HI All,

 

I must be the newest kid on the 300 block . I've been looking to buy a 300 for a while now, and as I'm not exactly over endowed with cash or the heir to a large fortune I need to keep running costs under control.

 

Would anyone car to advise me on the auto / manual issue and the turbo / na aspect. I am not a speed freak, I just love the shape of the thing, but would not expect to be doing 160 mph anywhere, anytime, owing largely to cowardice !

 

Also it would be really helpfull if anyone could tell me few of the really obvious things to look out for - I'm not a complete idiot, but gurgling avi valves are news to me!

 

Cheers,

Jeff

activearts

Ps. If your into interesting interiors contact me

There's a couple of meets coming up - one in Kent tomorrow and a couple on the 17th - one oop north and the other in Bracknell. Check out the events forum. Good places to talk to owners directly.

 

As for auto / manual tt/na - if you ask two owners, you'll get at least 3 opinions! More if you ask about SWB / 2+2 :)

I'm sure someone will expand on this, but I have collected together most of the buyers guides here :-http://www.300zx.org.uk/tech_20.htm - worth a read if you're a newbie.

Hello and welcome.

 

First of all you may know that most of the 300ZX's are Imports. You can tell by a few small things. Mostly they have Fairlady on the rear spoiler, and the badge on the nose of the car is of a Z while a UK car has a Nissan badge.

 

Firstly ALL UK Z's are 2+2 seater, Twin Turbo with Targa-Tops. So if you see a non-turbo/NA its an import. If you see: 2 seater, Hard top, convertable they are imports.

 

The reason I point this out to you is that imports tend to be more espensive to insure. Some places wont insure imports but most do. Years ago import owners got shafted with insurance but its getting better all the time, and even though there is a difference in insurance costs between a UK car Import its getting better.

 

Secondly. How much you looking to spend? With a ZX you get what you pay for. I bought a shed at £4500. The engine is fine, high milage, but the body needed and still needs a lot of work.

 

Thirdly: If you want the trill you want a Twin Turbo. The NA are fast but not a patch on the Twin Turbo. Lovely for the country drives.

 

Forth: Manual or Auto. Go with what you like. There have been many fights on here bout that. Auto drivers say autos are better, Manual drivers say manual. But with Auto's the boxes do go and become expensive to rebuild. Some then go for a Manual conversion. Manuals have clutches which again are expensive to replace. If you want to tune up your car, the standard clutch will only hold about 350BHP, while an Auto would have no problems. So all in all, its upto your personal choice. However I would say about 80% of ZX's are Automatics and a Manual may be hard to find.

 

Fith: All cars have problems. The ZX even though its an exceptional car, its no exception. Gurgling AVI valves is a very small problem which most people get. I think they where changed in a later version of the ZX. Most problems you cant really see untill you have the car a while. This is why history is very important. Import cars dont tend to come into this country with any history. To help you though, the ZX has a lot of self-diagnostic computers on. The ECU can give you clues to any problems. The ABS flashes codes of problems and so does the HICAS (4 wheel steering) If you want I can tell you how to start these tests. You best bet is to take some one who knows the car to look, or if you get one from a showroom, get a warranty then get it checked out.

 

Is there anything I left out? You wont be doing 160mph down the motorway cos they are restricted to 155mph imports are 112mph :(

 

Ask if you need more

 

Stuart

My opinion for what it's worth: Very very carefull when you buy these!! Don't get carried away when you are looking at them - they are all quick, they are all pretty, they are all very expensive to repair, and they are not hard to come by. If there is anything at all less than perfect (E.g. don't worry about that funny noise - it's just the...) walk away!

 

Also be very carefull regarding the mileage. Think it through - a 10yr old car with 50K miles is almost certainly a lie, especially if it's an import and/or the history is unavailable. These are not TVR's, they don't breakdown twice a day, or leak water in the rain, so there is no good reason for them to have not been used on a daily basis. Salesmen will say that they are expensive to run (they are), but anybody who can't afford the petrol can't aford the maintenance either, so you probably don't want to buy their car!! The interiors also do not wear out abnormally - I.e. if the seat or the steering wheel is worn (at all) it's because it's been used a lot - no other reason. Mine is mint at 150K. My friends is knackerd at 60K - He keeps spending money on worn out bits, I don't any more - You wokrk it out! You should know that it is very very very easy to manipulate the recorded mileage on one of these, thier security is laughable!!!!

 

I like the auto / turbo - very lazy car to drive relatively quickly. I don't do 160 in it, but I routinely cruise at 100 and often do 130 by accident!! You'll be surprised at how comfortable that is in a competent car - no bottle required. (Rather obviously I'm not discussing speed, in mph, in the UK, here - I certainly wouldn't consider breaking the law, and would not suggest that anybody else should do so!!)

 

If you go for the auto (manuals are hard to get hold of, so a little more money - though I've not driven one to know if they are worth it), be carefull with the gearbox. This was the big whammy on mine, and I've seen loads of frustrated owners here. The auto box suffers an overheat issue, which is terminal by the time you first see it. The issue is the coolers in the engine radiator - if one blocks you don't know till it's too late. Early symptoms are a late change 1st to 2nd. Root cause is melted plastic bits in the box (so I'm told). Run away is the only comment to make - I doub't anyone here will disagree - Recon gearbox's are around £2K 2nd hand gearbox's are a bit of a gamble....

 

Good luck.

 

PS. I have to say it (though I feel a real fraud cos the advice above is sincere). Loss of job / relocation to foreign country forces sale - 92J UK turbo / Auto - mint (I never planned to sell it and I'm fussy!) ~£5K in Essex. If you're interested drop a note to Nickleby4@lycos.co.uk

HI,

 

Many thanks for replies so far received - obviously much to consider. Must say I was not quite convinced about the mileages on imports and puzzled by the fact that imports seem to be 10 years old, when you read the importers blurb about the Jap MOT costing £1250 and the cars not going very far, you'd expect them to come over here at 3-4 + years old wouldn't you?

 

 

Even if the mileage is a flight of fancy a 3 litre car of this nature is designed to take some stick isn't it? My wife has a Saab 9000 Turbo which is abused daily, (hope she doesn't read this!),has done 200,000 miles, never had a cambelt change and is still runs exceptionally well. (It has had a gear box, and the oil cooler thing went and a water pump and other expensive bits.)

 

My basic point is that if the thing is built to be used within it's potential it should be able to cope with it, if looked after properly.

Originally posted by activearts

My basic point is that if the thing is built to be used within it's potential it should be able to cope with it, if looked after properly.

 

Actually, I would agree with that. Just please don't call my baby a "thing" ;)

 

I suspect that most expensive problems happen to Zs which have either been abused or have been upgraded one (or several) steps too far by an owner or engineer who doesn't have the correct experience.

 

Every time I wince at the cost of Nissan servicing, I try to think what the job would have cost me if I had a XJS or Porker or Maranello somethingorother.

Some 3-4 year old Z's do come for sale in Jap auctions, but they then tend to be spread all over the world. Austraila likes the Z too. Plus the numbers dipped a lot in the later years.

 

If you want servicing I think Masarati have the record for that. I think it was over £2000 for a cam belt change :eek:

 

The Japan car this is the Tax on cars gets more and more each year over 3 years. So they tend to come over here when they are 4-5 years old.

 

I agree with Gio about the expensive ones. You expect wear and tear clutch, brakes and maybe old parts failure like brake calipers seizing but with things like engine blowing they tend to be because of bad maintanace either by yourself, but 99% of the time by previous owners. Owners now are enthusuasts and take good care of the cars becuase they need it.

Also damage is done by modifying the car incorrectly. The car can do 400bhp happily if its done correctly. Some people want the power as cheap as possible and will in the long run cause more damage.

 

Stuart