90 TT Buying/pre inspection tips

[rrocket]

going to look at a 90 TT tomorrow has approx. 45K on it ist owner was a dentist 2nd owner business man both mature guys as far as a pre-check.... what should I be looking for?

[freakonaleash1187]

Read up on this:

http://twinturbo.net/ttnetfaq/....html

And also, see if you the guy has maint. records for the Z. There is a 60k tune-up that needs to be done at 60k miles, 120k miles, 180k miles, etc. If that has not been done recently, make him lower the price another $800-$1k as the 60k tune-up is not cheap. Just use commons sense, take it for a test drive and if anything seems out of place, bring it up.

[nsrZ32]

Here's the important stuff from that FAQ for future search reference

What should I look for when purchasing a used Z?

First off body:

The dealers first off will pressure you, screw that. If the car is on the lot go back when they aren't there, maybe a Sunday this way you can check it out without anyone there. If something is wrong they will keep you busy so you don't notice it. These were 40-50k dollar cars so if any got wrecked you know for sure shops tried to salvage them & they are back in the market.

Signs of paintwork besides obvious mismatching:

1. Lift up any rubber seals on the car even around the windows & look for a paint edge. 2. Check every wheel well & even see if you can lift up the edge of the liner to see if there is a paint edge. 3. Pop the hood & hatch. Check the bolts that hold the quarter panel on, should be covered with factory paint & look like it's never been removed, if it's been removed you will know it because it's near impossible to line it back up & not show where bolt location was previously. 4. Check the gaps on both sides of hood, should be small & equal. Check the gaps right under door where fender meets door, make sure same on both sides. Check gaps on both sides of bumpers front & back. 5. Open doors & look through hinge ares for messed up sheet metal on the pillar. 6. Check in back upper hatch seal area for signs of wreck. 7. Always look in the spare tire well. 8. Look for OEM glass & always check for cracked windshield this is easy to miss & not uncommon. 9. Look up under the bumper at the frame that connects to it, look under hood area at that also, this is what gets straightened from a head on collision. 10. Whatever you do NEVER & I mean NEVER buy a car at night! Even if you go where lights are. In the day look down the body for dings & depressions especially since Zs are durasteel. 11. I don't use a magnet, although you certainly can, since I can generally knock & tell if has bondo but feel free. Owners will look at you funny & get irate sometimes...hey, if they don't like it, don't buy it, this is NOT a small investment. If the owner knows the car is excellent they will have no problem whatsoever letting you check it up & down, normally they are pretty proud when it's really clean. 12. I prefer stock paint that has been maintained. 13. Check the calipers, see if they look all the same. 14. Check lights for condensation..though sometimes this is not indicative or wreck, check the seal area & alignment around the lights very hard to get to factory spec.

With individuals just ask them, ever been in an accident, alot of times they will tell you! Or they might say a little fenderbender on bumber but Nissan fixed it. I called a lady on a Z & outright asked "ever been in accident" she said Nissan told her car had been repainted. *wow* all I did was ask. =)

Interior & Electrical:

1. Pretty obvious but check the leather for paint, dealers like to spray messed up leather with leather paint. 2. Being these cars are T-tops check the seat rails for excessive signs of corrosion from where they fell asleep & a rainstorm hit while they were inside. =) 3. Check the radio, easy to talk down dealer a little because I gaurentee the stock system has problems. 4. Work everything electrical on the passenger side. Duh, I always forget this...never know when a seat or window switch won't work over there.

Too many factors with engines, take it to a shop if you're not overly confident in your ability to thoroughly check it out... test drive a friend's then the one you want, not down the street, get it on the interstate, work the gears & *listen*. Drive it for more than 25 minutes when you get serious (overheating, etc) , I never like to waste the owners time so I go look, come home, think & cool down my jets, then if thats the one I want tell them I'm serious but want to drive it for awhile.

Other tips:

Now other things I've found with dealers is 9 times out of 10 they bought the car at auction, if the car is 22 they paid 18 or less. Believe me, 2 grand off the asking is a given, unless it's unusually low priced. Know the value in kbb/edmunds/& general area. Now if your credit is poor, it's much tougher since they have the advantage. Individuals are much tougher to talk down but if the add says best offer that is dead givaway they need to sell it bad...payments or something, so offer less. If the car is mint the owner will generally not budge for good reason & I have no problem paying more for mint.

By far the cleanest Z's Ive seen are at Nissan dealers.

Last but not least! Carfax! but don't be surprised if you see auctions...that is normal part of auto business but I double check when I see that. Auto auctions are VERY good at cleaning cars for the sellers, they can hide anything.

[evildky]

45k mile TT! wow thats a rare one, plan on doing the timing belt asap, it might not be up on milage but it's 18 years old.......replace it!

be sure to pull the panel off above the air filters and look for damaged metal

[rrocket]

wow thanks for the tipssaw the car yesterday has 59000 kms on it as we are in Canada.I took a mechanic with me and we were hard pressed to find anyting wrong car is like Brand New this owner has had it for 6 years and put 11k kms on itit has aftermarket exhaust and it has a professionally installed HKS EVC. timing chain done at Whitehead performance in 01 when the guy bought it

[freakonaleash1187]

Sounds like a really nice Z. How much does he want for it?

[evildky]

if the timing belt was done in 01 i'd say it's due for replacement, I think the rule is 60k or 5 years, it's been7 years now, it's cheap insurance

[rrocket]

ya the tming belt issue is on my mindguy wanted 20K CND last summerI kept his # called him in the winterI own it 16K CND certified

once i get it to town next week I'll snap some pics