Hello everyone! I have been searching for a very clean 2004 350z roadster for a while now, after about 3 months of search, I finally found one on marketplace.
It's only had 2 owners, one that bought it in US in 2004 and imported it to Lebanon (my current country) in 2006, then sold it in 2016 to this man who passed a year later, and it's been sitting ever since in a garage and that man's brother has been taking care of it since.
Only issues with it is that the soft top has a tiny rip in it but doesn't let water in, and the soft top sometimes just does not close when you press the button, you can hear a clicking noise behind the driver side when you press it, then after a second it turns off from the dashboard and nothing happens. We suspect it could be one of the motors being broken, any idea how much fixing it could cost?
Test drove it today, it rode super well, still has the stock catalytic converters and the teptronic in it works perfectly fine for down and upshifting, we tried it on an inclined road and it rode just fine up and down. It sounds insanely smooth and soft (compared to other modded 350's I rode when test driving some)
It also has no screen which surprised me as I thought all the models that come with electric seats have screens too, but I do think it has traction control, I'll have to double check tomorrow.

I have always wanted to own a mint condition 350z ever since I was a kid and played NFS Underground 2, does this count as "mint" condition? still the same paint from the factory, 0 accidents, 0 scratches, seats still factory original ones and in amazing condition, every button works (apart from the soft top close one, OH and also the fuel level indicator either takes a VERY long time to go up, or just does not work), interior is flawless and it drove 100k.

The guy i'm buying it from wants 3,800 USD which we shook hands on and will do paperwork on Monday, but said he wants to fix the soft top motor issue before giving it to me and won't charge me extra for fixing it, but also said I could take it "as is" for 3700, and I just agreed to let him do it, hoping he doesn't completely cheap out on it and use some temporary fix, which I *kind of* expect, but I have absolutely 0 idea how much it could cost so I was like eh it's fine.
Anyhow I am very curious what you guys think about the condition of this car and this deal as a whole, and if you have any advice for things I should immediately take a look at and check up on as soon as I get it.
I am overall new to cars, been actively driving again for about 6 months, so apologies if I don't immediately understand some advanced terms. Oh and this is will be my 2nd car, I will not be using it for daily commutes. It will be my "weekend" car, main car is a Q5 2011 3.2 Quattro
I so far do not intend to mod it, maybe a nice air intake to make it sound better, but that's the extent of it, could change in the future tho!
Thank you for your time <3

 

$3,800 USD is a fair deal for a '04 with about 100K miles on it. However, it is a roadster, meaning that the top is a large feature of it. It can be difficult to diagnose the issues and this forum has a lot of people posting about roof issues with no clear resolution. It could be one small thing or many things. It might be one or more sensors or it could be one or more motors.

If you intend to keep the top up all the time, then it's probably fine. However, if you plan on putting the top down whenever it's roadster weather, then you definitely want the top fixed before you buy it.

 

Yep you're 100% right.
he just sent me videos of the top closing and opening all good again, the motor behind the passenger seat had issues so he replaced it, he said he will only hand it over to me with everything fully working, so that's good! Hopefully I can go down tomorrow or after tomorrow and do the deal!

 

That's great it was a quick fix!

If it's been sitting since 2017, then I would go ahead and address basic maintenance items involving fluid changes unless that's been done recently. I'm also assuming the tires have not been changed, so they're likely more than 7 years old at this point and need replacing due to age. It might be a good time to upgrade the wheels while you're at it since I'm not really sure what's going on with the black-painted spokes, but maybe you like them.

If you're unsure about the specific trim, you can always use the VIN decoder. It's usually fairly accurate.

I have an '05 roadster. It's a touring trim. It has electric leather seats with warmers, TCS/VDC, and cruise control with the (former) Bose audio system. If yours has those features, it's probably the same trim level.

Enjoy!

 

It looks like it's been dropped. The front is far too low to be stock suspension. I would take a peak at the springs
I'd only recommend getting some aftermarket OEM headlights to replace the foggy headlights(or wet sand and buff)
Make sure tires are correct size (those wheels look like the stock touring 18x8 wheels with stickers on them)
Front 225/45r18
Rear 245/45r18

 

the car has definitely been lowered. As mentioned above wet sand and buff the headlights. They'll bring them back to life

 

You shouldn't have complained.
$3,700 is more than good deal.
This year model has more issue to repair/replacement in most of time.
not sure seller can fix soft top with $100.

Thank you.

 

That's actually the normal ride height. This Z hasn't been lowered, you can tell by looking at the rear ride height. But I bet the front struts are shot, so it's sagging a little. This is pretty normal to see on these if they're still equipped with the original struts.

That's actually a really good price for a running/driving 350Z with everything working. I can't say I like the paintwork done to the spokes on the wheels, but otherwise this Z looks unmolested. Start with fluid services and a detailed inspection of rubber hoses, bushings, etc. Heel is right, I would replace the tires if they're 7 years old. Other items like coolant, brake fluid, clutch fluid should also be replaced.

Good Luck!
-Icer

 

Oh yeah for sure, it's currently at the mechanic getting all the basic stuff checked and replaced if needed after it's been sitting for this long (I decided to re-place the radiator since the water in there got quite nasty, tap water sitting somewhere for a long time seem to not usually end well...)
And yeah for the tires i'll make sure to have some fun with the ones on it currently before replacing them
Also yeah I didn't like whatever the previous owner had done to the wheels either, but that's okai, i'll spend on cosmetic stuff later, want to make sure the insides are working as good as possible first
ty for your reply

 

Yeah I agree with you
also the soft top did actually start working again without issues, not sure how soon it will break, but for now it still runs,

thank you for your reply!

 

TY! Will make sure to get the right tires then
Also I will take more pictures and post them here tomorrow, I don't think it's been dropped? but not sure, i'll try to take more angles of the front. icer5160 mentioned this could be the original front struts sagging. I will take a look at it tomorrow and update you guys on it