Okay well, this thread is to help out anybody who is looking into making a very good desicion, buying a 240sx convertible. There are a couple of things the people should look for in a 240sx convertible before purchase. This thread will go over those things. Everyone please add more info that I missed.

Engine/Trans: As with any car, check for normal wear and tear an low miles to the motor. I'd say the average vert has around 115k on it. 240sx Convertibles were only made in Automatic transmission. So if you you dont like Driving stick or have no interest in learning it then this shouldnt be a problem. However, if you do like MT and you find a 240sx convertible with an MT swap for cheap then go for it. Many people do these swaps to thier verts. The majority of the owners on this site have done the swap themselves as well. If you find a factory MT 240sx convertible it could be one of two things:

1. The owner is lying
2. You're in dream land

I say this because rumor has it only 6 convertibles were made in MT for dealers and if the seller is lying then i would reconsider all toghether.

Timing chains: The timing chains on most 240sx's rattle on the chain gaurd. This sound can create a sound that sounds like un problemo grande. All you have to do is remove the chain guard and the sound is gone. Cleaning up the tensioner is also recommended while you are at this stage. A thread on this topic:

zerothread?id=104485

Body/Exterior: For the most part, you will find these cars in good body condition. It's no soccer mom car or grocery runner so they will usually be in good shape to the body. Main things to look for on the outside of a vert:

1. Back window: The back windows on these cars are usually bad. This is a good condition rear window of a 240sx convertible.



Here is a picture of a bad one. (mine)



The windows are a pain to change by yourself. Now, pricing on replacement by a shop seems to really vary by area. I've heard of people getting it done for $300, but the cheapest in my area was $600.

2. Convertible top: Look for any nicks or tears because chances are you will keep the factory top. Again, installation by a shop varies by area. A few members report paying $900, I paid $1200 (which was the cheapest in my area.) Usually the top wont have major tears, maybe some loose threads here and there. If you do want to tackle this on your own, here is a DIY thread:

convertible-top-replacement-supplement-t289735.html

Also be sure that the top is free of leaks, even if they are very small. Small leaks can accumulate into things like this:

http://www.nicoclub.com/wp-content/uplo ... .54-AM.png

3. RUST! Look for rust on the body, rust on the frame thoroughly check for rust. Most of these cars are cali and florida cruisers so if you buy one from that area, check for rust. A Texas -> arizona area vert = No rust almost garunteed lol. Here are some places to check for rust:

- Trunk lip above the brake lights
- The place where the hydraulic rams for the top are, behind the door
- Rear fenders/rockers
- Undercarriage frame rails
- The unibody part of the front wheel wells
- Inside the rear fender below the antenna.

Also, check down in the rear fenders for any corrosion, water, debris that kind of stuff.

4. Trunk struts: Although this is not a big deal and can easily be replaced, almost every vert has this problem. The gas struts that push the trunk up will usually be worn out, leaving you to akwardly balance youself on one foot while using the other foot to slowly make a gap in which you can wedge your hand through to lift up the trunk, while holding all your belongings. One "Sachs" trunk strut and one worn trunk strut will do fine. If you go to Pep-Boys or auto zone, they will tell you that you can use trunk struts from the hatchback. Dont listen to them, they're stupid. Instead, request this part number or look for the lift with this part number: SG359005, the brand being sachs.

5. Convertible boot: The convertible boot covers the top when its down so no one sees it. Here's a pic of the boot:



And here it is on cmkelly's car:



They are extremely rare and hard to find because Nissan does not produce them anymore. So you will never find a brand new one. The prices are also very steep, they range from $200 - $500. So If the vert you are trying to buy has one, then thats all the more reason to buy that specific one.

Interior:

1. The first thing I am going to touch on this subject is the door panels. Every Vert owner hates their door panels. On the 240sx convertible, the panels are poorly made and tend to break easily. The panel insert especially tends to seperate from the rest of the panel.



As you can see on my sisters car we nastily screwed them in place. There are other better looking fixes for this however. You can swap the whole door to a 240sx coupe or hatchback door, or you can remove the seatbelt pillar and swap the panel to a coupe or hatchback panel. Both modifications require seatbelt relocation.

Pillar Removal Thread: zerothread?id=90488

Door Swap Thread: zerothread?id=136978

The door swap requires alot less work then the pillar mod in my opinion.

2. Rear quarter windows: The rear quarter windows on the verts are prone to coming off the track and then not closing properly. This can be fixed buy taking the window apart and replacing a plastic peice peice. Here is a thread for that:

zerothread?id=158929

3. Seats and Carpet: The driver's seat on the 240sx convertible, as with any other 240sx I'm sure, wears out and tears in one spot.



This is caused by the drivers rear rubbing against the same spot while entering and exiting the car. You can either live with it, get a new seat, or get a seat cover.

Carpet: If the carpet on the 240sx convertible gets VERY dirty, Its going to be tough. To my knowledge it is difficult to find carpets for this car. You can either retro-fit one from a hatch/coupe, or find another vert in a juckyard and take that carpet.

As far as dash cracks and such go, the dash is actually more likely to crack than hatches or coupes, simply because of more exposure to the sun. But usually these are garage kept cars so typically the dash will be in good shape.

As of right now, thats all I can think of! Over all, it is a very good car, they just need routine maintenance as with any other car. They are VERY rare. Here are production numbers:

Year | Quantity
1992........2327
1993........4602
1994........1391
______________
Total.......8320

They are fun to mod, fun to drive, you will get alot of stares, and you'll have alot of fun. And best of all, in the summer when you're driving with some buddies that have hatches, you can pull up next to them with your top down while thier all couped up in thier boxes and let out a nice big . Any more questions then ask here in this thread. And if I missed anything then please add! Thanks!

Modified by krash14 at 1:04 PM 2/10/2008
Modified by krash14 at 12:43 PM 2/11/2008
Modified by krash14 at 12:44 PM 2/11/2008
Modified by krash14 at 7:48 AM 6/3/2008
Modified by krash at 5:42 AM 1/20/2009
Modified by krash at 5:45 AM 1/20/2009
Updated by krash 12/11/2012

krash14 wrote:
1. Back window conditionThe back windows on these cars are usually bad. This is a good condition rear window of a 240sx convertible.



Here is a picture of a bad one. (mine )



I cant even see through my back window, I have to reverse with the top down haha! The windows are a pain to change by yourself. If you take it to a shop, you should expect to pay around $600 incl. parts to get it changed.

Last time I got mine appraised (last week) the back windows was 250-300.

krash14 wrote:
2. Convertible topLook for any nicks or tears because chances are you will keep the factory top. Its around $1500 for the whole top change incl. parts, please correct me if I am wrong. Usually the top wont have major tears, maybe some loose threads here and there.

Again, thats wicked expensive, my quote (inc. rear window) was 900.

krash14 wrote:3. RUST!Look for rust on the body, rust on the frame thoroughly check for rust. Most of these cars are cali and florida cruisers so if you buy one from that area, check for rust. A Texas -> arizona area vert = No rust almost garunteed lol. Usually isn't a huge problem with this car though.

Don't know what you are talking about, but Verts rust just as much as every other 240sx (which is a lot!). Check the frame rails, behind the front wheels in the back of the wheel wells, under the rocker panels/side skirt areas, and around the top/trim of the windshield.

krash14 wrote:
Interior:1. The first thing I am going to touch on this subject is the door panels. Every Vert owner hates their door panels. On the 240sx convertible, the panels are poorly made and tend to break easily. The panel insert especially tends to seperate from the rest of the panel.



As you can see on my sisters car we nastily screwed them in place. There are other better looking fixes for this however. You can swap the whole door to a 240sx coupe or hatchback door, or you can remove the seatbelt pillar and swap the panel to a coupe or hatchback panel. Both modifications require seatbelt relocation.

The best/easiest way to fix this and make it look good is to get a pneumatic staple gun and a heat gun. If the panel is warped, use the heat gun to help mold it back into shape. Then, using the pneumatic stapler, simply staple it back onto the door (from the back side), just like ASC did from the factory. 5-10 minutes later, perfect door again.

Thanks a bunch for the correct info man! and for rust I was just inferring. Because The two verts that In my family are from different places and have no rust. and I didn't hear many ppl complaining about rust here. BUT I stand corrected. Thanks alot for the info!

awesome post krash wish this was up when i bought mine

Excellent work my friend!!!

Now lets all continue to toss in some ideas and edits and additional thoughts and info.

Really great work Krash!!! The 'vert forum thanks you!

This thread was an excellent idea...like slip said, i also do with this was up when i bought my first vert. there is one thing i can think of off the top of my head to add here, and that is the timing chain guards. this really goes for all 240's with the KA24DE motors. when i bought both my verts they had the clacking noise from the front of engine, and it's something scary sounding if you don't know this information. it's also a good idea to remove the lower guard as well and clean up the tensioner while you're at it.

here is a thread about that..... zerothread?id=104485

good work!

dash cracks are actually common in verts - more exposure to the sun.

Thanks alot for the Info and compliments guys. It was really Eikon's idea, I just had the time to do it All the information that is in here i have learned on this forum only. Shows how cool this forum is! Hopefully this thread helps out future buyer's of our beloved verts

Actually the window on the "good" one is a little foggy, but you can still see through it. Nice job on the thread. You guys really gave me a lot of help getting vert.

good stuff.

some things I would add:

-a DIYer can replace the top for less than 500. MAKE SURE TO FIND OUT WHETHER IT'S A VINYL OR CLOTH TOP THAT YOU ARE BUYING. You want the cloth!

-Feel free to use my car as an example of a REALLY bad window:

-make sure the top operates as it should. if it doesn't, then be on the lookout for nice messes such as this:

-Don't the auto trans have a common issue with it wanting to stick in gear?

-Be sure to use the timing chain rattle to you advantage when haggling. scary sound == easy fix, but the seller doesn't need to know that

Good stuff whoflungpoo.. These are exactly the kind of contributions I'm hoping to see in this thread. It will be SO helpful to other members in the future.

The timing chain thing is a great point. It's such an alarming sound that would lead someone to believe there could be major problems with the car. But it's a very easy fix. This can work to great advantage in getting a lower price as the seller will likely ask less for the car with the apparent need for repairs.

Can someone do a nice overview of rust issues?? I'd like to see a few pictures of areas that are common rust problems. It's so much easier to see the pictures than to understand the descriptive terms (rocker panels, quarter panels, strut towers, etc..)

Awesome guide Krash! I may get one soon if i can sell the rest of my car parts. erg! lol. Do you mind if i quote you in another forum as its such a fantastic write up?

car-parts-happy wrote:Awesome guide Krash! I may get one soon if i can sell the rest of my car parts. erg! lol. Do you mind if i quote you in another forum as its such a fantastic write up?

yea no problem dude, just make sure you give creds to this forum

What's a reasonable price for a 'vert from a private owner if it's in average condition? I've seen clean ones go for as low as $3000 and really bad ones as much as $1500.

2000 - 3800.

This was awesome...helped me make my decision on my newly acquired vert. Thanks for the awesome thread.

Thanks for the advice. Will for sure help me choose the right vert and not a junker

ok this might not be the only site for the nissan owners but its the best to get information off of im getting a 240 vert and its in pretty decent shape

this is gonna help me out so much. seeing as how i need a whole new top and rear window.

Hey thanks for providing this information here and also for the help. It was good.

I would suggest checking the floor behind the front seats and the corners of the trunk on any convertible for damp - if there's a leak in the top or around the windows, the water seems to settle there.

And check out the sun visors. The original fabric on these is not very good quality and they tend to become very faded and sometimes seriously frayed if they've been exposed to a lot of sun. It's just a cosmetic thing (and they can probably be replaced with visors from a coupe? if you can find the right color to match the 'vert's gray interior), but it can really detract from the car's appearance when the top's down and may be another bargaining area.