I will be buying a car soon and I want something that is cheap, reliable, good on gas yet powerful (i know, i cant have em all)

Its either a first gen Honda CRX, which is a car I love and is great on gas, yet has has some snappy acceleration. However, the fact that only 2 people can sit in it just plain sux. Im strongly considering it though. The second option I'd have is a 1st or 2nd gen 300ZX. Not the nice ones, (91- ithink and up) but the ones before that. I really like the turbocharged version and man is it fast. But I dont want to be spedning $100s on repair and gas bills. What is a nonturbos acceleration from 0-60?

Also, are 300zxs 2 seaters (i know the 2+2 is a 4 seater)

Any opinion on my first car would be greatly appreciated (I am 16 years old) :o

I take it by you saying "gas" that your american, this will also probably be why you can consider a 300 or a CRX as a first car, I dont know if you lot have insurance over there or wheter you just sue eachother hen you crash.

 

Anyway onto the cars the CRX will be better on "gas" than a 300, typically you get 20 to 28ish MPG from a TT 300 and I believe the N/A is only slightly better on "gas".

 

Having said that you get "gas" forsod all compared to rip off britain, where we get taxed to the max on ours.

 

I dont know alot about the speed of the N/A but one thing you have to consider is that you dont get all the gizmos on an N/A that comes as standard equipment on a TT.

 

As for repairs, if its the same as over here if you buy a good one servicing etc is not too painful, however buy a bad one with lots of things that break, then its gonna cost you a sh*tload

 

Good Luck

 

Oh and they do do 2+2's and 2 seaters (the two seater is a shorter car and has a shorter wheelbase) they also did a slisck top (hard top, no targa roof) but im not sure which variations were released in the states.

 

Also I think the U.S model TT's are 300bhp, where as the uk and jap ones are a mere 280bhp, which is nice :(

I live in Canada

Gas prices arent too bad but making money is another thing.

Another question is how many kms is too much for a z (turbo or non)

i knoe hondas keep going forever....

To start the UK ZX ARE 300bhp and the early US ZX's are 300bhp except the Californian ones (or something like that) due to emissions.

 

The later ZX's 96+ are 280bhp because vairiable valve timing was dropped for emisisons reasons.

 

Also I think you are talking about the Z31 too, or do you mean the Z32? Cos you said not the nicer looking one which to me means the Z31.

Either way I think you should go with the Honda for now, or if you want a ZX go for the non turbo one, due to the fact that

a) Turbo will be too powerful for you at the moment, no matter how good a driver you are, you are still young and in experienced. We dont want you killing yourself.

b) A turbo can be VERY expensive to repair and major engine jobs could take months and nearly cost as much as the car itself.

c) The MOST i have got MPG wise is 26MPG on a long run. My normal MPG is around 16MPG due to smaller trips.

d) Non turbos are cheaper to buy and run.

e) NA's are still fast repectivley.

 

Stuart

Thanks for the advice Stuart. I guess a Turbo is out of the question for now. Yes, as a 16 year old driver I dotn have the expereince to pilot such a car. Ive heard of experinced drivers who require a light foot to drive the car.

Does anyone know the 0-60 times for a 300zx?

this body style i am talking about. I know they come in turbo and non turbo. How fast does this car accelerate (turbo and non turbo)

Aah, a Z31, disregard aything i said. I know nothing about them.

All I can say is, thank god you are sensible enough to understand that the turbo is too powerful for you at the moment.

 

The Z31 (pre 300 1988 ZX) NA is about 165 bhp which is still quite good for a car that age, and you still get the V6 which is great. :D

 

My ZX which is the Z32 1990+ has done over 150,000 miles which is about 240,000k's. And just did a little search I found a site with somes ones Z31 and its done over 191,000 miles which is over 300,000ks.

 

I think the engine if looked after will last you a very long time. I believe that the bigend from a Z31 is put into a Z32's when they replace them because they are a lot stronger. So by that the engines are very very good, IF its been looked after. The first thing I would reckomend is change the oil every 3000 to 4000 miles which is 5000 to 6400 kkms.

 

Oh, just found this site too

http://www.znzx.com/

Worth a look.

 

Stuart

TBH, you'd get more accurate information from an American site rather than this one, bearing in mind the sheer difference in the way Canada and the UK work on petrol prices, insurance etc.

 

Take a look at the LINKS section - there should be plenty there about the Z31.

 

Hope you find a good one. :)

What about a 200SX - 30MPG and 170 bHP, easily modded to 250+ BHP

Try also http://www.zclub.net

UK based but cover all models of Z/ZX. Why not think about a 240Z - sports car cool without excessive performance (at least as standard).

 

And just to clarify, although the car you're talking about (the yellow pic) is called a 300ZX, it is not the 300ZX that this forum covers. The early one (yours) is a Z31 and the later ones (the ones you call "nice" - thank you very much ;) )are Z32s.

 

Anhow check out the posts on http://www.zclub.net - there's lots of info there split by model.

 

Cheers - Gio

Try http://www.300zxclub.com US based with lots of info. on Z31's

 

Good luck, but rekon you would better of with the CRX to start.