i'm 18 and lookin for a new car...

[gforce811]

I have an old '90 honda. I'ts brown, and has had a small accident when my old g/f's grandpa backed into the driver's side door...

but that's neither here nor there.

I want a new car. My dad has yet to give me an estimate on what i can spend. It won't be a dirt cheap amount, but it won't be a massive amount either. I would like a somewhat nicer car with which to head off to college. I'm just turned 18 in august and i have the good grade discount on my insurance.

i've recently been hanging around the old Z board peekin around and thinking about a 300ZX. the prices on old ones with less than 80 or 100k on them don't seem too unreasonable, and i've found a few lookers on ebay and autotrader.

any advice on what to look for or if what i'm already looking at is a lost cause?

thanks for your guy's help.

BTW, I have posted on this forum before, a little while back. please try as best you can to give me an unbiased opinion. ;-) i also posted this on teh car buying forums but their response is a lot slower than you guys.

Mat

[youngvr4]

i'd say go for a 90's 300zx if you have the money

also its kind hard giving you suggestions when we don't have a price range

[probehtr300]

idk about having a beautiful Z at college is a good idea, cars get no respect at college just think that it might get dinged up

[ZedEx]

Yea I agree with Josh there...

Even in highschool parking lots, I was having to get dings and scratches out almost on a weekly, consistant basis.

And you need a reliable car in college... Sorry to say, Zed32s arent exactly the most reliable car ever... Parts are expensive, labor is expensive, and the car is EXTREMELY tough to work on.

But if you find a good one, you should be ok in that realm.

Never buy an abused Zed... Unless you plan on swapping powertrains, I wouldnt recomend that move.

I would say about $7,000 to $8,000 will get you a nice enough one.

-Wes

[freakonaleash1187]

if you are going to college, i would recommend the Zed31. could you give us a price range?

-Jared

[k3smostwanted]

yeah if you are using it as a daily driver and for college, definitely buy a n/a with low miles and kept in good condition. it shouldnt give you too many problems. timing belt every once in a while, tires every once in a while, you know, just basic stuff. i bought a 90' n/a w/ 85,000 miles, kept in good condition, i have only had to replace the starter. and 90's are supposed to be the worst years to buy because i have a few opening day problems that nissan went back and fixed later on. i say buy a 91'-95' n/a 5-speed that is in very good condition. you shouldnt have too much of a problem with reliabaility. good luck..

EDIT: thats if you want a z32....

[gforce811]

i put an optimistic 7-8 k as a max price. i've been able to spot a couple good zeds in my area that fit the 90's low mileage discription.

:edit: also, would it be worth it if i found a good car on ebay and it was a far away place like pennsylvania or florida. i live in missouri and wondered about shipping and if it was even safe to consider the car if i could not drive it first. ???

thanks for your replies so far.

[freakonaleash1187]

$7-$8k will find you a nice n/a. but will only buy you the car, make sure you have a steady income to fix problems. if you take good care of her, she shouldn't have that many, but that doesn't mean she won't have any.

-Jared

[gforce811]

yeah, that makes sense.

i've been lookin for an n/a and i learned how to drive a stick recently.

this will mainly be a daily driver/streeet fun car.

[Broke_as_****]

Buy a twin turbo, pull the engine and do about $10,000 worth of upgrades. That might get you up to the "acceptable" street car category.

Hi, my name is Broke and I'm out of my ****ing gourd.

[neogenesis]

Why not a 240SX?

[k3smostwanted]

its not as sexy...

but yeah about shipping the car, i wouldnt take the chance and how much is shipping on a whole car? sounds to me like a rip off...if anything hop a flight down there and then if it checks out, drive it home. but even that, i wouldnt do. find one in your vicinity, if you shop around you can get nice n/a's for $5-6k which will leave you anywhere from $3k-1k to hold back or buy some upgrades. i picked up my Z for $5500 and they were asking $8500 in superb condition. just shop around. their are deals to be found...

[gforce811]

one more question, if i'm gonna go ahead and try and find a zed what mileage should i stay under? 80k? 100k?

i guess what i'm asking is how long will this car run and what mileage or price value i should look for...

thanks for your help again.

[k3smostwanted]

well, if your looking for an n/a, for your price range you can find one with less than 100k miles if not lower than that. but really on the n/a, it will last a good 200k pretty easy i have heard.

[freakonaleash1187]

for your price range, you should be able to find one under 100k miles. like k3 said, if taken care of, it can last 200k miles. but if you are spending $5k-$6k, then you most likely will only find them with over 100k miles, unless you find a good deal.

-Jared