Trading in my Z...Help with new car purchase
 

:( As the title says, Im selling my Z. Reason is, that I plan on going to graduate school, and want to save as much money possible before I go. It KILLS me to sell this car, because I love it sooo much !!! But I want to have no debt for graduate school or as little as possible when finishing up. So the Z must go.

I have already found a replacement car that I want to purchase, but it is from a private seller. I have never purchased a vehicle from a private seller before, so I'm asking for a little help from the Z community. Any pointers and things I should watch out for? I know about the whole vehicle condition routine including checking the history, records/maintenance, having it checked out by private party, but anything out of the ordinary that you guys might have experience with and or advice is more then welcome!!!

Thanks for all your help and I will be staying around the Z community, maybe even post my build for this car if AK allows it :tup:

What kind of vehicle is it? That will be most helpful in giving you more indepth responses.

It doesn't hurt to pull the VIN# and Current License Plate and call your local police department to make sure everything is legit and not stolen. I have purchased cars in the past where things may have seemed too good to be true or somewhat "fishy". So I always make it a point to do this prior to exhanging cash with keys.

Aside from that.... really you have it covered. Me, personally, I would call a few local mechanic shops and ask their techs what they think about the car.

Case in point....most women love the VW Beetle ('98+). It looks cool, has great fuel MPG, is extremely safe and is...for the most part...very reliable. But when things do break it sucks! My mom has one and I absolutely hate that car. Things are never simple to replace nor are they cheap (either for parts or labor).

Some mechanics will say great things about them or may offer warnings. In my case, generally when I mention I am working on a VW Bug. The first response is either A) SUCKS FOR YOU! or B) Awww... I'm sorry.

Just something to think about....

Appreciate the feedback :tup: !! I am in the "process" of purchasing a 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX ( AWD & Turbo ). The owner has all service records, and records of him replacing all belts hoses, flushing/replacing all fluids, new spark plugs/wires, basically all the maintenance needed as the car has only 75,000 miles, and has a carfax report. The seller seems to be squared away. But of course I will have to double maybe triple check everything, you never know like you said.

I'd take a bicycle over that and bus if that's available at school.

LOL why? cheap, cheap mods for decent gains, AWD great in the snow! Very reliable from personal experience, though some might disagree.

Gsx is a great car , mine was tuned to 500whp. Only thing to be aware of is the stock turbo usually dies between 75-110k and make sure the tranny shifts smooth . Do some high rpm quick shifts from 2-3rd that's always the sore spot. If it goes in smooth you're good to go. Oh and make sure there isnt any noise coming from rear diff

Smart move, you can always buy another one in a few years. I've already had two cars since I sold my 09 Z!

Sounds like a good plan. The less debt after school the better. Hopefully when you get out of grad school the job market will be better.

Tires are great in snow (the correct ones) AWD with A/S tires < RWD with snow tires :P

Check for rust. Then check again. Those cars can rust out in the rockers pretty easily. Yes the engine is a tank, but you want reliable and inexpensive for school (which is a very good decision on your part: you can always driver cars later, don't get tied down with debt for too long). If it was me, I'd look
for a LS/SE Integra hatch but that's just me :D

Best of luck,

- b

I think it is an excellent choice as I had a 96 GSX. Every used car purchase is a best guess but sounds like you are doing the right things.

:iagree: Reliability...get a honda civic.

That car will cost more than your 370Z's note just to maintain.

Buy yourself a cheap new car, like a Scion or a Chevy Cruze or something. Yeah, nowhere near as cool as your 370Z, but it has a warranty and the note is peanuts. Well worth it over some decade and a half old car known for breaking when it was new.

thanks for all the replies! will take into consideration what everyone has to say. Let me say one thing kind of off topic though. I recently joined a forum for the eclipse and let me just say that, it doesn't compare to this one...:(

Interesting I had my GSX for 62,250 miles without one issue. Did those who say it was unreliable even have one?????

On the other hand the post about getting a Cruze or Scion is also correct.

You have to see it from a point of view from the source as to why that "incorrect information" has been spread. This is just my observation since I was in my "late teens" when the "fast & furious" generation of tuners rolled around.

1) SO MANY of them were Eclipse GS models (FWD, non-turbo) w/ slap on turbo kits. the GS-T and GSX engines and transmission were tough mofos in stock form, but those car models were very expensive in comparison to the 300zx, mustangs, etc during the time.

2) Cars highly abused for 1 purpose, speed.

3) Mods kill reliability, but most assume it's like a computer and assume it doesn't hurt since performance is improved.

4) Cars worked on by inexperienced 18-25 year olds who can't tell the difference between a socket wrench and an allen wrench.