S30 safety

[Drtran83]

Hi guys, new to the forum. I've been on the lookout for a s30 for some time now. I recently found a 78 280z that hasn't ran in about 10 years. I'm hoping to buy the car and turn it into a project / daily driver. One main concern than my fiancé and I have is the safety of the vehicle once we're able to get it on the road.

So my question to you guys is in the event of an accident how likely are we to survive in these cars? I'm mainly looking for personal experiences from owners. Any information would help! Thanks!!!

[WDRacing]

Welcome to Nico!

I can't speak for the 78 280Z from personal experience, but I can say older vehicles simply don't have the safety features that new cars do. Safety regulations are one of the main reasons new cars are so heavy.

The 280Z is an excellent car and wicked fun to drive. But it's small and doesn't have any air bags. So I don't see it fairing to well in a crash with any large vehicle.

[djwarner]

Airbags don't account for the 1000 lb difference between my '71 Series I 240z and my wife's 2006 350z. The most significant difference is the crumple zones built into modern designs.

As for driving experience between the two, my wife's version is more a personal luxury vehicle while mine is a driver's car. Both are about the same value today.

If you are interested in getting an oldie back on the road as a project, go for it. If you are interested in getting a daily driver with an attitude, look for someone else's completed project. In the end you'll probably spend the same dollars either way.

One point though, Keith Martin of "What's My Car Worth" was asked about the value of a 280z as a collector car. His reply was that there were too many made and lacked unique features compared to other Z's. This makes them just another used car with little appreciation potential.

[evildky]

It's an old can and a fairly small and light one at that, if you get hit by a suburban you are gonna lose, even if you were in a brand new 370z you'd lose. Your 280 is much safer than a 240, it has crash bars inside the doors, beefier bumpers that will actually do something, self tensioning 3 point seat belts. The only safe thing to do is to stay home, at some point we have to leave the house and take our chances or you can be the one in the suburban, and even then you can get hurt in the right kind of accident. I was recently in an accident in my 92 Miata, fairly low speed and I walked away unscratched, could have been very different. I was T boned in my 82 stanza when I was 18 and didn't walk without crutches for 6 months, If I had been in a larger vehicle like a suburban or a truck I'd have been much better off but if they had been in a larger vehicle like a suburban or a truck I'd likely be dead. I've had 5 collision accidents in 20 years of driving, all but the first was someone elses fault and all but one I walked away from. The other 3 accidents were all in trucks, one T bone and 2 rear endings, of all my accidents only 2 could have been severe or fatal in a 280, and only one would have been substantially worse if the other guy were in a bigger vehicle. You have to decide how big a bubble you want to live in.