Guest SigSauerElite Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 Well first of all here's my situation, Ive been monitering this forum for a few months now, and Ive learned much already. As of now Im 15 until mid June, and I have absolutely fellin love with the entire "Z" series. At 16 how would the insurance be on a Z from the early 70's???? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 It is going to depend on many many variables. Where you live, are you going to be a rider on your parents' policy, etc, etc.... Make some phone calls. Ask your folks to call their agent. you will get a better idea that way and won't have any surprises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aaron Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 I had a 280ZX for my first car. With the insurance company my parents used at the time (Cotton States, 1991), liability coverage was the same for any car or small truck with 2 doors. So my ZX would have been the same as a Honda Civic, a Corvette or a Toyota pickup. Check with all the insureance companies in your area. Find out about all the discouts they offer, such as good grades, credit for taking driver's ed, etc. If you have to get Full Coverage, the cost will depend on the value of the car. BTW, Welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maichor Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 Tim is right and gives good advice here as always. You won't know until asking for quotes. Here are some factors to consider. 1) Insurance for any new driver will be high, especially male. You are in the highest risk group. 2) You want a sports car. That will also raise the rate. 3) You don't have any modern safety equipment like air bags etc. Some carriers give discounts for those things. 4) This part is positive and negative . . . Z's are valued low in Kelly Blue Book, etc. So, rates will be lower for that reason. But when wrecked, don't expect insurance to pay much. All in all, I think it would be cheaper to insure than say a $10000 newer used car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 At 16 you need all the protection you can get. Buy a car with air bags. Just some fatherly advice. After you wreck one or two hondas, then look to buy a Z. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 The value of the car doesn't seem to affect the insurance rates as much as the class of vehicle. My 6 year old pick up (value maybe $9K?) cost more to insure than a new minivan ($26K). Also on a car as old as a Z chances are you will not get "full coverage" anyway. So for collison only the cost of your car is not a factor. I think an early Z would make a great first car. They are fun to drive, easy to work on and parts are still available. But 20+ year old cars need work to keep running. No way around that. Might want to think about the reliability issue before you buy one. A Z would be an excellent car to learn auto mechanics on, but keep in mind there could be some inconvienent down time and expense. Insurance discounts for air bags, antilock brakes etc are more a sales gimmick than a real money saver. Call around to a bunch of insurance companies and go with whoever gives you the best rates. It has been my experience that the cut rate places don't care about such things. Also not to start a flame war but I have a very low opinion of air bags. Those things were mandated for cars simply to save the lives of people too ignorant to wear seat belts. Modern cars are better designed in terms of crumple zones, bumpers, door guards etc. But if it were up to me I would never buy a car with air bags of any type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 The insurance will be cheap, and you may find a cheap Z, but you're going to spend EVERY DIME YOU MAKE keeping the thing running, and that's assuming you can work on it yourself. At least I would have when I was 16. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 I bought my first car when I was 18. A $600 craptacular 81' 280zx. (spent a couple months pathing it together, and getting it mechanicaly sound) Got lucky and found an almost identical car in a local wreckers, and got a lot of good parts cheep. It was pretty reliable too.. major rapairs aside from the body work, were a rad, rebuilt starter, and a few blower fans.. I still don't know why they kept burning out.. The transmition would grind a bit in 2nd and third, the rear end made some crazy nioses, and the ride was a bit rough but the thing NEVER left me stranded. I started my own policy with the same ins co that my mother had, and because she had her house, car, and me (with my car) living there, I got a pretty good discount. Just basic coverage mind you, but it was affordable. I say go for a Z, just take/borrow something a bit newer/automatic for your drivers test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie05 Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 The insurance will be cheap, and you may find a cheap Z, but you're going to spend EVERY DIME YOU MAKE keeping the thing running, and that's assuming you can work on it yourself. At least I would have when I was 16. This is true, and that is exactly what has been going on with me for the last (almost) 2 years. If you do plan on getting a Z, I would not rely on the insurance company to fix it if you get into an accident, and would actualy suggest that you just get minnimum coverage (cheapest, maybe just liability) and hone your driving skills to make sure you are not at fault if you are invovled in any accidents. Attend autocross events and maybe take a performance driving class. Autocrossing will show you the limits of your car such as traction and braking and will give you a VERY good idea of what the car will do in an emergency situation. I know it has helped me out on the street several times. And of course you should take drivers-ed if you haven't taken that already, even if it's just for the insurance discount. If theres a concern about safety, stick a rollabar in and get some harnesses, but your ability to avoid an accident in the first place will definitely pay off. BTW my Z is my first car, and I was in the same boat as you when i was 15, bit by the Z bug. Good luck with whatever you decide to do! -Oliver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patzky1 Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 For starters, insurance for me was as cheap as any other car would be since I rode along with my parents' insurance. Sorry if I digress a little here: For me, I got a 77 as my first car. Actually, I drove the parents' Taurus for a coupla months then bought the Z. Got it for $1,300 then cracked the head after three months. The radiator suddenly developed a small leak on a 100 mile trip and even though I checked EVERYTHING before going, it overheated. What really caused the problem was that my temp guage was intermittent and remarkably read a normal operating temperature until it started spitting and sputtering. That was totally my fault, because I should have fixed it as soon as I knew about it. Anywho, that costed me $250 for a 78 parts car for the head and radiator (it was worth it!). Guess what, the head on that one had to be freshened. That costed me another $120 plus gaskets ($40). Then the friggin' idle air control needed to be replaced so I used the one off the parts car. Also eventually did brakes ($55-ish), bearings ($45) and got new tires ($300). So, you can see that it really costed me to not fix the temp. guage right away and on top of that I had to do regular maintenance. Eventually I got tired of the nissan motor and decided to go chevy 350. I got a carb'd 305 paperweight and th350 tranny for free...my grandma wrecked her caprice LOL. These went in JTR style ( did it myself for $500 ) and the car was only a little faster than with the 2.8. Oh, and the th350 tranny's forward clutches eventually went so I rebuilt that myself ($120) in a few days. Now it has a decent 350 motor (yeah!) with MECHANICAL guages and is pretty nice as well as reliable. Since then I have replaced the bushings with urethane ($150-ish) and painted it myself ($125). Add that up and I had put in about $2550, including the cost of the car, and a ton of my personal time during the first three years of ownership. Howver, I think it has been one of the most rewarding and best experiences of my life so far and definitely worth it all. Lesson: Old cars are NOT cheap to maintain, but don't be scared if you can at least do some of the work yourself to maintain it. ALSO, IMHO you should really look into getting a parts car if you don't have a junk yard close by with a few z's. my .02 Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_82_ZXT Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 My Z was my first car too (16 yrs old). Kinda dove in head first... 1 Year later I bought another (my ZXT). I've had the ZXT for a year and a half now. Bought it for $500 non-running. It has now gone to Mexico (over 1k miles) and it is my daily driver. Both are ZXs, I would of much rather have gotten a Z, but they are harder to come by in Northern AZ. Anyways I like it, especially since parts are relatively common and it is rather interesting and easy to work on. The hardest part so far has been electrical. But its not too bad if you stick with the forums and buy an FSM (Its a must I think). I say go for it, but be warned: they are fast and fun to drive, but they aren't indestructable. I've had a blowout at 75mph and a stuck throttle while testing my boost controller. It would've gone airborne if I didn't act fast. Be ready for some headaches if you aren't mechanically inclined; they are old cars, but the learning curve isn't too high. Anyways, good luck and I hope you find what your looking for Mario (I lurked around the forums before I decided to buy my Z too ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest comeandzpa Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 Looks like I'm just another member of a growing club: I also bought my first car (1981 280ZX) when I was 15. It was in pretty decent shape, and it was beautiful...I just had to buy it. As for insurance, the rates aren't TOO bad. As previously mentioned, various companies will give you significantly different rates, depending on how much weight they put on age, location, etc. Call around, you don't want to settle for a higher rate than you have to take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tony78_280z Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 I hate you guys. My first car was a mercury topaz... totaled it. I didn't get a Z until I was 27 =P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SigSauerElite Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 Wow, thanks for all the replies, sounds like a Z might be a good option for me. I have a lot of experience with motors and so does my dad and several of his friends so when I have problems I should be able to fix them myself without too much trouble. My guess is that finding one will probably be the hardest part (NY, Rochester Area). I had previously thought that insurance would be expensive, probably because my father had instilled in me the notion that all cars semi cool looking or semi fast were exspensive. Thanks for the help, what a great forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 Hey man, I dono what your price range is, or how far you're willing to travel, (you're really not that far away) but I saw an 81 ZX for sale in a local buy&sell, says its had the body restored, but need interior TLC. $4000. There's also an 82' asking price $3500.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 And to add instult to injury, Insurance companies base rates also on how good the credit of the "Family" Is. I got a ding on the premium when my wife, who had been involved in a bankruptcy (Due to divorce ONLY) got her policy and mine combined. "Just another way they screw you at the drive thru!" Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHO-Z Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 It looks by your post you are in NY. I really do not want to bust yoiur bubble, but Zs are not good on snow and ice. I had 2 of them in Colorado and both were hands full on snow and ice. Snow tires helped some, all seasons didn't really do the job. There was more than once I had to chain up, where if I had a FWD I wouldn't have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patzky1 Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 I can second that one, SHO-Z. This year I made a trip through 50 miles of blizzard on state highways (non-interstate) and it was harrowing. When there is snow and ice on the ground with a strong crosswind my car tends to weathervane a little bit and can get out of control. The rear end simply kicks out on me. Luckily the whole car still fits into one lane when it's slideways. Just let completely off the gas and it gets right back in line. In fact, there were other cars in the ditch and I was still doing fine. Bad drivers, heh. Really, though, the only other problem is getting going in deep snow and actually stopping quickly in emergency situations. I would surmise that the Z is just as good as any other sub-4,000# rear-wheel drive car with (a little extra) power would be in the snow. Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparks280zt Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 I will give you a quick and easy answer, aslong as you own the car and its paid off, then no matter what you drive the liability insurance will be the same when your are under 18. Mine is 1500 a year i think just for liability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_82_ZXT Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 It looks by your post you are in NY. I really do not want to bust yoiur bubble' date=' but Zs are not good on snow and ice. I had 2 of them in Colorado and both were hands full on snow and ice. Snow tires helped some, all seasons didn't really do the job. There was more than once I had to chain up, where if I had a FWD I wouldn't have.[/quote'] I cannot drive the ZXT in the snow at all (well I can, but rather not). It is an automatic and I have trouble get any traction. Plus no ABS or traction control makes for some fun driving manuevers ??: (In one freak storm we had I had to leave it in a parking lot, cuz 6in of powder came down in ~2hrs and the roads were terrible) When it snows I drive the non-turbo (5 speed) with atleast a 60lb bag of cement/sand in the hatch. It is suprising how well that works. Mario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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