Well it's that time again, gauging interest/potential buyers for my 240zt

[Tim240z]

Before you set your heart on selling and buying, make sure that you can get what you want for the Z. I have a feeling that $6k will be a stretch....I just don't think that the market is that healthy. Not saying that it is impossible, but keep that in mind. Thinking what you may get and getting what you think are 2 completely different things.....just don't base your decision on "pie in the sky", that's all I'm saying. The car market, esp. the niche market for converted Z cars, can be very dicey. If you can find a buyer at your price, then start thinking about a firm decision, until then you are just farting against thunder. Best of luck....sorry that you are throwing in the towel.....

 

Also, find out what the cost of ownership of the new car will be:

--maintenance

--fuel

--insurance

--taxes

--Registration

etc etc

and compare that to your Z and what you will need to sink into it to make it what you want. Go about this logically....take the emotion out of it and you may find the decision is easier than you thought, whichever way it goes.

 

Well...that's my 2c worth.

[Sean73]

What about your Sentra daily driver? If you're wife is driving it, then why not just get another one? Save your $400 car payment for a few months, and go out an get good used beater with working AC, and pay cash for it.

[80LS1T]

I can totally relate to his situation with my girlfriend buying a car this week. Now granted she wasnt driving a very special car by any means(95' Plymouth Acclaim). The car has been needing some attention lately and needed a major repair now to make it reliable again. She had to pay for an axle and a radiator in the last month and now she needs a cylinder head because its cracked. She could have payed for the parts and I could have fixed it for nothing. But after speding a few hundred dollars on a head and other parts needed to fix it it still wont be a reliable car just due to its age. The car has 170,000 miles on it and its not getting any nicer by the day! LOL

 

Now he's in a very different yet similar situation. He's been fighting small problems for some time and like he said he doesnt have the money to do what he really wants to do to the car and he still wants the creature comforts. Yeah it sucks to see a member sell a car but sometimes its whats best for the members situation.

 

Guy

[Guest bastaad525]

what a day! well we discussed, and discussed some more. I called every close friend I could think of, most of them car guys, and discussed it even more.

 

At the end of the day, we are driving to the dealership, and I decide... okay hold off one second, sleep on it one more day. So we turned back. I took the Z to work tonite, and really payed attention to every second of the drive, seeing what I love, what I hate, what needs fixing.

 

So now with that drive fresh in my mind, I thought it'd make me focus on all the things I love, and that that drive would convince me that the car is worth keeping.

 

But it didn't. It convinced me even more that it is time to move on, to stop giving up many of the things I want in a car in the name of going fast.

 

So, I'm 99% sure I will be back at that dealership tommorow and driving that car home. Unless something miraculous happens between here and there or unless the salesman just refuses to give me the deal I want. In that case I'll shop around, and start looking at other models as well (WRX, new Civic Si, to start with).

 

Sparks280zt - I don't doubt for a second that I will regret selling this car. And I don't deny that my mind will always be on getting another one some day. This time I'll go for someone elses done or mostly done project, for sure, save a ton of time and money. And probably go V8 carbeurated... something easy to figure out and futz with. In the meantime I'm going to be getting something nearly just as quick with just as much potential, but with all the stuff I want and none of the Z's drawbacks. I think regret will shrink away every time I peel out from a light But someday, when I have a house and my own garage and more money and lots of time to kill, I will own another Z, no doubt. Or better yet, that Factory Five Cobra I've always wanted to build

 

Tim - not what I expected you to say, not at all. I expected razzing or evil looks or rolling eye smilies You are right about the Z's value, and I know I probably won't get what I want for it, I do have a range in mind of what I may be willing to take for it, considering the kinds of offers I was getting the first time I tried to sell when it had a blown head gasket, I think I'll get a decent price for it either way. I'd be willing to take a bit less than $6000.

 

The cost of ownership on the new car... well yeah it's not gonna exactly be cheap. And to make the Z what I want would cost less $$$ for sure (well, not for sure.....if I really went all out for big power and stuff like an A/C and stereo and all the body work the car could use and a good paint job, might bring it pretty close. I never figured those numbers because I never thought I'd have the money or time), but it's also going to cost a lot of time and bruised knuckles and sore back and lord knows what else. And I still end up with a car I don't want to drive in the rain (dont let it get wet or it will rust!), don't want to drive in cold weather (no heater or defroster), don't want to drive on hot days (no A/C and the turbo hates the heat). I want something quick I can drive ANY time, take to San Diego (which I go to often), Vegas, or whatever.

 

man I could go on and on all night with this. Bottom line is that yeah, buying a new car, even a lower price new car like that SRT-4, is probably going to cost more than I would ever spend on my Z. You guys are right about that, no arguing it. But for the extra money I think I will get something I enjoy much more. It may not be as fast as the Z or have the 'classic' status, but it will definately handle and stop much much better, will be safer, have all the amenities I want, can be driven any time, and has so much potential for improvement in almost every respect with those Mopar upgrades that eventually it will probably be much faster than my Z is now.

 

All w/o me having to kill my back and bruise my knuckles or having to risk cancer or whatever to be able to have it how I want it. You guys may think it silly, but I think that's worth the extra money.

 

My biggest question now is, if I get an SRT-4, which color should I get There's orange, silver, red and black. Black is out, I don't EVER want a dark colored car again, to show off every single spec of dust/scratch/fingerprint. But the other three are fair game, or I could get that white one with blue stripes for a bit more?

[Sparky]

Good luck with your purchase man,

 

Its totally understandable as I've been in an out of that boat for the last several months. I thought so many times about getting a MiniS...still thinking about that actually.

 

anywho, Go with silver with dark interior...

[Guest bastaad525]

Well that sucks, I wanted the silver one too (they only come with black interior), but mid year for the '05 year they stopped making silver and replaced it with white. I may get that, I dunno. I just know I don't want black dark colors are a PITA. And I kinda don't want red either.

 

 

Good news though, I called my insurance company today to see how much full coverage would cost on the SRT, and to my sheer and utter amazement, full coverage on the car is only going to cost about $100 extra a month... I was expecting it to be much more, considering my Setra and Z both run about $30-40 a month for JUST liability. And someone was telling me that the SRT is the most expensive car to insure for under $35k which seemed retarded.

 

Well today the hunt begins, if I can find a good deal, then I'm buyin it.