Questions About 240SX as Everyday Driver

[bchang84]

I bumped into this website by chance, and it seems like there are many well-informed people here. Therefore, I would like to ask some questions about a car I'm planning to buy.

The car is a 1992 Nissan 240SX SE automatic with about 80,000 miles on it. The interior is in excellent condition, and I didn't notice any problems with the engine when I went for a test drive. The dealer's quote is $5,500.

My plan is to keep the car stock as a daily driver, with only some audio upgrades and maybe a new set of rims and some exterior mods. I have a few questions, sorry if they sound silly but I really don't know much about cars.

1) Is the KA24DE engine reliable? Are there any signs I should be looking for when buying the car? Or steps I should take before buying?

2) What should I do to the car to make it run better once I purchase it? (eg. new spark plugs, etc)

3) I've seen 240SX's in magazines that installed S-13 front conversions. They look really nice. I have an extra budget of about $2,500 that I saved up from the summer, would that be enough? Also, would it still be legal to drive the car after the conversion?

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I apologize if my questions seems stupid.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

[Rockenreno]

1) Timing Chain. You will notice a ticking sound at idle right after the car starts up. this is expenisve to fix (~$600). Take the car to a mechanic you trust, or at least a neutral party to get it checked up before you buy it.

2) Basic stuff: spark plugs, fuel filter, oil filter, fluid changes (oil, transmission, diff), maybe a new o2 sensor if you dont think you're getting good gas mileage.

3) You mean s13 front end conversions, just the body I assume (not the s13 sr20det with that, thats more like $5000). You can get the s13 front end conversion done for $1000-1500. It's not technically legal, but I doubt it'll cause you any grief.

As for the car you're looking at, its too much. I would never pay more than $3500 for an s13 even in near perfect condition. You should be able to get one for closer to $2500-3000. That's the range I was looking at when I was searching for one last summer. To put things in perspective, I bought my 1996 240sx (s14) with 98k miles for $4000. Keep looking unless you're completely desperate or can talk the dealer down a lot. Look at kbb.com and it will give you the blue book value of the car.

[bchang84]

I just took a look at kbb.com and the "dealer retail price" is $4500, so I'll try to take it down to that range.

I saw other cars around $2500-$3000, but they have much higher mileage (from 120k to 150k). I'm afraid that engines with so much miles on them may not be reliable. Is that the case?

Also, it seems that a lot of the 240SX around here are convertibles. Guess I have to look at dealers that are further away.

[574-240sx]

That price is way too high concidering miles. Timing chain is coming up at 90-100K i believe. I bought my 92 auto with 168K for 1500. I later did the 5-speed conversion. The engine is a fairly reliable engine as long as you keep the matinence up. Don't be afraid of high milage nissans. Make sure they had timing chain replaced. I had 180K plus on my 240 before i crashed it. My friend has one with 200K with a minor rebuild and its turboed. Hope this helps. Also concider its a 11/ 12 year old car. Nick

[Nathan]

Are you in Canada? that's an awful high price, even from a dealer.

[Sil40_Mayhem]

II'm afraid that engines with so much miles on them may not be reliable. Is that the case?

i think there's a thread around here somewhere dedicated to what mileage everybody had. i've seen some folks with well above 200K still going strong. i'm pretty sure that the KA24(D)E is a very reliable motor. i've seen several above 200K running w/o incident. i guess the REAL question is how well the previous owner took care of it...

[bchang84]

I'm in Boston. I think I'm going to go back with a friend. Perhaps the dealer can tell it's my first time buying a car and are trying to rip me off. =\

[rousie13]

I got 167k(mostly highway) on my motor and going to turbo it soon. Not sure how long it's going to last after the fact, but hey. I take very good care of my car and so did the previous owner. Just have to take care of them and they're fine. Yeah I'd only pay about $3500 for it at most.

[dareo]

5500 bucks is a joke for a 92 auto. My friend got his 93 5 speed for just barely over 2k.

[Chingon]

look around for more options, like everyone is saying it's too expensive, and mine has 170k+ miles w/great compression, and my bro's is the same, so yeah they are reliable.

[Hijacker]

don't knock the convertables :lol:

[Altiman94]

I wouldn't pay what they are asking. Wait and find a 5 speed. the KA is reliable if it is taken care of just like any other engine would be. THe 240sx isnt a bad daily driver, but there are definitely better ones out there.

[drifts14x]

Hey man, too much money. I have a 1992 240SX SE Coupe with VLSD and I only paid $1500 for it. By the way, KA motors are super reliable. I have over 176K on my engine and I race it against other imports about once or twice a month(5500 RPM shifts and such) and it still gets around 300 miles on it's tiny 12 gallon fuel cell.