Sometimes coming on these forums can seriously disalusion the prospective buyer, just because it seems that everyone has something wrong with their car, no matter what make or model.

 

But I understand that only those with problem will write in with their problems but what I really wanna no is, How reliable is the 300zx twin turbo engine. I mean, if i was to get a low mileage, well looked after import, how likely am i to have loads of trouble-free motoring, as long as i look after it of course. Or am i MORE likely to have problems?

 

also, is there any 300 specialist that do pre-purpose inspections?

cheers

mines done nearly 110k miles now. iv done 25k miles of those. used as a daily driver, well maintained by me & has only ever broke down on me once (PTU which i repaired the next day until my new one turned up) :)

 

not all bad news ;)

As you have stated people will come on here and post thier prob, and of course you will read them, same with any can car. however a low mileage car that has been looked after will obviously give you more hassel free driving than a high mileage car that hasn't. my advise to you is, if you are looking for a 300 TT then check out the cars for sale section. the owners and thier cars are there for you too lokk at, also with this option you can serch the owners past posts and check to see what prob they have had and what modificatios they have done, how any probs were solved and so on, best bet really, wish i'd have bought a car car from here. and now all i can do is past this on to prospective buyers.

 

Hope this helps

 

Neil.

Service history and rust, two most important things to check on these cars these days, a well looked after car should be going strong well into 100k+

Generally they are pretty good cars, if well maintained and serviced regularly and you have got the history to prove it from the prev owner it should be fine. Having said that, no two cars have been driven exactly the same and under same conditions. As with any used car of this age you take a chance.

 

Obviously if you are looking in the help / advice, you will see most people posting problems, infact, new people turn up from no-where who arnt club members etc and just come here to post problems and get help, not join in discussion etc. You wont get people posting on the help and advice or any board saying 'wow my cars running superb, not a problem for x time' just doesnt happen does it? So you are seeing the minority who have problems.

 

With any car problems will occur tho as we all know, my other half bought a new honda accord and that has had more problems (imobilizer failing, unable to start car / get in several occasions, many elec problems + a few engine etc etc) than my Z has!

 

All I will really say is, you get what you pay for with a Z. Buy one for 3k expect 3k's worth and dont complain if the turbos are shagged, or you get home and the rad pissed out water etc etc. A lot of people scrape together a few k and buy a dog, then rant it around for a bit, cant afford to fix problems and flog it on cheap and even more ****ed to someone else! If you buy a 6k+ you should get a goodun. That said you will run into the occasional muppet who will put a lemon up for sale for 7k just because he sees the good ones going for that and hopes he can get that money from an unsuspecting buyer!

 

Take someone with you who knows about Z's or cars/engines as a whole and give it a propper going over!

I wish i,d found this club before i bought my zx tt,and unless you are a skilled mechanic ,these cars are gonna cost you a lot of money to upkeep ,don't forget you are buying a 30k supercar from the 90's and to service them a'int going to be you average ford focus service ,youre best bet is to buy a u k car with f.s.h or one from the club .

so generally, what are the imports like? good choice?

I've got an import and have had a couple of problems but never with the engine only the auto gearbox :( . Then again i know people that have uk cars and have had loads of problems. As Stevo pointed out that no two cars have ever been driven the same. What you have to remember is that you are not just buying your average sport hatchback you are looking at a Supercar so expect to have to buy the odd expensive bit now and again. Ive used mine as a daily runner for over a year now and its been as reliable as any other car ive had. If you do go for an auto import just get the cooling sorted for the gearbox. Thats will cost you around £150-200. Keep looking and asking on here and a good Z will come your way. :hyper: Good luck

theres very little differance between jap/uk cars there are pros&cons with both wont go in to detail as there so miniscule.

 

insurance on an import is not much differance than a uk one if you hunt around :)

I would say mods are the biggest factor...

 

If you are looking at one modded and you're not REALLY sure they're well done and all the previous owners understood modded cars, walk away.

 

If you find one that's unmodded, remember it might only LOOK that way and actually, it's been modded and then demodded. I've seen several imports like that. (And was bitten by it myself.)