What do you guys think the z31?

[260z.76]

Pretty much ^^ says it all

My girlfriend is looking at one for a first car

Just the non turbo model

Wanted to know everyone input on them there pros/cons

Are the reliable and good cars she has a son but we use my 260z 2+2 as our daily and its fine as a coupe

If you could let me know on how good of a car they are would be great thanks

[gav240z]

As a first car - in my opinion a terrible idea.

Heavy on fuel, expensive to repair, many would be tired now and probably relatively expensive to insure.

However I've never owned 1 nor have I driven 1 so perhaps I should refrain from offering an opinion?

Is she particularly keen on a 300zx?

[Lynton]

'The Good' they are an easy drive, good vision, comfortable, usually pretty rust free, styling is becoming more attractive as they age A true highway cruiser but they are only good if you buy a good car with full log history.

'The Bad' The auto can cost $2500 for a recondition, the replacement Air Flow Meters can cost $700 fitted. Every 100.000kms they need the timing belt and water pump replaced at the same time, cost around $700, they get hot under the bonnet and the electric snap fittings get brittle and break. They have many vacuum lines that get brittle and leak. They often have leaky fuel injectors that pool petrol over the exhaust manifold and sometimes can catch fire. Injectors can be expensive to replace plus labor, early series 1 & 2 have Bosche injectors series 3 have Nissan injectors they are most expensive to replace $400 each X 6. As the kilometers get high say 200,000kms when the engine is cold they can develop noisy valve lifters $100 each X 24. They also wear out the rear tyres on the inside tread which can't be seen very easily just walking around when checking the car and this can be outright dangerous if you don't get your car maintained regularly or looked at under the hoist. They can get tail shaft vibration. On the later automatics they have a temperature switch which doesn't allow the auto to drop into o/drive until the transmission gets upto operating temperature, damn annoying if you live on a freeway in winter your kind of restricted to a lower speed for a while. The auto transmission ratios in my opinion do not synchronize with the performance of the engine. They are a heavy car and the non turbo has very, very ordinary performance, they are a nice highway cruiser, if you buy one you need to know the cars history or at least the car should have log service, otherwise keep away from it. A good one is fabulous a bad one is a black hole $$$ Lynton

[Mr Camouflage]

Heavy on fuel

Not really. Similar MPG to a 260Z. The turbo Z31 was getting 31mpg on the highway when new. 20mpg in the city.

expensive to repair

Not if you do the work yourself and buy the parts from the USA, or pick up a cheap parts car.
Eg: Nissan Australia quoted me $80ea for lifters some years ago. I bought them from the USA for $8 each.
There's a large enthusiast community in the US that can help you fix anything on these cars (z31.com/phpBB3/ and z31performance.com).

many would be tired now

Yeah there are alot of neglected Z31's around, but they can be had really cheap for parts.
As Lynton says, find a good one with a service record.

probably relatively expensive to insure.

My Z31 turbo is only around $300 a year for full comp. Though for someone younger, it will probably be more.

As a first car - in my opinion a terrible idea.

Yeah, I'd have to agree. Get something newer, more reliable as a first car.

Z31's dont really retain any value, and I don't see them becoming desirable or collectable in the near future. Of course there will be die hard Z31 fans that will disagree.

Common problems with the Z31:
Fuel gauge sender stops working.
Headlight switches stop working.
Injectors can leak (engine catches fire)
vacuum hoses perish and leak (and there's alot of them that control emissions stuff on the engine)
t tops can leak

[zzzzed]

I wouldn't call them a heavy car at around 1250kg to 1300kg.one was also pretty good on fuel. Bit I agree with most every thing else that hase Bren said however I loved mine to bits. It was awesome to drive. Just expect a bog repare bill if you need to fix it. Get a a manual if you can the autos are a bit crappy

[luvemfast]

Easy fixed, Buy my dads 200ZR.
He's going to sell it soon.
Runs an RB20DET and is manual. So doesn't have any of those problems discussed.

[peter mc]

simon how much for the 200 zr

[Z]

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/nissan-200zr-1988-11009657?cr=0&vertical=Car&Range=Price:Min,Max~1&silo=Stock&sort=default&eapi=2&__N=1216 1246 1247 1252 1282&distance=25&find=200zr|CarAll

[Whitezed]

The 200 ZR is a Z31 body with the Skyline RB20DET straight six.

Looking for around $6500.
Will post details in wanted to sell.

Cheers, Ron

[Lynton]

When I had my 88' Z31 Californian turbo automatic the kerb weight was 1545kg
Lynton

[Mr Camouflage]

What's californian about it?.

[zzzzed]

What's californian about it?.

The name it was just a australian marketing thing that stuck

[260DET]

Wasn't the Californian the later facelifted one?

On the ZR, the problem with a Z31 is not so much engine related it's the fact that it's a higher end 25 year old car. All cars of that type and age are potentially problematical as a first car. If you don't like the engine a VG33E is a viable replacement. People seem stuck on straight sixes as some sort of wonder fix and picking on later Zeds as though they are somehow worse than their contempories.

[zzzzed]

yes it was the facelift model but australia is the only contry that calls them that

[gilltech]

From what friends of mine in the business tell me my advice is just the same as that already given above - these are for their day high-tech cars, they are all getting on in age, there is an awful lot to go wrong with them & that can be very expensive to put right especially when compared to the value of the car. Unless a car is found with an impeccable pedigree as to scheduled maintenance, low mileage & immaculate condition (good luck! - almost all will have been driven hard & many very very hard), then drop that idea & find something she likes that is much more low tech - & cheaper to run, maintain & insure especially as a first car & daily driver - otherwise at some stage it's a given that it's all going to end in tears.
There are nice MX5s around of that era - far more low tech as designed - but they are not cheap due to their popularity & they are also getting on a bit, although the MX5 club network makes them pretty viable for owner/maintainers.
For a first car, presumably for a youngish owner, then IMHO a sporty-looking Corolla is hard to beat given the Corolla is one of Australia's best selling cars & for very good reasons. My 2c worth!