260z.76 Posted January 21, 2012 Posted January 21, 2012 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 Quote
Administrators gav240z Posted January 21, 2012 Administrators Posted January 21, 2012 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? Quote
Lynton Posted January 21, 2012 Posted January 21, 2012 '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 Quote
Mr Camouflage Posted January 21, 2012 Posted January 21, 2012 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 Quote
zzzzed Posted January 21, 2012 Posted January 21, 2012 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 Quote
luvemfast Posted January 21, 2012 Posted January 21, 2012 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. Quote
Z Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 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 Quote
Whoray Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 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 Quote
Lynton Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 When I had my 88' Z31 Californian turbo automatic the kerb weight was 1545kg Lynton Quote
zzzzed Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 What's californian about it?. The name it was just a australian marketing thing that stuck Quote
260DET Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 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. Quote
zzzzed Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 yes it was the facelift model but australia is the only contry that calls them that Quote
gilltech Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 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! Quote
PZG302 Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 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! I agree with everything but the comment on the price of MX5's. A really good NA 1600 can be had for less than $5k. They are dead simple and bullet proof. The only real maintenace to be done is a major service every 100k for timing belt, at which time you also do the water pump, around $700. With my 5 i just do regular oil changes and that's about it. Insurance is pretty cheap as well, <$300 for a value of $9k. only downside is it has only 2 seats. Quote
gilltech Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 I'm surprised that MX5s can be had for 5K or less, when I last looked even the oldest ones still seem to be asking 7 or 8 or more; but you'd know better than me what they actually change hands for. I've driven a few older 1600 MX5s & think that they are great fun, well sorted & viable cars. If this intending first car buyer scrapes up say 9 grand then she should be able to find quite a decent tidy well maintained older model like yours (what year is yours?) then. Good option. Q. Is there much of a price premium expected for the optional clip-on hard-top; or one of the MX5 Limited edition colours (like the BRG or dark blue)? (Just curious). A bit off Z topic, but bear with me. Quote
PZG302 Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 $9k should get you a tidy NA8 (1.8litre), or even NB (non pop up lights), might take a bit of searhing, though plenty of bargains out there. Mine is a very early, number 321, NA6 one of the first shipped out here and has just under 210k on it and is still a blast to drive around twisty roads. At lakeside I have done a 70 sec lap on Bridgestone RE001 road tyres and the original suspension, including shocks. The hard tops can be hard to find and are anything up to $1500, so if you find a car with one at a good price you've done well. The limited edition BRG NA6 doesn't seem to be any more expensive than the other models, yet anyway. The time to buy a NA6 would be now as I'm sure that they have about hit the bottom before they start to become a collectable like the Zed has become. As a first car that is a bit of fun, practical, if you only need 2 seats, and will start everytime you turn the key then the MX is hard to beat. And most haven't been thrashed to within an inch of their life with almost bullet proof mechanicals. Quote
260z.76 Posted January 22, 2012 Author Posted January 22, 2012 Thanks for all the info Were gana wait and find something a bit newer and in better nick Thanks Quote
PZG302 Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 As you need the 4 seats, what about a ADM s14 200sx. A standard one in good condition should be found for around $7k. Only downside.could.be insurance, but then again most of the fully sick.drift boys don't seem to worry about that so it could be ok through a specialist like Ryno or Shannons. Quote
MickieB Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Just cars are really good for that too. I had a turbo skyline when i was 18 they insured me for. Now they insure my XT forester, about $100 more than RACQ but i'm allowed unlimited mods. Quote
Agno Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Unlinited LEGAL mods. Just be careful about going down that route and thinking you are insured because they might deem "legal" mods as engineer approved, so items like coilovers and brake upgrades fall under a grey area Quote
DatPilot Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 I have a N/A Z31 that Im wrecking, bought as a project, but was too much of a fead huck to sort out. It has a reco auto trans too... I think as a first car, pain in the arse. as a hobby car/project.... pain in the arse... Quote
luvemfast Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 I think as a first car, pain in the arse. as a hobby car/project.... pain in the arse... lol to that quote But the same could be said about all our projects. I'm starting to run out of things to break. I'll let you know after Winton this weekend! Quote
d3c0y Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 Hey you cant talk like that on this forum! You will offend all the Z31 members!! Or are they not as sensitive as 280ZX owners?? LOL Quote
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