after reading a few posts on engine rebuilds, i was just wondering how high are the odds of having to get the engine rebuilt if i were to go ahead with my plans of gettin a 300? just say it has already had its 100,000km major service and has been regularly serviced (according to the ad, and of course i would continue to do so should i get the car). Because the prices i have seen in posts for rebuilds are quite high, nearly half or more than the price of the car. I know if you take care of the car blah blah it will last longer bla...but how bout these ones that need rebuilds? im sure they were well looked after as well? so yeh...would i be looking at having to get a rebuild after a few years or is it just down to bad luck? thankz
Lots of these cars are approaching 15 years old So for most of the newbies getting them, some can be a bit worn. Doesn't mean that its crap, just means its not making the power it 'could' be. (Also, with the low prices of a 300ZX these days, if you buy one and then get a major rebuild, your still paying a cheap price for the sort of car it is IMO) Best thing to do would be to get a check of the compression ratios. This should tell you how good or worn the engine is and if it really needs a rebuild. I know this test has saved a few people on this forum from buying a zed that was in need of a rebuild. The reason for the really high prices is because while the engine and turbos are out, they take advantage of the opportunity and get all the mods and stronger forged bits to put in the engine. I know I would. There are many people here running way more than 100,000km on their turbo zeds and the cars run fine :zlove: But if every 15 years, it needed a rebuild, I'd still be happy with it, geez, if I got mine rebuilt now, then I wouldn't need to worry about the next rebuild till 2020!
good point raised. but if i had just gotten the car and less than a year later i needed to have a rebuild that would sorta piss me off...plus i highly doubt i would be able to afford it. Then again i guess for the type of car it is, the added up price would still work out similar if not cheaper than some other performance cars out there. Thanks
Been their done that!!! I had my 300zx for 3 months, loved it,it had been serviced regularly and had 100,000klms service done.then bam out of nowhere the water pump shit itself and engine cooked,mechanic said two options 1.new engine 2.full rebuild......full rebuild would have been ideal but very expensive about $5200 i got quoted,so i just got another engine put in with very low mileage like 60,000klms. They are a mechanics nightmare no1 wants to touh it except mainly specialists and they will charge accordingly. Get my car back tommorrow afternoon hopefully $4500 later :thumbsdown:
damn!! twice in 6 months! See, its posts like these that start making me have second thoughts about getting the car. Because there is no way that i would be able to afford even 1 engine rebuild/replacement so soon after getting the car. So i guess it could happen to anyone, no matter how good u care for the car.
Thats why its recommended to... ...set aside some cash on top of the purchase price to get a full service done to the engine so that the chances of something going wrong are greatly reduced(eg timing belt and tensioner, idler pulleys, cam seals, water pump, hoses, crank seals, cooling system checked and flushed). All of this you can do yourself to reduce the cost, and if you are living in the right area you may even be able to get help from fellow zedders.
15 years old...... dude, most of these cars are now getting to the stage where they have "aged" somewhat. Some have aged well because they have been looked after and some have aged badly after a hard life. Will you need a rebuild??? who knows? No one can give you a definite answer Thats a risk with buying any second hand car of this age, not just the zed. The question is, how badly do you really want a zed? Most people here will sell their souls and first born as long as the zed is kept healthy. Others see it as just another car. If you really want a zed, then you'll be prepared to maintain it, regardless of what happens. Cheers
Dont get me wrong Yoshii ,I would say get the car hands down.It was the wanker that did the build job that was the problem.They are the best car in my opinion. I have been at the worst end of the scale and i still love them,so if your thinking of getting one i say go for it what ever it costs :thumbsup::zlove:
Mines 14years old done 230,000Km and runs well. The only problem is a small on the engine oil leak and a few miner electrical problems. The best car Ive ever owned :zlove:
I have `135,000 Km's MT Twin Turbo, Runs SWEET Makes 304rwhp un-tuned running rich as at .85 bar which is damn good for 135,000 km's I think. I use it just about every day of the week and she doesn't miss a beat. It had its share of electric gremlins and vac leaks, that made it seem slow and crap when I first got it but using all the guides on the net and what not I fixed her up good. I don't think the engine has ever been rebuilt either. Nothings been touched, and I service it my self. I think if I had it from 0km's and looked after it my way it would last a heap of km's I see the following as Consumable items, Clutch (cant last for ever with all that power) Turbo's (factor it in with a used turbo car purcashe) TIRES (When your foot slips of the clutch)
130000 kays for me too with no water/oil loss ... All comes back to being fussy about buying the right one ... get it checked out by not just a mechanic, but a zed guru (they are in every state) Also gotta keep the rebuild topics in perspective. The forum quotes 2763 members (and growing). I bet if you did a full search for complete engine 'failure/rebuild/repair' etc, you'd be hard pressed to find more than a couple hundred over the years. They aren't bad odds... Where are you from Yoshi?
Reading on this site has taught me this about buying a Z. 1. Find one you like. 2. Get it checked out by a Z specialist. (will cost you but it is worth it) 3. If you like it, buy it. 4. Take it back to the specialist and have the cooling system THOROUGHLY checked andparts replaced if necessary. 4. Keep it WELL maintained. These things don't sh*t themselves for no reason.
when I bought my zed I set aside some cash to get a major service done.. I got timing belt, waterpump, filters, spark plugs, idler pulleys, cam/crank seals, radiator hoses etc.. all changed and the radiator flushed. Even though this cost me quite a bit, especially since i'd only had the car for a few weeks, in my opinion it was well worth it to aviod any troubles the car might have had if I hadn't changed any of that. Follow entrancify's check list and you should be right! :zlove:
checking the car out this weekend YAY im finally going to go check out the Z this sunday, but the guy said a couple of other people are having a look as well this fri/sat. Hopefully i get it hahaha ALL TO MYSELF :thumbsup: !!! fingers crossed! haha thankz for the tips guys! ill let ya know how it goes.
I can top that! hehe I think my zed lives a harder life than most on this forum. poor thing... but oh well! I bought my zed at 119000kms. Wasn't sure if the 100000km service had been done so new water pump and belts were installed. Oil changes every 5000km - 2500km's if there has been a fair amount of motorsport. Brakes get bled on average every 2 pad changes. Car now was 175000kms on the clock and still makes 229rwkw @ 0.98bar of boost. She doesn't miss a beat and will quite happily rev through every gear. Stuff I have replaced include: x1 auto gearbox x2 manual gearboxes x3 organic face clutches x1 radiator x2 heater cores x2 front rotors x1 rear rotor umpteen tyres (both race and road) umpteen brake pads (every 3 months fronts get changed, rears get changed every 5 months) x1 set of rear subframe bushes x1 tailshaft x1 front bar x1 aircon compressor x1 water pump (as mentioned above) x1 set of belts (as mentioned above) Thats about all I can think of at the moment, but Im sure there is more and you know what - I don't regret any part of it - the zed is just worth it! :zlove:
I feel for you Yoshi, but don't let this drop your standards and jump into the next one that presents itself without getting it checked... There are plenty out there mate .. yours is out there somewhere too! Just good to be patient, as hard as that is.... It will make your whole zed experience that much more enjoyable!!! cheers mark:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Check this out .... might be worth a trip to QLD. RichO found this baby advertised in Brissie Anyone know it?
