purchasing a 1993 Nissan 300 ZX?

Question

I will be purchasing a Nissan 1993 300 ZX Convertable non turbo from a seller. This car has 101,000 miles and has been kept up very well as I can see on the outside of car. I drove the car it runs great, Car is fulley loaded. You can tell car was kept up ver well.My concern is the miles, can you tell me how long cars like this last on miles, and what the prices of these cars should be selling for. The seller is asking $8,500 is that good or do you think its worth getting the price down.I just do not want to be ripped off, or stranded on the side of the freeway.
Thanks

Answer 1

Sounds good to me. Try to haggle the price though. Blue Book Value puts it at around $7,300.

Answer 2

If the car is maintained and you use good oil and change it regularly you can get 200 to 300K miles easily. The key is preventative maintenence. Buy factory replacement parts if you truly want it to last. Although cheap parts house parts meet the manufacturer standards that doesn't mean the auto manufacturer but the part manufacturer. Bet ya didn't know that...Most foreign cars require oil filters with a check valve. That means due to the filter laying sideways on the engine it has to have a valve in it that holds the oil in place instead of letting it go back down in the crankcase when the engine has been off for a while. Why? If your oil drains back into the crankcase you will be starting it every morning with no oil pressure for the first 5 or 10 seconds which means every day a little more wear on the top of the engine. Only factory dealer filters and a couple brands use these as they cost more to manufacture. Same for hoses. Use hoses made especially for your car as the universal ones under heat and pressure can suck together or crimp up even though when they are cold prior to the car warming up they look just fine. When you get the car with 100K don't take the owner's word for maintenence. He wants to sell the car so he might have conveniently remembered that everything has just been done to the car even though it is ready for it again. Start with having the timing belt or belts and tensioners replaced, belts, hoses, thermostat, and if you feel froggy even the water pump although it should give warning when it gets ready to go. Have the radiator flushed out, oil, plugs, wires, air filter, and fuel filter changed. Usually heating problems are what kills these cars so if you do this you should be ready for another 100K miles with no problems. You don't have to do all this as it will probably cost about $300-500 but it is an investment. These parts are where 99 percent of your problems come from. Again, if you are going to use the cheap parts house parts just keep what you have. You have a better chance with them. Another point is if you go to an independant mechanic you go buy the parts at the dealer and take with you as the mechanic will buy the cheapest parts he can find so he can make the money instead of invest it in parts. Think about it. Your engine is made from the same materials as the big trucks engines, just yours runs on gas and theirs on diesel. Diesel is harder on an engine than gas. A well maintained truck engine will go well over a million miles so why can't you?

Answer 3

Wow. Well, it is a sportscar and they hold their value much better than other vehicles. Nissans from a while back had very strong engines so people tended to push them more. I'd be more worried about other aspects that normally die w/ age. Thats good mileage for a 13 year old car, so I'd start off with all the basic wear and tear.

The price is up to you, I'd tell him/her its expensive for a non-turbo, but if you really want it. The fact that it is a convertible is keeping its price up.

Answer 4

Good price for that car $6,500 that vg30de engine normally lasts 200,000miles some suspension needs to be inspected for wear both track rods are probably cracked in the liquid filled front bushings making the steering vibrate when breaking at 70 mph

Answer 5

Since the miles are pretty low for the year I think that $8500 is a reasonable price, unfortunately the 300ZX convertibles are really hard to find.

Answer 6

bargain time.. get him to go as low as possible cuz 7500 is as high as this car should be selling.. good maintainence sure but mileage counts too.. the cars gonna run for the next 80k miles r so if u maintain it as well as the other guy did..

Answer 7

Oh no way man! you better bargain! 85 hundred sound a little too high for a non-turbo. if your paying that much, then make sure the you do some research over the net first.

Answer 8

Try to bargain down the price as much as possible. Use the money for maintenance and repair bills.

Answer 9

blue book does not apply to a z32 300zx. if you low-ball him, he will easily find another buyer that will pay that price.