With the AUD falling below 70 US cents today and the prediction it might be as low as 65 by year end, the 2-3 year out look from some pundits is 50 something, CZP and I am understood has been saying Nissan New OEM Z32 parts are not going to be restocked in the near future or stocks are running low and arent being replenished. So does this mean for many the costs with restoration comes too high in the context of zed values to justify spending the money? is the zed market at a cusp of having a few amazing examples and the rest failing apart and being abandoned, thus zeds becoming rare with in the next 5 maybe 10 years? where are zeds headed? what does this (if the above happens) mean for this forum? if you dont think the above will happen how will the it play out in your view?
Ask any biased Z lover - Z's will live forever The bulk of the economists with the big banks are quoting 71c mean average by end of year. I think the pundits quoting 50c in the next few years is a far reach, given our economy is actually quite stable in the financial world. The reserve bank wants it at 70c US to the AUD $1 - they will start taking action if it goes under the 70c China won't go bust - the stock market is just reacting to the initial overpricing of the Chinese stocks (be it somewhat late) - it should settle down over the next few months and stabilise and world markets will calm down. China is a big future market and will be the largest economy in the world - they will continue to demand supply from us regardless of all the hype and the current low iron ore value - chinese demand and supply means that iron ore value will increase sooner or later - its inevitable in the laws of economics - production will not fall much lower from here! So the signs are Australia will stay strong regardless (just as we did in the GFC while world markets took a beating) Like any other car that has been around for a while - the Z will face tough times ahead for parts and prices - but if there is a demand in the market place - then the law of economics will mean there will be a supply, even if its third parties taking over (such as repco and rare spares did for holdens) Take CZP for eg. - they now make their own silicon hose (OEM replacements) due to the demand. Given the way prices are on some parts for the Z's already, I tend to think that if you have bought or buy a Z - It was because you love the car, rather than thinking of it as a cheap way to get around in the performance stakes. I expect some market shifting and adjusting which might push prices slightly higher but don't see the doom and gloom - won't be much worse than it is right now. The biggest threat to the Z in my mind is legislation (designed to eliminate older cars off the road) - wasn't that long ago the government was considering the "cash for cars" - whilst is wasn't mandatory based and it didn't get up in the end - in ten years time the impetus might change if climate change continues as predicted and it becomes a bipartisan issue. Till then - enjoy the Z's while you can JC :zlove:
i agree, i think the dream is over for most people. The community will always stay i think. There is something about this forum that keeps people coming here even when they are no londer a zed owner As i have said in another post. i think age is starting to catch up with these cars, also i think they are caught in a low point now when it comes to image, with so many cars in poor condition they are headed the way of the s13 and r32. When more cars get scrapped and written off and good examples become more rare maybe the image and reputation willl change. I know there are die hard fans and people who think that a z32 is the best car in the world, i think those people need to get out and drive some other stuff. The z32 for me was a great performance car for my budget, nothing else i could have bought would handle and perform like this car, that was back when an e46 M3 was still 100k lol now they are 30
Personally speaking & I'm sure it is the same for a lot of other members here too, I didn't buy a Z32 because I thought it was the best car in the world. Far from it in my eyes. But owning a car isn't always about having "the best" or "the fastest". Sometimes it is the cars character & that is why I'm a fan of the Z32. I have always been drawn to its slick lines & the fact is has always been a bit of an underdog.
Z32 ownership... The Z32 is one of those cars you either hate or love. Clearly, for most of us here, we love them or at least have some sort of attachment to them. They are not the best car on the road, not anymore. But is that such a surprise considering they are now 20+ years old? My next daily driver will be of the german kind, either BMW or Audi (I think BMW to be honest, I've heard some of the Audi engines have issues with carbon build up, anyway I digress). In every way, it will be a better car than the Zed, it has to be due to the age differences and advancement in technology. But it doesn't matter to me, the Zed will still be special and still have a spot in the garage. Why? I don't know why, I just love the car. Its fun to drive, it looks great and is just classic 90's japanese sports car. A time when the Japanese made interesting cars compared to now (current GTR excluded). You're correct, I guess the Zed image is tarnished by a bad rep and lots of low quality examples. But I'm a member of a few car clubs, and a nicely maintained Z32 will always get attention. Will their prices increase over time? Maybe, but I don't think it will ever reach the same price of a well maintained 240z if you tried buying one today. But I don't think any of the Zed cars will reach those prices in the future, not even the 370z. They're just not as iconic as the 240/260z. i don't think the Zed dream is over. I think people just need to be realistic that the Z32 is now getting old and that we will experience the same issues that all other owners of older or classic cars face. And so you own one if you really like the car and it means something to you. Parts will become harder to find, but as the junk Zeds get scrapped, we'll have plenty of wrecks to fetch parts from just like the owners of older generation Zeds do now. It will be interesting to see what happens over time. For me, my Zed is a keeper . Its special to me and thats what matters most
Couldn't have said it better!!! I'll be keeping my Z32 until the day I die(which may be sooner than I care to think about):br::zlove:
Might just be the fresh breeze that these cars need. Higher cost of parts = more of the junkers disappearing even faster. Leaving the nice examples to gradually improve the reputation, desirability and ultimately the value of great cars
I keep saying it but no one listens. The Z32's time is coming. As for the parts market, you may find it balances itself for a while. As owner A decides "it's not worth fixing", owner B will snap up the spare parts left over. All be it second hand.
rusted on oldies with money vs young'ins with none at a deeper level, the young'ins with limited means might give up and the rusted on oldiers hang around and spend an ever increasing amount. Question then becomes what proportion of the population who owns a zed are young'ins and what proportion are the oldies. Parts from the knacked series one the young'in generally own arent worth much, dated, old and generally at the end of its life. If your old and got money and want to keep your zed mint old knackered parts dont appear I would think.
The only thing I'd like to add is that this transition is already happening In the last 6 months I've seen maybe two or three Z32s on the road. I've seen more Porsches in that time. The youngens have either killed their cars or moved on to other things. And prices of the z32 reflect this. $1000 for a broken down piece of crap, $7000 to $8,000 for a nicely kept one and $10,000 to $15,000 for a low klm with one previous owner car. I think thats not a bad place to be. I mean you can buy mercs and BMWs from the 80s and 90s for less. These good examples of Zs are now hard to find and I don't believe that prices will drop anymore. Speaking to Graham (tektrader) and also Brett at Wallards, the work they're doing on Zeds now is for older guys who are taking good care of their cars. The tide has turned gentlemen. I don't think that Z's have a bad rep. Geez, every time I take mine out I get nothing but compliments from total strangers. I never expected that kind of attention. It's really quite amazing.
I think what's going to be different about the next 10-15 years is the wider adoption of Electric Vehicles. That will be a game changer for the future ownership of the the cars we drive now. Even now, with the thought in my head of buying another zed as a project etc, it is certainly on my mind that this may not be such a great long term prospect. Public opinion, legislation, availability of fuel.. just a few things to consider. Things like this will really push our zeds into being a truly niche owner category. As much as I love a few european marques, some well out of my reach and others within my spending range... I must say my heart's always been with Jap cars, because they just seem to do a lot with a little. Like some of the comments above are suggesting.. perhaps not the greatest car ever, but certainly the car I chose, and love to drive. Always loved zeds, especially Z32's, and I've always enjoyed pulling up at a set of lights and getting a nice comment from an admirer or two. And I've had the car spat on too... i guess that fecker was really showing his admiration.
As someone who has spent almost $30,000+ AUD dollars over 7 years on new and used Z32 parts from Japan and the US, I don't think the dream of owning a Z32 is over at all and I just think people need to understand that parts for this car are never going to be cheap and in order to fix something wrong with your Z, you need to spend the coin to repair the car and enjoy your Z driving experience. I know its inevitable that the Z32 part supply will dry up and Nissan will have no more parts to offer at some point in time in the future but that's the natural of owning an old car. I work for rare spares and I tell most of the customers that come through everyday buying old ford and holden parts, that you guys are lucky to have a company that reproduce parts for your 40-50 year old cars, I would love to think of the idea that the Z32 would get the same treatment but being a Jap car that's very unlikely to ever happen. I have always looked at my Z as the best car I can afford to own and the one car I have always wanted to drive and yes I would love to have a new car and have contemplated buying a 350Z or 370Z a few times and even had the wife give me the thumbs up to do it, but If i did that I would have just wasted $45000 dollars and 5 years of hard work just to drive something I kinda like compared to the Z32. Maybe one day I might do it when I'm in my 50's or 60's (I'm 32 now) but I love driving my Z and will continue to enjoy it and marvel at the fruits of my labor for this special car I have created. And if you think owning a Z32 is expensive try owning a euro car, I know for a fact that getting parts for BMW or Mercs are 3 x more expensive then a 1990's Japanese sports car and that will never change but each to their I always say.
When I bought my Z off the car sales website early 2011 there were 130 adds, now there are only 50 odd for sale. So that can mean 2 things, either people don't want to spent 70 bucks on car sales & go for no cost gum tree adds or there is a definite decline in Zd's. Obviously it's the decline in the Z & in another 4 years car sales will be lucky to have 15 cars for sale at that rate.
Back in 2008 there was a touch over 200 ads for z32's. I don't care anyway, to me it's about how great the car looks, and always has been.
It's not all about owning the latest, the fastest or best handling. Look at the old muscle cars for example. Who gives a shit? They look great and have tons of character which only the Elite of todays cars can only try to match. Also, what is the price of nostalgia? Almost 100% might handle like boats with their live rear axle with leaf springs and drum brakes but it's more than that. Heck the relatively new Shelby GT 500 came out with leaf springs! :rofl: It's about the style and if it pushes your 'Like' button. The Z32 was ahead of it's time. Not a GTR by todays standards but it's still a very capable fun/brutal sports machine without an identity crisis. Why will I be looking for something faster or better handling? I'm not drag racing nor driving flat stick around a race track. For a daily I drive a KQ SR Laser and hey, that's good enough for me. I don't need the fastest or best handling to go to K-Mart and I still manage to have an absolute blast around the twisties with all of 92kws. I'm not the only one who gets it that to have fun, you don't have to have 1000000kws or a Lambo. As COZ from CZP has stated previously new OEM parts are drying up for the Z32. Get in now while you can. And I am going to say it here. The Z32TT It's the 'best' Z Nissan has ever produced, to date. Heck, I can even make a bolder claim but I will stop here.
