hmm, what to look for

Okey so i came into this forums a complete newb that didn't know much about anything, and by reading and being constantly insulted (lol), i came to the conclusion of buying a 240sx.

I know that some people can completely make it a project car, and sometimes buy it for 300 on up, but i don't have all that much money.

Im expecting to get atleast 4000k or a little more this up and comming summer, and i'd be nice to have this car before the summer is out because of how i planned my classes next year (taking classes at college and high school). So what im asking is what should i look for when buying a 240, and what to do to make it reliable transportation (besides unique problems that a car might have). I'm planning to make it a reliable car before i try and do anything else with it, plus im not sure i'll have much money to do anything with it.

So basically, i can only expect maybe 1 or 2k more at most to put into this car; do you guys think this is realistic or not? Anything would help. Please, enlighten me with your oh so powerful knowlegde!! :p

wow your getting 4000k. 4 thousand grand?? lol J/p with ya man. A 240 can be real reliable if maintained. Hopefully you get lucky and find a decent low miles one. Well for starters, when you find a 240 and start it to listen to the engine i am going to gaurantee you that there will be a ticking noise at idle. This is not a huge worry. Its common. All 3 240's at my house do it(some worse than others). It will sound as if its coming from the very front of the head. Its usually the timing chain. Not a problem, but you can get it fixed. Basically just look around for rust on the body and beneath the car. Look under the car for any leaks /puddles of fluids.

now with the extra money you get, just replace parts that you think need to be replaced. Maybe get a tune up/ oil change and what not. If you just want the car to be reliable thats what i would do. I wouldnt worry to much about the looks or anything for the time being. Then after you drive it a bit you may notice small problems here and there....maybe your alignment is off a tad. Now keep in mind when on a highway, the lanes have a cap on them so its natural to pull too one side on a highway with no hands on the wheel. Its from excessive use from semi's and heavy cars that bend and form the roads. To be honest if your really not into modding at the moment, i would just keep the money saved and not spend it, just incase a future problem happens. Maybe a fuel injector gets clogged. THat seems to happen commonly on the higher mileaged ones(atleast in my experiance). Iv replaced 3 in my 92 hatch since iv ownd it and none in my coupe(dunno what previous owner did though). And my bro is going to replace all 4 of his just because he feels since one is clogged might as well do all 4. A typical stock injector ran me like 70 bux(from napa) if i remember right. Havent had a problem since.

make sure the a/c works on it. no really make sure it works mine didnt. the whole a/c was disconnected and missing parts so make sure it works

240s are ideal b/c they are FR and relatively cheap... i don't think you'll have any problems... jus the usual maintenance and plenty of TLC..

Ayumi pic... nice~