Hi my name is martin and I am 17, live in brisbane and in approximately feb of next year will have $11-15K to spent on a car. For a long time I convinced myself to get a commodore but recently have been thinking twice (after all, it is a family car, not the kind of image im looking for) so I started to look around for a cooler/better alternative and I stumbled upon the 300zx. I have been a performance car enthausiast for as long as I can remember so when I relised that I could get a zx for around this range I fell in love. Before I commit myself however, I was wondering if you guys could share your experiences with yoru zx's and whether the dream has turned out to be a nightmare. I love the look of zx's and i assume they drive far better than a commodore. I've decided to steer clear of the turbos because of the increased cost of running one so im now looking at an N/A, deffinately manual, preferably 2+2 and maybe a targa top from around 1991. I have seen that there have been a fair few hovering around 120k on the clock for this price range and I was wondering you guys to share your experiences with similar cars, or if realistically I'll be buying a ticking time bomb of expensive repairs.
Basically its like any car, There will be good ones and there will be shit ones. Best bet is too search the forums and see if any members are selling there cars as enthusiasts cars should in most cases be better looked after and cared for. Otherwise look at spening close to your upper limit on the car. The cheaper ones will seem like a bargain but parts for these things even N/A's are really expensive as most of the stuff is genuine Nissan and imported there is very little aftermarket gear for these cars in AUS that is not performance enhancing etc. You should get a decent car but try and tee up with a forum guru from your area who may be willing to lend a hand inspecting the cars. It will pay dividends in the long run. Serving costs on these cars even the N/A are very high which is mainly labour content these cars are a bugger to work on on most things take twice or 3 times as long to replace etc than on other cars so be mindful of that. Dont want to put you off but you should know these cars are costly and there is nothing worse than having a cool ride if its in the garage all the time with something wrong with it. My 2c
agreed have to be careful with choice... even if you get a nice neat, non thrashed one with no problems, you have to maintain it a fair bit (unlike commodores and other family cars that you can neglect a bit more), and if u dont want to spend a fortune (on top of the bit and pieces required) by going to mechanics, best learn to do it yourself, this can take time.... if you enjoy that kind of thing then proceed down the ZX path. They are great cars if you treat them nicely and they are working well...
fist of all f*ck family cars............unless u have a family...........ur 17 man........why get a family holden..........go the zx.........i put off getting a zx for so long as i was worried about it ******* up and costing me a shit load..........mate u sound like u have a good budget..........why not buy a NA zx for around nine grand and then spend a little on it.......or save some money just in case something does go wrong.........thats what i didand i am glad i did.......and its good to have a NA when ur young insurance is a shit load less and ur less likely to kill urself.....
I do agree with the other guys though on the whole parts and labour.........but if your really into cars you will do everything yourself..........its not easy and it takes time to learn but once you start learning more about your car you will love it much more.........I would still buy a zed though man........and the guys on this site will help you out more then you would think.........beer/booze can be a valuable currency here hahaha
Be aware mate. There is a Nissan Service Bulletin regarding the heads on early ZX models.. You'll need to check the FAQs to get the exact engine numbers that are potentially affected. Issues include incorrectly machined heads causing hesitation and or advanced or unstable timing. Not a deal breaker, you never know.. you might buy an early model which has already been rebuild. If you're after 2+2 Na that means an AUS delivered... this seems to pull a higher price tag... but keep looking. Another member picked a great looking one up for 7700 for his son. So a search and I'm sure you'll find the post. Be ready to drop 1000 bucks at any time! If it sounds too expensive put your 13k into a house deposit, then after a year or so use the equity and extend the load to get the car. By this time you should be 18+ and out of school. If you live in Canberra I can help you wish servicing, 100k, Plenum Pull, etc.
You will not find a better "performance" car.. for so little $, remember these cars were almost 100k new, just do it mate buy one you wont look back :zlove: Just remember if you thrash and trash ANY car it will be sick, but if you look after it and treat it well then you will have many years of trouble free motoring :zlove:
Hey Martin I too had a 300zx as my first car and yes .... do steer clear of turbos .... big pit of money and you'll never get ontop of it. The only reason why im not stone cold broke right now is mostly from parents and partners help. My 300 was in for service every 6 months .... even more often than that .... i had a car that nobody really understood (not even me) although times have changed now .... and could spend $700+ getting things fixed .....and they still wouldnt get fixed properly. Lovely car ..... great attention getter .... but no i wouldnt recomend one to someone so young unless you have the money to throw around on your hobbies.
QFT. If anything on a NA needs replacing, it basically costs just as much as a TT. Most of the other running gear is essentially the same. Everytime I've replaced, upgraded anything, it usually costs between $500-$1000 so you'd need to always have at least $1k in the bank just in case anything goes wrong. Sometimes I almost double guess myself and think maybe I should have just bought a shitbox silvia as parts are cheaper, park it anywhere and not give a shit. One problem I've had to deal with are vandals that scratche or egg the Zed. a S13 or 180 are so common no one would bother. It's a lot having to put up with these things but when the car is running perfectly, it brings a smile to the face. I won't go into the details because it's sad counting all the expenses. Now if you go for a TT, it's even more critical to ensure everything is in perfect working order, if anything turbo related goes wrong you'd be up for a lot in labour alone. Also due to the cars coming down in price, a lot end up in the hands of hoons. They flog em, then pass it on. You do not want one of these pre raped zeds. The last couple of things to consider are: suss out insurance before settling on anything and consider getting your driving experience up. I cruised around in a shitboxen for a few years to save up the funds. Worked a treat because I did have a few low speed accidents in the shitbox. All a part of driving really and would have cost me a lot more if it was a Zed. Last thing you'd want is to have an accident in the zed.
I havent spent a cent on my NA convertible Zed in two and a half years except for oil changes and rego :zlove: and it looks, feels and drives BETTER than a new car :zlove:
go the n/a my friend,then do mods Agreed,buy a t/t if you want to look at it in the garage,buy an n/a if you want to drive it and have fun.As far as n/a' s not being quick,i blew the arse off 2 trick turbo skylines at the same time the other night,just got to do the right things to it !!!
I think you should start with a 79 Gemini like I did cos 17 yr olds shouldn't have that much money to spend on a car.
Yes!! Get a NA, they still go pretty hard and there are no turbos to break!! Yay!! Just make sure you have the money to keep it on the road, if you can twirl a spanner it will save you heaps, or you could come round my place and I'll do it for free! (just not clutches, really over doin them...) Wait till a good one from a known forum member comes up for sale that you like and buy away.
Zed's are definitely awesome cars, they look sweet and drive even better. But is it really a good idea for a first car? OK, so yo don't want a TT, which is good, cause I know if I'd gotten my TT when I was 17 I probably would be dead right now, even mildly agressive acceleration in 1st, 2nd or 3rd in the wet is enough to have you facing the other way. As far as getting an NA goes, I would still be hesitant. There is a 99% chance you will have some sort of accident before you are 21, even if you drive really carefully, do you really want a nice car your gonna wreck learning to drive. I would get a shit box for a couple of years, get some more experience, save some more money and then go buy your dream zed, trust me, it will be worth the wait.
Thanks for all the tips guys, they will all be taken into consideration. also, i forgot to ask before, how much des one of these cost to insure?
at your age i would budget about 2k per year, will prob be less but log on and get a quote form just car or something, if you get an aus spec it will be slightly cheaper, maybe 1600 but you will be up for a fair bit
After having a Subaru liberty (really good car) I got a high paying job so I decide I needed the car to go with it I wanted something that was fast good looking and would put a smile on my face every time I drove it. So I ended up with a 300zx only because my mum mentioned there was a nice one for sale (looking a little tired now) but I was in for a big shock, it uses up a lot of my money its in the shop every 4-5months not for big this just little stuff and I seriously thought of selling it and getting something more reliable but every time I take her out on a nice day and take the roof off and go for a proper drive through the hills or along the cost it puts a huge smile on my face and compared to all my friends cars (s13, s14, R32GTR, r33gtst) I would still have the 300zx even with its problems so many of my friend jump to the conclusion that my car is always braking down but the fact of the mater is that all of the friends cars I mentioned befor bar the s13 have been in the shop as much or more then my car it just my work costed more (normally more labour) so don?t think you are going to get a more reliable car if you go for a skyline or Silvia because all performance cars (even the NA?s) don?t last they all need regular maintenance And besides you are only young once you should have as much fun as you can while it lasts.
go for it mate take your time when you pick one, dont just get caught up and buy the first one you see. but go for it, iv'e spent my fair share on mine but honestly i dont regret a single cent of it. :zlove: also if this is goin to be your first car then yes... go the n/a. they're not a slow car by any means and insurance bills @ 17 on a TT would kill you. good luck man. blackj_ck
