Is this body damaged Z worth $550?

[Guest BobDigi5060]

I've been a long time lurker and my father's next door neighboor is finally selling his 81 280ZX N/A M/T. He bought the car eight years ago with 30,000 miles and now it has 81,000. A few years back he was hit by a semi and has some damage on the driver's side. You cannot enter anymore through the driver's door. He said that he had to get a new tire and rim but an alingment wasn't required according to his mechanic. I work at a dealership but am a tech in training but plan on looking underneath next weekend.

 

He was going to donate it to the salvation army for $550 but is willing to sell it to me for that much. I've driven it a few times and no steering or alingment issues were noticed. The car cranks up just fine and has great throttle response. From the pictures below could you guys give me you're opinions on what kinda purchase this would be? Do you think I will ever be able to enter from the driver's door again? Can this be repaired and look new again? I figured if you all thought this wasn't the ideal Z to keep than I could at least make a profit off of it. I would like to keep it so tell me what you think of this body damage. Excuse the photography skills

 

 

 

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[Jesse OBrien]

As much as the damage doesn't look too severe, it probably is. The inside of the wheelwells is structural (almost like a strut bar, across the middle of the car) so there's a good chance that there's frame bending going on. The cosmetics don't look like an obscene amount of work if you have a grinder/plasma cutter and a welder, but I'd pass on this one.

[plexus]

I've worked in the auto repair industry (tow truck driver, ins, body shops) and looking at your damage it appears to be only cosmetic (sheet metal) however the pictures are not very clear on how much damage is truly there. from your first picture, the inner tire well seems to not have any buckling, what about the roof line and corner panel line leading to the roof? from your post regarding the door, you will need a new one and i would suggest a new rear corner panel (sheet metal, i think black dragon sells the replacement). the one thing that would consern me, is the door jam(door striker side), if this has been buckled or crunched in then the repair is going to be high in cost, that door needs to be opened before you can evan think of buying it, unless you got the skill to repair or the money for it. by the way it looks like it was lathered before with a nice helping of BONDO before the collision. i would also check for rust in all the major areas. one other thing is you can get it then use it as a donor to a better z.

 

bottom line:

1) yes this can be repaired but the damage cost may be greater than you expect unless you can do the man hours yourself.

2) yes the door can be opened and used again aswell.

[MJLamberson]

or you could just replace the fender?

[Guest BobDigi5060]

I was looking on Black Dragon and the rear quarter panel is a direct replacement. I couldn't believe it. I could have sworn it looks like their is one piece leading up to the T-tops. Even with a junkyard door the repairs look to exceed $500 before a paintjob. We have a bodyshop at our dealership so I'd love for them to check out the door jams.

 

I don't know much about rust but what are the major rust areas to check for on the Z car? I am about 60% certain I may purchase this one.

[Tony D]

That's considered a 'light wipe' but will total out a car as the bluebook value of a daily drive ZX is under $1000. If costs exceed 50% of the cost, they will total the car.

 

I have seen worse being driven daily! Likely whatever bounced off the side, took out the factory alloy as well---I'd look to having it put on a 4 Wheel Alignment and seeing if they can get the tires in line. If they can...like said above "It's cosmetic" drive it.

 

I'd not repair it personally---the reason the car is so cheap is there is no bluebook on it. It won't be worth what you put into the repair. You are better off getting it in a running condition and driving it...and finding one with a better body and doing a driveline swap.

 

Done that a few times myself...

 

But don't think you will make a bundle by 'buying cheap'---a running ZX sells all day long for $500 to 700 here in SoCal, they are bought as driveline donors. Body damage simply isn't worth fixing, they have become 'throwaway' as there are plenty of them out there with tired or blown engines and good bodies for a swap.

 

I'd buy it, simply for the driveline parts. Engine is worth $450, Trans is $250, Differential $150. There's your purchase price. You can get $200 for the scrap value on the body if you shop around and have a trailer to tow it to the scrapyard. So from that perspective alone, it's a good buy. But I'd not get illusions about making money off it by pouring money into it and 'resurrecting' it...that would be folly.