boogalou1 Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 (edited) I found a 1983 280zx turbo fairly close to where I live and after looking closely at the vehicle, feel that their $2000 asking price is way to much. The exterior paint is faded with the body having it's share of surface rust, so I can just imagine how much rust there is that I can't see. The interior is pretty much trashed and there was over 200,000 miles of the engine. I was thinking it might make a good parts car just for the engine so is this car worth anymore then a grand? Edited September 7, 2010 by boogalou1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOTHALOSISM Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 Really doubt it. Get some print outs of what it would cost for frame rails, floor pans, ect... and take it with you. It will help in the negotition part. If it has alot of rust and is not running it might be worth around $500 or less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 Depends. The L28ET just 5 years ago I considered only worth a couple hundred bucks, but since then there's been a huge trend towards classic japanese cars, and many of the young kids getting into Z cars want to keep it "strickly datsun" so the demand for the L28ET has gone up. I've seen some setups that were just relatively stock going for near 1k for just a drivetrain... That being said, my last L28ET I bought I got for $250 minus the EFI and turbo. That's still slightly higher than I wish, especially considering I had to pull it MYSELF, but that's the market right now. Luckily the sluggish economy has helped a little, in that there are so many people trying to sell off projects. But most of those aren't those couple hundred bucks deals. They're the "I spent over 10k, take it all for 6" kind of deals. I'd say offer them $1,200 and see if they bite. If not just move along. But at that price you'll have a running, driving car. You can then start to tear into it and see if there is any structural rust worth noting, and see what kind of shape the engine is really in. Worst case scenario you sell it for the same or a small loss, but you got a car to drive around for next to nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger.svoboda Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 a thousand maybe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boogalou1 Posted September 7, 2010 Author Share Posted September 7, 2010 Thanks for the replies so far. I looked at this car over a month ago and took down the number and based on what I originally seen, said no way would I pay that much. But I got to thinking about it today and thought about the L28ET and the rest of the powertrain and finding a donor vehicle for it. So I just called him up and found out he still has it for sale and the lowest he will go is $1700 because he replaced a few things like a battery and alternator. I'm finishing up a z31 turbo restoration so I'm looking for a new project, the less bodywork the better. Maybe I'll wait a couple of weeks to a month and make a offer, I truly doubt he will be able to sell the car for that price, especially in Michigan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonethirty Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 I saw a craigslist ad the other day asking 5k for a 240z that was in less than stellar condition. This isnt florida, its Detroit. American muscle isnt even selling for good prices. Let him sit on the car for a bit then call him again, like you said, he'll have it for awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 Oh my goodess! He replaced a battery and an alternator!!!!..... That must have REALLY set him back some dough... $300 tops. Much less if he did both himself. Sorry, I just couldn't help but laugh at the notion that he's using a battery and alternator as a bartering tool. Two items that are nearly worthless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sticky280zx Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 the biggest bargaining tool up north is a clean car....i have sold many z's to people up north who can only find nice restored/garaged ones for 8-10k+ or they can buy a nice shell/runner for 3-4k from me and spend an extra 500-1k getting it shipped lol which do you think theyd do. You might want to look down south for one in better shape and have it shipped (guy local to me...yes the legend....BIG PHIL) just bought 3 turbo 280zx's for 1k and spent a day and prolly a couple hundred bucks to get them all running....seems alot better to do that and spend a little on shipping, than buying one up north for 2k and spending a few months or thousands fixing the rust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuoWing Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 My 280ZXT had 89k miles on the motor and the car itself really wasn't in that bad of shape overall. Needed a little work to get it running good, but I paid $1500. I got 3 years use out of the car before it got torn apart to use the motor as a donor for my 280Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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