Hey guys, I've been doing a lot of reading through your site - its a great to have online. I'm shopping for a Z at the moment, but still haven't found The One yet Anyway, I've got a question for you guys that maybe you can shed some light on.. A friend of mine is driving a 300zx, and he claims its a 1999 model. Now I know this sounds like BS, and that was my first thought. However, there are a few things that make me wonder. - it is *clearly* a late model z (my initial guess was 95), and its in awesome condition - its a 2 seat, slicktop NA model - there are a few unusual trimmings on the car i haven't seen before (although i'm definitely no expert). e.g. interior has some minor trimming like a stainless steel "ring" around the speedo/tacho (kinda hard to describe). And the other thing that stands out is the "300ZX" logo on the back of the car is lit with a cyan/green backlight I read the "year differences" linked to in the tech section, but it isn't too helpful, because it stops at 96. So any ideas of things i can look for that would tell me what year it is? I dont really want to go digging around in the engine bay since i don't know the guy that well Would it be even possible for a 99 model to be imported to australia? I've seen *1* advertisement for a post-95 vehicle before, so obviously they aren't exactly common..
The year diff. section stops at '96 because Nissan stopped making them then. I don't know about other states but in Qld you can normally tell the age of a car by looking at the date on the rego sticker. On imports this usually denotes the year first registered.
Try pulling the carpet at the back... Underneath should be a sticker with a year printed. My cars compliance plate says 1990 but the carpet revealed it was a 92 model. Another thing to check is in the rear boot of the car, there are 2 plastic panels you can pull out (in front of the brake lights) look at the inside of them, there should be a date printed on the panel. It will be in the format of year/month if I remember correctly. There are a few other places you can check but I can't recall at the moment. Donovan
hmm This is what I'd thought initially too. After doing more research, apparently this is not the case. From what I've read, nissan stopped producing 300zx's in 1996 - except for japan. Apparently they kept producing them until 1999, including some changes in 98/99 models. For references here's a source that confirms that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z32 I've seen that information consistently on other sites too..
where are the seat belts mounted? if they are mounted on the door your friends car is < a 94(i think, could be 95) model. The ultimate guide is probably the chasis number printed on the firewall (drivers side), this can then be referenced to a table indicating the year it was made or at least not made. If he does have a 99 it must be worth a bomb, but I would be surprised, most probably an earlier model with a registration date of 99. any ways as stated, easy to tell by looking at a few places on the car, the rear lights have a cover (in boot) which also has dates on it. Of course if all these dates are suspiciously missing then you have your answer. One point though, the dates on bits and bobs through the car are at best a guide. keep us posted
Without pulling up carpets, or looking under the bonnet..... ...xenon lights and 2000 spec front bar would give you an idea if it's really a 99.
Umm sorry Nissan actually kept making them in 96, 97, 98, 99 & even 00 What people do though is read too much crap on US sites and automaticaly think that it relates to all Zeds worlwide. Cheers Andrew
Try the Model Variations link inside...>>> Model Development And this one for the different countries. US vs Japan vs Europe
Behind the rear lights,inside the boot, theres plastic covers these are date stamped with the month and year of manufacture. Yes these can be replaced...but highly unlikely and usually overlooked by cons trying flog off older cars as 'late' models.
The seat belts are door mounted.. This car isn't actually for sale, so he's not trying to rip me off here. The guy has a lot of cash, and apparently a family friend sent this car over recently (within 12-18 months) as a gift from japan(!). so yeah, I am very skeptical its a '99, but i am just trying to find out for sure before i dismiss his talk as bs Thanks for all the tips guys, next time i see the car i will check it out and report back
ENuffZ is 100% right! You can look at all plastic trim,seat belt dates you like, most would have a different date showing. the inside trim for 2 seater or 2+2 is the same through the years, if nissan had a surpluss of trim for 90-91 coupe,whats to stop them using it for 93 94 95 models same would apply for 2+2.
What colour is the car? A good chance way of clarifying whether it could be a genuine '99 would be to check the colour code on its build plate. They were only produced in 6 colours, as follows: EV1 - Lightning Yellow KR4 - Sonic Silver LP2 - Midnight Purple Pearl AJ4 - Red KH3 - Black QN0 - White Pearl Other 1999 clues: Should have "2000" spec rear lights and front bar. Does it have a rear spoiler, or is it "brazilian?" If it does have a spoiler it should be the 2000 spec shape - and I've never seen one in the flesh here in Oz. The side lights in the rear bar should be orange not red. The Z badge on the nose panel should have a red background. Xenon lights were only an option on '99 NA's - so if it doesn't have them, it could still be genuine. What colour are the gauge faces? They should be a creamy/white colour. Hope this helps. (Info from 300ZX 350Z, The Z-Car Story, by Brian Long.)
Inside the interior door trim on every car I have seen is the entire date shame you have to take the trim off to see it easily.
rzm ... black bess has a zed nose panelbadge with a red background .. and i thought she was only a 1991 model .. will have to up my insurance ...!!!!:LOL::LOL::thumbsup::wacko:
I wouldn't get too excited about a badge on such an easily replaceable panel. Look at the other indicators... engine number, chassis number, body number, paint code, etc.
