Holden Sky

Hey everyone. As much as I'll miss her, I'm getting really tired of my payments on my 2014 5.0 and I've been looking into 350Zs. I test drove and 04 today and can't exactly say I fell in love with it (My Mustang is my baby) but I did enjoy it.

I'm mainly considering this car because it would lower my payments significantly, there's a good aftermarket for it, and it's my girlfriend's dream car so I'll probably pass it along to her once I'm financially stable enough to get back in a 5.0.

The thing is, the one I drove had a decent amount of cosmetic damage inside and out (paint chips and scratches, no dents), the bumper has definitely been replaced (Carfax was clean, though) the car itself has 189k miles and the engine has been replaced with a used one that has 75k. Salesman told me the old one had a bad crank.

Upon test driving it, clutch was fine, suspension didn't clunk or squeek, cranked right up, etc. Seemed mechanically sound for the most part aside from a very faint buzzing when clutch is engaged which sounded like the shift linkage was rattling. Is this a common/easy fix?

The dealer wants 9k and I offered 6.5k otd on the contingency they'd break even on my loan (22.5k). They countered with 7.1 to account for taxes and fees and I walked. They said they'd call me.

Is this a good deal? Anything I should look out for?

Thanks in advance!

dcains

iTrader: (15)

Man, I just about spit my iced coffee all over my iPad. $9k, even $6.5k, is simply way too much for a beat up '04 Z. That's all I'm going to say, and hopefully it will knock some sense into your head.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

its bad when people get in over their head with a car, and then come to the internet to ask if something is a good deal. get your finances in order

samsniss350z

"Anything I should look for?"

Yeah, a realistically priced Z that is in better condition than the wreck you looked at. Research is your friend and it seems you need to be doing a lot of looking and a lot of reading just to find out what the market is doing and what you can get for your cash.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

Have to agree with the preceeding posts on this purchase. OP will NOT be happy with this tired Z, particularly after it starts breaking on him. With 185K on the odo, and even with a salvage VQ, there's sure to be trouble ahead. Also, trying to correct a bad loan by trading in a car is never a good idea; it'll always cost you money and satisfaction.

Best advise I can offer is to concentrate on paying off this loan ASAP and keep the car you want.

mignav01

Hmm, loaded question. But that's way to much for a beat up Z. You can find clean but higher mile ones around me for about 6k all day if you look around hard enough.