Guest TwinchargedSol Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I have always liked the "Z" cars, and I was thinking of purchasing a 1979 280zx. here is a description from his "craigslist" ad. It has cold air. He just put $1200 dollars (in reciepts) for new parts that were installed within 4 months ago (including new shocks). Has a working CD player. 5 speed manual. it has power windows, power locks, and power steering. and the best part, it only has 73,000 miles on it. oh and he said he is the third owner. He has it listed for $2800 dollars, but he said he will take $2600 dollars. I am going to look at it tomorrow, in person. so, my question to y'all is... do you guys think its a good buy? (if it runs okay), and anything info on stuff i should look at? (i.e. common rust spots and the like) here is a link for the ad: http://daytona.craigslist.org/car/549116857.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 if the car must go, he'll sell it for 2500 or less. if you don't absolutely LOVE the car, I would say "2200 is my offer, if no one buys it by the time you need it gone, let me know" and then when he calls you, say you only have 2000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJLamberson Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 na if hes asking 2800 saying you only have 2000 is a little to low IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TwinchargedSol Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 well i am going to test drive it tomorrow, so i'll see how it drives. thanks a lot for you two guy's help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockerstar Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 2800 is very high for that car. I would assume that it has 173,xxx miles on it though. My '79 doesn't have the hundred thousand mark on the odometer. Its just a 5 digit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 na if hes asking 2800 saying you only have 2000 is a little to low IMHO It is, you're right. But I've played this game twice before for friends who wanted project cars. Go in, make a low offer. He won't like it. Give him your details and tell him that you're always willing to take it. Since it's a "must sell" and not everyone wants to buy a 30 year old car, it might just be there by the time it "must go to the scrap yard", and he'll be wondering if he can get a buck out of you. At that point, you give him "alls I gots in my bank, sir", and he will budge. 2000 is better than 150 at the scrappers. However, if it's a car you really like, make an offer close to par upfront. The one time I didn't do that was the time I felt bad for the guy selling me the Z31 I now own. I actually gave him 80 dollars more than what we agreed upon after he gave me all the receipts, documentation of repairs, and FSM's, as well as 2 AC Units, and an extra MAF. not to mention a car that is in pretty darn good running form. That's me on a good day =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEvilrps13 Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 cah in hand speaks volume dude. i bought my 1991 240SX for 1500$ when the owner wanted 2K for it. how? i simply explained that 1500 was all i had, and that after going over the car, thats all i was going to pay. pick out stuff wrong with the car, dont be afraid to be a tire kicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TwinchargedSol Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 well, i called him today, before going over there. He said he got called out to work. So i'll probably check it out tomorrow, or something. but if it has 173,000 miles, it would say in the title. right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeatrpi Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 No, but the odometer has enough digits to show the 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(goldfish) Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 No, but the odometer has enough digits to show the 1. No, the '79 had the 130mph speedo. That one only has 5 digits in the odometer. if it has different it has been swapped, and all bets are off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockerstar Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 No, the '79 had the 130mph speedo. That one only has 5 digits in the odometer. if it has different it has been swapped, and all bets are off. Correct Like I said, I own a '79 and it has a 5 digit odometer. It could very well be 173 Mileage shouldn't show up in the title and the car is too old for a carfax. My odometer shows 32xxx, but I know its at least 132. Use your discretion to decide what the actual mileage is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4xwellmurd3r Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 it worked for buying my 78 280z. The guy was asking 1200, and i took a look at the car, it wasn't running quite right (it needed a new afm, a little bit of fuel line, and new injectors, it should pass emissions now) the interior is garbage, but everything basically works. it doesn't leak or smoke, and the body is like 95% perfect, with 95% rust free. I said I have 900 in cash, but that's all i have. He said he couldn't take any less because he needed money for some bills, and couldn't work on the car like he wanted due to work. If the guy really needs to get rid of it, Tell him that you only have like 2100-2200 cash, and that's all you have, and if no one takes it by the deadline, you're still willing to buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbesheer Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 My dad said a good way to tell how many miles it has (roughly) is to check the pedals, if their really worn then it's probably 173 if their fairly new looking it's probably 73. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeatrpi Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Thanks for the correction; my mistake. Good luck with the purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 The pedal wear is a good idea for milage. Also check the overall cleanliness of the engine bay. Look for oil stains, and oil/dirt build up. The crossmember, if clean, will be a grey paint color, not black. There's actually a little Z emblem on the crossmember, but I nevern noticed it until I pulled an engine out. Check for rust in the interior side of the wheel wells. The rear windows love to leak and water will run down inside and start to rust stuff out. One of the first areas to go is the spare well, so check there first. You can say you're just checking out the spare stuff, making sure the "can of air" is there. If the windows have been leaking the interior will usually show it with some warpage around the corner window area. If you can, drive it. Check how well it shifts. Turn on the AC, see if the belt starts to howl. Steer to full lock and see if it makes any noise or pulls back at all. There's many other small things you can check. But overall, I wouldn't pay anything over 2k for a S130 unless it was perfect. I mean perfect. No tears in the interior. No dash cracks. Low milage engine running strong. Smooth funtioning suspention. No leaks. Etc. I got my 26,000 mile S130 for $500. Granted it was used as a parts car and didn't run, it was still a nearly complete S130 with 26k for $500. I still have the front plate that's only been on the car a few times and still looks brand new. And it's blue (old CA standard). Best of luck with the car. Hopefully it turns out to be awesome and hopefully you get a good deal out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver280zx Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Correct Like I said, I own a '79 and it has a 5 digit odometer. It could very well be 173 Mileage shouldn't show up in the title and the car is too old for a carfax. My odometer shows 32xxx, but I know its at least 132. Use your discretion to decide what the actual mileage is. It prolly has 132k, i got mine and it said 46k, and i got the title and it actually rolled over twice. So it actually had 246k. Big difference!! Its a good thing it was given to me. I have 276k now, didnt really have problems till i got to 270k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffer949 Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 dude im in ormond also! ive seen that car on the side of the road for sell. that car is in no way worth 2800 it has shiny paint but their is alot of rust. id i remember right threar fenders are rsted out and so are the doglegs! this is a no go for me unless you could get it for like 1500 maybe. pm me your number and id be willing to go look at it with youu though. i kmow wher its parked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhptom Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Be extra careful with beach cars. My neighbor bought a Z from a guy in Daytona w/o getting underneath the car for a real good check. When he got it home me and his dad looked underneath and the whole rear end was rusted completely out to where when we jacked it up the rear broke loose from the body. A life near the beach will kill a car, especially Zs known for rust. Take Jeff up on his offer to go look at it, he has a nice 1st gen Z. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffer949 Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 actually my car has been a beach car its whole live was originally down in in west palm area and has been in fl its whole life. my under carriage of my car isnt rusted bad at all. obviously that doesnt mean they are all like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TwinchargedSol Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 well..... i checked it out, and got to drive it. it drove and sounded nice, but there was a lot of rust.... and he wouldnt take less than $2,600. Jeffer was right, i also wouldnt pay anything over $1,500. Thanks to everyone who helped. I'll still continue looking for a good "Z" car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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