I'll try to keep this brief. I'm in the process of buying what I thought was an 03' performance model. The seller is the second owner of this car. He bought it a year ago from a dealer in Tampa, FL. He was told that the car is a performance model and he got it for a really good price.

Flash forward to yesterday. He takes the car into his local Nissan dealership to have a window switch replaced before he delivers the car to me. The dealer looks up the vin # and tells him that some of the warranty on the car, including the powertrain warranty has been canceled. Furthermore, the car had been repaired, at least the right front fender was replaced. That was all the mechanic could tell. The dealer couldn't tell him why the warranty was canceled.

Now, here's the interesting part. The vin # shows that the car is a track model and not a performance model. However the Brembo's are gone and it has stock brakes. The car does have the aluminum track pedals and I assume the track model wheels. It also has the VDC and other track features except it has leather seats instead of cloth.

The car is in excellent condition with just over 20,000 miles.

I'm checking tomorrow with Warranty Direct to see if they'll sell me an extended warranty on the car. If so, I think I'll still buy the car because it's in excellent condition and the seller has offered to lower the price.

Am I crazy to do this???

 

I imagine the only way the warranty would get cancelled was if it has a salvage title or was totalled at one point. Being that I sell salvage title cars, I won't tell you that the car is a bad car but I would be hunting for a real nice price. I think somewhere around $18K or so would be fair.

 

Not unusual. Items such as seats and wheels are easily traded, and sometimes telling the difference in models can be confusing. If you like the car, and trust the workmanship, then go for it.

BTW you can't look at the VIN and tell what model 350Z it is.

 

The funny thing is that not all of the warranty was canceled. The owner is sending me the information that Nissan printed out for him so I'll know more later.

Thanks for the tip though. I was thinking $18500-$19000 would be a good price. Assuming I can purchase another warranty I may offer him $18000.

 

According to the dealer, when they ran the VIN it told him that the car was a track model, which surprised the owner.

The car drove well and looks terrific.

 

Couple problems with your statements:

"However the Brembo's are gone and it has stock brakes. The car does have the aluminum track pedals and I assume the track model wheels. It also has the VDC and other track features except it has leather seats instead of cloth."

Everything you mentioned says it is a Performance model. The Performance model comes with the aluminum pedals, 18" 6 spoke wheels, VDC, and Leather Seats. The Track model has Brembos, aluminum pedals, 18" Rays Forged wheels, VDC, and ONLY Cloth Seats. Why would someone remove all of those items off a Track model. I think the guy at the dealer was a moron and maybe plugged in the VIN number wrong. That car is a Performance model most likely.

 

Wrong-O...buddy-O. The performance model does come with what you said except the leather seats. Its prob. a track that was wrecked and the brakes were replaced minus the Brembo because it was cheaper.

 

Too many wierd things going on here bro, when you buy a car IMO I would want to have all the facts straight from the get go. Just be patient and look for other deals, they're out there.

 

I bought a carfax and it turns out that the car was indeed a salvage car that was rebuilt. Unless I can buy a warranty and the owner drastically drops the price, I'm walking away from it.

 

Man, I am good. Anyway, you can't get a factory warranty at all and most aftermarket companies will sell you one but then not honor it when it comes time to fix something. Aftermarket warranties aren't worth a damn. If I were you, I would get it for around $17,500 but realistically, you could maybe even push $15K depending on demand in your area. I have rebuilt a few 350s and typical cost is near $12-13K and selling price is between $16-18K. Try your luck with $15K.

 

Almost sounds like a chop shop car. I'd be very leery of purchasing it.

 

I'd avoid that car like a case of Herpes, dude.....for real!

Too much conflicting BS about this Z....Pass on it and seek out another Z!!

 

I did pass on it. Thanks guys for the advice.

 

Check the warantee company. That extended warantee might not kick in until the factory drivetrain waratanee mileage/time is exceeded. Therefore, the next 30K miles or couple of years you would still be without a warantee for the drivetrain.

That happened to me on my Firebird. I had to pay the bill even though there was two warantees on the vehicle I thought. Darn Drag Racing. We'll you gotta pay if you are going to play.

I'm thinking 17K is the most you want to pay. Like he said he got a good deal. Why no war and damaged. 19K with war and no damage history. Just me. If I was selling it 17K is what I would expect to get.