I’m looking at buying this 2003 350z with 150k on the clock tomorrow. The seller says they just replaced clutch and it’s still in break in period, so I have to go easy in test drive.

I plan on asking them in person but I have the questions:

1) why would anyone sell before breaking in a new clutch? That’s a lot of time/money to spend and not enjoy the car after.

2) could this be an excuse to get me to baby the car, as to not show signs of possible overheating, misfire, etc.?

3) What questions should I ask/how should I test the car before purchasing?

In all other regards this seller seems very legit and claims to have all service records for their entire ownership.

 

You can floor it, just don't shift hard. Otherwise I wouldn't buy a car I am unable to test drive properly.

 

^^^ this.
Hard to give you an answer if you don't mention price and I'd need to see the record for clutch replacement. We can only tell you what we'd do. Our financial situation may be very different from yours.
Fyi make sure you get insurance quotes before buying, it could be a deal breaker.

 

A common problem with this car is bad synchro’s in the transmission. This problem affects the ability to shift gears smoothly. Often it is referred to as gear grinding.

While driving at about 40-50 mph, see if you can downshift into a lower gear without the transmission making a grinding noise.

(educate yourself by researching bad synchro’s and CD009)

 

Double this ^^^

I wouldn't go through with this. Especially if this was going to be a daily where I needed reliable transportation.