHO...

Thank you for your response.  I will probably end up driving the corolla.  How much do you think it would be for a 280z in good condition? 

By Corolla I imagine you mean it's not a 1UZ swapped AE86 Sprinter Apex.   Having the ability to own a running car at 16 is a pretty good thing.  Even if its a base model Corolla after they stopped being RWD drift cars.  $8,000 will get you a lot of 280Z, just shy of running reliably.  is it possible to have both?

https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/cto/d/tacoma-1973-datsun-240z/6991617809.html

Around here $8K will get you a 240

10 minutes ago, Reptoid Overlords said:

By Corolla I imagine you mean it's not a 1UZ swapped AE86 Sprinter Apex.   Having the ability to own a running car at 16 is a pretty good thing.  Even if its a base model Corolla after they stopped being RWD drift cars.  $8,000 will get you a lot of 280Z, just shy of running reliably.  is it possible to have both?

thanks for responding.  No its not a AE86, but just a normal corolla you would see on the road everywhere.  Its reliable and drives and is not a sporty car.  By when you said "Is it possible to have both" as in can I have both cars at the same time, yes I believe I can.  Would you recommend picking up the 280z at this point in time? 

The 280 will only get more expensive in time. I still say buy one and store it for later. First cars usually end up being a sad story you tell your kids.

14 minutes ago, wheee! said:

The 280 will only get more expensive in time. I still say buy one and store it for later. First cars usually end up being a sad story you tell your kids.

ok thank you for your input!

3 hours ago, Matthewramstead said:

I am 16 years old, and I have just acquired my driving permit.  I am searching for a 280z as a first car.  I have read up on many forum posts already and people have said that it is not a good car to start on as it is old and would require a lot of work and unsafe, but here is my situation.  In my family we have a corolla that is in great working condition and it could be given to me as a car to learn to drive on and as my daily driver.  People say to learn to drive on a safer car such as the corolla, but I want to acquire a 280z.  Would it be wise to purchase a Z as a first car?  I have the corolla I can always fall back to, so would it be smart to purchase?  I have a budget around $8k for a 280z, would that be enough to get a running 280z that is rust free? Im not that mechanically gifted, but I am willing to learn and am motivated to do so.  I am also fairly patient.  Another thing, how cheap are parts for this car?  Any information would help, thanks for your time!

Matthew, my first car was a MG Midget.  As long as you drive responsibly, the choice of car shouldn’t matter much.  It’s all up to you.  The weakest part on any given car is the “nut” holding the steering wheel.  ?

If you have a need for speed, there are track/autocross opportunities out there, although they may require you to be at least 18 years old.  Good luck with whatever direction you end up going.  ?

I would definitely buy a 280z now while they are still relatively cheap, hold on to it, work on it and dream. Get yourself a few years of driving experience under your belt using the Toyota.

Good luck

Matthew ,

Buy a 280z and learn how to fix anything on it that breaks!

It will be old, it will break a little. No worries, you'll work on it. You will fix it. You will learn stuff. At some point one of your friends "NEW" cars will break too...perhaps a waterpump leaking, or serpentine belt adjuster gets weak. You will know how to fix that too.

Working on cars is a very important character building experience, and it hones your critical thinking/debugging skills tremendously. You don't need to know how to rebuild a transmission to get through life. However, experienced in diagnosing car problems translates into better diagnostic skills with every problem you will run into in the future.

Your future success in life depends on buying a 280Z now! ? Feel free to show this to your parents.

Len

Edited October 27, 20195 yr by superlen

If that’s the case, but two. One to drive and destroy and one to restore later!