Purchasing used Z, unsure to pull trigger

JNickson

Hi all,

Not sure if this is a good place to ask so feel free to flame away.

I've been looking for a 370z for a while and the market is looking pretty good (I guess a lot of people are selling their garage queens due to COVID financial strain). I found a great example of a 2018 sport model that is pretty much everything I wanted however a few things are throwing me off.

Car has 3k miles on it so it's basically brand new, Carfax shows up clean but there's a 2 year gap between registrations (car was bought in 2017 and registered, then the next re-registration of insurance was in 2020).

Owner says that he has had it sitting in a garage for most of the time and now wants to sell because he needs a more practical car (fair). But also has had two 370z cars over the same time period (2017-2020) the first of which is a 2009 that's been somewhat modified. Idk seems like he tried to hide from me that he had two over the same time period for some reason.

I took the car to a local dealer and had them do an inspection which came up clean. Only thing is, there are no service records (I'm assuming it could be because the car has 3k on the odometer).

There is still the factory warranty for a few months and the powertrain for another 2 years.

Does this seem like a fishy deal and something I should stay away from? Or is it something decent? Price is pretty much the same as market value for these cars as they are listed where I am (sport model, low miles).

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Edit: call me paranoid but I've been burned before buying used vehicles after doing a thorough inspection.

crazy4oldcars

Something about the deal is giving you the Willie's. Go with your instincts.


Kirk B.

Ventruck

You're saying at the end that the price is around market, so nothing exceptional? I'd at least look any other low mile/warranty-covered listings then.

JNickson

It's about 2-3k cheaper than the next comparable option. Not something I would consider "significant" but money is money in the end.

NecioVato

So to confirm - the owner had multiple Z’s - 3 (unless I am reading something incorrectly) - one of which was modded? Honestly I would walk from the deal if you having thoughts that things might not be on the ‘up and up’. Bc lets say you get this car - will you be paranoid if the car has some minor issues - that maybe it was due to the owner abusing it; if the answer is yes - then I say you pass and get a vehicle that will make you feel comfortable. A couple of thousand more to have piece of mind is better than being paranoid if the car suffers from ‘common’ Z problems.

For a user to have multiple Zs isn’t that uncommon - I for one and several on this forum usually wind up trading in these cars because life happens; then when things change back and the idea of owning an impractical sports car can happen - they wind up back in one. I had originally didn’t know if the Z would fit my lifestyle bc it would be my only car and i didn’t know if not having a hatch or a rear seat would affect me so I got a high mileage Z and after about a year - my only regret was not spending a little more and getting a much lower mileage Z. Next thing I know I find a black Nismo with only 4700 miles and I’m in another Z.

JNickson

Thanks for the input guys I appreciate it.

He has/had 2 as far as I am aware. I guess what I'm most paranoid about is that the engine or other major components have been swapped between the two and I might end up with a higher mileage motor than the chassis. I haven't had the chance to look at specific bolts for impact driver marks but I might do that. Other than that everything else checks out, original wheels/tires and nothing else seems out of place, test drive was perfect.

I guess I'm just looking for some input to ease my mind. It's a good deal (and close to me so I don't have to deal with extra paperwork between jurisdictions).

Any more input is appreciated.

Ventruck

I personally would bottom-line this out to just not feeling 100% confident, which can't be made up for with $2-3k, and this is time spent away from looking at something else. Like if you keep going CSI on his car, he's not going to want to sell it to you — unless he's that cool of a guy.

MaoMeow305

Many people do maintenance themselves, so you will not see official records for many years on some cars.

If you took the car for an inspection and it cleared, I don't see the problem? What is your concern? If the title is clean, the inspection passed, and if you check and make sure that the frame is 100%, I don't see any problems.

JNickson

I guess what my biggest concern is that there hasn't been any major components swapped from an older model (say his 2009 that may have been beaten on) to this one. It doesn't really make much sense to me that anyone would buy a second car, then swap a good engine from that car to an older modded car rather than the other way around, or hell, just buy a used low mileage engine/trans (would end up cheaper either way).

Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Last time I bought a used car it was from a guy who did his own maintenance, a mechanic at a ford dealer. Sold me a car that had a junkyard swapped engine and a blown head gasket in said engine. Didn't tell me any of this pre-purchase of course and was untrustworthy to start. Guess I'm just having flashbacks. Why did I buy it? The only tell was that the car would overheat after an hour of driving in the summer and overfill the reservoir. It was impossible to tell after a half-hour test drive. I also took it to two different dealers to diagnose this problem and they told me there was no issue (after leakdown, pressure, and chemical tests). After doing a bunch of digging and autopsy did I figure out the whole story (I am no slouch when it comes to doing maintenance and modifications to cars, just new to the Z).

JLarson

One thing you can do to check is ask him to pop the hood, and check the heat shields on the headers (passengers side will be easier). If they are 4 bolt, it's a newer engine. If they have 3 bolts, it's an older engine. Header design was revised somewhere around the 2014 year model, and the heatshields changed with the headers. If I had concerns, that's where I'd look first.

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2006 350z (Sold) // 1990 300zx (Sold) // 1985 300zx 2+2 (Sold)

babyzilla

My opinion...avoid all the head ache and move on. I was in the same boat as you. I came across many Zs that just didn't sit right with me before I found one that made me comfortable and confident in making the purchase. As cliche as it is, when you know, you know.

OptionZero

check the tires

if there is significant wear on the rears, that may indicate abuse over a short amount of time

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SouthArk370Z

Do the 370Z engines have a stamped serial number that would be easy to get to? If so, you should be able to look up the date of manufacture and tell if it matches the date of the car.

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JNickson

They do, but apparently it's on the very back of the block by the transmission bell housing and incredibly difficult to get to unless you take out a bunch of panelling, at least that's what I got from researching on here. Doubt he would be super stoked to me doing that.

I checked the tires, they look pretty much brand new, I checked the dates and they haven't been replaced from factory.

Thanks for the tip, I'll definitely try to get at it when I take it for the necessary jurisdiction inspection. I was also hoping to inspect the knuckles for impact driver marks and condition of the bolts in general.

Usually I tend to go with the gut check, but I'm just wondering if it's a little off given my previous experience, hence why I'm looking for quantifiable/observable data to help make my decision.

The reason I am so reluctant to walk away is because this one is so conviniently close to where I live, has the lowest miles, and is my favorite color combination. The next best option requires me to drive 8 hours one way and at that point if I don't commit to that one I'm out a couple days of work time. Not the worst, but still a massive inconvenience.

MaoMeow305

I agree, if it doesn't sit right with you, move on. You WILL find a great deal eventually. I started looking for a 370 since last year. Just on and off, waiting for a really good hard to pass deal. I wasn't in a rush, I saw a couple really good deals but nothing big enough to make me pull the trigger. Then 3 months ago randomly checking auto trader I found the one. Amazing price, low milage. Went to see it, it was mint, paint, interior, engine, under the car. Everything. Some old dude who kept it in the garage and almost never drove it. Bought it on the spot ��

So be patient and you'll find the one eventually