thinking of gettin 1991 300zx twin turbo

eneyman · #1 10-11-2004, 08:07 PM

Hi all, I do not know much about cars so I have come here for some advice. The car im lookin at has 131,000 miles. I have heard that the turbos go bad at around this mileage or around 150k. What I want to know is.. will they last long, because I don't have $2000 to spend for new ones. I plan on getting it inspected but wanted opinions of people who actually own these cars.

thx all

DeleriousZ · #2 10-11-2004, 09:04 PM

check out all the stickies at the top of the thread, they have some awsome information in there... if you still have any questions after that we'd be glad to help ya out... welcome to af!

eneyman · #3 10-11-2004, 09:27 PM

Ya, those sites do have alot of cool info on swapping and upgrades but what I wanted to know was how long the original turbos will last in a 91 300zx twin turbo. Right now the car im lookin at has 131k. One person said they go bad at 150k, another said they should be ok, another said the turbos last longer then the engine since they only kick in when there is high acceleration. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

longlivetheZ · #4 10-11-2004, 09:59 PM

How old are you?

eneyman · #5 10-11-2004, 10:03 PM

I'm gonna be 18 at the end of this month.

DeleriousZ · #6 10-11-2004, 10:14 PM

i've heard anywhere between 150k and 200k... couldn't tell ya for sure tho

Karen512 · #7 10-11-2004, 10:59 PM

Noone can say for sure, as it depends how the car was driven and how it was taken care of....
Does the seller have any receipts?

eneyman · #8 10-11-2004, 11:05 PM

I will ask, I guess the guy is selling it through a dealership. If turbos blow, does the engine go also and is it safe to keep driving even if its only short distance.

freakonaleash1187 · #9 10-12-2004, 12:00 AM

depends on if the car was taken care of or not. if it wasn't, then the turbos don't have much life left in them, but if it was taken care of, then the turbos probably have another good 30-60k miles left in them.

if the turbos blow, they will most likely not mess up the engine. but i wouldn't drive much on blown turbos.

-Jared

E Honda · #10 10-12-2004, 04:10 AM

If you do get the car and they are bad I have a couple with pleanty of life in them laying in the shop. How high can I run the boost up without having to change the fuel delivery?

Hodo · #11 10-12-2004, 04:35 AM

If anyone would be so kind as to point this person to my reply in one of these posts about how to deal with dealerships and their sales on cars, I dont feel like typing it again and I am abit tired right now, but if I am up to it in the morning (Read:afternoon) I will find it and try and repost it here for you eneyman. I suggest at 131k miles though having there service department go over it with a fine tooth comb and try and get SOME kind of warenty on it, this will be like parting the Red Sea but it is possible. Also, if you can take it to a technician you trust who does not work for that dealership and have them go over it. This way if anything IS wrong or looks like it will fail in the next few thousand mile, you can negotiate the repairs in the price. Most dealerships will be asses about giving you ANYTHING, dont be affraid to walk away. There WILL be other Z32TTs out there and many more in better shape, trust me on this one. Good luck

Hodo · #12 10-12-2004, 04:42 AM

found it.

z32TT take it from me, I know buying from a dealer can be a hassel. I found my Z32 at a dealership I found 5 at dealerships to be exact. But the problem is, they wont be on the front lot, or on the show room floor. They will be in the trade-in lot in back, and wholesale lot, that means they will sit there for about 2-4 days before they are gone. The sales men on the main floor make NO money on wholesale, or trade-in sales past a 98-99 year model. This means they will be less than happy to help you so more often than not you will have to do the leg work yourself. They will also not do half of the stuff that needs to be done unless you DEMAND it. I made sure they replaced the tires, balanced the wheels and other what nots, but failed to mention bleeding and flushing the brakes. I am not real happy about that but hey my mistake. But on the plus side is they will help you get the tax, title and registration on it alot cheaper than if you did it on your own. Not to mention if the car has less than 100k miles on it they will try and get it financed through a institution thats often better than what your bank is offering. My biggest rule with dealerships is, DONT TRUST THE SALESMAN. He is a salesman and he will try and shaft you, so check and double check EVERYTHING before you take delivery of the vehicle, and if you find anything wrong within the first 500miles or 15days bring it back and say it doesnt make you feel safe, this makes it a safety concern which makes the legaly obligated to fix it, under the lemon law act. Now use common sense with that last bit of info, cant say the radio not working is a unsafe feature, trust me I tried. lol. But the key is pataince, and being stout with them, and dont be afraid to just say the amount is WAY too much for that car. Dont let them know what they have, its gold to you, but its another car to them. 95% of all salesmen dont know a Honda Civic from a Nissan 300ZX. They know how to sale them not what they are or do they care what they are, do your research, snowball them with terms about the car, but do it in a aloof manor, like the car doesnt matter to you. And if they make you a good enough deal tell them you would like them to hold on to the car while you made some finale checks around with some other contacts/sorces and you need to think about it. After all it is a BIG decision. Oh and if they have a shop there on site, have the tech that did the inspection on it talk to you about it. Ask the salesman to see if you could talk to the tech about it, you want to make sure about the car. The tech most of the time wont lie to you, hes to busy to lie about a car he's already made money on, and if anything is wrong with it, he will most likely tell you, this means more work/money for him. And more knowledge for you.
The best days to go to dealerships are, saturday afternoons, evenings, and monday mornings, I mean EARLY monday. Becuase the wholesaler usually shows up monday morning around 9am to get the cars out of the back lot. If they are open on Sunday go anytime sunday is always good. Saturdays are their busiest days and they have no clue whats in the back lot, so if you can just walk back there or drive back there and look around this saves you alot of time and headaches.

Good luck you will need it with a dealership.

DeleriousZ · #13 10-12-2004, 04:52 AM

ah that... should get wes to sticky that handy little bit of info

freakonaleash1187 · #14 10-12-2004, 07:41 AM

but take out the first part of a 300zx not being on the front lot. like i said in the same thread, the one i went to look at at a dealership was in the front row sitting by corvettes. i just saw one the other day in a dealership in the front row.

-Jared

Hodo · #15 10-12-2004, 02:43 PM

I should say its not very common to see any car older than a 98 on the front row of a dealership. Unless it has less than 100k miles on it or is in perfect shape. Most cases they put them in back to be whole saled. Which is a fun place to look just to see what people trade in and what they get for it...... often it will surpise you.

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