Ok, so I got the written report on what was wrong with the zed I'm thinking of buying. Keep in mind Its $10,700 (inc stamp duty), registration is due next week, and its got 193,000kms Engine Bay and Comonents 'Engine has some noise from timing cover suspect belt loose. Some stains (coolant at front) Water pump requires checking' Compression good, no co2 leakage, cold/hot engine runs good, no smoke, no excessive fumes, oil a bit low, Engine oil requires a service. Everything ele there was 'consistant with wear' Drive Line Engine wet with oil at rear main area requires investigation (apparently unroadworthy if it leaks). Rear RH shocker is soft, undercourage wear typical of age and kilometers displayed The 'Radius rod bushes' were 'Perished R/w' Tyres were worn in side edge Chassis, Body and Panels Chips in windscreen Accident repair to front, RHS inner skirt and radiator support repaired clamp marks on both sill panels - repair is fair Interior - Radio, clock and interior light not working Final notes were... The gearbox bearings are noisy requires attention. Driveline vibration (bad under load) requires attention. Rear shockers mainly RHS soft vehicle does not handle as it should So, If anyone knows, do you reckon itd be worth it? Not sure whether to offer a lower price and repair it independantly (Dont trust dealers). Any advice would be a help Cheers
turbo or na 193000kms is higher than id expect for that price,you can get lower kms for the same sort of price.....beware wound back clocks as always though... so you need to do 200km service(very soon if not already done),rear main seal,new shocks maybe coilovers if funding allows,tailsahft possible gearbox re buil,plus your mods on top of it all.... really your looking at about a 14-15k car there to get it all tip top and perfect to go again..... i think its borderline,but if you like the car then its your call,as always.... happy zedding:biggrin:
NO these cars can be exctremely expaensive to fix, and unless u ccan doin teh work urslef, itll burn a hole in ur pocket, besides when i was looking for mine i found a heap in beter nick than that, for around teh same price
move on in your search, lad ... or give the dealer no more than $4000 and expect to put in 12 months hard yakka .... !!! you can do heaps better than that ....:zlove: :zlove:
dont buy it, id rather pay extra and get a good condition zed say $15,000 than buy that and spend that extra pain, time and money.
ill second bazs motion i just saw a lovely burgundy one in the car mag for 11k, looked mint. nice wheels etc.
Keep looking James. Buy a Zed that's in excellent condition - a much cheaper and much more pleasant experience in both the short and long term. Good luck. Cheers, Peter
yeah, thanks man, Itll be worth waiting for... Just sucks, seems like I've been waiting forever...meh the search continues
Oh, and last note, everyone avoid the Z in M& G motors in Braybrook...thats the Z I'm talking about There should be a 'Z to avoid' section on here haha
James to add to previous comments, When I bought my first Zed, I was lucky, it only took 5 months. I had 165 things on a checklist but didn't get a quarter of the way through this when checking each of the first 6 cars before rejecting them. With my grey car, it was in so much better condition than all those I had checked previously (generally speaking higher in price by about $1-2k but still in my ballpark). Incidentally, it was $3k cheaper than one of the Zeds I checked out and rejected. I reaped the reward as it has not suffered any significant repair cost in the 5+ years I have owned it other than the usual - battery, alternator, clutch master and slave cylinders, part of the exhaust, tyres, brake pads, oil, one piece tailshaft, water pump, thermostat, O2 sensors etc etc - and it's a N/A !!! Oh, and it's been my DD for the last couple of years and I have done nearly 90,000 kms since buying it. As the first checks showed the car to be very good, I ended up only checking about a hundred things. (It was actually probably a lot less but seemed at least this many.) This was with a standard NRMA type car checklist, and before I discovered this forum. Given my familiarity with Zeds these days, many of these would only be a cursory inspections, others would get close scrutiny, and I now have Datascan. Mate, the bottom line is that you will find a very good Zed at a good price ... just don't get impatient !!! You will rue this if you are. The Godfather Zed that I subsequently bought in Japan took about 10 months to find maybe longer (and there were a serious number of Zeds for sale at the time given the 15 year rule was in place), and I was experienced in what to look for. Again, I was very detailed and particular, and this approach worked. Perhaps I was lucky twice, who knows. I just feel I minimised the chance element of buying a problem child. Again, good luck. Oh, and it's OK to love the car .... just do it after you've bought it, not while you're looking. Cheers, Peter
Yeah, Sounds like you were lucky pete Well, been looking for around 9 months now. Only 3 seriously inspected. Me and my dad dont know much about inspecting a car, but just check the usual, like oil, damage, leaks, gaps align, electrics work, test drive is smooth, drives str8, you know... I use state roads to inspect, and have found although a bit more expensive, are far more comprehensive than RACV (NRMA equivalent?). Ive found the trick is to be patient, and make sure your really interested before you spend $200+ on a check. Im definitely going Aus Delieverd though. Thanks for the info though, and be prepared to hear about my other inspections Cheers James
I genuinely wish you good luck. Ausspec 300Zx's are not common. There have been 2 recently advertised on the forum that I can recall, one in Canberra, one in Sydney. The Sydney car (grey) had very low kms and was priced accordingly, and is probably a great car. The one from Canberra (red or port wine) also appeared to be a very nice car. Both were manuals. The reason I remember is because I have a friend who is confidently undecided (hope that makes some sense) about whether or not to buy a 300 and would like something reliable that he can enjoy the passion with his boys (under teens). btw my N/A is a Ausspec. Cheers, Peter
193,000k and 4-5k in repairs. If the paint is fantastic, and the interior not worn, 8k max. Main worry would be the gearbox. The rest like 200k service, new shocks, bushes, camber kit(s), new tyres, windscreen are known costs. Too many zed's out there not selling for a buyer not to be fuzzy.
