Possible Z31 purchase

[P08C]

Hey guys. I'm new here. Gonna keep this short and sweet. I'm really digging these old Nissans. I'm not really the best with cars but am willing to learn.

I'm thinking about purchasing this 1988 Z31 Turbo. It looks like it's in great condition and the mileage is what really intrigued me. It'll be my daily commuter for my 5 mile each way commute.

http://www.bellevuenissan.com/bellevue- ... S2JX200071

I'll probably get the pre purchase inspection done and run it through its paces on the test drive. I'll probably baby the hell out of it and keep it in my garage when I'm not driving it. It's such a sharp looking little car.

What kind of questions should I ask at the dealership?
What kind of physical defects should I look for?
What do you think overall just by looking at it?

Thanks for the help!

[evildky]

Wow, thats a very clean, very low miles, very expensive Z31!

Let me start by saying, do not buy this car for a commuter!

Don't get me wrong Z31's a great dependable cars but the only reason that car is $10k (on top of the fact that it's at a dealership) instead of $4k is the milage. Sure a higher mile car isn't likely to be in as good of condition but it's silly to buy a very low mileage 30 year old car only to use it as a daily, put a bunch of miles on it and risk exposing it to the risks and wear associated with being a daily driver.

As for as collectibles go the 87.5-89 Turbo Z31 I think is poised to hold it's value and possibly gain, being an automatic means it got less power, and open diff and no one wants to collect it.

As a daily the extreme low miles on a old car means it's likely to have age related issues, Turbo, CV shafts, U joints, Belts, Hoses, cooling system, Power steering, A/C and that automatic trans are all potential problems exasperated by disuse over the past 30 years.

Z31 service, most dealer have absolutely no idea how to handle a car this old, this is something Z32 owners are having trouble with, Z31's are even older. Truth be told the Z31 is more dependable and easier to service than the z32 and sold about 3 times as well and most dealers stopped serving them long ago.

Things to know, the Z31 has a timing belt and an interference engine, it is recommended the belt be changed every 60k miles or 5 years, when was the last one done? were the tensioner and idler down at the same time? How about the radiator, heater core and water pump? They do tend to leak around the quarter glass which leads to rust in the bottom fo the quarter panel behind the wheels.The T top drain tubes pour out of the rear subframe crossmember rotting out those bushings which are quite a job to replace. the Power steering uses Dexron type ATF, most people once they get a small leak they put standard power steering fluid in which is much thinner and has a lower temperature rating and makes a small leak much worse and fast.

Money, for that kind of money you can buy a much newer, although not as low miles 350z, it will offer more performance, more comfortable, more dependable, no age related issues, dealerships still support them and they are just more comfortable to drive. Dimensionally the 350z is almost the exact same length as the z31 but with a longer wheelbase, wider track, about 500 lbs heavier and about 100 more HP, and much, much better brakes.

That is one of the cleanest Z31's I have ever seen, too bad it's an automatic. Also those aftermarket wheels look terrible.

[P08C]

Personally, I think the car is way over priced. It's also been sitting in the lot since December. I don't plan on buying it unless I can get it between 5-7. I don't they'll let it go for that much, but the risk i would incur buying this car is too much for the price they're asking. I might be willing to go higher if I can negotiate in a timing belt and water pump change.

You really think driving it 4 miles to and from work without any sort of traffic to worry about would be a bad idea?

That's too bad. I thought I was in love, haha.

[Desert Rat]

your daily commute isn't going to exactly rack up the miles.

I've got an '85 non turbo manual for sale in Arizona in nearly as good condition and in your price range, with all those parts mentioned above having been recently replaced (clutch, timing belt, water pump, MAF, all soft vacuum lines, CV boots, suspension bushings, shocks, struts, balljoints, tierods, ebrake cables, upholstery, and much more. Look for my ad in the classifieds. Non turbo, but the manual makes up for that some in driving pleasure.

[BadQ45t]

If you can get it for 5k take it, if you can get them to do the timing belt with water pump, etc then you can pay a little more. In Washington with all the rain you guys get this is a bit troubling as these aren't great rain cars.

I do have to say that this is a SUPER clean 88' and it is tempting given you have a garage.