4 years ago I sold my 370Z to Wilde Jaguar-Maserati in Florida. I traded it in for a 2013 Infiniti M56S. I missed the Z shortly after and have long wanted to get back into one. Through Carfax I found out that the car ended up nearby in Winter Park. I had the Infiniti for only 2 years, until I traded it for a 2012 Jaguar XKR, which is an absolutely terrific car. Years went by and I decided I wanted to track the Z down and try to buy it back.
Last year the itch for a 6MT toy became very...itchy. I Googled the VIN to see if it's up for sale anywhere...and instead the owner's info came up (everything's a little too public in FL). Through some quick work, I managed to get a hold of him and ask him if he wanted to sell it. He didn't. But we spoke about the car and I gave him its background.
So instead, I kept searching for a car from Oct-Dec (mostly E46 M3s and 370Zs). And then my wife told me her company was ending Orlando operations. And she had 90 days to find a new job. So the search stopped up until she got a new job. And in late-April, I started looking again. I was about to make a move on an M3 in nearby Winter Garden from an eBay listing, but I was too slow...the listing was gone. Car had sold. It was the 3rd M3 I missed out on.
This was Sunday May 13th. I was a little bummed out, but whatever. Two hours later, I get a text message. It's the owner of my 370Z: he has a second baby on the way, and he hasn't been driving the car much at all. And asked if I was still interested? 48 hours later, May 15th...well...happy 33rd birthday to me.
But there are issues...and this will basically be a mini-build and restoration thread. The car needs some fixing. There was quite a bit of neglect. But I've already started sorting some of it.
More details to come.